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In a world that has lengthy glorified youth, the Forbes “50 Over 50” checklist serves as a reminder that success will be attained at any age — and infrequently, in center age and past. In its third annual installment of the checklist highlighting completed ladies over 50, this yr’s checklist shines a notable mild on Black ladies who’ve defied the chances and soared to new heights of success. In a convincing testomony to their outstanding achievements and boundless potential, Black ladies dominated this yr, and are greater than half of the “50 Over 50” honorees.
From groundbreaking entrepreneurs and visionary leaders to influential creatives and changemakers, these 26 Black ladies have left an indelible mark on their industries and the world.
Mimi Alemayehou
Mimi Alemayehou focuses on investing in Africa, working as a managing accomplice at Semai Ventures, a consulting agency for African companies. She can be a senior adviser at Three Cairns Group, a self-described “mission-driven funding and philanthropic agency” working to construct and help modern organizations and initiatives to speed up local weather motion.
Sheila Bridges
Sheila Bridges is the inventive mastermind behind the well-known Harlem Toile de Jouy print and designs. Along with having her work in museums worldwide, Bridges designed the interiors of Vice President Kamala Harris’ official residence and former President Invoice Clinton’s New York places of work.
Ertharin Cousin
Ertharin Cousin, former U.S. ambassador for meals safety, a previous govt director of the U.N. World Meals Programme and founding father of Meals Methods for the Future, has devoted her profession to eliminating world starvation by making meals inexpensive and accessible. The enterprise accelerator she based targets dietary issues in low-income U.S. and sub-Saharan African communities by supporting small companies and startups.
Cheryl McKissack Daniel
Cheryl McKissack Daniel is the president and CEO of the nation’s oldest minority-owned design and development agency, McKissack & McKissack. Underneath her management, McKissack & McKissack has been accountable for initiatives value $50 billion, together with the renovation of Terminal One at JFK Worldwide Airport and LaGuardia Airport’s central terminal redevelopment.
Viola Davis
Solely the third Black lady in historical past to attain EGOT standing, Viola Davis was a well-established actress earlier than her profession reached new heights in 2015. At 50, she turned the primary Black lady to win an Emmy within the Greatest Lead Actress in a Drama class for the hit collection “The best way to Get Away With Homicide.” A yr later, Davis gained an Oscar for the film adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences,” and has since turn out to be probably the most Oscar-nominated Black actress in historical past, in addition to a 2023 Grammy winner for voicing the audiobook of her bestselling memoir, “Discovering Me.”
Catherine Coleman Flowers
Catherine Coleman Flowers is an environmental justice advocate preventing for the advance of sanitation and water situations for communities of colour and indigenous individuals residing in rural and low-income environments. Since founding the Heart for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice in 2019, Flowers has served on quite a few boards, together with the White Home Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Kim Folsom
Kim Folsom is the founding father of not one however two companies supporting the expansion of small companies, together with First Capital Companions, the most important minority woman-owned funding agency for small and medium-sized corporations. Equally, Folsom based Founders First Neighborhood Growth Company, a development accelerator for small companies. Her work and dedication to supporting rising companies led her to accomplice with Vice President Kamala Harris and the Treasury Division for an inclusive $10 billion funding fund for small companies.
Robyn Gardenhire
On a mission to make ballet schooling extra accessible to college students of colour and low-income college students, Robyn Gardenhire based the Metropolis Ballet of Los Angeles. As a ballerina, Gardenhire pushed the College of American Ballet, the place she skilled, to extend its range. Her efforts resulted in Misty Copeland receiving the varsity’s first scholarship, kickstarting the prima ballerina’s profession.
Claudine Homosexual
Claudine Homosexual is Harvard College’s thirtieth president and the primary lady of colour to guide one of many nation’s oldest universities. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Homosexual acquired her bachelor’s diploma from Stanford and her Ph.D. from Harvard, the place she gained an award for finest political science dissertation. Since coming into workplace in July, Homosexual has needed to lead the college by way of the Supreme Courtroom’s choice on affirmative motion and school admissions.
Tracy Grey
Tracy Grey is the founder and managing accomplice of The 22 Fund, a enterprise capital fund for ladies and minority entrepreneurs with clear tech-based manufacturing corporations. Moreover, Grey was appointed to Los Angeles’ Fee on the Standing of Girls by Mayor Karen Bass and is the founding father of We Are Sufficient, a nonprofit group instructing all ladies the significance of investing in women-led companies.
Tracie D. Corridor
At 51, Tracie D. Corridor turned the primary Black lady to guide the American Library Affiliation as its govt director. In mild of the rising push to ban books, Corridor strengthened the affiliation’s in-house authorized protection fund and launched the “Unite In opposition to Guide Bans” initiative to assist communities combat in opposition to literary censorship.
