Veteran media executive Michele Ghee is stepping into a new leadership role. Ghee has worn various hats in the media industry and has managed more than $1 billion in revenue throughout her career, according to Deadline. Her resume includes roles at CNN (director of multicultural sales); BET (vice president of national ad sales and later senior vice president); Ebony & Jet (CEO); and TheGrio (president), per her LinkedIn. Most recently, she served as chief content officer at Essence Communications and is founder of the tech and content agency Expectant Media. Ghee has now officially left her post at Essence as Expectant Media has been acquired by PlayersTV, the first athlete-owned media network and content provider, per Deadline. PlayersTV is backed by more than 70 athlete investors, including Chris Paul, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Ghee will also assume the role of president of PlayersTV, effective immediately, Deadline reports. She had been serving on the PlayersTV board for...

Kevin James will return to his post at Morris Brown College as president. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, James was removed from his post by the college’s Board of Trustees just over a week ago “without providing specific cause or substantive explanation,” he shared on LinkedIn. Trustee Nzinga Shaw was appointed interim president. James became the 19th president of Morris Brown College on March 1, 2019, and brought 24 years of experience as an educator to the role, notes Fox5Atlanta. Under his leadership, James helped Morris Brown College regain accreditation in 2021 after losing it in 2002 due to debt and financial mismanagement, per a separate AFROTECH™ article. James also restored access to federal financial aid, grew enrollment from 20 to over 540 students, and established long-term financial stability, among other accomplishments, per his LinkedIn post. He described the timing of his departure as “troubling” in the post, stating that the university was nearing an...

Latriece Watkins is among the newly elected leaders who are expected to drive Walmart Inc.’s next phase in retail. According t o a press release, Walmart is looking to improve in innovation, operations, and global enterprise platforms. As part of that strategy, the company announced several key leadership appointments, including Watkins, who was formerly the executive vice president (EVP) and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. Watkins joined Walmart in 1997 as an intern and rose through the ranks to hold various leadership roles across Sam’s Club, Walmart U.S. merchandising, People, and U.S. store operations, the press release notes. She is credited with transforming the assortment strategy for Walmart U.S. Watkins has now been appointed as President and CEO of Sam’s Club U.S. “What I love about Walmart is simple—it’s a place where people matter and opportunity lives. It’s a company built on serving others and creating impact in communities every single day,” she said in a...

Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett says one of the most important lessons he has learned as a leader came not from a resume filled with credentials but from a moment many employers may overlook entirely. According to a recent Fortune article, Bartlett, founder and host of “The Diary of a CEO” podcast, hired a candidate whose CV was just two lines long and listed virtually no formal experience. What ultimately set the applicant apart was not her background but her character and awareness during the interview process. “Much of the reason why I gave her the job was because: She thanked the security guard by name on the way into the building,” Bartlett explained. For him, that small interaction signaled humility, respect, and cultural awareness, traits he believes are far more complex to teach than technical skills. A Hiring Decision Based On Character, Not Credentials Bartlett said the candidate continued to demonstrate those values throughout the interview. When she did not know the answer...

HealthStack Virtual Summit, powered by AFROTECH™, will take place on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. The event brings together physicians, nurses , and healthcare leaders for candid conversations about the healthcare industry. What Is HealthStack? HealthStack is a B2B platform for clinicians, health executives, and innovators committed to advancing equitable health care through credible reporting, industry news, and professional development opportunities — all in one centralized hub. What To Expect At HealthStack’s Virtual Summit The summit is designed for early- to mid-career professionals. They’ll be able to learn from industry leaders and gain a clearer sense of the future of health care — and their place within it. The summit will kick off at 10 a.m. PST with a welcome from Blavity Co-founder and CEO Morgan DeBaun , followed by an “AI for Nurses” workshop led by Anika Gardenhire, AdventHealth’s chief digital and transformation officer. Programming will continue with a fireside panel...

Former President Barack Obama is looking to fill more than 150 roles for his presidential center, opening soon on the South Side of Chicago. Obama Presidential Center As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Obama Presidential Center, first announced in 2015, is expected to open in June 2026 and is an $800 million project, making it the most expensive presidential center in the nation’s history. The 19-acre center is intended to serve as a “global center for change,” providing space for leadership development and civic engagement, particularly for young adults already driving positive change in their communities. The center will feature a fruit and vegetable garden, a world-class museum, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, an athletic facility, and more, offering community events, exhibits, music, movies, and workshops, according to its website. “I could not be more excited because I know people here on the Southside of Chicago, and visitors from all around the world are going to...

An AI-powered solution was launched for displaced workers and recent college graduates in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. Talent Capital Talent Capital, a regional career services initiative of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, was launched in Washington, D.C., by Mayor Muriel Bowser and partners in October 2025, according to a press release. The new program comes after over 317,000 federal employees lost their jobs in 2025, with defense, agriculture, and treasury departments taking the hardest hits, per Federal News Network. In the DMV area, 34,100 federal employees lost their jobs from January to September 2025, according to Bethesda Magazine. Furthermore, college graduates have also been challenged in the job market with fewer entry-level positions available, CNBC mentions. Youth unemployment is sometimes an “early indicator that the economy is slowing down or maybe even heading towards a recession,” according to Anders Humlum,...

