24 Black Professionals Making History In The Bay Area
Honoring Black History By Creating Black History
To honor Black History this year I want to help others to create their own Black History through community.
What follows is a list of 24 Black Professionals in the Bay Area who are changing narratives and making impacts globally.
This post is a proclamation.
A call-to-action to honor the Black Pioneers, Entrepreneurs, Scientists, and Change-makers who came before us by intentionally connecting & co-creating with one another.
If you need support, inspiration, or just a dose of Black Magic connect with this community!
I’ve split this list in half; acknowledging 12 Women and 12 Men to prove how much amazing representation exists.
# 1 Tiffany Shumate
At her core Tiffany is a connector, educator and strategist.
I first had the pleasure of meeting Tiffany when we worked on the CTRL + Shift Project with Hack The Hood.
The piece was a video project that uplifted the challenges, successes, and nuanced life experiences of professionals of color working in tech.
The mission was to help Bay Area Youth see themselves reflected in an industry which is taking over an increasingly gentrified Bay Area.
Tiffany is currently the Senior Director of University Programs at AI4ALL.
They’re on a mission to increase diversity in artificial intelligence and create a world where AI is built by people who represent diverse populations.
Tiffany has partnered with top-tier artificial intelligence/computer science universities to provide summer education programming to high school students from underrepresented groups in AI.
Speak to Tiffany if you’re looking to break into AI or if you’re simply need a lift in your spirits. Love you sis!
And happy belated birthday as of writing this piece 😉
#2 Dena Metili Mwangi
Dena is a Software Engineer at Pinterest who’s committed to mentorship, using technology for good, and increasing Inclusion and Diversity in tech.
We first met at Code In Color’s meet-up; Founded by Nathan Murthy who’s also on this list. We all family y'all 😃!
Whether she’s facilitating a Code In Color event or mentoring with Hackbright Academy, there’s a genuine energy to Dena that’s refreshing to be around.
Speak to Dena if you’re looking to break into software engineering or public speaking.
#3 Tashae Hawkins
I’ve been working with Tashae ever since I moved to the Bay Area in 2016.
She was one of the first people that gave me the opportunity to give back to Oakland youth through Hack The Hood.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and experiencing her grow as a Speaker, Coach, and Entrepreneur. We’ve collaborated on panels & workshops, but you can also catch us at concerts and happy hours together.
Speak with Tashae if you want to be around someone that’s authentically themselves all the time. Also connect with her if you know youth in the Bay Area that are looking to break into technology and level up their skills.
#4 Teshone Jones
Teshone has a beautiful soul.
Spend 5 minutes with her and your confidence will sky rocket because of how infectious her positivity is.
In my eyes she’s a Renaissance Woman; meaning she does a little bit of everything.
Her bread and butter is strategy, storytelling, and branding through Fenyx Consulting which she Founded herself. But it seems like every time we speak she’s starting a new business or initiative to positively impact the world.
Speak with Teshone if you need inspiration or if your business needs help with branding and storytelling.
#5 Lucy Basta
Lucy is a remarkable human being. And I don’t say that lightly.
She’s an empathetic leader, entrepreneur and phenomenal coach.
I’ve walked away from many of our conversations in deep reflection about love, leadership, and legacy. To say she’s an inspiration would be an understatement.
I had the pleasure of working with her first hand while at Outco Inc.
In 2018, her and Whitney Cole Co-Founded WorkWell to empower job seekers through an intensive interview skills bootcamp that’s helping create equality in tech.
Speak to Lucy if you’re looking to finesse your next career opportunity or want to feel seen and heard through authentic conversation.
Thank you for all the work you do Lucy!
#6 Iris Nevins
The fist word that comes to mind when I think of Iris is “SHARP”.
Iris and I met while she was completing a coding bootcamp(Dev Bootcamp) in 2017. I could tell how sharp she was by the level of questions she asked.
After Dev Bootcamp she landed her first full-time Software Engineer opportunity with MailChimp. Check out the podcast below to learn more about how she broke into tech:
She started her career as a Teacher and Social Activist.
After leading development initiatives and co-founding a social justice organization, she began to realize software’s potential to solve some of the unique problems that social justice movements face.
Her and I are good friends because of her gusto for making a meaningful difference in this world and the empathy she brings to every interaction we have together.
