Tawanna Black

Tawanna A. Black is a nationally recognized thought leader known for influencing, inspiring, and equipping cross-sector leaders to transform a personal conviction for equality into actions that produce equitable and thriving communities. For more than 20 years, Tawanna has led multi-sector collaboratives, triple bottom line diversity and inclusion strategy development, and economic revitalization organizations in Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

In 2017, Tawanna launched the Center for Economic Inclusion, the nation’s first organization dedicated exclusively to creating inclusive regional economies by equipping public and private sector employers to dismantle institutional racism and build shared accountability for inclusive economic growth.

As Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tawanna leads a team of people who offer ground-breaking consulting products and services to move businesses and local and regional governments from diversity and inclusion programs to triple bottom line results that are good for employees, employers, and communities; foster shared accountability for regional inclusive growth; change the narrative about the economic imperative and value of closing racial wealth gaps.

Prior to founding the Center, Tawanna was Executive Director of the Northside Funders Group. The place-based funders collaborative comprised of 20 corporate, community, and private foundations and public-sector investors committed to aligning investments and strategies and changing philanthropic practices to catalyze racial and economic equity in North Minneapolis.

Before moving to Minnesota, Tawanna led diversity and inclusion for Cox Communications in Omaha, Nebraska, where she served as an advisor to the senior management team, establishing the first business inclusion strategy, responsible for setting the highest standards for business growth, innovation, and stakeholder return by ensuring that the company understood and acted upon the needs of diverse communities.

Prior to Cox, Tawanna served as the first Executive Director for Destination Midtown, leading an unprecedented community economic development public-private partnership. Her visionary leadership led to more than $500 million of re-investment, attracting over 30 small businesses, and building the civic infrastructure for meaningful co-creation between residents, small and large businesses and policy makers in the historic heart of Omaha in just three years.

Tawanna is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. She has a Bachelor of Public Administration Degree from Washburn University in Topeka, KS.

Tawanna’s accomplishments and civic leadership have been recognized with many awards and commendations, including: Selected as one of the nations’ Top 25 Disruptive Leaders working to close racial gaps by Living Cities (2016); Washburn University Alumni Fellow (2018); Twin Cities Business Magazine’s 100 People to Know (2017); Minneapolis- St. Paul Business Journals Women in Business Award Winner (2017); Midlands Business Journal’s (Omaha) 40 Under 40 (2004); Minnesota Business Magazines’ Real Power 50 (2017); and a recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship by the Bush Foundation (2014).

Tawanna has lent her leadership to over 35 nonprofit and philanthropic boards over the past decade. Today, she generously lends her time to: Minnesota Tech Association Board of Directors; Washburn University Alumni Foundation Board of Trustees; Community Advisory Board of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute; and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

Tawanna is married to Eric Black and has two children.