UrbanGeekz 50 2024: Community Builders and Ecosystem Warriors

Dennis Shultz – Blacks In Technology Foundation

With over 20 years of experience in the tech industry and stints at some of tech’s most respected brands (Rackspace Technology, Dropbox, Gartner, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, VERITAS Software, and APC, to name a few), Dennis Shultz is now the Executive Director of the Blacks in Technology Foundation, and the New York City Chapter President for the organization. The Blacks In Technology Foundation is the largest community of Black people in the technology industry. Through community-focused activities, events, and outreach, the Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation is “Stomping the Divide” by establishing a blueprint of world-class technical excellence and innovation. BIT’s partners include Amazon Web Services, providing training, digital courses, and resources to support its members in achieving their Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. Shultz is also the founder and CEO of ParazzMe, a mobile app that provides high-quality, on-demand visual production for photography and videography.

Aniyia Williams – Omidyar Network / BIA

Opera singer turned tech-entrepreneur Aniyia Williams is currently principal on the Responsible Technology team at Omidyar, where she works to help the tech world live up to its promise of making the world a better place. Before joining Omidyar Network, Aniyia founded Black & Brown Founders, a nonprofit that helps Black and Latinx entrepreneurs launch tech businesses. She continues to serve as the organization’s board chair. Aniyia is also co-founder of Zebras Unite, an entrepreneur-led movement focused on creating a more ethical and sustainable startup ecosystem through capital, culture, and community; convener of the Black Innovation Alliance, an ecosystem of organizations that support, fund, and sustain Black innovators; and co-founder of the Firefly Alliance, a community that equips women with collaborative leadership skills to move beyond racism and sexism. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Aniyia held marketing, business development, and nonprofit fundraising roles. She founded the tech fashion company Tinsel, which invented the world’s first audio necklace, a direct response to a lack of electronics explicitly developed for women. She also has a background in the arts, with a decade of training as an opera singer. In 2019, Williams was honored by Penn State with the esteemed Alumni Achievement Award, presented to prominent alumni 35 and younger.

Gary Stewart – Founder 

Gary Stewart is a venture partner at Level Up Ventures, a Hearst-backed corporate venture capital fund that invests in high-growth startups led by Black and Latinx founders.
Before this role, Steward was Managing Director of the Techstars New York City Accelerator fund powered by J.P Morgan. Speaking in an interview with Techstars, Stewart shares three major lessons that he’s learned from his career: “Your network is your net worth. Who you know still matters at least as much as what you know”, “leverage allies who want to see you succeed and might have the resources and networks to make it happen” and lastly “being a founder is tough”; your self-worth cannot be tied to what you do.

Stewart is also the co-founder and CEO of “The Nest,” a mobile app that could be called “Masterclass for founders,” and has raised more than $1m from a high net worth before launching. The serial entrepreneur, he previously founded FounderTribes (which pitches itself as Tinder for founders) and Wayra UK, a corporate accelerator backed by Telefonica (O2), where he invested in 185 startups that raised $265m and were valued at more than $1billion. He frequently contributed to Forbes Magazine; he is the Governor of the University of East London, he has been twice on the Power List of the most influential black people in the UK, and was named by the Financial Times as one of the UK’s top 100 LGBT Executives in 2016*.

Preston James – DivInc

Preston L. James II is the Co-founder and CEO of DivInc, a nonprofit aimed at supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs. A former 20-year veteran at Dell, where he served in executive leadership roles in Enterprise IT Sales and Consulting, where he led teams responsible for driving $250M+ in revenues, James also served as the Managing Director for the Dell Global Center for Entrepreneurship, where he oversaw the $100M Dell Credit Fund. Talking about the inspiration behind founding DivInc, James describes becoming the Managing Director of Dell’s Global Center for Entrepreneurship in 2012, “working closely with tech startups to help them scale and grow their businesses… I got bit by the startup bug and was really drawn to the true innovation happening in the startup world. In this role, I noticed the lack of diversity in the startup ecosystems globally. I was often the only black person in the room, and there were always very few women, if any.” He sees DivInc as his “legacy work,” transforming ecosystems and making them more authentically diverse. James sits on the Board of Directors at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Mission Capital, and I Live Here, I Give Here.

