Unlocking the Doors to Access for Black-Owned Businesses - Funders and Founders Share Their Real Life Stories

Shelly Bell is a systems disruptor. She’s blazed new ways of thinking across the educational, political, and financial systems and scaled over 100 businesses across sectors.

Ehime is the Founder of Sweetkiwi, a CPG company which makes the best tasting, low calorie yet nutrient-dense treats.  She is a Visa grant recipient, a Sara Blakely X Spanx Grant Recipient, Acumen 2021 Fellow, the winner of Black Girls Venture DC pitch competition and many other awards.

Dana Todd Pope, born Dana Todd, is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist, author, illustrator, model, actress, and fashion designer from the South Side of Chicago. She describes her work as encouraging, disruptive, and self-affirming. In addition to her fine art, Dana is most noted for her children’s room home decor series, recently rebranded as Fearlessly Hue LLC

Troy has over 25 years' experience in the financial service industry. He has held leadership positions that include US Head of Product and Operations. At TD Bank, Troy led product, marketing, acquisitions, analytics, customer experience, and P&L accountability for consumer and small business credit card segments.

With a career that covers both media and technology, Donald Hawkins applies a diverse mix of skills to his role as Founder & Chief Executive Officer of his affinity neobank, First Boulevard.