BLOG
Member Spotlight: Araceli Cruz-Marks
I believe in BlackFemaleProject because I have a Black daughter, and Black women are held to a completely different standard as soon as they walk into the room.
Member Spotlight: Kamika Dunlap
I have more than 20 years of experience as a leader specializing in strategic communications, storytelling, marketing, government affairs, public policy, and journalism.
Member Spotlight: Faye Carol
Because there aren’t a hell of a lot of people in organizations who are really practicing that and holding up Black women and actually supporting us in the many professions that we are in. That is a lot of the reason why we can exist – because of organizations like BlackFemaleProject.
Member Spotlight: Dr. Barbara Stroud
Black women, in addition to all other women of color, we need spaces where we see other Black women thriving because that is so rare to see. We tend to internalize the white supremacy narrative that we are less than or we can’t succeed. And even when we do succeed, we are told that we are an anomaly.
Member Spotlight: Robin McBride
One of the most important things we can do as business women, no matter what stage we are at in our business, is to uplift each other and become a resource for each other.
Member Spotlight: Audrey Cormier
I believe in the mission because of the part that talks about your ability to self-define success. Black women in corporate America have achieved some successes, but clearly there are many more things companies can do to create opportunities for Black women and women of color.
Member Spotlight: Valerie Goode
I appreciate that there are tools to help me reflect on my own and ask myself questions that I wouldn't have asked otherwise. Those tools became important for my professional and personal evolution.
Member Spotlight: Alexis Williams
It’s nice to be connected with other Black women who are in business and who are achieving their goals and their dreams and to be able to support each other without any judgment.
Member Spotlight: Kathryn Bradley
I believe in it because the healing and space that we need to process and simply spaces to be just don't exist for Black women and particularly not in our traditional work spaces, so BlackFemaleProject offers that space.
Member Spotlight: Regina Jackson
As a Black woman, I think it’s exceptionally important to hold space for us and our journeys. All too often, we are given the toughest jobs and not affirmed in our success.
Member Spotlight: Dr. Cathia Walters
BlackFemaleProject highlights who we are as a people and the variations that exist among us. To be able to see that and have it reflected not just to me but also to my kids and my grandkids—it’s just powerful beyond measure.
Member Spotlight: Alicia Meeks-Hunter
I believe in the mission because it’s true, and it encompasses a space for everybody. I think for me personally there have been moments in meetings where I don't feel comfortable speaking up, but I know that what other people are speaking into the space is true and resonates with me.
Member Spotlight: Sheila E. Lewis
Having stepped out of corporate America and created my own path with my two companies for the past 25 years afforded me the chance to look at things very differently. And my sense about being a Black female business owner changed when I had a company where I had employees.
Member Spotlight: Yvonne Williams-Castellanos
Every day Black women are asked to exploit ourselves for the benefit of others—to make slaves of ourselves and completely deny ourselves for the benefit of other people. And BlackFemaleProject firmly rejects this notion and says, “No, we’re not going to do that. We are going to uplift ourselves and affirm ourselves and our humanity for our own happiness and joy.”
Member Spotlight: Sandra Varner
I think the mission is reflective of who we are as Black women in the work space and every other space that we occupy. It’s central to our identity, our work, and our collective mission of being supportive of each other while fostering positive, uplifting, beneficial environments where we all thrive.
Member Spotlight: Ellie Tumbuan
There’s the reality of justice—that Black women deserve that. It’s also about understanding that, when Black women win, everybody wins. Period. Because of the known and unknown histories of what Black women have gone through in the workplace, the healing, the recognition, and the valuing of Black women need to not just be reconciled but prioritized.
Member Spotlight: Debrah Giles
My industry is philanthropy, and my expertise is youth development and cultural arts. I’m a program director at East Bay Community Foundation, where I lead our strategy around racial justice and equity, centering cultural arts.
Member Spotlight: Vaneese Johnson
Vaneese Johnson, The Boldness Coach™, is a certified executive coach, brand strategist, and award-winning small business consultant with more than 25 years of experience.
Member Spotlight: Olivia Christian
Olivia Christian has been working as a brand strategist for more than 15 years. Her clients include global brands like Google, Visa, and Amazon as well as nonprofit organizations providing life-advancing support to women, children, and vulnerable communities throughout the US.
Member Spotlight: Dr. Wendi Williams
Psychologist, advocate, and educator, Dr.Wendi Williams, applies her work at the intersection of education and psychology to her scholarship and leadership praxis.