Thank you Iris!
#7 Kabi Gishuru
Kabi is by far one of the best recruiters I know.
Kabi’s a natural connector and once you get to know her you notice that she’ll always have your back.
Kabi and I met at the second AfroTech conference I ever attended.
She spent several years at Lyft building teams, diversity programs, and much more. After making a name for herself at Lyft, she joined Netflix where she’s helping lead their Diversity Recruiting efforts.
Netflix arguably has some of the best recruiting talent in the world and is notorious for only hiring the best people. That should tell you a lot about Kabi.
Speak to her if you’re looking to work at Netflix or break into the recruiting space. As with all of the amazing folks on this list. Please do your research and come correct before reaching out.
#8 Faye Hayes
I met Faye during my time at Dev Bootcamp back in 2017.
She’s a self-taught Software Engineer and Entrepreneur who prioritizes impact with every project she touches.
I immediately gravitated toward her humor, positivity, and keen sense of style when we first met. She’s the type of person that goes out of her way to support friends.
I’ve had the privilege of calling her a friend and as a result she’s shown up to support countless events and workshops I’ve hosted.
Thank you Faye! 🙏🏾
Speak to Faye if you’re looking to break in the tech industry or get your own business off the ground.
Tayleur is the Co-Owner of Gold Beams and is on a mission to build bridges between brands and consumers.
Gold Beams emerged in 2018 with its signature event, Second Mondays.
The first Second Mondays event hosted 7 creatives sharing their art around a dining room table. At their 12th (anniversary) event, they hosted 150 attendees and now average 100 attendees on a monthly basis.
If you want to be surrounded with black joy and authenticity, then Second Mondays is the event for you. This is especially for all you creatives out there.
Whether your canvas is spoken word or the saxophone, Second Mondays creates space for you to share your art with a loving community.
Speak to Tayleur if you want to get on the open mic or if your company needs specially curated events.
Her and Maud (her Co-Founder) are also writers and spoken word artists who have performed at Google, Band Camp, festivals and more!
Thank you Tayleur (and Maud!) for creating space for our people.
#10 Lisa “Fancyfied” Francoeur
Lisa Francoeur is the daughter of a champion bull rider and a proud Haitian American whose philosophy is “Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable”.
She’s the Founder of Fancyfied, an empowerment, lifestyle brand whose vision is to scale empowerment globally.
Currently, she’s also the Head of Strategic Partnerships at NextPlay Events. Nextplay is changing the way black tech professionals engage with recruiters through cultural events.
I had my first encounter with Lisa in the summer of 2019 when NextPlay announced her as their newest team member. She had Hov as her intro music to the stage and immediately I thought, “yassss sis!”
Like many of the professionals on this list her energy is a whole vibe, her intentions are pure, and you know you’re in the presence of greatness when she’s around.
Speak to Lisa and join the Nextplay community if you’re a professional of color who wants to be 20x more likely to land their next dream job.
#11 Lindsey Siegel
Lindsey is currently focused on helping teams globally explore authentic leadership, connection, and cross-functional collaboration.
An advocate and expert in Diversity & Inclusion work, Lindsey previously lead inclusive Management training at Salesforce before joining VMWare in 2018.
As the Global Program Manager for Cultivate Equality at Salesforce, she helped provide people managers with the tools to get the best out of their entire team by exploring the essential elements of becoming an inclusive leader. Facilitating 100 workshops, reaching 24 cities, with 70+ senior executive co-facilitators.
She excels because of how infectious her own authenticity is. I’ve walked away from conversations with Lindsey ready to lead and step into my greatness.
Reach out to this sister only if you’re ready to do the internal work required to be an inclusive leader. Thank you for everything you do Lindsey!
#12 Yemi Belachew
Yemi has one of the brightest souls in the Bay Area.
She’s currently a Talent Acquisition leader at RaiseMe. RaiseMe is on a mission to improve access to higher education by transforming the way billions of dollars of financial aid gets distributed and making sure that all students have the opportunity to achieve their college and career ambitions.
She’s phenomenal at this work because she genuinely cares.
Yemi’s a testament to the difference we can all make in the world when we commit to making a positive impact.
Yemi also does a lot of volunteer work in the Bay, so speak with her if you’re looking for opportunities to give back in your local community.
Thank you Yemi!
