Special Section
The Next Generation: Emerging Leaders Under 40
Diversity Executive Staff, 05-10-2009
Continued from 1 Article Beginning
All this, and they still must make time for schoolwork. Both attend UIUC’s College of Business and are majoring in accountancy, with minors in technology and management. But neither of them minds the high volume of obligations. They are actively involved on campus: Ryan is president of the Minority Leadership Group and vice president of technology with the UIUC Chapter of the National Black MBA Association. Ashton is president of the UIUC National Black MBA Association, webmaster for the African American Cultural Center and ambassador to the College of Business. He also is an Illini blogger for the Office of Admissions.
Their immersion in academia illustrates their love of learning, and the twins said they draw their inspiration from family members’ lessons.
“When I was younger, my mom made sure that I developed a strong work ethic and worked for what I wanted,” Ashton said. “She said, ‘Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.’ She also told me that my tomorrow is determined by the choices I make today.”
The twins’ grandfather, Lee P. Brown, also is a major source of inspiration. He became the first black “drug czar,” as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and was the first black mayor of Houston.
“His strong work ethic resonated with me,” Ashton said. “He is a hard-working problem solver, and I am very similar to him. My grandfather experienced racism, hatred and animosity because he was black. He also taught me that education is the key to success. He has always stressed the importance of going to college and graduate school. I am well on my way.”
– Elizabeth Lisican
Jamilah Barnes Creekmur, 32
Chief Operating Officer
AllHipHop.com
Jamilah Barnes Creekmur knows what it’s like to have all her dreams come true. Her titles include entrepreneur, wife and mother — illustrating that she’s seen success across the board in her professional and personal lives. But while the people in her life help make it worth living, Creekmur’s inner courage, hard work and independent spirit made it all happen.
After she graduated from the University of Delaware, she moved to New York to pursue her love of business and fashion. There, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and landed a position as assistant buyer in women’s designer handbags with Saks Fifth Avenue. In 2003, she joined her friend, “Grouchy Greg” Watkins, and husband, Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, on a full-time basis at AllHipHop.com, a site devoted to all things hip-hop, including news, features and reviews. She worked there part-time for three years.
As an acting COO of AllHipHop.com, Creekmur had to teach herself everything she could about the Internet and the business aspects of running a Web site. In her first three months with the company, she doubled its earnings, and a year later, led the company to make its first $1 million in advertising sales revenue. She also brought in advertising clients from Fortune 500 companies including Pepsi, Verizon, GM and Nike.
During the past few years, she has helped forge many significant partnerships and business deals, including capital investment and acquisition opportunities, the launch of AllHipHop Week, AllHipHop’s College Rep program, AllHipHop Mobile LLC and a long-term, multimillion-dollar deal with Radio One’s interactive platform.
In 2006, AllHipHop.com earned Black Enterprise magazine’s Small Business Award, and many consider the company the “CNN of hip-hop.”
As if all of her duties with AllHipHop.com weren’t enough to keep her busy, Creekmur also manages her own publishing company, Imagine Me Publishing, and she consults for corporate clients with her digital consulting company, JBC LLC.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Creekmur credits the success of AllHipHop.com to teamwork.
“We have made insurmountable sacrifices, for the good of AllHipHop,” she said in a company biography. “Only one day will people actually read about all that we have been through. I truly believe in the concept of teamwork. A quote that I honor says, ‘[T]eamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision and the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.’ This has single-handedly been the secret to our success over the past nine years at AllHipHop.com and our other growing brands.”
– Elizabeth Lisican
Charissa L. Fernandez, 35
Chief Operating Officer
The After-School Corp.
Charissa L. Fernandez’s ultimate goal is simple: to inspire future generations of leaders.
“Most kids spend less than a quarter of their waking hours attending school,” Fernandez said. “If we’re ever going to close the achievement gap in this country, we need to give all kids opportunities to explore their talents and learn in multiple ways during those 80 percent of their hours when they are not in school.”
In May 2005, Fernandez was appointed chief operating officer at The After-School Corp., a nonprofit organization that — as its name suggests — was established to serve students attending schools in New York City through after-school and summer activities that support, educate and inspire them.
“When we look back on the years when we were growing up, most of us realize that so much of what made us the people we are today came through our experiences after school and during summers,” Fernandez said.
“I believe the next great entrepreneurs, physicists, filmmakers and university presidents are discovering their talents in after-school programs today — or they should be,” she explained. “When kids are shut out — because their families lack the means or there’s too little public funding for programs in their schools or communities — vast potential is squandered.”
Fernandez began her career as director of the Summerbridge Program, an academic and personal development program for New York City public middle school students, at Riverdale Country School. She also has taught high school English there.
She served as director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education — where she negotiated public-private partnerships to enhance the educational experiences of public school students — from 2004 to 2005.
Fernandez received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s degree in education administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University.
She is an active member of the Harvard Black Alumni Society and serves as an adviser to Harvard graduates who are interested in careers in education and nonprofits.
She remains active in the community, serving as a member of the New York Advisory Council for the Trust for Public Lands, and she also is on the boards of directors of Harlem RBI and Bronx Children’s Museum.
When she isn’t hard at work, Fernandez spends time at her home in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx with her family: her husband, who is also a nonprofit executive, and two young sons. And she makes the time to travel regularly to visit her extended family in Jamaica, as well as her husband’s extended family in the Dominican Republic.
