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Industry leaders Nancy Twine and James D. White share invaluable insights to help you accelerate your career. Both were featured as speakers at AFROTECH™’s Board Readiness Summit, which was held virtually from 10 a.m. ET to noon ET on March 25, 2025. The event offered keen insights on securing a board seat. Twine’s panel was moderated by Avary Bradford, founder and consultant at The Hive Consulting Co. White’s panel was moderated by Salah Goss, Mastercard’s head of social impact for North America at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Twine’s Panel Insights Twine and White reflected on their paths to securing their first board positions. Twine, who currently serves on the boards of Room to Grow and Cosmetic Executive Women, spoke first, detailing her transition to Vera Bradley, where she served from June 2021 to June 2023, according to LinkedIn. This opportunity came nearly eight years after she founded Briogeo Hair Care—a clean, natural hair care brand designed for all hair...
A Black woman-owned wine brand has secured a sweet victory. Established in 2023, IBest Wines has secured a partnership with American Airlines. The company was launched by Ingrid Best, who carries two decades of experience in the wine and spirits sector from companies such as Diageo, Moët Hennessy, and Bacardi, the company website mentions. She entered the industry as a brand ambassador, assisting in the launch of a small rum brand for Diageo in San Francisco, CA, New York, and Miami, FL, she said during an interview on “Way Up With Angela Yee.” She later rose up the ranks in the aforementioned companies, holding titles that include Regional Marketing Manager for Hennessy (2013-2016), Brand Director for D’USSE (2019-2020), and CE’s EVP, Global Head of Marketing Spirits (2021). Her career milestones include managing two of the largest venture joint spirit partnerships. “I was so fortunate to be exposed to every facet of the business, which typically, in an ambassador role, you aren’t...
It’s a full-circle moment for Carmelo Anthony as he finds himself back where his journey first began. In 2022, the former NBA player made his foray into the wine sector with the launch of the global wine estate brand VII(N), as AFROTECH™ previously told you. He had shown an interest in wine more than a decade ago. While playing for the New York Knicks, he drank a bottle of Petrus, which played a pivotal role in his desire to create a wine profile, but instead for daily use. “I obviously know I couldn’t drink Petrus as my go-to wine every day, but I was chasing that taste profile, and it’s impossible to find it anywhere else. You just can’t. But I had to come down to earth and start figuring out what I could drink on a daily basis. I do have a very high taste profile, I must say,” he explained, according to Haute Living. While playing in New York, Anthony also adds that he was expanding not only his palette but also his network. His time in the city cemented his need to become a more...
If you are creating impact as a founder and leader or are a corporate catalyst interested in joining a board, look no further than AFROTECH’s Board Readiness Summit. From 10 a.m. ET to noon ET on March 25, 2025, this virtual event will deliver exclusive insights and strategies to empower you with the tools and confidence to secure a board seat. Landing a post whether for a nonprofit, which is often a good starting point, or for-profit, will require experience and skills such as strategic planning and development, leadership, collaboration and more, Forbes notes. Learn From Nancy Twine To position you for success, discussions will be led by industry leaders, starting with former Goldman Sachs VP Nancy Twine, who launched Briogeo Hair Care in 2013 and turned it into a $100 million business within nearly a decade, according to Forbes. She also made history as the youngest Black woman to launch products at Sephora. The brand went on to land placement at Ulta Beauty. What’s more, Twine...
Denver, CO -based KT Winery, a Black, Asian-owned, and women-led wine company, has expanded its board of advisors to include Monique Rodriguez, founder of global beauty brand Mielle Organics , and Rachel Roff, founder of clinical skincare brand Urban Skin Rx . According to a March 13, 2025 news release, Kristin Taylor and Macie Mincey launched KT Winery in 2020 for the modern, health-conscious wine drinker and to address the lack of diversity representation in the wine industry. The brand is available in over 500 locations online and at select retailers, including Target and Total Wine, and on flights with major airlines. Rodriguez and Roff will provide strategic guidance to help shape the brand’s direction. “We are honored to have such notable female founders join the KT Winery board of advisors to provide their insight and guidance as we continue to grow another woman-led brand made for us,” said Taylor. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , Rodriguez founded Mielle Organics in...
Maryland’s first Black family-owned wine company is expanding! As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Boyd Cru Wines is led by married couple Matthew and Jon’ll Boyd, who pursued separate career paths for over a decade before collaborating on a shared business venture in the wine industry. For over a decade, Jon’ll worked in the event planning industry, while Matthew built his career in the pharmaceutical and chemistry sectors. In the wake of COVID-19 in 2020, Jon’ll’s industry came to a standstill, leading to a greater focus on what became Boyd Cru Wines in April 2023. “I think the pivotal point for us came right about during the pandemic because that, of course for me, brought my event planning business to a very quick and fast halt as you can imagine with people not being able to gather,” Jon’ll told the Washington Business Journal. “It afforded us an opportunity to delve deeper into the wine industry, and simultaneously, I think at that time, I was seeing that there was some shifting...
During Donovan Mitchell’s off season he is educating himself on the wine sector. The starting guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers is said to be the first-ever NBA star wine apprentice, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. Mitchell dove into the various aspects of winemaking with the help of The Prisoner, a Napa Valley-based wine brand that has worked closely with the NBA since 2020. The company also works with 100 growers in the northern region to produce various blends, according to their website. Mitchell’s introduction to the winery dates back to two years ago, while attending an event in the midst of the summer league in Las Vegas. “Ever since then it’s been a non-stop in my house,” he explained in a YouTube video. Now, as a student in the field and through the assistance of The Prisoner’s head winemakers, Chrissy Wittmann and Todd Ricard, he became more familiar with the systems in place to blend wines while in the barrel room and has gained an understanding of the...
