June 22nd, 2021
Partners
Chef
Chef Mimi
Chef Mimi is a Culinary Artist, Community strategist and Mother. Her work-life balance game is strong and developing it was imperative to her growth as a woman and professional. After graduating from San Francisco Culinary Arts Academy in 1995, she felt alone and wanted to see more chefs who looked like her be represented in the culinary industry media space.
Mimi launched her own television show and is the founder of The Black Food & Wine Experience Festival in Oakland. (a multicultural event in Oakland celebrating the intersection of food, beverage, diversity, social justice and collaboration).
Pottery
Kiera Thomas
OTY Ceramics
Keira Thompson founded OTY Ceramics in 2017 after discovering her passion for clay at POT, a Los Angeles pottery studio that is owned and operated by people of color. Now that Keira is pursuing a double Masters program in design and planning at UC Berkeley, she has had the opportunity to grow OTY into a full blown passion project. Each of Keira's speckled, wheel-thrown pieces are one of a kind, made with intention and purpose.
Floral Arrangements
Ieshia Edgerton
Rooted Floral + Design Co.
Ieshia Egerton was born and raised in East Palo Alto. After an unexpected move to Oakland, she fell into the floral business and opened Rooted Floral + Design Co. Ieshia understands and lives by the old adage of ‘The Rose That Grew From The Concrete’. As a result, it has empowered her to use her ingenuity, tireless work ethic, and heavenly essence to craft a wide array of radiant floral arrangements.
Wine
Dr. Chris Wachira
Wachira Wines
Wachira Wines is a black-owned, woman owned winery in Alameda County and the culmination of the extraordinary vision and effort of Dr. Chris (Christine) Wachira, the first Kenyan-born, Californian winemaker, distributor, importer, and exporter. As a young immigrant working her way through college, earning her Doctorate, Chris fell in love with the science of winemaking and developed a deep appreciation for the sense of community built from sharing a bottle of wine with complete strangers. Her story is about fighting for equity and the ability to succeed through adversity.