#13 Jasmine Fuego Saavedra **BONUS**
Jasmine is an Entrepreneur, social media expert, and an event coordination savant. She’s passionate about building community and has years of experience in event production, social media management, workshop facilitation, and partnerships.
More importantly, she is a southern raised, Oakland based coach, event producer, and musical artist. She’s also the Founder of Healin’ Myself, an online intensive which supports women in crushing their impostor syndrome, finding their inner confidence, and creating a plan to live their #bestlives now! In short: She’s a bridge builder.
Jasmine and I met during 2019’s AfroTech conference and I’ve been inspired by her work ever since.
Dance and movement are her meditation so if she’s not at an event speaking/coordinating you can catch her cutting up on the dance floor.
Speak with Jasmine if you’r ready to live your best life and step into your own black excellence.
#1 Michael McNair
Money Mike…aka the Black Bill Nye mixed with a little Tony Stark.
I love you fam!
We originally met in 2016 through Startingbloc; a leadership fellowship for individuals looking to make a difference through social impact work.
This brother is the epitome of strength and discipline in my eyes.
Basketball was one of his first loves, but he’s a Neuroscientist and Entrepreneur at heart.
Speak to Mike for anything related to AI, Neural Networks, and how technology will impact our lives over the next 20 years.
If you speak to him be prepared for a laugh and a scientific lecture with cliff notes & citations included 😆. Love you Mike!
#2 Torin Perez
Torin positively impacted my life in ways that are hard to articulate.
Torin and I were connected through a mutual friend and Torin inspired me to complete Startingbloc (previously mentioned).
That was in 2015. A year later I secured a referral (through Startingbloc) that helped me land my first job in California. Torin is a testament to how one conversation can change the trajectory of your entire life.
Torin is a Keynote Speaker, Author, D&I Influencer, and so much more. His tag line says it all, “He’s here to shake things up and uplift as many people as he can.”
Get in touch with Torin if you’re inspired by this video of him in action:
You can also get some real leadership gems in his book: Who Am I to Lead? The World Is Waiting for You.
#3 Ife Ajiboye
Ife is possibly one of the most articulate people I’ve ever met.
I thought I was pretty well-spoken until I met Ife.
By day, Ife’s a Software Engineer at Segment and by night he’s an open source contributor and civil hacker.
With a background in Bio-Chemistry and an endless curiosity for knowledge, he’s one of the smartest people I know.
More importantly, he’s a really thoughtful friend.
Ife attends 95% of the events I invite him to; whether I’m a speaker or attendee, he shows up. I can’t even say that about myself sometimes.
Reach out to Ife if you want to learn more about open source projects or software engineering. Be sure to ask him what he’s reading lately; he always has an interesting answer.
#4 Fred Mathieu
Fred aka DaDirector, is best known for consistently flourishing and creating space for other black professionals to thrive.
For me, Fred is the definition of, “Game Recognize Game”.
Within my first few conversations with Fred I knew he had the same work ethic and energy as I did. We been flourishing together ever since.
Fred is an Educator, Creative, Recruiter and much more!
He also Founded For The Culture Media with the mission of curating content and experiences that help inform, inspire, and engage multicultural millennials.
Only contact Fred if you’re about that action. For real.
#5 Christopher Lafayette
I had to mention this brother because one of his slogans is “Build Together”, which is the mission of this post.
I spoke on a panel with Chris in late 2019 and was extremely impressed and humbled by his presence. I joined the panel last minute and didn’t know heavy hitters like him would be there.
When you’re around Chris you need to be taking notes, otherwise there will be a dozen gems you miss out on.
At a high level, Chris is a Silicon Valley native and international speaker.
He’s focused on working with corporations and startups to bring eco-culture into hardware, software, and content development.
Chris is another brother on this list who’s energy is just different.
When you speak to Chris he’s your biggest cheerleader but he simultaneously challenges you to question how you might level up your entire existence.
Only speak to Chris if you’re ready to come correct.
#6 Corey A. Harris
aka “Trap House” Corey.
If you didn’t know, Corey defines Trappin’ with the following equation:
Innovate + Hustle + Share = Trappin’
Funny thing is, I met Corey through Mike McNair but he has a very similar energy to Fred. After a few conversations with Corey I sensed how sharp of an individual he was.
