Leadership in our community of executives, entrepreneurs, creatives, and activists is made of ingredients that are rich and plentiful. The creativity we use, the impact we reach for, the inspiration and conversations that bring us together — all of these work together while we heal from the very experiences that call us to be who we are. Pancakes From Scratch is a conversation series hosted by Ernest Comer III sharing powerful stories of our generation’s leading voices on commitment, perseverance, and changing lives. How we help others overcome trauma has everything to do with how we tackle our own.
Here's the December Guest line up:
TUESDAY, 12/12 : 1pm CST || GUEST: Akil Foluke
Akil Foluke is a scientist, educator, and radical change agent, who uses his experiences and skills to improve the conditions for his people and community at-large. He is a Minnesota native who graduated from North Community High School in Minneapolis. He is a classically-trained synthetic organic chemist; gaining his B.S. in Chemistry from Morehouse College. and his M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alabama. As an educator, he has taught at Minneapolis area middle schools as a math and science teacher. He has also taught Organic Chemistry as Community Faculty in the College of Sciences at Metropolitan State University. He has professional experience in Pharmaceuticals as a Quality Assurance associate and maintains various entrepreneurial efforts outside of work. His latest effort is Mama’s Juju; a nutritional health and wellness business focused on wholistic products meant to increase overall quality of life.
WEDNESDAY 12/14 : 1pm CST || GUEST: Samuel Ndely
Born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and a proud Alum of the University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities, Samuel has worked as a Business Consultant for Meda from 2017-2020. Samuel then transitioned to the Center for Economic Inclusion (the Center) as the Director of Employer Inclusivity. At the Center, Sam worked to equip private & public sector leaders with knowledge, tools, and awareness to identify & replace exclusive policies, practices, and behaviors that restrict economic growth with new, inclusive, market-responsive approaches all with a Racial Equity lens. Currently, Samuel is a Philanthropic Advisor at the Minneapolis Foundation. In this role he works closely with donors to help them navigate the many causes that impact our community spanning across several fields of interest including Racial Equity, education, environment, health, arts & culture, entrepreneurship, and more! As an entrepreneur himself, Samuel is the Co-Founder of Graveti Consulting Group, LLC., an advocacy and consulting firm focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs of color break into emerging industries such as tech, and innovate in existing industries to grow their businesses and build generational wealth. Services provided include technical assistance, business development & project management. He is also currently a 2022 Shannon Leadership Institute Fellow living in Brooklyn Park, MN with his fiancée Cierra and their puppy Marley.
THURSDAY 11/9 : 1pm CST || GUEST: Laverne McCartney Knighton
Laverne McCartney Knighton is Area Director for UNCF (United Negro College Fund Inc.), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization offering scholarships and opportunities to over a half million Black students in our country. She oversees fundraising, scholarship program development, and external relations to benefit UNCF’s 37 member private, historically black colleges and universities and area students in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North and South Dakota. She is a native Texan, “a child of the 60s and a child of segregation”, raised in the small rural town of Doucette, Texas. 1n 1968 of her eighth-grade year, she was one of the first Black students bussed from an all-black school to an all-white school across town to test desegregation. After integration was mandated in 1969 by Texas law and the school was fully integrated, Laverne went on to become the first African American valedictorian to graduate in 1973.
Laverne believes that service equals an authentic and deep connection to community. Whether as a volunteer, mentor or board member, she serves with diligence, commitment and enthusiasm. She is an expert connector and collaborator, a passionate ally and advocate for community building and engagement. Laverne resides in St. Paul with her husband of 25 years, Russell Knighton. They have three children -Jason, Kymba, and Jaraux and six grandchildren. Laverne and Russell are proud members of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis.
FRIDAY 12/16 : 1pm CST || GUEST: Dario Otero
Dario Otero’s vision for Youth Lens 360 came from his own experience as a child lost in a blind spot within the educational system. Youth Lens 360 is a content creation and facilitation company empowering youth as storytellers.
Dario started Youth Lens 360 to work with youth ages 14 to 25 to create content, film live events and facilitate community conversations. Many students dive deep into storytelling skills they’ve never been exposed to before, exploring video production, voiceover work and facilitation. The experience allows teens and young adults to earn pay, hands on experience and entrepreneurial development.
