Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative Launches New Podcast ‘Black Wealth Unlocked’
The podcast will begin with a four-part series on AWBI’s origins, commitment to building Black wealth, and its upcoming landmark report.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 21, 2023
Contact: media@atlantawealthbuilding.org
ATLANTA—Today, the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) launched a new podcast, Black Wealth Unlocked, hosted by AWBI CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Janelle Williams.
In the debut episode, Dr. Williams invites Tené Traylor, AWBI co-founder and Urban Institute vice president for nonprofits and philanthropy, for an intimate conversation about the organization’s origins, its unwavering commitment to building Black wealth despite challenging times amplified by the pandemic and tragic police brutality, its profound impact on communities in Atlanta and beyond, and the future of the organization.
“We are thrilled to launch our new podcast, Black Wealth Unlocked, which will serve as a space for us to discuss how AWBI is working to build Black wealth through strategic alliances, research, and policy reform,” said Dr. Williams. “I wanted to create a space for authentic conversations that inspire action, and I knew we needed to share our origin story which has a profound influence on our organization’s identity. I am thrilled to have Tené join us for this special debut episode to have a real discussion on our remarkable journey to creating AWBI, our commitment to Black communities, and AWBI’s mission to build wealth for Black communities.”
This episode will be the first in a four-part series which will also focus on AWBI’s upcoming landmark report that builds on our new manifesto, The Beloved Economy: The Imperative to Build Black Wealth Manifesto.
Subscribe to AWBI’s Black Wealth Unlocked on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and be sure to watch the full episode on YouTube here.
###
About Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative
Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) is a catalytic nonprofit that seeks to achieve shared prosperity by building Black wealth through community wealth building strategies. We are a community of investors, advocates, and activists working to transform systems and structures of capital to create opportunities to build Black wealth in Atlanta and across the South. We promote an understanding of community wealth-building strategies to cultivate the engagement, capacity, and leadership necessary to shape a new economic narrative.
By challenging systemic bias and introducing new systems and structures of capital, AWBI aims to re-engineer and redesign local economic ecosystems such that all sectors, from small businesses to large corporations, to anchor institutions, philanthropy, nonprofits and government, consider day to day how to integrate the economic well-being of our most disinvested communities into their strategy and operations.
About Dr. Janelle Williams
Dr. Williams is a visionary strategist that inspires people, practices, and possibilities. She has committed her life to a mission of advancing strategies, investments and policies that increase opportunities for disinvested communities – particularly those bearing the burdens of systemic racism and economic exclusion. Dr. Williams serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative – a catalytic change agent committed to building Black wealth. She also previously served as Principal Adviser with the Community Economic Development team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Dr. Williams is a skillful collaborator who builds alliances to broaden support, leverage resources and improve results. She worked internally and externally to advance system mandates and strategic priorities, while applying defensible, equitable and inclusive lens to community economic development approaches. She also co-designed the Federal Reserve Bank’s groundbreaking Racism and the Economy series with colleagues across the 12 Reserve Banks which amplified how structural racism constrains the overall competitiveness of our economy. She recently co-authored the Small Businesses of Color Recovery Guide and Navigating a Crisis - An Uneven Recovery for Communities and Organizations in the Southeast.
Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Dr. Williams led economic opportunity initiatives for the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Atlanta Civic Site. While at the Foundation, she administered millions in grants and leveraged significant co-investment. She served as the lead author of Casey’s Changing the Odds reports. Her work has served as a national model to other grant makers looking to operationalize racial equity and inclusion. She also served as a Congressional Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, conducting community economic development research. She served as a youth organizer in her native homeland, Trinidad, and Tobago, before immigrating to the United States. Williams holds a doctorate in international family and community studies from Clemson University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Georgia and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from Florida Memorial University. She is a fellow for the Association of Black Foundation Executives’ Connecting Leader, Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education, Power, Innovation and Leadership program, an alumnus of the Atlanta Leaders for Results and LEAD Atlanta programs.
About Tené Traylor
Tené Traylor is vice president for nonprofits and philanthropy at the Urban Institute. She brings national expertise in place-based philanthropy, equity, and civic leadership, particularly in the South, where she has honed a distinguished career in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. She joined Urban after concluding her tenure at The Kendeda Fund, where she oversaw several grantmaking portfolios totaling $8 million annually.
Before joining Kendeda, Traylor was a senior program officer at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. She led community development and neighborhood transformation grantmaking (including the Neighborhood Fund) for 10 years, launched several related programs and initiatives, and helped transform the foundation’s grantmaking approach from programmatic to general or core support. She has also held positions with the United Way for Greater Atlanta and the Zeist Foundation Inc.
Traylor holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Georgia State University and a master of public administration degree in public policy and nonprofit administration from the University of Georgia.