Kim Heirston
Because the founder and principal of Kim Heirston Artwork Advisory, Kim Heirston is a thriving artwork adviser. Having labored with a variety of high-value art work, Heirston was recruited by Oprah Winfrey to assist curate the primary important sale of completely feminine artists’ work: “By Girls, For Tomorrow’s Girls” at Sotheby’s.
Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison was the primary Black lady to journey to area in 1992. Since then, Jemison has based 100 Yr Starship, an initiative devoted to creating human journey past the photo voltaic system doable inside the subsequent 100 years, with the monetary help of the U.S. Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives company.
Patti LaBelle
Generally often known as the “Godmother of Soul,” Patti LaBelle does greater than create hit information. Along with being a Grammy Award-winning artist, LaBelle is the co-founder of Patti’s Good Life, the consolation meals model behind the viral Patti LaBelle candy potato pie, peach cobbler, scorching sauces, and different meals primarily based on the star’s private recipes. Accessible at main grocery shops like Walmart and Goal, Patti’s Good Life merchandise earned $85 million in gross sales final yr, Forbes stories.
Dionne Mahaffey
Dionne Mahaffey is the founder and CEO of Tradition Greetings, an organization including range to the normal greeting card business. Since its founding in 2018, Mahaffey has partnered with Walgreens, permitting customers to customise playing cards that may be printed, mailed, or picked up at one of many 9,000 collaborating Walgreens or Duane Reade shops nationwide.
Depelsha McGruder
Along with serving as vice chairman, chief working officer, and treasurer of the Ford Basis, Depelsha McGruder is the founding father of Mothers of Black Boys United, also referred to as MOBB. Based in response to the rise of police brutality in opposition to Black boys and males, what began as a Fb group has now blossomed into two nonprofit organizations: MOBB United and MOBB United for Social Change.
Karen Nelson
Karen Nelson is a microbiologist working as chief scientific officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a provider of scientific devices, software program and chemical brokers. Nelson additionally acts as editor-in-chief of the Microbial Ecology journal and has authored and co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed works.
JoAnn Value
JoAnn Value cofounded Fairview Capital Companions nearly 30 years in the past. Within the years since, Value has led the corporate to handle over $10 billion in property and turn out to be one of many largest minority-owned enterprise capital and personal fairness funding companies.
Lacey Robinson
Lacey Robinson is CEO and president of UnboundED, knowledgeable growth platform for educators. Underneath Robinson’s management, the group pivoted to a digital mannequin in the course of the pandemic. It not too long ago merged with Pivot Studying and CORE Studying, making UnboundEd a outstanding nationwide chief in educator growth specializing in Ok-12 fairness.
Nina Shaw
Nina Shaw is a founding accomplice of the leisure regulation agency Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano. Along with Lupita Nyong’o and Jamie Foxx, Shaw’s consumer checklist comprises quite a few profitable actors, producers, administrators, writers, leisure executives, and others.
Lisa Skeete Tatum
Entrepreneur and enterprise capitalist Lisa Skeete Tatum based Landit, a profession platform connecting corporations and numerous candidates. Having launched the corporate in 2017, the identical yr Tatum turned 50, the medium was impressed by her expertise when attempting to vary profession paths.
Faye Wattleton
Faye Wattleton is a reproductive rights advocate and was the primary Black lady to function the president of Deliberate Parenthood in 1978. At this time, Wattleton has pivoted into the tech sphere because the founding father of EeroQ, a quantum computation-focused agency. EeroQ hopes to vary the healthcare, sustainability, finance, and manufacturing industries by utilizing quantum pc {hardware} to unravel issues sooner than common computer systems.
Brenda Darden Wilkerson
On a mission to diversify the tech business, Brenda Darden Wilkerson serves because the president and CEO of AnitaB.org, a nonprofit group working to make sure that “the individuals who think about and construct expertise mirror the individuals and societies for whom they construct it.” Having beforehand led IT and pc science schooling initiatives in Chicago Public Colleges, Wilkerson’s work impressed the Obama administration’s 2016 Pc Science For All program.
Verna Williams
Following tenures as a professor and dean on the College of Cincinnati Legislation College, Verna Williams joined Equal Justice Works as its latest CEO. Equal Justice Works generates funding and allows avenues for regulation college students and graduates pursuing careers within the public curiosity and equal justice fields. Williams was additionally requested to assist doc former first girl and classmate Michelle Obama’s journey, making a basis for Obama’s NYT bestseller, “Changing into.”
Fani Willis
Fani Willis is Fulton County’s district legal professional, making her the primary lady to serve Georgia’s largest county. With 24 years of authorized expertise, Willis launched a prison investigation on former President Donald Trump and his associates only one month into her position.
Jessie Woolley-Wilson
Jessie Woolley-Wilson serves as president and CEO of DreamBox Studying, a digital video game-style platform instructing youngsters math and studying expertise. The ed-tech program makes use of a inventive interface to extend college students’ retention and academic growth from Pre-Ok to twelfth grade.
For the complete checklist of Forbes’ “50 Over 50” honorees, click on right here.
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