Originators
Origin
Witnessing the steady growth of creatives in need of business guidance, entrepreneurs Kimberlee Williams and Jeff Billingsley conceived the Newark Business Hub – a B Corporation – as a 360 initiative where creative entrepreneurs would receive not only
the skills to grow and sustain their respective businesses, but to create ownership opportunities for creatives through community revitalization efforts. Together with primary partner and Rutgers University-Newark liaison, Lyneir Richardson, the team has
a firm grip on what’s needed to see these innovative entrepreneurs thrive in a rapidly growing metropolis that serves as the backdrop to a bourgeoning creative arts epicenter.
Mission
To disrupt the gentrification paradigm by assisting creative entrepreneurs to accumulate wealth through ownership opportunities that leverage community revitalization efforts in rapidly appreciating urban markets.
TEAm
Kimberlee Williams
CEO and cofounder of Femworks, a media and communications
agency specialized in multicultural and urban emerging markets.
Successfully launching two previous small business advocacy organizations, Williams currently serves as CEO for Shift Small Business Now, a 501(c)(3) committed to the advancement of small businesses in developing metropolitan areas. A forward-thinking social entrepreneur with over 20 years of business experience, Williams’ reach has global scale as the founding curator of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Newark community.
Jeff Billingsley
CEO and founder of Cobblestone Media, an Independent Multimedia
Company that is comprised of a music, film & television production group, casting agency, and professional audio recording services.
Billingsley is at the helm of several vocational apprenticeship programs for young people in partnership with Rutgers TEEM Gateway, Essex County College, and Ironbound Film Studios. He also serves as a member of the Berklee City Music Network, a program that prepares youth for professional music & film scholarships/
opportunities at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
Lyneir Richardson
Executive Director for the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and
Economic Development at Rutgers University-Newark—a mainstay partner for Newark Business Hub, Inc.
Having over 17 years of urban retail development, Richardson serves as CEO and cofounder of Chicago Trend, an organization that catalyzes, accelerates and finances
strategic retail development to drive neighborhood transformation. He is a seasoned commercial and residential real estate developer, corporate attorney and civic leader.