Press release from Indianapolis Office of Minority and Women Business Development:
INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, Mayor Joe Hogsett joined the Office of Minority and Women Business Development (OMWBD) to award Consistent Care Transit LLC as the Certified Vendor of the Month for January 2023. Consistent Care Transit LLC was chosen as the Certified Vendor of the Month due to their commitment to diversity in honor of MLK Day on January 16.
“As a certified XBE, Consistent Care Transit represents our thriving and diverse local business landscape,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “But by addressing social and mobility needs for seniors and those living with disability, Renee and her staff are also building a more prosperous, humane, and equitable Indianapolis for us all.”
Consistent Care Transit LLC, a certified minority and women-owned business enterprise, offers seniors and others with difficulties living by themselves assistance with daily living activities, transportation, and 24- hour care in its adult residential care home. The business offers short and long-term care and helps keep its clients active by hosting free events in the community. Renee Coleman was inspired to start Consistent Care Transit LLC when she became the caregiver for her mother and cousin and had difficulty finding reliable transportation. Shortly after creating Consistent Care Transit for transportation assistance, she opened a group home dedicated to ‘helping those who once helped us.’ Consistent Care Transit has recently expanded to two locations, one on the north side and one on the south side of Indianapolis. Coleman is a part of the Indiana Black Expo’s (IBE) first minority cohort dedicated to sharing resources with other minority-owned business enterprises within the Indianapolis community.
“We would like to thank the Office of Minority Woman Business for awarding Consistent Care Transit LLC as Vendor of the Month,” says Renee Coleman. “A big shoutout to Mr. Ron Franklin and Mayor Hogsett for all their hard work and dedication for helping minority business owners.”
The Certified Vendor of the Month is an ongoing initiative between the City of Indianapolis Office of the Mayor and the Office of Minority and Women Business Development to bring attention to certified minority, women, veteran, and disabled-owned business enterprises (XBEs). Businesses chosen as the Certified Vendor of the Month are picked from the XBE Directory based on outstanding work in their field of business and service to the community.
The Indianapolis City-County Council recently passed a special resolution to show its support for a possible carbon credit program. Now the city will evaluate how it might benefit from such a program.
Carbon markets allow for businesses, municipalities and other organizations to purchase a carbon credit to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, according to the North East Foresters Association. A carbon credit provides ways for businesses to reduce their impacts on climate change by monetizing a single tree or acre.
The resolution, passed Dec. 5, doesn’t mean Indianapolis will definitely have a carbon credit program. Instead, councilor John Barth, who sponsored the resolution, said it’s about the council “expressing our support” to move the city toward having a program in the future. Establishing a carbon credit program would require passing an ordinance, which Barth said he hopes to do eventually. The resolution requires an update by November 2023 on timelines, a proposed model and potential outcomes of a program.
Exploring new public policy such as carbon credits can be challenging. Barth said he wants to make thoughtful, impactful decisions versus making decisions because something sounds exciting, which is why the council is looking at what it considers successful carbon credit programs in Seattle and Austin, Texas.
“My position is, let’s be confident in the steps we take by doing the appropriate research,” Barth said.
Councilor La Keisha Jackson said this is an opportunity for Indianapolis to be innovative for future generations.
“Trees heal,” Jackson said, which was a big reason why she supports the carbon credit program. Trees help reduce crime and stress, and they increase property value and bring foot traffic to businesses. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, a 10% increase in tree coverage can reduce crime by roughly 12%.
“In my council district, I want that equity for the community and equity for the youth,” Jackson said, who represents District 14 on the far east side.
The city and its partners are already planting thousands of trees a year and upholding Indy’s status as a certified “Tree City USA” for 34 consecutive years, according to the special resolution. The city has a goal of planting 30,000 trees by 2025; the Department of Public Works and its partners have planted more than 23,000 trees since 2018. However, the city can only fund upkeep of the trees for about three years.
A carbon credit program is one way to ensure that trees are healthy for years or even decades, said Jeremy Kranowitz, CEO and president of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
Additional upkeep for trees can make a difference in the survival of a tree, he said, and maintaining a tree past three years would mean more self-sufficient, thriving trees in Indianapolis.