Theodora Lee is the first Black vineyard owner and wine producer in Mendocino County, CA. Lee’s introduction to wine began when she was 8 years old, while she was helping her grandfather on his cattle farm in Texas. By the 1980s, she had developed a personal interest in wine. ”My dad picked wild Muscadine grapes and made home brew,“ she told The Press Democrat. ”Given that Muscadine was my first introduction to wine, I found that sweet and syrupy wine nasty. I really had no taste for wine until I moved to California in the ’80s and learned about fine wine.“ Lee chose a path in law , working more than 36 years at the Littler Mendelson, P.C. law firm and splitting her time between Yorkville Highlands, CA; Oakland Hills, CA; and Dallas, TX. However, her passion for wine led her to add a new title to her resume: wine producer. “My first introduction to a grape farm was in Healdsburg, [CA], and specifically Dry Creek Valley,“ she said. “Walking that vineyard made me want to become a...
Robin and Andrea McBride have done what most would consider unimaginable within the wine industry, but for them, like most big moments in their lives… every step of the process has been pretty kismet, according to Robin. In 2005, the McBride sisters started their wine journey when they began importing grapes from New Zealand (called Aotearoa by the indigenous Maori people) . By 2009, they began to cultivate juices together, and before they knew it, in 2017, the sisters began producing wine straight from their respective homes in Monterey, CA, and New Zealand under the McBride Sisters Collection label that they are known for today. When recalling what makes her most proud of this journey, Robin honed in on their initial vision and mission for entering the wine industry, and that was “changing the perception of wine being elitist and exclusive.”
Dwyane Wade is working to diversify the wine industry. The former basketball athlete is accomplishing this as the founder of his own wine brand, Wade Cellars, established in 2014, and as a University of California (UC Davis), Davis board member. According to a news release, Wade joined the school’s Executive Leadership Board for the Department of Viticulture and Enology in 2021. At the time of appointment, David Block , a professor and chair of the viticulture and enology department, shared in a statement: “All of our new board leaders have really unique skills to help the department achieve our strategic goals. They bring excellent communication skills, a passion for diversifying the industry and making sure students receive a great education and fulfilling career, and a passion for wine. Past and current members will help us to reach even a higher level of teaching, research and continuing education for the industry.” Wade’s participation was to serve as a doorway for expanding...
James Moss created his first wine alongside his wife for their wedding. Today, the couple have built a family-owned business that is among the “less than 1% of the 11,500 wineries across the U.S. are Black-owned,” according to Napa Valley Register. Call it a match made in business as the couple connected during a time when Moss’s now-wife Janet worked at Domaine Carneros while obtaining her winemaking degree. They had an instant connection that would lead them to move in together and eventually say their “I Do’s” with their wine to celebrate. “I asked her, ‘Hey, let’s just make some wine in the garage,’” Moss told Napa Valley Register. “And it came out great. It was Merlot. And so we served it at our wedding, and it was a big hit. So I said, ‘Let’s make some commercial wine.’” The wine venture marked a pivot for James, who initially wanted to pursue a sales and marketing career when he moved to California from Texas. James’ career transition would be further affirmed after he...
Dexter and Marilyn Meadows are not only united in marriage but in business too. Love Story The couple of 52 years grew up in a small town in Tuskegee, AL, attending the same church and high school. They would establish a steady friendship and begin dating when they attended Tuskegee Institute, now known as the Tuskegee University. By their junior year of college, the two officially tied the knot. Upon graduating in 1972, they packed their bags and moved to the University of Michigan so Dexter could advance his education in landscape architecture. “All we had with us was our ambition to succeed and a few hundred dollars,” Marilyn, a biology graduate with a minor in chemistry and mathematics, told AFROTECH. Dexter would ultimately obtain another degree and land a job offer at the Forest Service in Southern California. Marilyn recalls working several jobs at the time, which included a role at a Steward Pharmaceuticals in quality assurance and as a substitute teacher in math and science...
Basketball legend Tony Parker is set to release a wine. Per Bloomberg, entering the wine sector has been a long held goal for Parker since he was 20 years old. “I’ve dreamed of being in the wine business,” he told the outlet. Born in Belgium, he first tasted wine when he was 17 and was able to explore his pallet after signing on to play for the San Antonio Spurs in 2001, where he furthered his wine knowledge through Head Coach Gregg Popovich. Parker would then dedicate summer breaks to visiting estates in France’s Bordeux region, k nown for its top quality wine, including Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Angelus, and Palmer, among others. “I used to ‘love’ to get them to open bottles of 1982,” Parker explained, according to Bloomberg. Coincidently, in addition to it being his birth year, 1982 is also one of the best wine vintages of the past century. Turning his passion into a business, Parker has been soaking up knowledge as a partner in Chateau Las Mascaronne and Champagne Jeeper. He sees...
This Harlem wine shop is providing greater visibility to Black winemakers. Married couple Pascal and Daneen Lewis have been co-owners of the Harlem Wine Gallery, a business that’s said to have the largest selection of Black winemakers and wine brands in New York City, NowThis News reports.
