– DR. CLAUDE JONES –
Dr. Jones was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Care Alliance Health Center in August 2019. He will also serve a dual role as Chief Medical Officer. As CEO, he will provide executive oversight and leadership to ensure the health center has a long-term strategy to achieve its mission and financial objectives. Dr. Jones’s current interests include developing a strategic focus on social determinants of health and health equity, strengthening public and private partnerships, increased connection between public health and clinical medicine, and implementing an outcomes-driven approach to program policy and development. Formerly, he held the position of Senior Vice President/Chief Medical Officer for Jessie Trice Community Health Centers in Miami.
– RYAN RAMIREZ –
Ryan Ramirez is a sales leader who resides in the D.C. area. Ryan earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley & his master’s degree from George Washington. He currently sits as the Head of Partnerships for Walmart Business, which is the newly formed B2B extension of the Walmart eCommerce side of the organization. Walmart Business is designed to better serve small businesses & nonprofits and help them save time, money & hassle in purchasing the everyday items they need to continue running efficiently. Ryan is leading the efforts in partnering with organizations & associations to help amplify the visibility of Walmart Business. Ryan is also leading internal hiring initiatives to increase Hispanic representation at the corporate level and partnering with more Hispanic-serving institutions.
Outside of Walmart, Ryan sits on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit, United Charitable, based out of Northern Virginia, which focuses on offering Fiscal Sponsorships to simplify the complex needs of nonprofit administration. His passions include traveling the world with his lovely wife, Trishna, and spoiling his two amazing Goldendoodles, Zuko & Loki.
– DAMON WILLIAMS –
Williams, as a young entrepreneur, owned a Subway sandwich shop in the early ‘90s. He caught the comedy bug and hasn’t looked back.
Damon has worked with some of the most Iconic stars in show business, too many to mention. Damon earned the opening spot on the legendary KINGS OF COMEDY TOUR.
He also toured the US on the ROYAL COMEDY TOUR with numerous television stand-up appearances on several networks.
Damon sat in The Funny Chair on the TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW for eight years. Most recently, Damon executive produced and hosted his own eight-episode series LAUGH TONIGHT with DAMON WILLIAMS Now streaming on UrbanflixTV.
Williams is now tackling the acting field with cameos, memorable characters, and even a leading man role in the film HEAVEN ON SEVEN now streaming on Tubi and other platforms.
– HERBERT L. BELLAMY, JR. –
Herbert L. Bellamy, Jr. is a lifelong resident of the City of Buffalo. He is currently the C.E.O. of both Bellamy Enterprises and Buffalo Black Achievers, Inc. Herb began his entrepreneurial, personal, and civic development as a young man participating in several of the family businesses.
Later, he developed into a successful insurance broker and financial planner for over 20 years. Under the umbrella of Bellamy Enterprises, he has developed several businesses and is currently involved in managing numerous projects that are having a significant impact on Buffalo’s East Side.
Herb has been active on several boards and is the recipient of numerous professional, civic, and community organization awards.
Recently, in the November 4, 2022 edition of Buffalo Business First, Herb was ranked No. 5 in an article titled: “Power 100 Business Leaders of Color.”
– ROBERT E. JAMES II –
Robert leverages his experiences in banking, law, real estate development, and consulting to lead America’s only Black-owned multibank holding company, Carver Financial Corporation, and its operating subsidiaries, Carver State Bank in Savannah, GA and Alamerica Bank in Birmingham, AL, which was acquired in 2021. Robert, who was named to his current role with the holding company in 2021, has led the 95-year-old institution to several accomplishments over his fifteen-year tenure.
Prior to assuming his leadership role at Carver, Robert, a member of the Georgia and New York bars, was a partner at Golden Holley James LLP, documenting and closing over $25 billion in public finance transactions. Through his firm, Coastal Legacy Group, he successfully developed the Carver Commons shopping center in Savannah, bringing millions in private investment to the distressed Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard neighborhood. Robert served as a Managing Director & General Counsel of Diversiplex, Inc., a management-consulting firm that helped Fortune 500 companies.
