Let me tell you about Girado Smith. When Maryland teachers, school staff, students and their families need a financial institution that actually understands the education community, they turn to Educational Systems Federal Credit Union — and since January 2023, Girado Smith has been the president and CEO steering it. The Work Smith leads Educational Systems…

Let me tell you about James Norman. Two days — that’s how long he and his co-founder stayed up building their first fund pitch, and that intensity became the blueprint for a firm now fighting to close the Series A funding gap. The Work Norman is co-founder and managing partner of Black Operator Ventures (Black…

Let me tell you about Tori Nichel. Four cities. One holiday season. And a platform built on a simple, stubborn premise — that Black designers belong at the front of the store, not in the footnote. That premise is now a national retail partnership and a $50,000 vote of confidence. The Work Nichel is the…

Let me tell you about Austin Clements. One hundred million dollars — that’s the size of the second fund his firm closed, and it was raised on a thesis much of Silicon Valley still treats as a gamble: that the founders everyone else overlooks are the best return in the market. The Work Clements is…

Let me tell you about Charles Hudson. Five hundred and counting. That’s how many startups Charles Hudson has backed since he started writing pre-seed and seed checks, and it makes him one of the most experienced early-stage investors in the country. As founder and managing partner of Precursor Ventures in San Francisco, he has spent…

Let me tell you about Cathy Adams. In Oakland, an economic recovery doesn’t announce itself with a single ribbon cutting. It shows up as a lease signed, a contract won, a payroll that holds through a slow quarter. Adams measures the city’s comeback in exactly those units — and then goes looking for more. The…

Let me tell you about Bernard Freeman. Four Houston-area restaurants, a burger that *Good Morning America* once named the best in America, and a drive-thru that now runs until 3 a.m. — that is the résumé he has built under the name Bun B. Hip-hop gave Bun B a life; he has spent the last…

Let me tell you about Kesha Cash. Sixty-five million dollars, twenty-five companies, one unicorn and three exits — built without a warm introduction or a family office bankroll behind her. The Work Cash is founder and general partner of Impact America Fund, the venture capital firm she launched in 2013 and is reported to be…

Let me tell you about Marlon Nichols. Six hundred million dollars in assets under management — and the thesis hasn’t moved an inch. Long before “culture” became a venture-capital buzzword, Nichols was already writing checks on it. The Work Nichols is the co-founder and managing general partner of MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage firm that…