Kezia M.
Williams
Founder & CEO
The Black upStart
“Black entrepreneurs are more likely to start businesses that serve a Black economic need, create Black employment, give back to Black charitable causes and foster generational wealth,” says Kezia M. Williams, founder and CEO of The Black upStart, a national initiative to train Black entrepreneurs. “When Black-owned businesses thrive, the Black community does, too.”
Financial literacy is essential to dismantling generations of racial wealth inequities, Williams says. The Black upStart offers culturally relevant training, bootcamps and other resources for current and aspiring business leaders. What’s more, 80% of entrepreneurs who’ve participated in The Black upStart are women. Williams also helped launch #MyBlackReceipt in 2020, a social media movement encouraging consumers to support Black-owned businesses and post their receipts. More than $7.7 million in receipts were collected in just a few weeks.
When Black-owned businesses thrive, the Black community does, too.”
Ross
Mac
Former Wall Street Professional & Financial Educator
Thousands profit from all that Ross Mac learned as an Ivy League student at Wharton and in his jobs on Wall Street. But they benefit even more from his experience as a Black youth growing up on Chicago’s South Side. “Discussions about money were taboo in our community,” he recalls. “I wanted to approach it differently. I make people laugh and I bring their guards down so they can better receive the information. That can change a person’s perspective and have them take the necessary steps to become financially literate.”
Mac uses humor, hip hop metaphors and culturally resonant examples in his YouTube series, teaching lessons about money–from saving to investing to debt elimination and other important topics. His approach is accessible and plainspoken, yet irrefutably expert. An episode on how to start successful businesses, which included rapper Toosii, has been viewed more than 17,000 times. Over 4,000 people have viewed his episode on investing in the electric vehicle market. Altogether, his 57 free-to-view videos have been watched over 350,000 times.
I make people laugh and I bring their guards down so they can better receive the information. That can change a person’s perspective and have them take the necessary steps to become financially literate.”
Marla
Bilonick
President & CEO
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders
A Latina who's experienced financial insecurity firsthand, Marla Bilonick built her career at institutions advancing economic mobility for underinvested communities in the U.S. and Latin America. She now serves as president and CEO of the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, which supports non-profit organizations that promote economic mobility in Latino communities. “Latino leaders are able to serve Latino-owned small businesses with culturally and linguistically competent products and services,” Bilonick says. “But leaders across all racial and ethnic groups can support Latino-led small businesses by providing them equitable access to capital, advisory and technical support; facilitating their access to networks; and advocating for legislation and budget allocations that support their growth.”
Bilonick is the second woman and first Latino American to chair the advisory board for the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. In her role as a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, Bilonick advises the agency on initiatives to expand access to banking services for underserved populations.
Latino leaders are able to serve Latino-owned small businesses with culturally and linguistically competent products and services, but leaders across all racial and ethnic groups can support Latino-led small businesses."
Thriving Black-owned businesses often become mentors and reinvest in their communities."
Mandy
Bowman
Founder & CEO
Official Black Wall Street
At the age of 27, Mandy Bowman quit her corporate job as a social media manager to develop Official Black Wall Street, a location-based app that helps consumers find and support Black-owned businesses across the U.S. The platform is now a thriving digital marketplace that includes more than 6,000 businesses led by Black entrepreneurs who offer an expansive range of products and services, from mattress stores to restaurants to doll companies.
“It’s such a visually beautiful and effective platform and the Black-owned products and services we feature are a reflection of this,” says Bowman. Since its launch, Official Black Wall Street has been an important resource, and especially valuable to Black business owners and online shoppers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. “Thriving Black-owned businesses often become mentors and reinvest in their communities,” she says, showing aspiring entrepreneurs what’s possible.
Carlos
Mark
Executive Director
Pay Our Interns
As founder and executive director of Pay Our Interns, Carlos Mark Vera works to highlight how inequitable access to internships prevent particular student populations from competing for higher-paying jobs. Many Black and Latino students’ families don’t have the funds needed to complete an unpaid internship, explains Vera, who was part of the 2019 Forbes Under 30 Law & Policy list. Travel, housing, food and professional attire could easily exceed $6,000. “As a result, this high barrier to entry and lack of financial compensation discourage many students from pursuing such significant professional development opportunities, thus increasing a disparity already baked into the system,” he says.
Vera won a six-year battle to get the White House to pay interns in 2022, when Congress passed $150 million in funding for Congressional, White House and State Department internships, creating over 30,000 paid positions for students. “The racial wealth gap is real, and one way to help close it is to ensure that Black and Latino students can enter career pathways,” he says. Paid internships are just the start.
The racial wealth gap is real, and one way to help close it is to ensure that Black and Latino students can enter career pathways."
Vera
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