– CHEF ERIC WELLS –
Chef Eric Wells is a personal chef, caterer, author, and culinary instructor. His company, Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services, began in 2004. He was the first African American graduate of The International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chesterland, Ohio in 2004.
Chef Wells specializes in preparing intimate dinners for two. He prepares romantic, 6-course meals in the comfort of couples’ home. He provides everything to make the romantic evening complete: from the freshest and most flavorful ingredients to designer china, a linen tablecloth and napkins, fresh flowers, and candles. Chef Wells also uses his own restaurant-quality cookware to ensure flawless food preparation. And, he totally cleans the kitchen after the event! So, his service is like having an upscale restaurant in your dining room.
Chef Wells also teaches cooking classes. He has been a culinary instructor at Cornucopia at Bridgeport Place in the Garden Valley neighborhood of Cleveland since it opened in 2012.
– KRIS KIRKPATRICK –
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Kris Kirkpatrick has been the Chief Financial Officer for The Jabali Group, LLC since 2021 and The AKA Team since 2018. He matriculated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 2015 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
Kris started his career as a financial analyst, working in New York City for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Moet Hennessy USA. At J.P. Morgan Chase, he managed and produced a daily $160-180 billion balance sheet for the Global Rates division trading desk, analyzed daily variances, and future trends, and provided reports to senior management to facilitate executive-level decision-making. He submitted and reviewed numerous weekly, monthly, and quarterly regulatory submissions on behalf of the Global Rates team pertaining to long-term debt, cash flow, offline derivative trade adjustments, and balance sheet balances. Kris created, automated, and maintained various complex financial schedules for multiple lines of business within Global Business Management.
– CHRIS BROUSSARD –
Chris is an internationally-known sports analyst, commentator, and broadcaster for the FOX Sports 1 television network and FOX Sports Radio. He is co-host of the daily morning show, First Things First, and can also be seen regularly on FS1’s Undisputed and The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Chris also co-hosts the nationally syndicated FOX Sports Radio show The Odd Couple with Rob Parker on weeknights.
Before joining FOX Sports in the Fall of 2016, Chris worked for 12 years as an NBA analyst and reporter at ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, and ESPN.com. In that role, he shared the screen with some of the NBA’s legendary figures, including Magic Johnson, with whom he co-starred on the KIA NBA Countdown Show. Chris’ achievements led to his being named one of the 100 Black History Makers of 2012 by Thegrio.com, the African-American news arm of NBC. He wrote for The New York Times from 1998-2004, the Akron Beacon Journal from 1994-1998, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1990-1994.
– PHILLIP COCKRELL –
Affectionately known as Dr. Flapp, he assumed the role of Cleveland State University’s (CSU) inaugural vice president for campus engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion in September 2021. Just prior to joining CSU, Dr. Flapp served as vice president for student affairs and vice provost at the University of Toledo (UToledo) from 2016-2021. Additionally, he serves as an adjunct graduate faculty member at UToledo and has taught at Mississippi University for Women and Jackson State University, as well as is a guest lecturer at many other colleges and universities.
A native of Columbus, Mississippi, Dr. Flapp holds a bachelor of science in family studies from Mississippi University for Women, a master of science in educational leadership/student affairs administration from Florida International University, and a doctor of philosophy in urban higher education from Jackson State University. Additionally, he has toured and studied higher education policies and practices abroad in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
– JONATHAN TYES –
Jonathan Tyes is a first-generation graduate of Morehouse College with a B.S. in Biology, and the MEDPREP program at the SIU School of Medicine.
He is currently a third-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and was selected to participate in the Distinction in Medical Education honors program by the medical school faculty. He is also pursuing a Master of Public Health degree in healthcare policy at Louisiana State University.
He is conducting research on factors that lead to low numbers of minorities in medicine and STEM fields.
Additionally, he is involved in research endeavors at the Stanford University Diabetes Research Center in conjunction with Stanford Pediatric Endocrinology, UofL Brown Cancer Center with the Department of Otolaryngology, and the Texas Children’s Hospital in the departments of Otolaryngology and Anesthesiology.
He is the founder of Mini Med School, a program designed to expose inner-city, under-represented minority students to careers in medicine.
