Renee Foster
Executive Director, Human Resources and Leadership Development, The Life Christian Church. Renee
believes it is all about the journey! A journey comprised of challenges, joys and lessons that ultimately
lead each of us to our destiny, our purpose in life. Her passion is servant leadership and aspires to help
others as they strive to be their best.
Renee has a Business Administration degree…
Charles Thomas, CFA
Charles Thomas is a Vice President of Financial Planning of Analysis at Prudential Financial. He
has held various roles, including his current role of leading the finance team responsible for
supporting U.S. Customer Service and Transformation Center of Excellence. Prior to this role, he
held roles as the head of capital initiatives in International Insurance Treasury focused on the…
Arturo E. Osorio, Ph.D.
Dr. Osorio is a Faculty at Rutgers Business School. He conducts research on urban
entrepreneurship, socioeconomic development process, and food security. He is a member of
the Chancellor’s Commission on Diversity and Transformation at Rutgers Newark, Fellow at
The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED), a Senior Fellow
at Joseph C. Cornwall Center for…
Anthony W. (Tony) Schuman
Anthony W. (Tony) Schuman is a registered architect and Professor of Architecture in
the Hillier College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
(NJIT), where he has served as both undergraduate and graduate program director and
as Interim Dean. He is a past president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of
Architecture (ACSA). His articles on housing design…
Antoinette Richardson
Antoinette Richardson currently serves as the Chief of Staff to Essex County Board of Commissioners President, Wayne L. Richardson. Most recently, Antoinette served for 4 years as the Chief Education Officer for Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s Office of Comprehensive Community Education, where she advised the mayor on education strategies and developed and lead collective impact initiatives, including the…
One Property at a Time’: A City Tries to Revive Without Gentrifying
Neighborhoods in Newark are beginning to see a flurry of redevelopment, a decade after the city’s downtown gained vogue.
NEWARK — Construction workers in the South Ward of Newark, one of New Jersey’s most distressed areas, are busy converting a long-abandoned bank into an apartment building and poets cafe.
A decrepit mansion in the Central Ward built by a Newark beer baron before the turn…
Meet the Visionary Revitalizing Newark Symphony Hall
Taneshia Nash Laird has always been a visionary. Growing up below the poverty line in White Plains, New York, many of Laird’s classmates had parents who were doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers and entertainment executives.
“And these included the Black families I knew,” says Laird. “I just wanted to be middle class. I knew I could achieve that because I saw people that looked like me…
Newark Symphony Hall names city’s arts and cultural affairs director, Fayemi Shakur, as new board chair
The city of Newark’s arts and cultural affairs director, fayemi shakur, has been elected chair of Newark Symphony Hall’s board of directors, the arts and entertainment venue announced Tuesday.
In her new role, shakur will provide strategic advice on focus areas including fundraising, programming, racial justice initiatives and more.
“fayemi’s reputation demonstrates a commitment to cultural…
Developing while Black: Newark group attempting to increase opportunities
Anthony Smith, the executive director of the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District in Newark, knows a thing or two about the prevalence of Black real estate investments firms.
Simply put, he knows how few there are. Recent research on the subject revealed stunning statistics, he said.
“Recently, I talked about the challenges of ‘Developing while Black’ on my podcast, the Lincoln Park…
LPCCD Green Suite: Creating Generational Wealth In Communities of Color
Newark’s Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District has launched “LPCCD Green Suite: The Business of Real Estate Development Training Program.” The mission is to create generational wealth in communities of color and provide access to this business sector for Black Indigenious Persons of Color , Persons of Color, and Women of Color who are vastly underrepresented in the real estate development sector.…