“It’s in the city’s best interest to maintain those trees for their lifetime,” Kranowitz said.
There are opportunities for organizations to offset their carbon footprint, which would provide more of an incentive for corporations and even education institutions to become more sustainable as well.
“These are trees that I can see, touch and watch grow overtime. There’s something really enticing about having your carbon emissions offset right near where you live, work and play,” Kranowitz said.
Stringent requirements and limitations could prove difficult to register some trees in Indianapolis for carbon credits, he said. To get carbon credits for older trees, the city will have to demonstrate that the tree is at risk of being chopped down. If the tree is not at risk of being cut down, it can’t be used for carbon credits.
Carbon credits are not a quick fix to climate change, and it won’t generate massive amounts in revenue for the city, but Kranowitz said implementing carbon credits could be beneficial to the community, and every little bit helps.
“The important thing is that trees have value and right now, we’re not capturing any of that value,” Kranowitz said. “It is something that is measurable, and it is something that is making a difference, and it is something that I think we should be pursuing.”
Contact staff writer Jayden Kennett 317-762-7847 or email jaydenk@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @JournoJay.
Woman-owned business Colored Threads was awarded the December “vendor of the month” award from the Indianapolis Office of Minority and Women Business Development.
Founded by Laurie Rice-Salemi in 2002, Colored Threads provides logo-wear apparel, accessories and other promotional products. The business also donates products and services to nonprofits.
“We are honored to accept the award for the month of December and are grateful to all of our customers that have supported us throughout the years,” Rice-Salemi said in a statement.
Pacers fans may have noticed their game day snacking options are expanding as a program for minority guest chefs called The Kitchen returned with a new lineup of local chefs for the 2022-23 season.
Originally launched last year by the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Food Co., The Kitchen brings in local Black and other minority chefs from around Indianapolis to cook and serve their specialty dishes to fans on select game days.
Jerry Purvis, vice president of hospitality strategy for Fieldhouse Food Co., said each of the guest chefs partner with Gainbridge for a select amount of games, undergoing a short mentorship with Gainbridge Fieldhouse Food Co. as they prepare to present their signature dishes on a larger scale at The Kitchen stand on the main concourse in Section 17.
For the 2022-23 season, the program is hosting three Black chefs: Tasha Claylor of TStreet Eatz, Kenneth Hardiman Jr. of Forked Up Catering and Phillip Guy of Guy’s Cooking Creation.
Forked Up Catering, a veteran-owned and family-operated catering business, got its start in 2018, Hardiman said. Although he’s usually serving up a unique twist on homestyle Southern cuisine at festivals around Indiana, Hardiman said the guest chef program has been an opportunity to make people smile with his food — a fact made evident by the swarms of people flocking to his stand at a game earlier this month before the game had even started.
“The first game — to see people, you know, come back and say ‘it was amazing,’ — you know, one guy said he wanted to slap his mom,” Hardiman said with a chuckle. “I was like, ‘You might not want to do that.’ But yeah, it’s been an amazing experience.”
Hardiman and his wife took over The Kitchen during the Nov. 4, 7 and 9 games featuring a menu of a signature chicken tikka taco, roasted cauliflower and chickpeas in coconut curry and shrimp and grits — which Hardiman said included their signature secret sauce.
What’s in the secret sauce?
“I can’t tell ya,” Hardiman laughed, but added that the sauce is what takes the dish to “the next level.”
“I believe my specialty is just making sure that the food is flavorful regardless of what I make,” Hardiman said. “Some things are challenging, but at the end, it’s all about having everyone smile if they get anything, then being affordable.”
Last year, the guest chef program hosted six Black chefs and restaurant owners, including Terry Anthony of The Block Bistro & Grill, Monique and Kara Hawkins of Taste of Innova Wings + Greens and Chris Mitchell of Just Like Sunday.
Run by mother-daughter duo Monique and Kara Hawkins, Taste of Innova Wings + Greens first opened in June of 2021 at The Amp at 16 Tech as a way to bring their family together during the pandemic, but it was so successful at Gainbridge last season that they were invited back as a permanent feature at each of the games this season, Monique Hawkins, co-owner and co-founder, said.
“It’s really been a gift because we can be a testament,” Kara Hawkins said, “to what it looks like to be family, to work and continue the legacy with one another.”
