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Executive Leadership Team

Explore the driving force behind our association’s success. Get to know the dedicated individuals who lead the National Black Master Business Association towards empowerment, growth, and innovation. Learn about their diverse backgrounds, expertise, and unwavering commitment to advancing black-owned businesses across the nation. Meet the visionaries shaping our collective future today!

H. BEECHER HICKS III

President/CEO
H. Beecher Hicks III is an accomplished executive with a background as an investment banker, private equity investor, working in the executive branch of government, and as an entrepreneur. A lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), Henry will assume the President and CEO role in October 2023.

Most recently he served as the President and CEO of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) since 2013. During his tenure at NMAAM he completed a $60mm capital campaign, facilitated the museum design and construction, introduced public and school programming, and opened the iconic institution in January 2021, in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic.

Henry earned a bachelor of arts degree in marketing from Morehouse College and earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is a sought-after public speaker and writer, anticipating that his first book, Power in the Name, a story of family legacy, will be published in 2024.

Henry is husband to Crystal, a gifted elementary school teacher, and proud father to two grown sons.

Paula Fontana

Vice President, Corporate Partner Development
National Black MBA Association®
As Vice President of Corporate Partner Development, Paula leads the team whose efforts are to drive revenue growth through sponsorship and fund development. Paula is responsible for creating and executing a Sponsorship Strategy that identifies and pursues candidate organizations, packages association assets for presentation to those organizations, and fulfills sponsorship agreements in support of the association’s mission.

Paula’s commitment to developing meaningful, intertwined with her passion for impacting and enriching lives provides the platform to make an impactful difference in serving National Black MBA Association® partners and members.

Elaine Richardson, CMP

Vice President, Conference and Operations
In her role as Vice President, Conference and Operations, Elaine is responsible for the event strategy, design, planning, logistics and execution for NBMBAA’s in-person events. She is the chief architect of the NBMBAA® Annual Conference and Exposition, where she also manages Career Expo exhibit sales and the NBMBAA® Job Board. In her role, Elaine is also responsible for NBMBAA’s membership department, with a focus on member growth and retention strategy. She also supports NBMBAA’s overall live events portfolio, including the NBMBAA Leaders of Tomorrow®, board and other meetings.

Elaine has served as the main planner for the NBNBAA® Annual Conference and Exposition as an outsource partner since 2016, and then as a staff member since 2021. She shepherded the association through the pandemic switch and drove execution on the organization’s first fully virtual Conference in 2020, as well as its first hybrid Conference in 2021. With more than 20 years of experience serving associations, Elaine’s relationship with NBMBAA goes back to 2007, when, as an outsource partner, she built the organization’s media strategy and led the relaunch of Black MBA Magazine. For the last 16 years, Elaine has supported NBMBAA’s events, and media/communications as a writer/editor, NBMBAA’s publisher and then as a business event strategist. She has served as a strategic advisor to the last seven organization CEOs.

Prior to joining NBMBAA full time, Elaine spent 17 years at Naylor Association Solutions, where she supported media and event needs for non-profit associations across the country, working for national association clients, including the National Association of Home Builders, Association of Old Crows, National Urban League and Intermodal Association of North America, among many others. An award-winning journalist, Elaine served as the publisher and editor of Black MBA Magazine for five years and as publisher and managing editor of the Journal of Electronic Defense for more than 10 years. She has also written for The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Southtown, Money and Print magazines.

A native of the Chicago area, Elaine received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently an MBA candidate at the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She holds a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) Designation issued by the Events Industry Council and is a member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

Nyisha Hunt

Chief of Staff

Dr. Tan Morales

Chief Learning Officer

H. Beecher Hicks III President/CEO

H. Beecher Hicks III
President/CEO

H. Beecher Hicks III is an accomplished executive with a background as an investment banker, private equity investor, working in the executive branch of government, and as an entrepreneur. A lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), Henry will assume the President and CEO role in October 2023.

Most recently he served as the President and CEO of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) since 2013. During his tenure at NMAAM he completed a $60mm capital campaign, facilitated the museum design and construction, introduced public and school programming, and opened the iconic institution in January 2021, in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic.

Henry earned a bachelor of arts degree in marketing from Morehouse College and earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is a sought-after public speaker and writer, anticipating that his first book, Power in the Name, a story of family legacy, will be published in 2024.

Henry is husband to Crystal, a gifted elementary school teacher, and proud father to two grown sons.

Shawn H. Graham

SHAWN M. GRAHAM, CPA
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

As the Chief Financial Officer Shawn brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to her 30 years of experience leading global and national corporations in various industries. Her experience includes global brokerage firms, mergers and acquisitions for publicly traded broadcasting companies, and running her own executive and business coaching & consulting company. In her previous role as the Chief Financial Officer for the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (Authority), which is the owner of Grady Health System in Atlanta, GA, she was responsible for the oversight and compliance of Grady’s Pension Plan, endowment funds, investment strategies, uncompensated care reporting, bond issuance of the $250M Center for Advanced Surgical Services, and the financial reporting for the Authority.

