The Spelman Messenger's Forty Under Forty
The Fantastic Four: Fierce and Fabulous Women
Dynamic, determined, innovative and captivating are the qualities our cover cover subjects embody. These four fantastic women -- Dr. Karen Fields-Lever, C'2003, LaDonna Boyd, C'2004, Fallon Wilson, Ph.D., C'2005, and Ashley Lamonthe, C'2006 -- exemplify excellence and are making inroads in their respective fields. They desire not only to be great, but the best, uplifting their communities every step of the way.
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LaDonna Boyd, C’2007, does not allow her chief executive officer title to isolate her. As CEO of R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp., Boyd is always looking for opportunities to partner with community organizations like Metro Nashville Public Schools where she supports an ongoing literacy campaign.
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Fallon Wilson, C'2005, along with partners Jurnell Cockhren and Jarrett Strickland, are co-founders of Black in Tech Nashville, an organization focused on educating citizens to thrive in the tech industry’s burgeoning space. In addition to BTN, Wilson is research director for Chicago-based Black Tech Mecca, a data-driven think tank focused on the collective power of the Black tech community.
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In 2011, Ashley Lamothe, C’2006, became the owner of a Chick-fil-A restaurant across the street from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles — making her, at the time, the company’s youngest African-American female franchisee.
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At 36, Dr. Karen FieldsLever, C’2003, is busy blazing trails of her own in dentistry. The owner of 28 to Brush Dental Studio, a thriving dental practice in Forest Park, Illinois, just west of Chicago, she recently celebrated its five-year anniversary. To date, her practice now services over 3,000 patients, from infants to seniors.