Our story
empowering the black community
+
developing inspired leaders
Coalition of Black Excellence was started by Black professionals from over 40 organizations with the goal of building community among Black professionals. The entirely volunteer-led team launched CBE Week, a gathering designed to highlight excellence in the Black community, bring together talented Black professionals across different sectors, and strategically discuss advancing the Black community.
After a successful inaugural event, CBE formalized as a 501(c)3 and expanded its programming to include a Summit for Black professionals across sectors. In August 2019, CBE merged with The Recharge Group, an organization of Black professionals connecting to share unique experiences and strengthen African American Bay Area social bonds.
CBE activates its vision with its events at the Battery, featuring panel discussions across CBE’s professional development tracks, and through CBE Week. With partnership events, CBE Summit, Code Black Gala, and more, CBE programming serves as a platform for uniting, celebrating, and uplifting the Black community as a whole.
we envision a
unified & thriving
Black community
CBE is dedicated to unifying and elevating the Black community.
Our collective approach to racial equity and justice focuses on the (1) nonprofits dedicated to the Black community, (2) majority owned Black businesses, and (3) Black professionals across sectors.
"As an organization, our mission is to unify and elevate the Black community. We started our journey focused on bridging gaps in the Black community and creating spaces for Black professionals across generations, backgrounds, and industries to come together to support each other in our careers and business. Now, more than ever we need to break down silos, come together and find ways to leverage our collective expertises to elevate our community."
Angela Johnson & Marc Spencer
coalition of black excellence Co - CEOs
coalition of black excellence Co - CEOs
CBE goals:
Build
- To build coalitions that leverage assets effectively and efficiently to achieve collective impact across the Black community.
- To build an ecosystem that supports majority black owned businesses by providing access to human and financial capital.
- To build networks that provide opportunities for career mobility and help establish diverse talent pipelines across industries.
Promote
- To promote and celebrate nonprofits for the purpose of attracting human and financial capital and amplifying their impact.
- To promote and celebrate majority owned Black businesses, founders and entrepreneurs for the purpose of increasing access to capital and customer base.
- To promote and celebrate Black professionals across sectors by supporting their career growth, personal brand, and networking opportunities.
Inspire
- To inspire Black professionals to invest time, talent and treasure in deserving nonprofits.
- To inspire the circulation of Black dollars into Black businesses.
- To inspire professional and personal growth by highlighting Black professional excellence in the community.
"I recently moved to the Bay Area for a new job and hadn't had much interaction with black professionals until the CBE Summit. It was refreshing and reinvigorating to meet and learn from so many like-minded professionals."
our
executive
team
ANGELA JOHNSON
Senior Litigation Counsel,
Uber Technologies Inc.
FOUNDER & CO-CEO
Uber Technologies Inc.
FOUNDER & CO-CEO
DR. MARK
SPENCER
CEO of Summer Search
CO-CEO
CO-CEO
SHANNON
NASH
CFO, INSIDE SOURCE
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
NAKEENA TAYLOR
SR. COUNSEL, ATRIUM
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
MICHELE
ROSS
Product Marketing Manager Lead, Google
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
JULIAN
ROSS
PRODUCT MANAGER, APPLE
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
our
CBE
team
LESLIE
SPENCER
Partner, Desmarais LLP
CBE Programs Committee
CBE Programs Committee
BEN
WANZO
PITCH DAY CHAIR
CBE SUMMIT
Y'ANAD BURRELL
