The Thriving Leaders Center is designed to cultivate 21st Century Creative Industry leaders by providing a space that fully accepts and nurtures their humanity.
All About Us
The Thriving Leaders Center (TLC) is a creative leadership initiative rooted in mentorship, community, and intentional reflection. Designed to support emerging and established leaders, TLC combines arts-centered practice, cultural inquiry, and collaborative learning to help participants strengthen their creative agency, refine their thinking, and expand their impact in community and professional spaces.
TLC believes leadership grows through curiosity and connection. Rather than simply offering skills training, it invites leaders to practice creative confidence, deepen self-understanding, and build networks that endure beyond workshops and events.
The Thriving Leaders Center
The Thriving Leaders Center at Little Black Pearl is a creative leadership program that supports artists, cultural workers, and community-rooted entrepreneurs as they grow sustainable practices and deepen their impact. The program centers creative exploration, collaboration, and wellness as essential tools for leadership development.
TLC creates a supportive environment where participants engage in reflection, skill-building, and shared learning. Through facilitated sessions, creative practice, and peer exchange, leaders strengthen their vision, refine their goals, and build capacity across both personal and professional areas of their work.
At its core, the Thriving Leaders Center values care, connection, and imagination. The program encourages leaders to move at a thoughtful pace, build meaningful relationships, and develop practices that are aligned with both purpose and well-being.
Who the Program is For
The Thriving Leaders Center serves artists, creatives, educators, and cultural leaders who are actively shaping their communities. Participants come from a range of disciplines and backgrounds and share a commitment to creative growth, collaboration, and community-centered work.
What Participants Experience
Participants engage in creative workshops, conversations, and activities that support leadership development through art-centered practice. The program emphasizes reflection, experimentation, and shared learning, offering space to explore ideas, challenges, and opportunities alongside peers.
Program Leadership
The Thriving Leaders Center is guided by a multidisciplinary group of artists, strategists, and cultural workers. Together, the leadership team brings experience across arts, media, education, wellness, and community engagement, helping shape a program that is thoughtful, responsive, and grounded in lived experience.
Why It Matters
The Thriving Leaders Center supports leaders not only in what they create, but in how they sustain themselves. By integrating creativity, healing, and strategic thinking, the program helps participants build practices that are resilient, connected, and rooted in purpose.
Graphic Designer
Rozzie Cribbs
.jpg)
Rozzie Cribbs is a Chicago-based graphic designer whose creative practice is shaped by the city’s mural landscape and cultural expression. He now works as a Contract Graphic Designer with the Chicago Department of Public Health, using design to advance health equity and representation.
Photographer & Videographer
Miguel DeBerry
Miguel DeBerry is a freelance photographer and videographer with over a decade of experience contributing to creative campaigns and documentary projects. His work spans commercial productions, personal films, and directing projects that elevate artistic narratives.
Founder, Virtu Engage
Seyi Kuku
Seyi Kuku is the founder of Virtu Engage, a technology and integrated marketing company that blends creative strategy with innovative marketing solutions. He has produced large campaigns and worked with global brands and artists across multiple international markets.
CEO, Theo Hiztorian
Theo Moore
.jpg)
Theo Moore is CEO of Theo the Hiztorian LLC and founder of Hiztorical Vision Productions, where he makes educational films and historical narratives. His work highlights untold stories and supports visual storytelling for both community and corporate media projects.
Founder, Afro Trek Tribe
Isioma Odum
Isioma Odum is the founder of the Afro Trek Tribe, a community that uses outdoor experiences for healing and cultural connection within the African Diaspora. She hosts hikes, retreats, and one-on-one sessions that blend spirituality, nature, and personal growth.
Curator, Researcher, Writer, & Artist
Sharbreon Plummer
Sharbreon Plummer is a curator, researcher, writer, and artist focused on Black feminist theory, Black art history, and contemporary practice. She serves as Interim Artistic Director of Threewalls and leads AYA Thought Studio, where she centers creative project management and cultural storytelling.
Founder, Teas for Tots
Kristen Rhodes
Kristin Rhodes is the founder of Teas for Tots, a holistic wellness brand rooted in family and well-being. With a decade of experience in compliance and risk management, she brings strategic leadership and mentorship to both business and community spaces.
Multi-disciplinary Artist
Akeem Soyan
Akeem Soyan is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work centers on music, creativity, and community impact. As Co-Executive Director of Circles and Ciphers, he supports young people affected by incarceration using hip-hop and restorative justice practices.
Our Thriving Leaders.
The TLC leadership team brings together multidisciplinary thinkers, makers, and strategists who guide the program with experience from arts, media, community engagement, and organizational leadership.
President, NCHE
Dr. Gail Christopher
Dr. Gail Christopher is an award-winning social change leader and nationally recognized expert on health equity, racial healing, and public policy, best known for architecting the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) framework. Formerly a Senior Advisor and Vice President at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, she continues to lead and influence national efforts advancing holistic well-being, equity, and systems change.
Singer/Songwriter/Technologist
Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx is a trailblazing multidisciplinary artist whose six-decade career spans music, theatre, visual art, and technology, rising to fame as a founding member of Labelle and later becoming an influential solo artist and collaborator. Beyond her music, she is an activist, innovator, and mentor who bridges creativity, technology, and social impact through education, advocacy, and cross-disciplinary work.
Restaurant Consultant
Rochelle Kemp
Rochelle Kemp is a seasoned restaurant entrepreneur and consultant and former owner of Flavor Restaurant, a celebrated Southern and Caribbean fusion spot in Richton Park, Illinois. She now supports emerging restaurateurs through consulting, drawing on her expertise in operations, menu development, and customer experience.
Artistic Director
Hollis King
-02.jpg)
Hollis King is a former Vice President and Creative Director at Verve Music Group with a distinguished career in art direction, design, and music branding, earning multiple awards and Grammy nominations. He currently leads his own creative company and remains active as a creative director, board member, and lecturer.
Educator
Dr. Renee Mitchell
Dr. Renee Grant-Mitchell is a retired educator with 34 years of leadership in K–12 education, including serving as Chief Specialized Services Officer for Chicago Public Schools and advancing equitable education for students with disabilities. A Harvard-educated scholar and longtime advocate for youth, she has played a key role in shaping innovative educational programs, including the founding of Little Black Pearl Art & Design Academy.
Our Legacy Leaders.
The Legacy Leaders serve as mentors and wisdom givers, forming a dynamic and supportive network that help shape the next generation of socially conscious and innovative leaders. Through personal storytelling, career insights, and one-on-one engagement, they provide TLC cohort members with guidance in career development, leadership growth, and personal well-being.