Episode 199: Using Data to Lead a Black Wealth Renaissance
Everyday we use data to change or alter our behaviors. But can we use data to correct the wrongs of the past policies that have created the Black wealth gap of today? Where do we find that data? L. Joy brings Garnesha Ezedario, lead of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initative, and Gary Cunningham, CEO & President of Prosperity Now, to the front of the class to discuss their collaboration which uses data to help accelerate the rate of Black wealth accumulation.
Homework:
Check out Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative, the first-ever Bloomberg Philanthropies portfolio dedicated solely to advancing racial wealth equity. https://www.bloomberg.org/founders-projects/the-greenwood-initiative/
Check out Prosperity Now, whose mission is to build an economy that is just, fair and free from structural racism, where every person, family and community has the power to build sustainable wealth and prosperity. https://prosperitynow.org/
Use the Black Wealth Data Center which has easy access to racial wealth equity data you can use https://blackwealthdata.org/
Our Guests:
Garnesha Ezediaro has over two decades of experience serving as a catalyst for individual, community and organizational transformation. With a passion for agility, Garnesha has worked across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to design, direct and scale mission-focused programs and content that inspire change and build brands. She currently leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative – an effort to accelerate the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities.
Prior to her current role, Garnesha led Global Leadership Development Programs at Verizon Media – restoring the function after a corporate merger to deliver training and targeted development programs for over 12,000 employees. Her career in public service includes serving as a Senior Program Officer for Government Innovation at Bloomberg Philanthropies; the Communications Director and spokesperson for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and as Director of Marketing at Brick City Development Corporation in Newark, NJ under the leadership of former Mayor Cory Booker.
Garnesha serves on the boards of The Center for an Urban Future, Prosperity Now, Step Up and The Current Project. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from American University with a double undergraduate major in Public Communication and Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Law, Economics and Government. Garnesha is a trained facilitator with over 15 years of experience and holds coaching certifications for the Leadership Circle Profile, Insights Discovery, and the Energy Leadership Index.
Gary L. Cunningham is President and CEO of Prosperity Now, a national organization dedicated to advancing racial and ethnic economic justice headquartered in Washington, D.C. He has been leading the organization since August 2019. Under his direction, Prosperity Now has strengthened its strategic focus, centering those most directly impacted by injustice and expanding its approach from simply mitigating the effects of a broken, racist system to testing, investing, and scaling systems-change solutions that will completely transform our economy.
For more than 20 years, Gary has served as a top leader of philanthropic, health care, public policy, and educational organizations. In addition to leading NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, he was Associate Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, the Deputy Director of Civil Rights for the City of Minneapolis and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) — a minority entrepreneurial organization — and Chaired the Community and Economic Development Committee for the Metropolitan Council the Twin Cites Planning and transportation agency.
Gary is a recognized and respected expert on entrepreneurship, job creation, racial wealth equity, housing and economic development and is a sought-after thought leader on building a more inclusive economy. A native of Minneapolis, MN, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Metropolitan State University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
