Founders

Tammeca Rochester

Tammeca Rochester, a successful serial entrepreneur with global impact, uplifts underserved communities through transformative entrepreneurship. As CEO and Founder of Harlem Cycle, she has established Harlem’s first and only indoor cycling studio, conducting over 12,000 wellness classes and embodying the neighborhood’s vibrant spirit. Her advocacy for holistic wellness has been recognized in The New York Times and Essence, and amplified on the TedxHarlem stage. Her corporate background with Colgate-Palmolive and board membership at Start Small Think Big showcases her dedication to fostering inclusive entrepreneurship. Rochester holds an MBA from NYU Stern specializing in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from Georgia Tech and Spelman College.

Sade Parham

At Blue Water Girls, we are building a clean, inclusive sun care and body-care brand that reimagines how women approach tanning and sun care. The $900M+ tanning industry has long been dominated by toxic formulas, overpowering fragrances, and products designed without diverse skin tones in mind. We’re changing that.

Sam Ishage

I started my fragrance brand, EGAHSI, four years ago. It’s been an incredible journey — one that taught me the highs and lows of being a small business owner. But along the way, I saw firsthand how challenging it is to navigate the pop-up market world — the very space that drives most of my revenue. That experience inspired my co-founder, Raheeq, and me to build MarkitIt, an AI-powered platform solving the everyday struggles vendors and organizers face in the pop-up ecosystem. I’m a Sudanese-American, first-generation founder from New Orleans, now building and creating between NYC and Jersey City.

Erica Patterson

With over 8 years of experience in marketing, operations, and strategy across start-up environments, Erica has built a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams to drive brand awareness and customer acquisition. Her approach prioritizes innovation, inclusivity, and measurable outcomes—values that guide every initiative she undertakes. As founder of bodichem, Erica combines deep industry expertise with an entrepreneurial vision to establish the brand as an internationally recognized and transformative force in the body care space. She is passionate about positively disrupting industries that have stagnated, reimagining what's possible when purpose meets performance.

Ylorie Taylor

Ylorie Taylor is an award-winning beauty industry executive and the creative force behind HUE Affair—a vibrant beauty and lifestyle marketplace that connects multicultural brands with the consumers who fuel them. With over two decades of experience shaping brand strategy, retail partnerships, and community engagement, Ylorie has built HUE Affair into a movement that celebrates identity, empowers entrepreneurs, and transforms the beauty shopping experience. Having coached and helped 100+ brands and businesses scale, she's channeling her expertise with a vision to grow HUE into a year-round platform that drives measurable impact across the multicultural beauty economy.

Cindy McField-Asamoah

"Passionate mother, advocate, and founder of an affinity program dedicated to empowering adolescent boys in predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Witnessing the lack of representation for black and brown boys in these schools, I was inspired to create a platform where boys can safely discuss issues, topics, and feelings critical to their growth and development. As a First Generation American who grew up as one of the few brown faces in a PWI, I understand firsthand the challenges of feeling different in the room. Reflecting on my own experiences, I realized the absence of social programs that equipped me to navigate through my school journey. With a Bachelor of Science degree, Real Estate Broker license, and 25 years of experience working with people, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to The Boys’ Room. Formerly a social worker at a middle school in Connecticut, I facilitated peer groups for children, deepening my understanding of the challenges young people face. Now, I am committed to creating the most meaningful and impactful program for our boys' well-being. Join me as we empower the next generation of young men to thrive and make a lasting impact on the world."

A'kia Benbo

A’kia Benbo is the founder of HoneyQween Juice Bar, a South LA–born beverage brand turning a simple street vending lemonade stand into a powerful force for wellness and community. After realizing her neighborhood was part of a food desert, she committed to providing bold, health-focused beverages where they’re needed most. Through HoneyQween and her nonprofit, The Qween’s Bridge Foundation, A’kia champions access to healthier options, economic opportunity for street vendors and youth in the community, and a new standard of flavor, pride, and possibility in her community. If you believe every community deserves fresh options and fresh opportunity, let’s build together! Partner with us to bring our signature lemonade, youth jobs, and healthier choices to communities that needs it most. Please VOTE WELLNESS!