During games, both Hawkins — dressed in matching black outfits and aprons donning their business name — are serving up their game day menu to Pacers fans on the Club Level fourth floor. That menu includes seasoned collard greens with smoked turkey, cauliflower, a specialty cocktail called “The Number 12” and three of their specialty wing flavors: Italian Parm, African Pepper Zest and Uncle Nearest Innova Chile — a whiskey-infused wing sauce that stemmed from a partnership with Uncle Nearest in June.
“That infused flavor came from one of the sauces I created during the chef program last year,” Monique Hawkins said. “It built up such great demand, and I knew that if I had an opportunity to come here, they’ve already had that taste and will be seeking for this.”
The guest chef program will continue throughout the 2022-23 Pacers season. For more information on the featured chefs and the games they’ll appear at visit gainbridgefieldhouse.com.
Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Indiana Minority Business Magazine, sister publication of the Indianapolis Recorder, will honor 15 awardees at the 16th annual Champions of Diversity Awards on Jan. 13, 2023, at the Marriott Downtown Indianapolis, 350 W. Maryland St.
Awardees include individuals and organizations that have shown a commitment to diversity in Indiana and have made an effort to impact the state’s minority communities.
A networking reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with dinner following at 6:30 p.m. The event will end at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Awardees are listed. Individual headshots are below.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award
• Dr. Toby Malichi — founder and CEO, Malichi Group Worldwide
Rosa Parks Trailblazer Award
• Karrah Herring, chief equity, inclusion and opportunity officer, state of Indiana
Lifetime Education Advocate Award
• The Mind Trust
President’s Choice Award
• Indiana Latino Institute
William G. Mays Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award
• Meticulous Design + Architecture — founding partners Ramon Morrison, Damon Hewlin and Brian Robinson
Award Winners
• Child Advocates
• Akilah Darden — founder and president, The Darden Group
• Angela B. Freeman — partner, intellectual property and patent attorney, Barnes & Thornburg
• Juan Gonzalez — president, KeyBank Central Indiana
• Ting Gootee — president & CEO, TechPoint
• Holli B. Harrington — senior director of equity & opportunity and diversity officer, Indianapolis Airport Authority
• International Marketplace Coalition
• Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies at Wabash College
• Brian Richardson Jr. — director, diversity equity and inclusion, Indianapolis Colts
• The Ross Foundation — Dee Ross, founder and CEO
• Robin Winston — president, Winston/Terrell Group
Sponsorships and tables are available for the 2023 Champions of Diversity awards dinner. For more information, please email championsofdiversity@indyrecorder.com.
Whether you’re looking to spruce up your living space or participate in a little self-care, Victoria Beaty believes tending to a house plant is the way to go.
Beaty is the owner and founder of The Botanical Bar, a Black- and woman-owned plant store in Indianapolis near the Bottleworks District. After operating as a pop-up shop for two years, Beaty said her brick-and-mortar store, which opened at 1103 N. College Ave. back in June, has blossomed into something beautiful for not only herself but the community.
“I can tell the difference between the excitement of when Black women come in the space versus when any other person comes in the space,” Beaty said. “They’re really excited to see themselves in the space.”
Beaty’s journey to plant aficionado didn’t begin as one might expect. She grew up in Indianapolis — in a neighborhood near the state fairgrounds — and studied public relations at IUPUI.
She moved around for a while, working for various restaurants, including in advertising for McDonald’s, before returning to Indy in 2018 to care for her sick grandmother.
When Beaty returned to Indianapolis, she said she had a new desire to learn farming after realizing she grew up in a food desert — or an area where access to fresh, local produce is scarce or unaffordable.
“I didn’t have a grocery store, didn’t have all the things that you think, you know, a neighborhood should have,” she said. “I really had no concept of how the food industry worked outside of fast-food chains.”
She then signed up for an urban farming program through Growing Places Indy, and by 2019, she was the executive director of the organization.
Growing inward and spreading wellness
Beaty said she believes having plants in spaces to create a more welcoming environment was intentional even before COVID-19.
Even when people were at home, they might not have had time to create the space they wanted to live or work in, she said. Once the pandemic kept people indoors, Beaty said people started to dedicate time to a project, home improvement or self-care — including caring for houseplants.