Ifeoma Ike – Black Innovation Alliance 

Ifeoma Ike is an award-winning lawyer, researcher, and policy strategist. She is also the founder and Chief Equity Weaver of Pink Cornrows, specializing in designing solutions that advance equity by combining the cultural genius of marginalized communities with her team’s background in law, communications, and research.
Ifeoma’s work extends far beyond local communities. She supports industry leaders across diverse sectors to achieve their impact goals and designs data-driven strategies that create safe spaces for historically disenfranchised communities.
Her vision for the Black Policy Lab, an annual gathering where everyone is an expert, is a testament to her global perspective. She believes everyone is qualified to imagine how we can create policies to improve the lives of Black people globally, inspiring hope and a sense of possibility.
Several outlets have awarded her, including the American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Huffington Post, HBO, and Vanity Fair. Her company, Pink Cornrows, was named one of the top 75 consulting firms in New York State by City & State.
Ifeoma is the author of the bestselling #1 new release, “The Equity Mindset,” which she describes as “the pocket thought partner for the person tired of just talking about change.” She is an NYU McSilver Institute Resident Fellow and a Pioneering Ideas Grantee with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her groundbreaking Radical Sabbatical project. Ifeoma is also the interim Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Black Innovation Alliance*.

 Lamar Tyler – Traffic Sales & Profit (TSP)

Lamar Tyler is a digital entrepreneur and a powerful advocate for Black-owned businesses. As the creator and co-founder of Traffic Sales & Profit (TSP), Tyler has built a thriving community dedicated to helping African American entrepreneurs grow their businesses through online marketing strategies. TSP offers valuable tools and resources to increase website traffic, boost online sales, and maximize profits, making it a go-to platform for purpose-driven businesses.
Tyler’s journey into entrepreneurship began with the founding of BlackandMarriedWithKids.com alongside his wife, Ronnie. What started as a personal blog evolved into the most popular online destination for African American marriage and parenting advice. The success of this platform showcased Tyler’s unique ability to connect with an audience through authentic and impactful digital content.
Over the years, Lamar Tyler has amassed a social media following of over 600,000 fans and reached more than 51,000 customers globally. His work has been widely recognized, earning him and his wife spots on Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 list and as finalists for Black Enterprise’s Family Business of the Year. Additionally, Tyler has been honored with the ClickFunnels Two Comma Club Award for his exceptional impact in digital marketing.
Tyler has become a beacon of economic empowerment within the Black community through his efforts with TSP. He gives entrepreneurs the knowledge and tools to succeed in an increasingly digital world. His work drives business success and contributes to a broader movement of economic progress and cultural pride.

Benjamin Vann – Impact Ventures

Benjamin J. Vann is passionate about social and economic justice, specifically for disadvantaged and marginalized groups. He is the Founder and CEO of Impact Ventures, a 501c3 startup accelerator with a mission to empower talented yet under-resourced women and entrepreneurs of color to build generational wealth through inclusive entrepreneurship and integrated capital.
Since 2017,  Impact Ventures has impacted nearly 3500 people through community networking events, hackathons, workshops, and summits. The firm’s IV flagship accelerator program has trained 147 founders and 103 companies to raise $14M, create 310 jobs, engage over 260 mentors, and offer over 5200 hours of training and mentorship.
Benjamin has received several awards and recognitions. In 2023, the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce awarded him the 38th Quest for Success Award. In 2022, he was named a Dallas Business Journal 40 under 40 awardee. He was also named one of the 2021 DCEO Dallas 500 Most Powerful CEOs in Dallas.
He is a Fellow of the leadership council of the SMU Hunt Institute of Engineering Inclusive Economies Consortium (IEC), a 2021 Just Economy Institute Fellow, a 2020 Boston Impact Initiative Fund Building Fellow, and was named one of the top 50 Future Innovators of DFW in 2020 Dallas Innovates Magazine. He is also a 2018 World Economic Forum Global Shaper Fellow.