By day Corey’s a Growth Account Executive at Twilio, and by night he hosts a community called Tech Trap House who’s mission is to bridge the gap between people of color and economic opportunities in tech.
He once told me about how he prepared for his interview at Twilio and I was immediately impressed. I could tell that not only was he smart, he was also disciplined and calculated. All traits I try to embody.
Contact Corey if you’re interested in sponsoring a Tech Trap House event, learning more about Twilio, or discovering how to Trap authentically.
#7 Nathan Murthy
Nathan is the Founder of Code In Color, a meet up group who’s soul mission of is to engender a cultural appreciation for software as an artistic medium for creative expression and storytelling.
By day Nathan is a Software Engineer at Tesla, and when he’s not hosting a Code In Color event you can catch up creating films and short stories.
If nothing else, make sure you attend a Code In Color Event.
Nathan, thank you for creating platforms for people like myself to share our gifts and wisdom with your community!
#8 Joshua Encarnacion
When I think of Josh the first thing that comes to mind is: FLOURISH.
If you know you know.
I met Josh back in 2017 and ever since the first lunch we shared it’s been all love. When I wanted to create my first podcast he was one of my first guests.
We barely knew one another but he made it a point to support me, and I love him for that.
This brother is one of the most well read and disciplined people that I know. He was also the one that inspired me to wake up earlier and start journaling more. So much so that I wrote a blog post about it 👇🏾.
He has a huge heart and you can always tell when you’re at a party with Josh. He’s usually the first on the dance floor and his booming laughter and voice can be heard from a mile away.
Currently he’s the CEO of Outco Inc. A 5-week program that helps software engineers master the technical interview and land careers they love.
Definitely slide into his DMs if you’re a software engineer job searching. Also contact Josh if you’re serious about reading books he might recommend you.
#9 Alexander & Onye Okafor
I’m cheating a little bit here, but I wanted to highlight Alex & Onye at the same time to truly do their body of work justice. I met these two brothers towards the end of 2019 and I couldn’t be more grateful.
They are the Co-Founders of Win For the Culture where their aim is to enrich, empower, support, and affirm Black people. All of their initiatives are specifically designed with this end in mind.
Take for example their 2nd Annual Black Renaissance Gala that took place this February. Talk about the definition of Black Joy!
Not only was the event amazing, it was refreshing to be surrounded by energy grounded in celebrating blackness.
By day Alex works with /dev/Color creating access for Black Software Engineers.
While Onye is currently on the Account Executive team at Zoom and sports 5 years of SAAS experience working for some of the world most dynamic companies like LinkedIn, Salesforce and Zenefits.
#10 Kevin Wiggins
By day Kevin is a Community Builder at Culture Amp.
Shameless plug: My company currently uses their product and it’s a pretty amazing tool that makes it easy to collect, understand and act on employee feedback.
By night Kevin is part of the Black Excellence Band.
If you don’t follow them you’re missing out on Black History in the making.
Kevin plays the violin which adds beautiful melodies to the band’s already contagious energy.
Speak to Kevin if you want to learn more about classical music, community building, and sports (catch him on the court; his jumpshot is solid AF).
#11 Jerrid Matthews , Ph. D.
Jerrid is a good brother of mine that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the last year. To say this brother is sharp would be a bit of an understatement.
Strapped with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA, he’s also had tenures working at companies like IBM and Intel.
Similar to Ife, this guy shows up to nearly every event/social outing I invite him to when his schedule permits.
Don’t let his intellect fool you though, he’s also a kick-boxing practitioner.
Recently I got him to join one of my Jiu-Jitsu classes, and let me tell you, ya boy is strong!
Speak to Jerrid if you want to master Computer Science and Engineering. Also hit him up if you‘re about that martial arts life.
#12 Anthony Chidoro
Other than sharing a name with me, Anthony and I have a lot in common. Which is probably why he’s been such a solid friend.
By day he helps Pandora recruit amazing talent, and in the evenings he’s an artist by the name of A.C. Cool (his work is available on all streaming platforms).
I knew Anthony was a real one when him and I shared a mutual love for artist Lupe Fiasco. Most importantly, him and I both share a love for recruiting and connecting with brilliant individuals.
Speak to Anthony if you want to explore recruiting, music, or just need your spirits lifted. You can’t help but have a smile on your face in the presence of his energy.
