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Mar
13 (CDT)
Tulsa
Ashli Sims
Emcee of Event and Managing Director at Build In Tulsa
Ashli Sims is a storyteller who breaks down barriers and opens doors so Black entrepreneurs can build wealth for themselves, their families, and future generations. She has twenty years of experience, working as a news reporter, an advocate for vulnerable children, a fundraiser and a nonprofit leader. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University and has a certificate in Nonprofit
anagement from the Oklahoma Center of Nonprofits. Ashli has raised more than $15 Million
for four different organizations. She joined the Build in Tulsa team in April of 2021, charged with
helping raise money for the effort, before she was promoted to lead the initiative in February of
2022. Since Build in Tulsa launched operations two and a half years ago, the network has grown to include 391 entrepreneurs, facilitating more than 5000 hours of training and coaching.
Ashli is an Aspen Institute 2023 Health Communities Fellow and serves on the board of 36 Degrees North in Tulsa and a community pantry and soup kitchen, Iron Gate. She’s been featured in Forbes, Essence, and Fortune. As Managing Director of Build in Tulsa, Ashli is helping reclaim the narrative: Black Wall Street is not a history lesson, but a blueprint. She believes the next Black-led billion dollar company will be based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Sessions
Nicole Barton
Owner & Photographer at Nicole Barton Photography
Nicole Barton is a professional photographer and filmmaker who has been in the industry for fifteen years. Over the course of her career, her work has earned Bronze and Silver metals in international photography competitions such as Portrait Masters. She is the creator of She Is Tulsa Magazine and her work has been published in Forbes, and Ebony Magazine, amongst others. She has been seen on the Oprah Winfrey Network, Channel 8 News, Channel 2 News, Fox 23 News, and News on 6. Empowering women of all sizes, shapes, shades, and ages through representation in gorgeous images has been her mission for over a decade. It is the bond she builds with the women she meets that drives her passion, as well as watching them transform through the experience of seeing themselves in a new way.
Sessions
Keynote Speaker- Nicole Barton (Nicole Barton Photography)
Wednesday Mar. 13 - 11:35am - 12:00pm (25 min)
Erica Kesse, LPC, M.A. operates as the Founder and CEO of Your Goal Concierge, Inc. She is the Entrepreneur's Therapist. She offers a Person Centered and Integrative Approach in giving safety, support, and enhancement to Entrepreneurs. Erica Kesse provides Corporate Training and Speaking services.
Erica holds a Bachelors in Professional Business Administration, Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Master of Arts in Civic Leadership.
Sessions
Cindi Carter
Economic Development Specialist/Native American Affairs Specialist at U.S. Small Business Administration
Cindi Carter has been with the U.S. Small Business Administration for 24 years and currently serves as an Economic Development Specialist and Native American Affairs Representative covering the State of Oklahoma. Cindi spent 13 years in Lender Relations.
Sessions
Keynote Speaker - Cindi Carter (US Small Business Administration)
Wednesday Mar. 13 - 01:25pm - 01:50pm (25 min)
A dynamic and visionary executive, Ayris has been a champion for women, entrepreneurs and communities of color, for nearly two decades. Her mission-oriented approach to addressing social inequities has led to transformative public-private partnerships with numerous global brands, as well as innovative policies and initiatives in which she has secured over $60M in funding, and administered more than $250M in grants and subsidies.
She currently serves as Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility & Global Initiatives for Nareit, the worldwide representative voice for REIT-based real estate investment with policymakers and the global investment community.
