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CBE Advisory Group

The Center for Black Entrepreneurship was developed under the direction and guidance of an Advisory group composed of the following individuals:

David Clunie, BEA Executive Director

Richelieu Dennis, BEA Board Member; Founder of Sundial Brands, New Voices Fund for Women of Color, and Executive Chairman of Essence Ventures

Tony Coles, M.D., BEA Co-Chair;
CEO of Cerevel Therapeutics

Paul Judge, Ph.D., Tech Entrepreneur & Investor;
Co-Founder & Executive Chair of Pindrop Security

Charles Philips, BEA Co-Chair;
Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Recognize; Former CEO of Infor

Chris Lyons, BEA Advisory Board Member; Managing Partner of a16z’s Cultural Leadership Fund and Global Advisor to Verizon Media

Helene D. Gayle, M.D., MPH, President of Spelman College

Kneeland Youngblood, BEA Advisory Board Member; Founding Partner and Chairman of Pharos Capital Group

David Thomas, Ph.D., President of Morehouse College

Tia Breakley, BEA Board Member; Managing Director at Blackstone


CBE Faculty and Staff

  • Grant Warner, Ph.D., Inaugural Director, Center for Black Entrepreneurship 
  • Marionette Holmes - Chair, Ph.D., economics department and associate
    professor for economics
  • Jerry Volcy, Ph.D., Co-director, Spelman Innovation Lab  
  • Jaycee Holmes, Co-director, Spelman Innovation Lab
  • Eric Thompson, Assistant director and Spelman Innovation Lab manager
  • Sonya Rush, Director, Spelpreneur

Roundtable Discussion on the Center for Black Entrepreneurship


BEA Foundation Webinar on the Center for Black Entrepreneurship