Black Economic Alliance announces departure of Founding Executive Director Akunna Cook

Press Release

Black Economic Alliance announces departure of Founding Executive Director Akunna Cook

By Black Economic Alliance | August 2, 2019

WASHINGTON – The Black Economic Alliance, a nonpartisan group founded by Black executives and business leaders, announced today that Akunna Cook, founding Executive Director of the BEAlliance, will leave her role with the Alliance. Founding Board Member Gwen Adolph will serve as Interim Executive Director while BEA completes the search for a permanent Executive Director. Ms. Cook will continue to advise BEA during the search to ensure a smooth transition.

“Akunna leaves a strong legacy at the Black Economic Alliance and we are immensely grateful for her work. She joined us during a period of tremendous growth and helped execute our strategy for the midterms. We will miss her leadership, tenacity and ‘let’s-get-it done’ attitude. Thanks to her tireless contributions, BEA is well-prepared to advance to its next phase,” said Charles Phillips, Co-Chair of the Black Economic Alliance.

Ms. Cook’s departure is on the heels of the Black Economic Alliance’s first-of-its-kind Presidential Candidates Forum, which took place in June in Charleston, South Carolina. During her leadership, Cook oversaw the study and release of a poll surveying Black Americans’ political and economic priorities, spearheaded BEAlliance’s investment of nearly $4 million to mobilize Black voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, and facilitated the endorsement selection of several candidates committed to the economic growth mission of BEAlliance.

“It’s truly been a privilege to have led the Black Economic Alliance to this point,” said Akunna Cook. “Building and operationalizing an organization like BEA has been one of the highlights of my career thus far. I’m so incredibly proud of all we were able to accomplish to advance the agenda of BEA. I’m excited to see what the Black Economic Alliance will do next and I look forward to collaborating with BEA leadership in the future.”

Launched in 2018, the Black Economic Alliance supported more than two dozen federal and statewide candidates during the 2018 election cycle and is continuing to fight for economic policies that will help Black communities. Last cycle, 11 candidates endorsed by the Black Economic Alliance were elected to Congress as part of the most diverse Congress in history.

Margaret Anadu

Senior Partner of Real Estate, Vistria Group

Margaret Anadu is a Senior Partner at The Vistria Group where she heads Real Estate. She is based in New York City.

Margaret has devoted her career to investing which not only generates strong economic returns, but importantly has a demonstrable positive impact on underserved individuals, families, and communities. Margaret is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on equitable access to capital having invested over $10 billion across hundreds of transactions throughout the United States and was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. commercial real estate by Commercial Observer.

Margaret has been a trusted advisor to many senior government officials at the federal, state, and local levels on utilizing private capital to create more equitable communities. As an experienced investor and thought leader on public-private partnerships, Margaret is often asked to share her views including on CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and Yahoo Finance. She was named to 40 Under 40 lists by Fortune, Black Enterprise and Crain’s.

Prior to joining Vistria, Margaret was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where she was the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact for Asset Management and Chair of the Urban Investment Group (GSUIG), the first impact investing platform at a major U.S. financial institution and Goldman Sachs’ primary impact investing business. Under her leadership, GSUIG’s portfolio was primarily comprised of real estate with a focus on workforce, affordable, and mixed-income housing, but also included investments in community facilities, educational space, industrial facilities, green infrastructure, student loans, and small businesses. Margaret ultimately grew the business to over $2 billion of investments annually.

While at Goldman Sachs, Margaret was the chief architect of the One Million Black Women investment strategy, the Firm’s $10 billion capital commitment to narrow opportunity gaps for Black women in the United States and by extension their families and broader communities. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she led a $2 billion relief effort for small businesses.

In April 2022, Margaret was appointed chair of the board of directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She also serves on the boards of the Low-Income Investment Fund, the Center for an Urban Future, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Africa Center.

PLINIO AYALA

President & CEO, Per Scholas

Per Scholas is led by President and CEO Plinio Ayala. Plinio was born and raised in the South Bronx, just as it grew into a national emblem for urban poverty and disinvestment. His experience instilled a lifelong passion for creating economic opportunity, and shortly after graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in American Studies, he devoted his career to building “win-win” solutions to social and economic problems, first at Jobs for Youth and then at SoBro.

