BJ Chester-Tamayo
BJ Chester-Tamayo grew up in Meridian, MS. With her parents H.S. & Alcenia Chester. She grew up in a home filled with love and a lot of family bonding over many meals. After High School, she moved to Memphis with her military husband whom she later divorced. As a single mother, with a one son, she went back to school and graduated. BJ received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in May 1996 from LeMoyne-Owen College.
Ashley Armstrong
Ashley Hardesty Armstrong is a 34 year old resident of Winston Salem, North Carolina. She received a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Textile Management and Brand Management in 2013 from North Carolina State University, in Raleigh NC.
Virginia Hardesty
Virginia is a graduate of East Carteret High School in Beaufort, North Carolina. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics Education from North Carolina A&T State University in 1979. She graduated third in her class and first in the Mathematics Department. In her collegiate years she served as Teacher's Assistant, Math Tutor, President of Alpha Chi Mathematics Honor Society, and played Volleyball.
Debra Freeman
Debra Freeman is an award-winning podcaster and writer with a focus on Black foodways throughout America, particularly in Virginia and the greater South. She is host and creator of Setting the Table, which was named podcast of the year by IACP in 2023. She is the food editor for Style Weekly in Richmond, Virginia, and the executive producer and host of the upcoming documentary Finding Edna Lewis.
Adrian Lipscombe
Adrian Lipscombe, a proud native Texan, embarked on her career in city planning upon earning her Masters in Architecture from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She made a significant impact working with the private sector and municipal governments in Austin and San Antonio on community-focused projects.
KJ Kearney
KJ Kearney is the founder of Black Food Fridays, James Beard Award nominated social media advocacy initiative which encourages everyone to purchase food and drinks from Black owned restaurants each and every Friday. Since starting in April of 2020, Black Food Fridays has organically grown from to over 124K+ followers on Instagram and over 150K+ followers on TikTok. Through this initiative, he has been able to work with organizations like Target, Pepsi, the Charleston Visitors Bureau, and the Charleston Wine and Food Festival.
Jackie Killings
Jackie is co-founder of K & M Technologies – a technology and innovation scouting firm that connects entrepreneurs and start-ups with established corporations. She is also the founder and President of Khensani Business Advisors – an organizational management and training firm that helps organizations unlock their potential and be better versions of themselves.
Karen Blouin-Clay
Karen Blouin-Clay, an award-winning strategic communications leader, is known for guiding executives to develop their unique voice, fostering deeper connections with stakeholders. Currently serving as the National Director of Executive Communications for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Karen crafts compelling narratives as chief speechwriter for the CEO.
Deborah VanTrece
Chef Deborah VanTrece is one of the South’s most high-profile culinary personalities. In addition to penning the best-selling Twisted Soul Cookbook, running two award-winning restaurants, a catering company and curating the menu for American Express Atlanta Centurion Lounge, she has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, The Michelin Guide and Yelp’s Best New Restaurants… all in the last year alone.
Anela Malik
Anela Malik is the founder of Feed The Malik, a food blog, digital marketing, and advocacy business that focuses on telling complex, diverse stories through food.
Mashama Bailey
Mashama Bailey is the James Beard award-winning executive chef of the critically acclaimed The Grey, set in a former Greyhound bus terminal in Savannah, GA, as well as all-day counterpart The Grey Market.
Adrian Miller
Adrian received an A.B in International Relations from Stanford University in 1991, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. From 1999 to 2001, Adrian served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America – the first free-standing office in the White House to address issues of racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation.
Todd Richards
Chef Todd Richards is an award-winning chef known for his contemporary cooking style rooted in Soul & Southern cuisines. A native of Chicago, and based in Atlanta since the early 1990s, Richards is a self-taught chef and two-time semifinalist for James Beard Foundation Awards - Best Chef: Southeast.
Lolis Eric Elie
Lolis Eric Elie is a native New Orleanian and former Times-Picayune columnist. He has written about food for the Oxford American, Gourmet and the Art of Eating.
Anne Quatrano
Anne Quatrano has helped steer the trajectory of Atlanta’s dining scene for more than two decades by pioneering a simple principle—she was one of the city’s first chefs to showcase local ingredients prepared with precision and presented artfully.
Sarah O’Brien
Sarah O’Brien has owned and operated Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood for over a decade. What started as a farmers market table has grown into a business with three locations, multiple market tables, and a sister soft-serve shop, Big Softie.
Lisa Donovan
Lisa Donovan is a James Beard award-winning writer who has redefined what it means to be a "Southern baker" as the pastry chef to some of the South's most influential chefs.
Cheryl Day
Cheryl Day is a celebrated heritage baker, New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and two-time James Beard Award nominee. As a dynamic entrepreneur and captivating on-air personality, Cheryl’s charm shines through on popular TV shows like Christopher Kimball’s Milkstreet and My Family Recipe, Netflix’s High on the Hog, as well as on numerous podcasts, where she shares her profound expertise in southern heritage scratch baking with her trademark approachable homespun style.