Black History Month honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to African Americans living in the United States today.
National Geographic
February is #BlackHistoryMonth. We believe that we should celebrate Black Female Founders everyday, but in honor of the month – we wanted to highlight some Black Female Founders throughout the world!
Women Entrepreneurs International support all female founders from any and every background. We have a mission to close the gap between women and valuable resources to support their business growth.
We hope to shine a light on small businesses owned and operated by women.
Join us in celebrating some amazing Black Female Founders!
Charlee Black
Charlee Black (she/her) is a photographer + creative director based in the Midwest. She was born and raised in Indiana. Her studio practice is an exercise in power. She comes from a community of strong outspoken women, that is always who she represents in her work. Charlee shoots primarily women, moreso BIPOC. Good Friends, is where her community of talented friends and Charlee create work for emerging and established brands. As a Black woman, she was tired of seeing brands fumble when it came to representation in their brand. Not just from a consumer standpoint, but as a human being – it was hard for her to connect to brands that she couldn’t see herself in. Why would she spend money with someone who doesn’t even see her. She found this frustration to fuel Good Friends Studio.
Alyza Marie Brevard-Rodriguez
Alyza has served in the United States Navy as a military police officer for 7 years and is employed by New York State all while running a business, SW3AT Sauna Studio which has been nominated Emerging Business of the Year 2019 by NJBiz. Alyza affirmed her dedication to our country by deploying on one tour in the United States and one tour overseas in the Middle East under Operation Enduring Freedom. During her deployment, she initiated “Operation Boots on the Ground.” Mayor Fulop and the Jersey City Veterans Affairs Office co-sponsored this initiative. Alyza was able to collect gently worn boots from her fellow deployed Sailors and Marines, that were donated directly to Jersey City’s homeless veterans for the winter. Upon graduation in 2017, John Jay College of Criminal Justice awarded Alyza with their Graduate Achievement Award and the T-Mobile Graduate Award for Veterans for all of her hard work in and outside of the classroom. She was also named Sailor of the Year in 2018 and Hoboken Women to watch in 2019.
Diana Gaitirira
Rough Love Jewelry & Accessories is a trendy new online boutique that launched in July 2020. These hand-crafted items are made by Owner/Jewelry-Maker Diana Gaitirira. What started out as a Covid-19 hobby of jewelry making has exploded into an amazing business venture which offers a fresh take on accessories with a uniquely stunning line of rugged wear inspirational jewelry and accessories with a Southwestern, Caribbean, and urban swag.
Tee Hundley
Tee moved to Jersey City “temporarily” 10 years ago, but quickly fell in love with the city and made it her home. She had an idea to improve the lives of residents by offering superior beauty services in an
urban oasis. At that time she worked for a world renowned beauty & photography agency. ”Growing up” alongside many of the leaders in the fashion, beauty and editorial industries she decided to explore her passion for beauty services. She built her career to include an impressive clientele,
including Vogue, W Magazine, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent. And now she happily offers these services with the same vigor, quality, and expertise to the men and women of Jersey City. Tee also performs private nails and waxing services for celebrity and VIP clients in New York.
Meredith LeJeune
Meredith LeJeune is an award-winning public relations professional who has developed and executed high-impact media relations campaigns. A 15-year industry veteran, LeJeune has served on the board of directors of journalism and public relations organizations including the Hampton Roads chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Black Public Relations Society Atlanta and New York chapters, and the Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals, a local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Recognized as one of PRSA New York’s 2017 Top 15 professionals under 35, LeJeune is founder of Thought Bubble Communications, the New York-based boutique public relations firm. Her firm has been certified by the City of New York as a Minority/Woman Business or Enterprise. In this role, she frequently partners with clients and other agencies to develop and launch national campaigns for tech, entertainment, and real estate, as well as leading brands such as The National Black MBA Association, Coca-Cola and Toyota. She can be found on Instagram at @thoughtbubblecomm and online at http://www.thoughtbubblecommunications.com.
Lois Sarfo-Mensah
When it comes to business strategy & event management, Lois simply gets it. More importantly, she loves it too. As the master of connections, we bet she already knows the perfect person for your job.
She’s got the fire of an entrepreneur coupled with the calm of a strategist. Lois is driven by her own three pillars, three particularly strong women that have forged their way through life — creating opportunities and never settling for less — her three beautiful aunts. They have instilled in her that no matter what you want to do in this world and no matter how difficult it may seem, it is just a rock to overturn.
Lois made the leap to become a business owner doing exactly what drives her passion, gives her strength, and challenges her comfort level.
Chloe Taylor
Chloe Taylor is an author and entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the founder of Chloe Taylor Technology, a STEM education consulting company that partners with schools, businesses, and organizations looking to incorporate technology education for young learners. Chloe is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Social and Cultural History, and an additional certification from the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC). She has collaborated with brands including HP, BrainPOP, and Sphero Robotics to promote the importance of STEM education for youth, and to bring awareness to gender discrimination in the tech industry. In 2020, Chloe published her first book, “The Big Book of Invisible Technology”, a hands-on guide for children that introduces coding, robotics, machine learning, AI and many other topics. She has been a facilitator of the Girls Who Code program for five years and is a passionate advocate for gender and racial equity in the technology industry. Find more about Chloe online at ChloeTaylorTech.com and on social media @ChloeTaylorTech.
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