Kristian Franklin

Kristian Franklin is a certified cosmetic formulator, entrepreneur, and clean-beauty advocate reshaping the future of textured haircare through innovation, science, and community impact. She is the Founder and CEO of Angelic Organics, a luxury plant-based haircare brand rooted in her mission to make natural hair effortless, safe, and deeply celebrated. A former marketing project manager who led multimillion-dollar campaigns for global brands including Adobe, TurboTax, and Skittles, Kristian blends brand strategy with scientific expertise to bring high-performance, EU-standard formulations to the textured-hair market. Since launching in 2025, Angelic Organics has served over 500 customers, secured retail partnerships, built a 51K-member digital community, and earned multiple grants and national recognition, including features from Canva, Voyage LA, FEMI Magazine, and the Confidence Project by BOTOX Cosmetic. Kristian is driven by a commitment to protect Black women from the toxic products that dominate the haircare aisle. She is on track to position Angelic Organics as the first textured haircare brand pursuing European clean and natural certification, setting a new global benchmark for ingredient transparency and product safety. Her work extends beyond beauty into advocacy. She has spoken on health equity and safer beauty at the Beauty Justice Conference with Black Women for Wellness, partnered with nonprofits like The ClassWomb to support pregnant and postpartum women with hormone-safe haircare education, and brought free scalp-scope consultations and ingredient literacy to underserved communities. A Detroit native and lifelong natural hair advocate, Kristian holds a certification in organic haircare formulation and is dedicated to creating a world where Black women can reclaim their confidence, reclaim their ritual, and reclaim their halo.

Nikki Ball

Founder of Shush Lingerie | Changing Women’s lives, One Bra at a Time

Nijeria Thompson

Nijeria is the Founder & CEO of TAP Candle Company, a Black woman-owned luxury home fragrance brand that creates music-inspired candles, room sprays, and diffusers. TAP Candles specializes in transforming songs into immersive scent experiences using clean, vegan, sustainable ingredients. Each product features a QR code linking to the track that inspired the fragrance, merging scent, sound, and storytelling in a unique proprietary customer experience. With professional experience leading Inclusion, Belonging, and Diversity initiatives at Fortune 500 and global companies. Nijeria brings strong expertise in strategic leadership, brand development, and culture-building. This background directly supports TAP Candles's mission to celebrate Black culture, promote wellness through clean fragrance, and create accessible luxury for diverse audiences. Since launching, TAP Candles has: • Developed a growing product line using coconut–apricot wax and non-toxic fragrance blends • Built partnerships across retail, corporate gifting, and marketing activations • Designed custom fragrance experiences for artists, musicians, and creative brands • Expanded into experiential products that integrate technology with fragrance • Established a strong community presence through storytelling, music culture, and sustainable luxury Nijeria is committed to scaling TAP Candles into a nationally recognized fragrance and lifestyle brand. She focuses on innovation, revenue growth, partnerships, and expanding TAP Candles presence in retail, entertainment, and corporate gifting markets.

Gabriella Layne-Avery

Gabriella Layne-Avery is a digital storyteller, content strategist, and creative director with over a decade of experience shaping brands that stand out and connect. As the founder of Strut Communications and creator of Content & Chill — a multi-city content planning and creation experience for entrepreneurs — she partners with visionary brands to craft bold, purpose-driven content that builds not just visibility but community. With a background in journalism and PR, Gabriella helps brands ‘editorialize’ their digital platforms, curating content that feels intentional, impactful, and always on brand. Her experience includes work with notable brands including Taraji P. Henson’s Seven Daughters Wines and Black Bride Magazine. Brooklyn-bred and now Long Beach-based, Gabriella is renowned for her ability to balance creativity with purpose, drawing inspiration from her big city roots, her love of pop culture, and her passion for helping brands create lasting legacies. When she's not leading content campaigns or hosting Content & Chill, you can find her reading, binge-watching the latest must-see show, or strolling along the shoreline of her coastal city with her wife (also named Gabby—yes, really!) and their pups, Louie and Suede.