Minority Entrepreneurs in Sustainability Panel Discussion

Entrepreneurship is an element that is at the forefront of the vision of our President, Dr. Aminta Breaux and her administration. As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, C4 in collaboration with the BSU Entrepreneurship Academy hosted a panel discussion around the topic of minority entrepreneurs in sustainability on Thursday, November 15 in the new state- of-the-art CNSMN Beacon Room. Entrepreneurs discussed their businesses and how they are based around principles of sustainability.  Part of the discussion was why this movement is particularly important to young people and people of color.

Panelists included:

  • Chancee Lundy, co-owner of Nspiregreen LLC (a sustainability consulting firm),
  • Nicholas Perkins, President & CEO of Perkins Management Service Company (a multimillion dollar enterprise specializing in food services management),
  • Heather Lawson, founder of Petal Share (a charitable organization focused on sharing recycled flowers for those in need),
  • Matthew Portis, founder and President of SolGreen (a company that provides accessible, off grid clean energy for everyday amenities, and whom also created and patented the solar tables and solar bus shelter we have on campus),
  • Erica Ahmed, owner and founder of the Green laundress (an eco-friendly company that manufacturers green cleaning products), and
  • Special guest vegan chef, Chef Ujji. Chef Ujji brought samples from her Washington DC based vegan restaurant, Bon Vegan.

Find out more about the panelists here (pdf).

The moderator, Mr. John Jordan is the Managing Partner of Fight for Light and Economic Lead of Remix SOI. His organization Fight for Light is a sustainability/youth leadership focused non-profit specifically catering to HBCUs. While a student at Morehouse College, he was selected as a JP Morgan Chase Leadership Studies Scholar and served as an Oprah Winfrey South African fellow.

The lively panel session lasted a little over an hour including a Q&A portion from the mostly student audience. Provost DeBrenna Agbinyega brought greetings.  There was also a networking luncheon following the panel for a chance for the panelists to network with each other, BSU students, and interested staff members.