“Because we — none of us had a choice, right?” Beaty said. “We had to sit, and then as we started to come back outside, I think we still were intentional about creating spaces that were saved at home.”
Growing up, Beaty said her mom was a hairstylist and would burn her scalp when pressing out her hair.
“I would always go get some aloe and put it on my forehead and cheek or whatever it was,” she said, “and so you know early on I learned about the healing properties of plants.”
Beaty launched a website for her store, The Botanical Bar, and began operating through pop-up shops and farmers markets in November 2020. She even did a partnership with another Black woman at her shop at Bottleworks for about two years before the desire for her own storefront became too strong to ignore.
“The intimacy of coming to shop for stuff in your home, especially plants, especially living beings, is really an experience that people prefer — at least in this city — to have in person,” she said.
The Botanical Bar
Inside The Botanical Bar, guests will find an extravagant array of leafy green plants to choose from, from the beginner-friendly marble queen pothos to low-maintenance cacti and succulents and everything in between.
Victoria Beaty began selling plants at pop-up shops before opening up her own brick-and-mortar in 2022. (Photo/Martina Jackson)
However, the store is also home to goods such as stationary, art, candles, coffee mugs and coffee made by other women of color in the community. From Shaunt’e Lewis’ paintings to records from Black artists playing over the store speakers, Beaty said she aims for her shop to be a place that Black women feel welcomed and comfortable.
“When I used to go to plant shops in the city, I didn’t feel welcomed,” she said. “People often didn’t even acknowledge you when you walked in.”
This is one of the reasons Beaty decided to open her own shop, making her the first Black woman-owned plant shop in the city, she said.
With The Botanical Bar, Beaty aimed to create a space where people can come in and make a day of picking out a house plant; it’s a place where one could come in, chat and leave with a plant feeling uplifted.
“When you’re checking in with your plants it’s a good time to check in with yourself,” Beaty said. “Like, have you had water today? Have you taken a minute to check in with your breath?”
Beyond the plants
Beaty said she stepped down from her position at Growing Places Indy a few months ago to dedicate more time to The Botanical Bar. In the last two weeks, she hosted a crystal workshop targeted at healing and wellness using crystals and plants in addition to a workshop with Lewis where guests painted pots.
Beaty hopes to introduce more monthly events in The Botanical Bar for the community to engage in self-care and wellness together. She also has plans to bring in speakers and launch a project in 2023 called “Let it Grow, Sis” that will allow women of color to take part in events and workshops focused on wellness for free.
The Botanical Bar is located at 1103 N. College Ave. and is open Wednesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information about the store and online shop can be found at thebotanicalbarindy.com.
Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Community members on the east side want to bring more employment, add housing options and provide green spaces to the former Black Mountain site on the corner of East Washington and Ewing streets.
The city and its consulting team asked the community what they wanted to see at the former site. Nearly half of the respondents said there needs to be better grocery options and places to eat, especially sit-down restaurants. Many expressed a desire for better pedestrian infrastructure, including improvements to connecting sidewalks and crosswalks, and better lighting in some areas. The few sidewalks that connect to the site are cited as unsafe or uninviting, according to the draft for public comment.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they wanted to see more parks and green spaces in the area. Green spaces are known to enhance youth support, reduce stress and violence, and improve physical and mental health. A green space would provide safer walking conditions.
The site allows for varied redevelopment options. The city has come up with three potential concepts to address the guiding principles that the community wants to see. The concepts include townhome residential space, small retail space, flex industrial space, and temporary or permanent green space.
A flex industrial space is a modern warehouse with taller ceilings, capable of holding modern HVAC equipment, flexible floorplans and more loading docks with wide turning radius for semis.