In 2003, Plinio became President and CEO of Per Scholas and has since been instrumental in all the organization’s achievements—from evolving its original mission, which was to bridge the digital divide by refurbishing end-of-life computer equipment, to leading its accelerating growth as a national best-in-class technical skills trainer. In the process, Plinio has incubated strong organizational capacities to respond to changing market conditions, pursue entrepreneurial opportunities and embrace rigorous measurements of impact. Under Plinio’s leadership, Per Scholas launched a customized training business, making the successful case for employers to fully invest in training for a workforce they can hire, which today supports 25 percent of Per Scholas operations. After proving the model in New York, Per Scholas launched tech training in Columbus, Ohio, in 2012. Growth has been continuous over the past decade, and Per Scholas now offers tech training, professional development, and employer connections in more than 20 cities nationwide. The Per Scholas model has been evaluated twice in Randomized Control Trials, the gold standard of evaluation, that has proven the efficacy and impact of the model twice over. Despite exponential growth, Per Scholas maintains stellar results and outcomes and has supported more than 20,000 diverse adults launch careers in technology. With Plinio at the helm, Per Scholas is one of the largest and most effective national workforce development organizations in America, with continued ambitions and growth goals for the future. Plinio often says that he can imagine no greater satisfaction than seeing overlooked people—many of whom have struggled with educational and public systems that seem designed to stymie rather than uplift them—finally channel all their passion and curiosity into transformative careers.

Stephen Benjamin

New Senior Advisor to the President of the United States

Steve Benjamin was elected Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina in April of 2010 with a vision of transforming South Carolina's capital city into a talented, educated & entrepreneurial city of the New South. He served as Mayor until December of 2021.

In April, he will begin serving as the Senior Advisor to the President of the United States & Director of the Office of Public Engagement. He currently serves as President & CEO of The Benjamin Firm, LLC.

Prior to his service as mayor, Benjamin served in South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges' Cabinet as the Chief Executive of a $43 million, 950 employee state agency.

Benjamin has served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2018-2019), as President of the African American Mayors Association, Vice Chairman of the Global Parliament of Mayors, Executive Chairman of Municipal Bonds for America, a Member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, Member of the Accelerator for America Advisory Council, a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Affordable Housing Advisory Council, as Co-Chair of the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100% Clean Energy, Chair-Elect of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2017 Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Public Official for his leadership during the October 2015 flood, the 2018 USGLC Leading Globally Matters Locally Award & the inaugural recipient of the AIPAC Ralph Bunche Leadership Award (2018). As President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Benjamin established the Mayors Leadership Institute on Smart Cities at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU. This Institute allows Mayors to immerse themselves in smart cities work. Its curriculum is expert-facilitated and peer-driven and offers a framework for approaching smart city opportunities, providing Mayors with guiding principles, best practices and a clear path forward.

Mayor Benjamin also established the Mayors and Business Leaders Center for Inclusive and Compassionate Cities. The establishment of this Center supports mayors’ efforts to make cities across the nation more equitable, more inclusive and more compassionate.

Benjamin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served as President of Student Government and as President of the Student Bar Association.

Tony Coles, M.D.

BEA Board Co-Chair; CEO and Chairperson of the Board, Cerevel Therapeutics

Tony Coles, M.D., has been Cerevel's Chief Executive Officer since September 2019 and has served as the Chairperson of the board of directors since December 2018. Prior to joining Cerevel, Dr. Coles co-founded and served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of Yumanity Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on transforming drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Before co-founding Yumanity Therapeutics, Dr. Coles served as the chairperson and chief executive officer of TRATE Enterprises, LLC, a privately-held company.

Previously, Dr. Coles served as president, chief executive officer and chairperson of the board of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until its acquisition by Amgen. Prior to joining Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he was president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before joining NPS Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Coles was senior vice president of commercial operations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., and earlier, held several executive positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc. In addition to having previously served as a director of Onyx and NPS, Dr. Coles was formerly a director of CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Campus Crest Communities, Inc. and McKesson Corporation. He also previously served as a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows.

