The BALSA Foundation Spring 2018 BALSA Grant awards. Each first-time entrepreneurs will receive $1,000 in cash grants, along with professional services and mentorship to help them start and grow their business. (Sitting Left to right: Kianna Hill, Soaps by Ki; Rose Lucas representing Kathy Horry, G.I.F.T.E.D. Music Mentor Program; Myisa Whitlock, Pop Up Professionals; Wendy Todd, Carbon; Ronelle Bailey,True Wardrobe; Standing Left to right: Tom Cohen, Director; Ademola Kassim, Outreach Director, Janell Cleare, BALSA Foundation Volunteer; Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano, Business Director; Joe Monahan, Apotheosis City Project; Erica Chavez, A Dream Cleaning Company; Brittany Goldsby, Speaker Leaks; Arielle Abramzik-Travelstead, Vibrantly Mindful; Arpan Majumder, Finance Director; Aziz Traore, Executive Director).
We are delighted to announce our Spring 2018 BALSA Grant Finalists! These ten first time entrepreneurs will each receive a $1000 cash grant, in-kind donations of professional services, and ongoing mentorship to help start and grow their business:
- Arielle Abramzik-Travelstead, Vibrantly Mindful
- Ronelle Bailey, True Wardrobe
- Erika Chavez Lopez, A Dream Cleaning Company
- Brittanie Goldsby, Speaker Leaks
- Kianna Hill, Soaps by Ki
- Kathy Horry, G.I.F.T.E.D Music Mentor Program
- Christopher Miller, Aerospace CRM
- Joe Monahan, Apotheosis City Project
- Wendy Todd, Carbon
- Myisa Whitlock, Pop Up Professionals
You can read more about the finalists here.
The award ceremony featured a conversation with Jason Wilson, CEO of Northwest Coffee Roasting hosted by Dr. Cheryl Watkins Moore, Director of the BIOSTL Inclusion Initiative. The conversation covered Jason’s scrappy professional background that brought him to the success he is currently experiencing in his career, his thoughts for promoting a more diverse and inclusive Saint Louis, and how he ended up on camera handing Joe Biden a bag of coffee.
See our press release here.
Photos from the Spring 2018 BALSA Grant Award Ceremony
