Khamil Bailey, a dedicated Black business advocate, is the driving force behind Cocoapreneur Pgh and the co-founder of Greenwood Week Pittsburgh and the Greenwood Plan nonprofit. Alongside these impactful initiatives, Khamil also owns the vibrant Emerald City Pittsburgh coworking space. Committed to achieving equity and economic justice for Black entrepreneurs, Khamil tirelessly champions equal access to resources and opportunities, ensuring that Black businesses flourish alongside their counterparts.

Tomashi Jackson (b. 1980, Houston, TX) combines painting, printmaking, and sculpture with archival research on public infrastructure policy. Her work explores intersections of visual and political languages in segregation, voting rights, education, labor, and housing. Considering color as both chromatic and social, she investigates its impact on the perceived value of human life in public space. Her work has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and exhibited at the Guggenheim, MOCA Los Angeles, and the High Museum.

Ken Ikeda is CEO of Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST). He has led organizations as diverse as BAVC Media, Association of Independents in Radio, International Documentary Association, Public Radio Capital, and Public Media Company. These orgs have leveraged private equity for nonprofit capital, launched start-ups, managed loan funds, and structured mergers and acquisitions to sustain and grow the reach of arts and media. Journalism, film, and audio storytelling are my passions, communities and activism.

Cierra Peters is an artist and writer. Her practice includes video, installation, writing, and experimental publishing. She is the Director of Communications, Culture & Enfranchisement at the Boston Ujima Project, a cooperative business, arts, and investment ecosystem built by and for Boston’s working-class communities of color.

Darren Isom is a partner in the San Francisco office, advising mission-driven organizations and philanthropic foundations on equity and justice. He co-leads the firm’s racial equity efforts and hosts the podcast Dreaming in Color. Darren founded the Memphis Music Initiative and has held leadership roles at Times Square Alliance and Groundwork. A Howard University graduate, he is an activist for disconnected youth and LGBT communities of color, serving on several boards and advising various foundations.

Bridging the Gap Development, LLC (“BTG”), founded in 2006, is a real estate development firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Derrick L. Tillman, Founder and President of BTG, leads the company’s mission to build sustainable communities through residential & commercial development. In order to achieve this goal, BTG develops a variety of development projects including mixed-income multifamily housing, mixed-use development, and public private partnerships.  Additionally, Tillman is a licensed broker in the State of PA and owner of Tillman Realty Group (TRG) and has been in the real estate industry for over 20 years. Finally, Tillman is married to his beautiful wife Nykia of 16 years and together they have three children.

Established in 2021, the Greenwood Plan is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit focused on supporting the communal health of Black communities. Our mission is to advance economic justice for Black communities by bridging people and knowledge networks, redirecting resources, and supporting the unique needs of Black businesses.

CAST (Community Arts Stabilization Trust) is a community-centered real estate organization that secures and stewards affordable, inclusive spaces for creative and cultural expression. Rooted in deep partnership with communities across the San Francisco Bay Area, CAST helps arts organizations build pathways to ownership, supports artists in securing long-term affordable leases, and creates dedicated spaces for cultural connection—ensuring artists and cultural workers can stay anchored where they create.

The Boston Ujima Project is a democratic, member-run organization building cooperative economic infrastructure in Boston to return wealth to working-class communities of color. Through the Ujima Fund, members democratically invest in local businesses, real estate, and community projects. The Good Business Alliance sets community standards for businesses. Ujima promotes economic justice by ensuring local residents have power in decision-making about their neighborhoods, fostering a solidarity economy that prioritizes collective ownership and community well-being.

Bridging the Gap Development, LLC (“BTG”), founded in 2006, is a real estate development firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Derrick L. Tillman, Founder and President of BTG, leads the company’s mission to build sustainable communities through residential & commercial development. In order to achieve this goal, BTG develops a variety of development projects including mixed-income multifamily housing, mixed-use development, and public private partnerships. 

KST is leading a groundbreaking national symposium that aims to reshape the future of accessible, equitable cultural spaces owned and anchored by BIPOC communities.

Guided by our vision “Owning Our Future. Thriving Where We Live.,” this three-day gathering in May 2025 serves as a platform to catalyze a critical national dialogue and chart a path forward.

Collaborating with an advisory committee of national and local colleagues, KST curates a cross-industry program that features discussions, performances, and celebrations with leaders in art, activism, urban planning, philanthropy, and government. Together we imagine new financial, operational, and physical structures for BIPOC-owned arts spaces, addressing the structural inequities that the pandemic laid bare.

The symposium spotlights organizations employing new strategies to safeguard culture in their communities. It engages forward-thinking stakeholders invested in emergent models. Look forward to thought-provoking panel sessions, inspiring keynote addresses, and dynamic performances by Pittsburgh and national artists.

symposium pass

FIND FULL SCHEDULE HERE