Chanelle Burt is the founder and CEO of Chanelle B, LLC—a women’s empowerment company helping women THRIVE in life and business through visibility, residual income, and purpose-driven leadership. Through her signature platform, The W3 Network, and her media brand Who’s That Girl?, Chanelle amplifies the voices of women entrepreneurs and equips them with tools to grow their influence and impact. She is a Senior Vice President in a leading network marketing company, where she helps families and businesses save on essential services while mentoring women to create residual income streams. In addition to hosting and speaking, Chanelle offers coaching, and media services designed to support women who are building powerful, profitable lives. A wife, mother of four, and legacy-builder at heart, Chanelle leads with faith, passion, and a mission to help women transform, heal, rise, inspire, visualize, and execute!

Christopher R. Lundy was raised in West Baltimore and is a proud graduate of Mount Saint Joseph High School, Temple University, and Widener University School of Law. Christopher has brought his passion & zealous advocacy to his role as the inaugural Director of the Mayor’s Office of Small & Minority Business Advocacy & Development to increase opportunities, availability, & capacity of small, minority, and women-owned businesses. He has been an innovative changemaker in his role by transitioning to a paperless process for the agency. His success has been due to an approach grounded in professionalism, efficiency, respectful clear communication, maximizing reliance on technology, and the responsible stewardship of City resources. In Fiscal Year 2024 Christopher: increased the number of M/WBEs by 185 year over year, oversaw the review of over $3.48 billion in procurement contracts, and welcomed the ninth main street in Park Heights to the Baltimore Main Street Program.

Teaera Strum is the Chief Executive Officer of Strum Contracting Company Inc. (SCC). She oversees the company’s operations and is responsible for driving the organization’s sustainable growth, market diversification and revenue. As a socially responsible company, SCC is focused on enriching the local community with skills development and upskilling opportunities. Ms. Strum is very active in the Baltimore community as she serves on the national board for the Jane Addams Resource Corporation, an organization that provides training in the areas of welding and CNC manufacturing. Appointed by two Maryland Governors for the Governor’s Workforce Development Board and member of the Executive Committee and Vice-Chair of the Industry Partnership committee, member of Oceantic Network International Board, Vice Chair of the She’s Well Network Board and newly appointed to the World Forum Offshore Wind Global Board. As an advocate for small business Ms. Strum has testified in front of the US House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, to ensure small businesses were included in the offshore wind growing supply chain. Served as a panelist for the 50th Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference: Transportation Braintrust, served on the Maryland Offshore Wind Stakeholder Roundtable to advocate for the passage of the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resource (POWER) Act during the 2023, 445th legislative session, and has participated in various advocacy initiatives to bring awareness to the American Offshore Wind supply chain and the opportunities for MWBE. Ms. Strum was awarded the 2022 Reginald F. Lewis Trailblazer award, inducted into the class of 2022 Marquis Who’s Who, featured in numerous campaigns advocating for small, minority and women owned businesses in the US, served as panelist for 11th Offshore Wind Economic Forum in Helgoland, Germany. Featured panelist at the 2022 Wind Energy Hamburg Summitt in Hamburg, Germany, in 2023 she spoke on behalf of US Small, Minority and Women Owned businesses entering the global offshore wind supply chain in Sau Paulo, Brazil. Served as a panelist for the World Forum Offshore Wind Summitt, in Barcelona, in 2024. She is a recipient of the Baltimore Business Journal 40 under 40, class of 2019 and Family Owned Business Awardee, Class of 2024. Ms. Strum holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communication from Trinity University in Washington, DC and a Masters of Business Administration with concentration in New Business Development from Anderson University, Anderson Indiana. Graduate of the Goldman Sach 10K Small Business, National Program.

Grason Wiggins is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce where he leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the 7,000+ members of the Chamber before the Maryland General Assembly and at the federal level. Prior to joining the Chamber, Grason worked as a lobbyist for Harris-Jones & Malone where he advocated for clients on issues concerning construction, real estate, labor and employment, financial regulation, and taxes.

