Board of Directors

Leadership

Karmia Lewis
Executive Director

Before becoming ABEPP’s Executive Director Karmia Lewis was a Licensed Realtor at NextHome Triangle Properties. With a background in hospitality and training, Karmia advocated for her clients and built a relationship with a basis of professionalism, honesty, and trust.

Before transitioning to real estate, Karmia worked in the hotel industry and for both the Federal and State Governments conducting training and project management.

Board of Directors

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq.
President & Chair

Aimee is the Principal of Life & Legacy Counselors (formerly The Griffin Firm, PLLC) and leads her team to deliver business growth and estate planning services.

Recognized for her leadership, business and legal acumen, Aimee serves with her voice to support economic development.

Antoine M. ThompsonDirector

Antoine Thompson is the Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC). A staunch advocate for the people and small business, Antoine began his career in public service as a Legislative Assistant for the Buffalo Common Council Central Staff and served as one of the New York State Senators representing Buffalo for four years.

Antoine has a strong focus on eliminating the racial wealth gap through homeownership.

Ebonie Alexander
Director

Lillian “Ebonie” Alexander is the Executive Director of the Black Family Land Trust, Inc. (BFLT). The BFLT is a niche land trust and one of the nation’s only regional land trust dedicated to the preservation and protection of African-American and other historically underserved landowners land assets.

Since joining the BFLT in 2009, Ebonie designed and implemented the African American Land Ethic and Wealth Retention and Asset Protection (WRAP) programs. Together these two programs have assisted landowners to retain family ownership and control of more than $12.5 million of their land assets and deployed more than $500,000 USDA-EQIP funding to landowners during the past five years.

Hermond Palmer
Director

He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts & Sciences and the Wharton Graduate School of Business. Palmer is a classically trained, results-oriented senior-level marketing executive with extensive experience for delivering innovative programs to enhance shareholder value.

LaTanya White
Director

Dr. LaTanya White is an inclusive scholar-practitioner working at the intersection of racial equity and entrepreneurship curriculum design. Her doctoral research produced an evidence-based, comprehensive approach to redesigning business development training programs to account for the lived experience and ancestral narrative of Black entrepreneurs.

Dr. White, a 2x author and TEDx speaker, is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Concept Creative Group (CCG), a firm providing end-to-end technical assistance expertise for Black entrepreneurs. CCG’s flagship program BRACE For Impact™ centers Belonging, Racial Access, Historical Context, and Racial Equity for Black entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them in their pursuit of economic justice and equality.

Latresa McLawhorn Ryan
Director

Latresa McLawhorn Ryan is the founder and CEO of Blackbird Strategy Group. With a personal purpose and career focused on creating economic security and sustainable generational wealth, she has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor with a unique ability to make complex ideas compelling by combining critical thinking with practical implementation.

Prior to founding Blackbird Strategy Group, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) where she raised and distributed over $36M in capital to support small business growth, development–– and ultimately, survival at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining AWBI, Latresa held leadership roles at SunTrust Bank, Operation Hope, and as an attorney serving clients nationally.

Lori Gay
Director

She is currently serving as the Co-Chair and President of the Black Community Developers Group, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Black communities through community development initiatives.

Gay serves as the CEO and President of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing, financial education, and community development programs to low-income families in Los Angeles County.

Tracy L. Prigmore
Director

Tracy L. Prigmore is the Founder of TLTsolutions, a real estate investment and development firm that provides unparalleled access and insight to alternative investments.

Through TLTsolutions she creates opportunities for individuals, families and entities to obtain passive income by investing in residential, multifamily and hospitality projects.

Tracy is also the creator of She Has A Deal, a platform designed to create new pathways to hotel ownership and development for women.