Dr. Coles currently serves on the board of directors of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Johns Hopkins University. He is also a member of the Council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.; a member of the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, non-partisan membership organization, think tank and publisher. In 2022, Dr. Coles was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Coles earned his bachelor’s degree at Johns Hopkins University, a medical degree from Duke University, and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.

Alphonso David

President & CEO, Global Black Economic Forum

Alphonso David, one of America’s foremost civil rights attorneys and a life-long advocate for social and economic justice, serves as the President & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. Alphonso brings more than two decades of experience in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, where he has worked to advance the rights of marginalized communities through policy, legislation, litigation, and advocacy.

As a business leader, Alphonso was instrumental in creating one of the most sought-after addiction treatment centers in the United States. In public service, he helped to transform broken systems that impeded the lives of the most vulnerable, including restructuring the workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance systems in the State of New York to reduce inefficiencies and deficits that had plagued these vital social safety nets for decades. As a non-profit leader, he created and expanded groundbreaking programs for marginalized communities, including an impact litigation program to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people and an HIV & Health Equity Program to address the disproportionately high rates of HIV among black and brown communities throughout the nation.

As an advocate, Alphonso has worked on a myriad of issues including racial and economic justice, immigrants’ rights and LGBTQ+ equality. Notably, he and his legal team secured more than $23 million for immigrants who had been defrauded by illegitimate legal service providers, stopped a racially discriminatory rating system in broadcast radio from being implemented in the United States, and compelled all large pharmacy chain stores to provide language access services to customers. Further, during his time in public service for the State of New York, Alphonso was instrumental in drafting and advancing landmark legislation that removed legal barriers allowing same-sex couples to marry, paving the way for the United States Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality nationally. His work helped actualize the Paid Family Leave Act, ensuring individuals receive paid leave to care for sick family members. His record of achievement also includes the Minority and Women Business Program, which tripled contracting opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses throughout New York State.

Now, as President & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, Alphonso is focused on reimagining what diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity looks like in global workspaces and marketplaces.

Debbie Dyson

Chief Executive Officer, OneTen

Debbie Dyson is a visionary transformational leader known for inspiring others to unleash their power and potential within to drive impact and sustainable results for great success.

Currently, Debbie is CEO for the OneTen organization, previously holding the COO role, which is focused on placing one million black individuals without 4-degrees into family sustaining wages over a period of 10 years. With over 30 years of experience in human capital management, Debbie is focused on scaling the operational infrastructures within OneTen with additional oversite over the strategic, marketing, financial and technology plans.

Formerly, Debbie was an executive senior leader reporting into the CEO as President of ADP’s National Account Services, driving large-scale human capital management strategy and transformation to create exceptional outcomes for ADP’s U.S.-based enterprise clients spanning across the globe. Under her leadership, this multi-billion-dollar organization evolved to implement and service rich technology solutions wrapped around quality excellence. By incorporating innovation with a discipline of business process optimization, it allowed the organization to flourish with year over year revenue, retention and operating expense improvements that effectively aligned with the strategic outlook of the future of work for enterprise clients.

Debbie has deep experience in other senior executive leadership roles from client quality delivery to business process operations to general management. Debbie was ADP’s Corporate Vice President of Client Experience and Business Transformation, under the CEO as well, where she had direct responsibility for optimization of business processes, global shoring footprints in Manila, India, and Romania, enterprise learning and performance, and company-wide communication. She also served as a Division Vice President and General Manager for the mid-market solutions leading those team to deliver above-plan accelerated revenue growth performance, while simultaneously maintaining high client retention levels and associate engagement.

Debbie has appeared in numerous interviews, publication media, and has garnered industry-wide respect and recognition for her art of impact, intention, and inspiration. She was featured on the cover of Black Enterprise magazine as part of a special Women of Power edition. Among her accolades, she was named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business two years in a row.

Hakeem Jeffries

Democratic Leader

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has proudly represented New York’s Eighth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives since taking office on January 3, 2013. The incredibly vibrant and diverse Eighth Congressional District encompasses neighborhoods like East New York, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Canarsie, Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

Congressman Jeffries was unanimously elected House Democratic Leader by his colleagues in January of 2023. In that capacity, he is the highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and the first person of color to lead a major party in the United States Congress. He is also the former Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus and Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, where he helped develop the winning For The People agenda for the successful 2018 midterm elections when Democrats reclaimed the House.

Congressman Jeffries served as an Impeachment Manager in the historic first impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, becoming the first African American man to hold that position. Paying homage to Brooklyn, Congressman Jeffries quoted The Notorious B.I.G. as he laid out the case against Trump.

In Congress, Congressman Jeffries has emerged as a tireless advocate for safer communities, affordable housing and lower costs. Recently, he helped guide communities in Central and South Brooklyn through the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. He played a leading role in the passage of measures that will create jobs and make life better for everyday families, like the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Before his election to the House, Congressman Jeffries served for six years in the New York State Assembly. Prior to his career in public service, he practiced law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and served as litigation counsel for Viacom Inc. and CBS. Congressman Jeffries received his bachelor’s degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton, earned a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and graduated magna cum laude at New York University School of Law. Congressman Jeffries was born in Brooklyn, is a product of New York City’s public school system and lives in Brooklyn with his family.

Brian Moynihan

Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America

Brian Moynihan leads a team of more than 210,000 employees dedicated to making financial lives better for people, companies of every size, and institutional investors across the United States and around the world. Bank of America was named World’s Best Bank by Euromoney magazine as well as America’s Most JUST Company by JUST Capital in 2022. The company has been recognized as a leader in financial services, including on Forbes magazine’s list for World’s Best Employers and World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies as well as Fortune magazine’s list of World’s Most Admired Companies and Best Companies to Work For.

Bank of America also was named on People’s Companies that Care list and is the top global bank on Fortune’s Change the World list. The company has been ranked three times on LinkedIn’s Top 50 Companies in the U.S. list, and also is recognized annually as a top employer by Working Mother, LATINA Style, Black Enterprise, Military Times and U.S Veterans Magazine.

Moynihan participates in several organizations that focus on economic and market trends, including the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics Initiative (chair), the Financial Services Forum, the Bank Policy Institute, the Business Roundtable, the Clearing House (chair), the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable (co-chair) and the Business Council. He also is a co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism and co-chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was founded by His Majesty King Charles III in his former role of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

Moynihan serves as chair of the company’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and is a member of the museum council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He is also a member of the Brown University Corporation's Board of Fellows, the Catalyst Board of Directors, the Council on Competitiveness Board (chair) and the Appeal of Conscience Board of Trustees. Moynihan works with public officials, businesses and civic leaders at the local level through his participation on the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (chair) and the Partnership for Rhode Island.

Samantha Tweedy

Chief Executive Officer, Black Economic Alliance

Samantha Tweedy is an accomplished executive, fundraiser, strategist and Yale Law-trained attorney who has spent two decades working to increase economic mobility and opportunity for Black people.

Prior to being named the first-ever Chief Executive Officer of BEA, Samantha served as the inaugural President of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation – leading the organization’s efforts to produce cutting-edge research, practical solutions, and programming to create better access to good paying jobs, livable wages, and wealth creation for Black people.

Before joining BEAF, Samantha was the first Chief Partnerships and Impact Officer at the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. She developed and directed the Power Fund to invest in nonprofit leaders of color and the High-Quality Schools Fund to support innovative school models for New York City’s most under-resourced communities. She was instrumental in creating the NinetyToZero partnership among America’s leading companies and organizations, including Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, ACLU, and The Wharton School, to combat the racial wealth gap through increased investment in Black talent and Black businesses.

Samantha brings a unique mix of on-the-ground and executive experience to her leadership. She served as the first Chief Advancement Officer at Uncommon Schools, a network of over 50 public charter schools serving historically disadvantaged students of color who go on to graduate from four-year colleges at higher rates than students from the wealthiest American households. She also founded and directed an elementary school that won the National Blue Ribbon School Award for its success in closing racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps.

After graduating from Yale Law School and Duke University magna cum laude, Samantha began her career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where she worked on landmark school equity litigation to close the public-school spending gaps that disproportionately impact students of color and practiced commercial litigation.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Samantha lives in Bed Stuy with her husband and two children, Stokely and Evers. She is a Pahara Fellow and serves as a board and advisory member for a number of organizations dedicated to racial and economic justice, including Amsale Aspire, Coney Island Prep, The Highland Project, and Next100.

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