In 2022, with growing demand, the Black Professionals Network (BPN) launched three chapters across the nation: Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The Miami Chapter spun out of the founding organization created by Kenasha Paul, J.D., with the goal to provide members with deeper connections and uphold the founding org’s vision and mission to build an ecosystem of legacy builders.

From monthly networking mixers to members-only events, the Miami Chapter team provides a space for black professionals within Miami-Dade to connect and leverage resources while servicing the Broward County region in the interim too.

This year, the chapter has served over 1000 black professionals at the monthly mixers and generated a food and beverage economic impact of over $50,000 at participating venues and establishments. Members have secured numerous opportunities and advanced their professional goals through the relationships built within from job opportunities to new venture deals.

In addition, since 2019 the organization has recognized black professionals in the community that reflect the guiding principles and core values. Chapters now hold this distinct honor and members only nominate candidates for consideration. Congratulations once more to our 2022 Black Excellence Honorees:

The Miami Chapter is supported by a team of volunteers that help carry out the vision and mission. The 2022 Miami Chapter, led by Dreema Stokes as Chapter President and Dr. Whitney Watkins as Chapter Vice President, is made up of four (4) chapter committees: membership, events, communications, and partnership.

Membership Committee

The membership team is made up of members Dr. Egheosa Igbinoba, Pete Kennedy, Devon Stubbs, and Gina Mondesir who strategize on chapter membership growth and membership experiences with assistance from Chapter President Dreema Stokes in securing BPN pins for newly launched membership class pinning ceremonies. BPN pins this year were sponsored by Swift Sourcing.

Events Committee

When it comes to events, Renee Johnson, Jennifer Snell, and Clinton Powell execute the planning of chapter events such as networking mixers and member-only events. The committee assists with location selection and day of logistics to ensure Miami Chapter events run smoothly from start to finish.

Communications Committee

The Communications team, consisting of Nikki Svec and Jemal Le Grande, assists with chapter blog articles including topics such as chapter recaps, member-of-the-month interviews, and networking mixer business spotlights. Chapter Vice President Dr. Whitney Watkins assists the communications committee with the curation of the weekly Miami newsletter and Miami content on the chapters.bpn social media account. Also, this committee utilizes the private group space for the chapter on the BPN app for members to stay up to date on all things BPN and our partners.

Partnership Committee

Anastasia Saint-Eloi and Patrick Cohen make up the partnership committee, collaborating with local organizations to maximize the Chapter’s community reach and strategy and secure additional benefits for the membership.

Headquarters

The national organization headquartered here in South Florida and led by Kenasha Paul, J.D. provides oversight for all chapters, marketing, and specific community outreach events within the South Florida region including Shades of Melanin, Go Pro Fitness Camp, Juneteenth University’s Freedom Week, Black Business Month, and the Black Professionals Summit, the virtual quarterly masterclasses like Pathway to C-Suite and the Next Steps Mentoring program led by Cathrine Pollard, MBA, a mentoring program currently in partnership with FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture, and the Arts (FIUCARTA) for college students providing them guidance on navigating their degree-to-industry journey.

Stay tuned for an upcoming year of more events, content, and resources for you to maximize as you work towards your goals for the new year. The BPN community continues to grow and thrive thanks to members like you who support the organization throughout the year. Wishing a peaceful and happy holiday season to the Black Professional community!