Tykia has held several impactful positions throughout her career, demonstrating a strong commitment to community engagement and leadership. With over 20 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit management, Tykia has raised over $300 million in private and public funding for a wide variety of nonprofits, education institutions and political campaigns. Tykia is currently the President & CEO of the Greater Baltimore Urban League, where she manages the organizations daily operations, long and short-range strategic planning, fiscal management, and fund development. The mission of the Greater Baltimore Urban League is to empower communities and change lives by promoting economic empowerment, educational excellence, and social justice. Tykia's efforts have been instrumental in advancing this mission, ensuring that underserved communities receive the support and resources they need to thrive. She maintains knowledge of national and local issues, constituent issues and translates them into programming and service efforts. Tykia is an experienced advocate for education at all levels, with a long history of leadership roles at public and private colleges, and universities. Prior to her role as President & CEO of Greater Baltimore Urban League, Tykia served as the Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Her accomplishments include managing comprehensive campaigns and creating strategic partnerships with key constituents within corporate, foundation and public entities. Throughout her career, Tykia has successfully lobbied for education reform, affordable housing, increases in healthcare research funding, and better career technical educational options for college students. She is an enthusiastic supporter of equity and access in higher education. For over six years, Tykia was the Executive Director for the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation. In her role, Tykia provided vision, leadership, strategic direction, and overall coordination of a multi-million-dollar comprehensive fundraising effort on behalf of the district's three community colleges serving over 40,000 students. Beyond these roles, Tykia has been a resolute leader in various civic organizations. As Vice President of Institutional Relations, Tykia was responsible for expanding partnerships and portfolio scope and size to meet NAACP's ambitious revenue and engagement goals. She also held senior executive development roles at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and the Smithsonian Institution. Earlier in her career, Tykia was a consultant, managing political fundraising campaigns for Maryland congressional and local officials. Additionally, Tykia worked on the Capitol Hill staff of a United States House of Representatives member and for non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Academically, Tykia has a solid background that has equipped them with the knowledge and skills necessary for their professional and volunteer endeavors. Tykia received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications & African American Diaspora Studies from Indiana University and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Communications from Bowie State University. Tykia is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) and served on the international exam committee. Tykia also received a nonprofit management certificate from the University of Maryland, College Park. Community service plays a significant role in Tykia’s life. She is a proud charter member of the Omega Upsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and member of Jack & Jill of America Inc. Columbia, MD Chapter. Tykia was appointed to serve as member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the President Advisory Council for McDaniel College. More recently, she was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance. Her volunteer work has shown her ability to lead and inspire others, furthering the impact of these organizations within the Maryland community.

Jeremy Lawson is a data scientist and tech entrepreneur driving innovation in immersive AI and spatial intelligence. As Co-Founder and CEO of Salynt Inc., he leads a team building simulation platforms that empower cities, healthcare systems, and federal agencies to make smarter, faster, and more equitable decisions through real-time data analysis and virtual reality. With over a decade of experience supporting the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and civic institutions, Jeremy has delivered mission-critical AI, cybersecurity, and data integration solutions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Sixgen, and other organizations. He holds a Master’s in Data Science from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Thee Jackson State University. A former President of the Maryland Black Caucus Foundation, Jeremy remains committed to building inclusive tech ecosystems and positioning Baltimore as a national leader in AI innovation.

Nakeia L. Drummond is an award-winning leader, entrepreneur, and educator with 20 years of diversity equity & inclusion (DEI), organizational and project-based strategy and change management expertise. She views her career as a tapestry of experiences that have unlocked her purpose. After nearly a decade in public education management, Nakeia founded NLD Strategic, an equity-centered management consulting firm that supports strategy development, implementation, and measurement in social impact organizations and businesses. Experiencing and hearing other Black women’s challenges in starting in scaling businesses, she founded 501c3 She’s WELL Networked, Inc and a membership network, The Women Entrepreneur Leadership Lab, (The WELL) to radically shift and deepen investment in Black Women entrepreneurs by creating spaces where we can heal, tell our stories and invest in our own assets. Most important to Nakeia, she is the proud mother of a son, Asher, “bonus mom” to daughter Kaycie, and the wife of her best friend since 5th grade, Jacen.