OWNER/CEO, GLASS HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS
CBE Marketing & Comms Committee
CBE Marketing & Comms Committee
ROBERT WHITE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA MINORITY COUNCIL PROGRAM
LEGAL PITCH DAY CHAIR
CBE SUMMIT
LEGAL PITCH DAY CHAIR
CBE SUMMIT
ROBYN E. CROSS
SENIOR CLAIMS & HEALTH ADVOCATE, ABD INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
CBE Programs Committee
CBE Programs Committee
JAMAL THOMPSON
MANAGER OF ENGINEERING PROGRAMS, BART
CBE Programs Committee
CBE Programs Committee
ADAMAKA AJAELO
Executive Director & Founder,
Self-eSTEM
CBE Program Committee
Self-eSTEM
CBE Program Committee
MICHAEL FLANIGAN
ASSOCIATE, REICHMAN JORGERNSEN LLP
CBE Programs Committee
CBE Programs Committee
LIKU MADOSHI
ATTORNEY, BLEDSOE, DIESTEL,
TREPPA & CRANE LLP
Recharge Program Director
TREPPA & CRANE LLP
Recharge Program Director
IMANI BORDEAUX
SENIOR SALES COORDINATOR, THE RITZ-CARLTON, LAGUNA NIGUEL
Impact Nonprofit Program Lead
Impact Nonprofit Program Lead
MONICA MONROE
PARTNER, TUCKER ELLIS
IMPACT NONPROFIT PROGRAM DIRECTOR
CBE Programs Committee
IMPACT NONPROFIT PROGRAM DIRECTOR
CBE Programs Committee
KEVIN NICHOLS
Co-Founder, President & CEO, Social Engineering Project
Community Outreach Co-Chair
Community Outreach Co-Chair
SIMONE
DAVIS
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, ALPHABET
Volunteer Director
Volunteer Director
JEREMIAH TOLBERT
PRINCIPAL, TOLBERT DESIGN ARCHITECTS
COMMUNITY OUTREACH CO-CHAIR
CBE PARTNERSHIPS TEAM
COMMUNITY OUTREACH CO-CHAIR
CBE PARTNERSHIPS TEAM
KIMBERLY
GANT
WEB & DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER, ABD
Creative Director
Creative Director
KEVIN COLEMAN
MANAGING PARTNER, URBANFARMERS, INC.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH CO-CHAIR
CBE PARTNERSHIPS TEAM
COMMUNITY OUTREACH CO-CHAIR
CBE PARTNERSHIPS TEAM
SHAUNTRICE MARTIN
ASSOCIATION OF BLACK ARGUMENTATION PROFESSIONALS
Impact Nonprofit Program Lead
Impact Nonprofit Program Lead
RHASHAD R.
PITTMAN
Communications Director
EVA PULLIAM
ASSOCIATE, ARENT FOX LLP
SPONSORSHIP DIRECTOR, GOV'T & LEGAL COMMITTEE MEMBER
CBE FINANCE & SPONSORSHIP TEAM
SPONSORSHIP DIRECTOR, GOV'T & LEGAL COMMITTEE MEMBER
CBE FINANCE & SPONSORSHIP TEAM
our
advisory
board
SHELLYE ARCHAMBEAU
BOARD MEMBER OF VERIZON AND NORDSTROM
FORMER CEO OF METRICSTREAM
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
FORMER CEO OF METRICSTREAM
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
TONY WEST
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER, UBER
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ACHIA
SWIFT
Sr. Director, Associate General Counsel, Head of Global Employment, PagerDuty
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
CHRISTOPHE MOSBY
VP & ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL,
HP, INC.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
HP, INC.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
JEREMIAH TOLBERT
PRINCIPAL, TOLBERT DESIGN ARCHITECTS
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
MELANIE GROSS
AGC & GLOBAL PRACTICE GROUP LEADER, GENENTECH
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
SAAFIR
RABB JR.
CEO, INTERCULTURAL, INC.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
SHERRI PITTMAN
HOWARD
Principal, Being Human
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ROBERT
WHITE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA MINORITY COUNSEL PROGRAM
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
TAJ
CLAYTON
PARTNER, KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
BEN
THOMPSON
FORMER ENERGY SECTOR EXECUTIVE
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
WILSON
WHITE
DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS & PUBLIC POLICY CORE PRODUCT, GOOGLE LLC
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
JOHN
WHITE
MANAGING DIRECTOR, CARDINAL SYSTEM
VENTURE HOLDINGS
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
VENTURE HOLDINGS
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
CBE ADVISORY BOARD
STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS