The State of Black Entrepreneurship in Virginia

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Save the dateJanuary 25, 20226:00 PM - 8:00 PM (EST) Add to Calendar

Venue Location

Gather, Norfolk

500 E. Main St.
Floor, 16
Norfolk, VA

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Organizer

Organizer: Black BRAND

Phone: +1 7572887400

Contact Person: Blair Durham

Email: blair@blackbrand.biz

Event Details

Join us for a panel discussion with leaders around the state of Virginia.

Unable to attend in person, register to attend virtually here

Free Event | Open to the Public

Speakers

Blair Durham

President / Co-Founder of Black BRAND

Crystal Cobbs

Owner at Cobbs Consulting

Ronald Busby

As President/CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.

Ronald Busby

As President/CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.

http://www.usblackchambers.org/

As President/CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), Ron Busby, Sr. brings business management skills as well as a lifetime of community development experience to the organization. Mr. Busby is a former successful business owner himself, and he has been recognized as one of the nation’s best CEOs. Ron grew his first company, USA Superclean, from $150,000 annualized revenue, to over $15 million in
only 10 years. Early on in his career, USA Superclean was recognized as the largest Black-owned janitorial
firm in the country. Mr. Busby has also started and grown two other janitorial firms, both resulting in over
$4 million in annualized revenue.

As a graduate with honors, from both Florida A&M University and Clark Atlanta University, Busby frequently extols the importance of higher education. He continued to advance his own scholarly pursuits by attending the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, a Dartmouth College graduate program for
minority and women-owned businesses.

Trained by some of the country’s leading corporate executives, Ron developed his skills at some of the nation’s largest corporations including; Exxon, Xerox, IBM, and Coca-Cola USA. While in corporate America, he was recognized as National Sales Person of the Year.

Ron also has chamber experience as he was previously the President of the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce for five years. A native of Oakland, CA; Ron has dedicated himself to the empowerment of the Black community.
Ron is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Ron has two sons and currently lives in the Washington, DC
area.

Yolunda Harrell

CEO & Co-Founder of New Hill Development Corporation

Yolunda Harrell

CEO & Co-Founder of New Hill Development Corporation

Originally hails from Alabama (Roll Tide) but grew up predominantly in South Carolina. She has worked, served, and lived in the Charlottesville area for the last 14 years. Yolunda is a Christian, wife, business partner, executive manager, entrepreneur and CEO and Co-Founder of New Hill Development Corporation (New Hill). New Hill is a non-profit community development corporation established to create more economic opportunities for the Black community of Charlottesville. As a professional business leader, Yolunda can leverage 24 plus years of profit management, staff development, external and internal customer experiences, community engagement, and self-development. Repeatedly hired and promoted to challenging operations to improve asset management, quality of service, employee recruitment and retention, training and development of staff, ultimately leading to increased profitability. Developed and executed strategic revenue, marketing, and business strategies in existing, transitional, and start-up assets from $1mm to $12mm in annual revenues whilst simultaneously leading teams ranging from 15 to 90 members. During her hotel management career, Yolunda oversaw renovations and redevelopment projects ranging from as little as $1mm to upwards of $10mm.
Since living in Charlottesville, Yolunda has endeavored to contribute positively to the fabric of what is deemed as “community” by: volunteering as a GED tutor for the Adult Learning Center, acting as a facilitator for Dialogue on Race, community organizing for the City of Promise, and helping to create a social networking organization to connect African Americans in Charlottesville known as the Black Professional Network to name a few. Yolunda also decided to return to college to get her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration while also participating in and volunteering for an entrepreneur development program known as Community Investment Collaborative which led to the development of her co-owned business, A Taste of Home Southern Cuisine; a food truck and catering business. Yolunda’s desire to work more effectively in her community led to her participation in Board Development Academy through the Center for Non-Profit Excellence. Upon completion of her board training Yolunda began serving on the board of Girl Scouts of the Virginia Skyline, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and BPN. Yolunda was raised to believe in the Golden Rule, to seek to give more than you seek to receive, and to bring forth thoughtful solutions to challenging opportunities. These values are what drive her vision and her purpose.

Sponsors and Partners

Community

The State of Black Entrepreneurship in Virginia

Membership Week event

Blair Durham

President / Co-Founder of Black BRAND

Crystal Cobbs

Owner at Cobbs Consulting

Ronald Busby

As President/CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.

Yolunda Harrell

CEO & Co-Founder of New Hill Development Corporation

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