Scenario A The first scenario would be the best green infrastructure option to mitigate stormwater and emphasize conservation. Industrial flex space, which is a modern warehouse big enough for several loading docks, would address employment opportunities in the area and be developed on the north end of the site closer to East Washington Street. The rest of the land, approximately four acres, would be converted to a green space. The green space would need financial support or maintenance from the owner, according to an Indy Civic Comment online document. Details: • 20,000 square feet of flex industrial space • 5,000 square feet of office space • 24-foot ceilings • Approximately four acres of green space • Cost: Approximately $10 million
Scenario B The second scenario would be a mix of constructed materials and green space. This plan would develop multifamily housing and commercial space at the north end of the site. An industrial flex space would be developed at the south end of the site with green space in between. The green space would need financial support of maintenance from the owner. This scenario would address employment opportunities, mixed-income housing and green space. Details: • 70 housing units • 3,000 square feet of commercial space • Approximately four acres of green space • 20,000 square feet of flex industrial space • 5,000 square feet of office space • 24-foot ceilings • Cost: Approximately $26 million
Scenario C This scenario would include maximizing the use of the land as allowed by zoning requirements. This plan would also develop multifamily housing and commercial space at the north end of the site and flex industrial space at the south end of the site. The middle portion would be used as an interim green space until future development. This scenario would address employment opportunities, mixed-income housing and temporary green space. Details: • 70 housing units • 3,000 square feet commercial space • Approximately four acres of green space • 20,000 square feet of flex industrial space • 5,000 square feet of office space • 24-foot ceilings • Cost: Approximately $26 million A final draft of the community vision project is available for comment until Nov. 25. Comments can be made directly on the public draft document at indy.civiccomment.org.
Contact staff writer Jayden Kennett at 317-762- 7847 or by email jaydenk@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @JournoJay.
The City of Indianapolis Office of Minority and Women Business Development named GroundBreakers its “vendor of the month” for November.
GroundBreakders is a certified woman and veteran-owned business enterprise that performs non-destructive and precise hydrovac excavation services.
“I am thrilled GroundBreakers has received this honor, underscoring our commitment to our customers, employees, diversity, and community,” owner Andrea Sloan said in a statement. “As I look forward, GroundBreakers will continue to delight our customers, treasure our employees, champion diversity, and give back to our community.”
Businesses interested in becoming certified as a minority, woman, veteran, or disabled-owned business enterprise can learn more about the process and connect with OMWBD here.
During the summer of 2020, at the height of racial tensions coupled with the dire, disproportional impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the Central Indiana business community united to form Business Equity for Indy (BEI). Through this initiative — a partnership of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and Indy Chamber with support from the Indianapolis Urban League, led by 120 growing businesses — we’re working to create collaborative, sustainable solutions to dismantle more than 240 years of systemic racism, injustice and inequity that are preventing our Black and brown Hoosiers from opportunity and advancement.
The creation of BEI was quite daunting — with goals of growing a more inclusive business climate and greater equity and economic opportunities for the region’s Black residents and people of color — and yet, when I look back at the work that’s taken place over the last two years, I remain more energized each day.
Over the last two years, as the chairman of BEI, I’ve had a front row seat to the energy, effort and passion that Central Indiana businesses and business leaders of all sizes and from all industries have been able to demonstrate and maintain with their time, resources and commitments to this initiative. This is illustrated by the outcomes BEI has had to date and the impact of those outcomes have had on our most disenfranchised residents.
As BEI has grown, learned and evolved over the last two years, we’ve been able to make great strides in providing Central Indiana employers with resources to better support their Black and brown employees. Some of the most impactful accomplishments of the last two years of work include:
BEI’s Procurement & Participation Taskforce had been laser focused on creating opportunities for Central Indiana businesses to increase their supplier diversity. Through quarterly Procurement Roundtable events, contract-ready, Black-owned businesses are matched with Central Indiana businesses for multiyear, multi-dollar contracts.
BEI’s people initiative taskforces have united to create an inaugural Workforce Pilot. The intensive, two-year cohort is designed to assist companies with adopting evidence-based strategies alongside industry experts that will reduce disparities, drive equity, and support companies’ talent strategies. The participating companies will be announced later this year.
BEI’s Learning & Talent Taskforce hosted an Employer Opportunities Summit to connect business leaders across the Indy region with critical resources to address equity within their industries and companies. As a result of insights shared during the summit, the BEI website now houses these employer recommendations, free for companies to reference and implement within their own organizations.
Additionally, the Taskforce assembled a virtual Education and Workforce Development Catalogue available to the public. This resource allows companies to search a database filled with more than 200 local companies that are doing work to support the education and training needs of Black and Hispanic individuals, ages 0 to 25, in greater Indianapolis.
