GLEN SHUMATE
Glen Shumate serves as the Executive Director of the Contractor Assistance Association and ACE Mentor Cleveland. Shumate leads the education, marketing, diversity & inclusion, workforce, and government/public affairs programs.
Shumate has over 25 years of leadership in marketing, communications, diversity & inclusion. Glen’s focus over the past several years in the construction Industry includes developing programs such as Construction Management Academy Program/ACE Mentoring (STEM education, scholarships, and internships for youth); Business Mentor Protégé programs (capacity building, relationships, business development); workforce and legislative advocacy/government affairs.
Shumate has distinguished himself as an innovator in communications & marketing, public affairs, and business development. He is committed to developing programs to increase engagement, program results, and communications. Glen is experienced in small business capacity building, and facilitating solutions (with public officials, institutions, and the public).
AMEERAH HERBERT
Ameerah Herbert is an experienced registered nurse and med spa owner who specializes in aesthetics, product safety, and client outcomes. After gaining 30 years of experience in the medical industry as a junior volunteer in the hospital, a medical assistant, a licensed practical nurse, and ultimately a registered nurse, she became the President of Noire Wellness and Aesthetics, Inc.
Ameerah is passionate about making med spa services accessible and affordable for people of color (who are largely excluded from mainstream spas), and identifying products that are safe for all types. At this phase in her business, her immediate goals include increasing brand awareness and educating people about the importance of prioritizing wellness. Her motto is, “Self-care is not selfish.”
KENYON FARROW
Kenyon Farrow (he/him) is a writer, activist, and media strategist. He is currently the Director of Communications with AVAC, an organization dedicated to expanding access to HIV prevention tools and advancing global health equity. He is the President of the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland.
Kenyon is a prolific essayist and author. His work has appeared in many anthologies the recent titles, Abolition for the People, Crisis & Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic, and Healing Justice Lineages. His work has also appeared in The Atlantic, BET.com, TheGrio, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Capital-Journal, Huffington Post, and The American Prospect.
DR. YVONNE POINTER
From humble beginnings, motivated by the brutal death of her daughter Gloria in 1984, a humanitarian, philanthropist, author, evangelist, and speaker, Dr. Yvonne Pointer has spent her lifetime faithfully serving and helping to improve the lives of others locally, nationally, and internationally.
She’s a frequent visitor to Ohio prisons. She founded the Midnight Basketball program in Cleveland; served as facility and mentor in CMSD’s Girl Power program; is the founder of the longstanding women’s support group Positive Plus, established the Gloria Pointer Scholarship Fund through College Now, and awards an annual $2,000 scholarship to students in John Hay High School; financially supports The Gloria Pointer Teen Movement in Ghana West Africa and is currently in the process of building.
