On Dec. 6, the Center’s staff and board gathered with nearly 400 professionals from across the Twin Cities to celebrate Founder and CEO, Tawanna A. Black, as Twin Cities Business magazine’s 2021 “Person of the Year” for her leadership and impact to build a racially equitable and inclusive regional economy. This was a historic milestone for Tawanna, the Center, and the magazine, as Tawanna is TCB’s first Black founder to be recognized as Person of the Year.
“Today, four years after founding the Center for Economic Inclusion, the organization has grown to meet the urgency of the moment as thousands of people have put their own fingerprints on this audacious vision, working in shared accountability and shared power with Black and Brown people who must be at the center of our solutions for economic growth, resilience, and competitiveness. I am honored to work in solidarity with brilliant, loving, and committed leaders who work fiercely in relentless pursuit of an economy that truly works for everyone.”
Twin Cities Business also announced its list of the TCB 100: The People to Know in 2021, where Center board members were recognized, including Adair Mosley for his leadership as President and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities, and Dionne Gumbs, Founder and CEO of GenEQTY, a financial technology company that offers a digital lending platform designed to remove barriers for small and medium-sized businesses, particularly those owned by women and other diverse founders, and help them access the resources and funding to be successful
The night concluded with a conversation between TCB editor-in-chief Allison Kaplan and Tawanna. Watch it here: