Mon, 07 Nov
|Zoom Graduation
The Emerging Leaders Celebration
A celebration of the Black Girl Ventures' inaugural class of Emerging Leaders, formally known as Change Agent Fellows.


Time & Location
07-Nov-2022, 6:00 pm – 08-Nov-2022, 8:00 pm
Zoom Graduation
About the Event
"The wings of transformation are born of patience & struggle." - Anonymous
In 2019, Black Girl Ventures received a grant to expand BGV's efforts in providing Black/Brown woman-identifying founders access to community, capital, and capacity building. As a result, founders from Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, and NYC were recruited as Emerging Leaders, formally known as Change Agent Fellows, to help spread the BGV mission and deliver programming within their local communities.
The Emerging Leaders Celebration, marks the culmination of their time together as a cohort. We celebrate their service and commitment not only to BGV, but to their fellow founders and respective communities.
Keynote Speaker: Jurnee Smollett
Jurnee Smollett is an award-winning actress and activist of rare talent and conviction. Most recently, she
starred in J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele and Misha Green’s critically acclaimed drama for HBO, “Lovecraft
Country” which premiered in August 2020. Smollett’s performance was lauded by industry insiders and
critics alike. Since the show’s release, Smollett has earned a Critics Choice Super Award for “Best Actress
in a Horror Series” and was nominated for an Emmy Award, Critics Choice Award and NAACP Image
Award for “Best Lead Actress in a Drama.”