Dwayne Tucker’s leadership is steering Tennessee State University (TSU) in a positive direction. Tucker is an alum of the school, having earned a bachelor’s in business management in 1980, according to a press release. He assumed the role of interim president at the university in December 2024, succeeding Ronald Johnson, who was forced to resign. WKRN News 2 reports he also previously led a network of charter schools in the metropolitan area. Tucker brings experience in human resources and profit and loss for small businesses and Fortune 500 companies, notes the press release. He has also established board of director and compensation committee strategy, governance, and compliance-related programs. “It’s my pleasure to accept appointment of interim president for our beloved Tennessee State University,” Tucker expressed in the news release. “I also want to thank our board of trustees for their confidence in me as well as the bigger big blue community in terms of their support and...

Zoe Saldaña is approaching a milestone that few actors in film history have reached, and the moment is arriving with both statistical weight and cultural resonance. According to USA Today, the Afro-Dominican actress has officially surpassed Samuel L. Jackson to become the second-highest-grossing actor of all time, with her films earning approximately $15 billion worldwide. She now trails only Scarlett Johansson, whose box office total stands at roughly $15.4 billion. With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continuing to perform well, that gap is narrowing fast. The Road To No. 1 The latest installment in the blockbuster franchise she’s been a part of from the beginning has been a key driver of that momentum, opening up to $88 million domestically and quickly surpassing $760 million worldwide. As with previous installments, the film’s global staying power has positioned Saldaña to continue climbing the all-time rankings in the weeks ahead. Currently, the top-grossing spot belongs to Scarlett...

Dr. Jaha Howard isn’t your average dentist. The Atlanta native is a Howard University alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, according to information on his LinkedIn profile. His website states that he graduated at the top of his class and went on to earn a doctorate in dental surgery in 2007. Later transitioning to the University of Illinois, he obtained a master’s degree in oral science and became a specialist in pediatric dentistry . Dr. Howard currently owns his own practice,  A+ Pediatric Dentistry of Atlanta, which offers children’s dental care and orthodontics. In addition to not requiring patients to have insurance, it provides preventive care through an affordable monthly subscription tier. Beyond health care, he is passionate about education, small business, and politics, as reflected in his steadfast public service. Dr. Howard, who was victorious in Georgia’s Senate District 35 special election on Dec. 16, CBS News reports, previously served on the Cobb County...

Daymond John has advice for families of students navigating today’s turbulent economic landscape. John is a “Shark Tank” judge, investor, and entrepreneur who put skin in the game through his foray into FUBU (For Us, By Us), a streetwear brand that catered to Hip-Hop culture when it launched in 1992, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. He was rejected by 27 banks, but had the support of his mother early on, who took out a $100,000 loan on her mortgage to invest in the business. In the company’s early days, he even worked as a waiter at a Red Lobster. By 1998, FUBU was generating more than $350 million in sales, and it has earned over $6 billion today. John also did this without going to college, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see the merit of higher education. “Most of my employees have come from college,” John told CNBC in 2018. “because as an intern, you can come into my company and get credit [for] college. Those people then out-work the people that are already working there, and...

At AFROTECH™ Conference, connecting directly with industry leaders feels effortless. Jamell Watson attended AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 as Attentive’s director of office operations, an SMS and email marketing platform. He is responsible for running the workplace across three different offices in the U.S., London, and Australia. He is also one of the founding members of the company’s Black union employee resource group, which sponsored some employees’ attendance at this year’s conference under the Executive badge. “We thought we would [be] boots on the ground and talk to students and people looking for jobs for recruitment purposes,” Watson told AFROTECH™. “We had some shirts made that made us kind of stand out, along with the Executive badge,” Watson said. “That kind of signifies to people that ‘I’m not looking for a job. I’m here for a purpose.” “Our main goal was to recruit for some of our sales roles, our engineering roles, and then also to, I wanted the Black union members that...

Alexia Grevious Henderson is taking another step forward in her communications career. The Fort Mill, South Carolina native is a Clemson University graduate with a degree in communication studies, where she helped establish the school’s first digital foundation and athletic video department, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Her career experience includes working in digital communications at the NCAA before joining the Washington Commanders (formerly the Washington Redskins) as its corporate communications manager from 2015 and 2017, according to information on her LinkedIn profile. She has since been working for Magic Johnson Enterprises. She rose from senior manager of marketing and communications to director of marketing and communications, and by 2023 to vice president of strategic partnerships and marketing. Along the way, she secured an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in 2020. She was also featured in Diverse Representation’s “The Ten to Watch in 2022” and Sports...

After 32 years at Black Entertainment Television (BET), former CEO Debra Lee continues shaping culture and business. Today, she sits on the boards of Warner Bros. Discovery, Marriott International, and Procter & Gamble — but her legacy at BET remains untouched. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, Lee reflected on how her leadership from 2005 to 2018 helped define generations of Black entertainment, from shaping beloved programming to setting new standards for representation. Lee began at BET as the company’s first in-house counsel, building the legal department from the ground up. She later — and unexpectedly — became president and chief operating officer, succeeding founder Bob Johnson. “When people started writing articles, ‘Debra Lee is the heir apparent,’ it really shocked me,” Lee recalled. “I thought I was just going to continue to do the work, and Bob would get all the credit. That’s the way it went. No big deal. And it wasn’t until Bob left and I became CEO that people started...

Black women are facing increasing economic challenges today. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs or have exited the workforce. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, along with Trump’s tariffs, has contributed to these losses. Times are hard, and many are being stretched to make ends meet. Adding to these challenges, the stalling of SNAP benefits under the government shutdown is impacting millions of Americans. In addition, homelessness is at an all-time high , according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s most recent 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. The study cites that homelessness rose by 18% since 2023, meaning roughly 118,000 more people experienced homelessness in 2024 compared with 2023. For some, like 22-year-old Imani, the instability of today’s landscape has made it increasingly difficult to secure employment and...