Born and raised in New York City, Shawn graduated from Lehman College with her bachelor’s degree in accounting; her Certification in Public Accounting from the Georgia State Board of Accountancy, and her Business & Executive Coaching Certification from FocalPoint in San Diego, California. She is a Fellow of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Association of International Certified Accountants. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, Shawn was selected to the Atlanta Business League’s 100 Women of Influence, and in 2022 she received the League Leadership Award, now known as the Thomas W. Dortch Jr. Leadership Award. In 2023, she was selected as an Honored Listee for inclusion in the esteemed Marquis Who’s Who in America.

Shawn has always been passionate about working with the systemically excluded. Her community commitments include currently serving as Treasurer for the Atlanta Business League, Board Treasurer for the Legislative Black Caucus of Georgia Foundation, Inc., and member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter. In 2020, Shawn was appointed to serve a two-year term with the City of Atlanta Small Business Advisory Council.

Paula Fontana
VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC PROGRAMMING INITIATIVES

National Black MBA Association®

Paula’s commitment to understanding member needs and creating initiatives and programming to fill those needs, intertwined with her passion for impacting and enriching lives provides the platform to make an impactful difference in serving National Black MBA Association® members.

As Vice President of Strategic Programming Initiatives, Paula leads the team whose efforts are focused on the development, coordination, and implementation of new and existing programs and initiatives that help the NBMBAA® to fulfill its responsibility to members.

As a testament to her leadership and commitment to black excellence, Paula was nominated and selected to be a recipient of the 2022 BMe Vanguard award! BMe Vanguards are a collection of some of the brightest minds in fields such as business, education, public policy, culture, and social impact.

With a global mindset, Paula led the Association’s trade mission to Liberia and Ghana and currently serves on the board of the Forum on Education Abroad.

Roderick Douthit

RODERICK DOUTHIT
VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE PARTNER DEVELOPMENT

As Vice President of Corporate Partner Development, Roderick Douthit has responsibility to drive revenue growth through sponsorship and fund development. He also will create and execute a sponsorship strategy that identifies new opportunities and grows the relationship with existing partners.

Roderick has over 25 years of marketing experience working at AT&T, Cox Communications, and SunTrust. Prior to coming to the NBMBAA, Roderick worked for Truist in Sports and Entertainment Marketing. During his nine years there he successfully negotiated sponsorships with NFL, NBA, MLB, and MLS teams, as well as properties like the Historic Ryman Auditorium.

A native of Winston-Salem, NC, Roderick received a Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a Master’s degree from Georgia State University – J. Mack Robinson School of Business. Roderick is active in the community and serves on the Advisory Board for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Celebration Bowl, and Lakeside High School Touchdown Club.

Elaine

Elaine Richardson, CMP
Vice President, Conference and Operations

In her role as Vice President, Conference and Operations, Elaine is responsible for the event strategy, design, planning, logistics and execution for NBMBAA’s in-person events. She is the chief architect of the NBMBAA® Annual Conference and Exposition, where she also manages Career Expo exhibit sales and the NBMBAA® Job Board. In her role, Elaine is also responsible for NBMBAA’s membership department, with a focus on member growth and retention strategy. She also supports NBMBAA’s overall live events portfolio, including the NBMBAA Leaders of Tomorrow®, board and other meetings.

Elaine has served as the main planner for the NBNBAA® Annual Conference and Exposition as an outsource partner since 2016, and then as a staff member since 2021. She shepherded the association through the pandemic switch and drove execution on the organization’s first fully virtual Conference in 2020, as well as its first hybrid Conference in 2021.

With more than 20 years of experience serving associations, Elaine’s relationship with NBMBAA goes back to 2007, when, as an outsource partner, she built the organization’s media strategy and led the relaunch of Black MBA Magazine. For the last 16 years, Elaine has supported NBMBAA’s events, and media/communications as a writer/editor, NBMBAA’s publisher and then as a business event strategist. She has served as a strategic advisor to the last seven organization CEOs.

Prior to joining NBMBAA full time, Elaine spent 17 years at Naylor Association Solutions, where she supported media and event needs for non-profit associations across the country, working for national association clients, including the National Association of Home Builders, Association of Old Crows, National Urban League and Intermodal Association of North America, among many others. An award-winning journalist, Elaine served as the publisher and editor of Black MBA Magazine for five years and as publisher and managing editor of the Journal of Electronic Defense for more than 10 years. She has also written for The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Southtown, Money and Print magazines.

A native of the Chicago area, Elaine received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently an MBA candidate at the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She holds a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) Designation issued by the Events Industry Council and is a member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

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In the event that your credit card company requests a credit for charges, we will comply only to the extent that the request meets the requirements of the refund policy. (See above). Recurring Payments If you choose a recurring payments option to automatically renew your membership, you are responsible for canceling it prior to annual recurrence to avoid charges. Once charged, your membership will not be refunded. Notice of Photography and/or Videography As a condition of membership, individuals grant the National Black MBA Association an irrevocable nonexclusive license to use their name, image, voice and likeness for the purpose of advertising and promoting NBMBAA events, activities and products without any further approval from you or payment to you. It is the NBMBAA’s right to make visual and audio recordings, and still images of its members (collectively “Photography”) and to use the Photography and member’s name. However, none of the above shall be deemed as an endorsement for any NBMBAA product or service. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, members agree that the rights granted hereunder shall include the perpetual, worldwide right of NBMBAA to edit, telecast, rerun, record, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise exploit, in any manner and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised. Terms and Conditions are subject to change without prior notification. Revised: April 5, 2017. NBMBAA®