BEI’s Impediments to Health Taskforce assembled a first-of-its-kind Impediments to Health Playbook which provides a variety of recommendations that companies can consider implementing to improve equity across their companies and in the communities they serve.
Finally, BEI’s Public Policy Taskforce remains dedicated to building relationships, identifying and advocating for policies that remove barriers to opportunities for Black people and other people of color. The Public Policy Taskforce was able to leverage community partnerships that worked to shut down anti-CRT legislation in Indiana — Indiana was notably the first red state to accomplish this as reported by CNN.
Nearly all of the resources produced by BEI over the last two years are available to businesses across the country, free of charge — and that was an intentional decision by task force members. One of the things we excel at as Hoosiers is uniting to support one another. Through BEI, we’ve come to terms with the realization that our companies are on the equity spectrum. The journey of BEI is helping companies to understand if they’re leading the pack, in the middle of the pack, or just getting started in their actions to ensure equity and opportunity for Black and Brown employees — and that’s OK. The goal of BEI is to help companies understand their gaps today that lead to actionable steps toward equity tomorrow.
As BEI celebrates two years of work toward equity, we also recognize that in many ways, our journey is just beginning. Working together, we must continue to question how our actions today are leading to positive impacts and improvements in the quality of life for Black and Brown residents in the years to come. Some of our actions will succeed, and some of them will ultimately fail, but the energy, attitude, and commitment of Central Indiana leaders will allow us to make positive impacts and create equitable opportunities for everyone in our community.
Jeffrey A. Harrison is chairman of Business Equity for Indy.
A February 2021 Mckinsey report found some disturbing news concerning Black employees in the U.S. labor market, but the Edge Mentoring Annual Conference occurring this week in Indianapolis may have the key to reversing some negative trends for Black workers.
While recognition of very real disparities and in the labor force can’t be dismissed, mentoring and support from corporate leaders may be a necessary intervention to a bleak economic position for Black workers.
Mckinsey found that 43% of Black workers make less than $30,000 compared to only 29% of the rest of work force. The study found that one-third of Black workers face the risk of automation eliminating their job.
Locally, Black Indianapolis experienced double digit and even depression level unemployment for an entire decade between 2010 and 2019, with unemployment reaching as high as 19.8%.
Real barriers exist for Black workers, especially in corporate American and Tom Linebarger, Executive Chairman of Cummins, affirmed as much in an interview with the Indianapolis Recorder. “There are real challenges that Black and other underrepresented workers face that I don’t as a white male.”
Tom Linebarger
Linebarger also noted that his father was a painter and his mother worked in health care, but mentors were key in his professional and eventually personal development.
Linebarger shared his views on the role mentoring has played in his career and why it matters. “Having mentors has been critical to my own personal development as a professional,” he went on to say, “I wouldn’t be the leader I am today had it not been for my mentors.”
But for Cummins, mentorship it isn’t just about the job.
Mentoring relationships should involve developing the whole person, a key philosophy for Edge Mentoring—how one shows up as a parent and friend, as well as professional colleague is part of being a good leader.
Since 2005, Linebarger has ensured that Cummins invested in leadership development with some 400-500 Cummins employees participating in an internal leadership development program ran by organization managers.
As part of the program, Cummins leaders spend about 40 days working with employees throughout the organization to invest in their leadership.
He also believes that investing in yourself is key for forward progress in life, “If its education, or an executive coaching, or even fitness trainer you have to be continuously reinventing yourself.”
Linebarger also noted a shift in mindset can help people “be a leader of the assets in a business if that is your desire.”
More recently, there has been a surge in interest in entrepreneurship. This is important given that Indianapolis ranks 55 out of 85 metros in Black business formation.
Linebarger will be participating in Edge Mentoring’s Annual Conference this week with other community and corporate leaders. The local organization partners emerging leaders with mentors who work on whole person leadership development.
In our community, mentoring is the social capital that many of us may not have on the job. We also need sponsors — or people who say your name when there are opportunities when you are not in the room.
Edge Mentoring is a resource our community should consider engaging to find those whole person mentors while we cultivate sponsors on the job.
Marshawn Wolley is CEO of Black Onyx Management, Inc.
