2026 Programming
Supporting individuals and small businesses through recovery, growth, and opportunity
On behalf of the Los Angeles Urban League Entrepreneurship Center, we wish you a strong and productive year ahead. We are honored to support individuals and small business owners who are building, sustaining, and growing enterprises that contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.
In light of the 2025 wildfires, we want to reaffirm that we stand with you as you continue to navigate the personal and business impacts of this disaster. We recognize that recovery looks different for every entrepreneur and small business. As conditions evolve, we will continue to share relevant programs, tools, and resources designed to support stability, recovery, and long-term growth.
Throughout the year, the Entrepreneurship Center will offer opportunities tailored to individuals and small businesses at various stages of development. These include access to business education and technical assistance, connections to commercial contracts and revenue opportunities, and pathways to capital that support sustainable growth.
Whether you are rebuilding, adapting, or expanding your business, our team is here to support you. If you are interested in exploring these opportunities or deepening your engagement with the Entrepreneurship Center, we invite you to please take a moment to complete this brief online survey so we can better understand your goals and connect you with relevant resources.
LAUL BUSINESS COUNSELORS – OUR EXPERT CONSULTANTS
Our team of business counselors provide you with one-on-one consulting services to help you refine and augment your managerial and business planning capabilities in a number of areas including:
- Business Development
- Budgeting and Cash Flow Management
- Digital Marketing
- eCommerce Strategies
- Executive & Leadership Coaching
- Financial Analysis
- Financing Strategies (Credit, Venture Capital)
- Organizational Design and Culture
- Pricing Strategies for Products and Services
- Sales Coaching & Sales Management
- Strategic Planning
LAUL’s business counselors have extensive subject matter expertise and decades of experience in advisory business leaders and entrepreneurs. The team is profiled below.
Meet Our Dedicated Program Counselors
Feel free to engage with any and all of our counselors as needed. Please keep your primary business counselor (assigned to you when you joined the Los Angeles Urban League) aware as you engage with other counselors provided by the Urban League.
As you may know, these counseling services are provided at no cost to you. We require, however, that when you commit to a meeting with a counselor, you honor that agreed upon meeting time. Not showing for a scheduled meeting (i) disadvantages other businesses who might have been able to utilize that time slot and (ii) also makes it difficult for the business counselors to utilize their own time efficiently.
If you need to cancel a meeting, please alert the business counselor no less than three (3) hours in advance of your appointment time. Repeated no-shows get highlighted in the Urban League’s records and will adversely impact our ability to continue to provide you with these advisory services as well as negatively impact your ability to secure grants, contracts and access to growth capital through the Urban League.
Chacha Mcginnis
CEO California Beacon
VIEW BIO
Chacha McGinnis is the CEO of California Beacons, bringing over 25 years of experience as a Sales and Marketing Executive. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a remarkable ability to help businesses design and implement profitable growth strategies. Her expertise spans across various industries, including advertising, entertainment, automotive, food & beverage, construction, technology and more, where she has thrived in dynamic and fast paced environments.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Digital Marketing, Website Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Video Chat AI, Conversational AI
Clarevonte "Clay" Williams
Entrepreneur
VIEW BIO
Clarevonte (“Clay”) Williams is a dedicated public servant, nonprofit enthusiast, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. He is the co-founder of a venture capital accelerator called Venture for T.H.E.M (Tech High-Performers & Entrepreneurial Minorities), which focuses on supporting minority founders through a cohort-based startup accelerator program.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Fundraising, Venture Capital, Pitch Deck Creation, Business Due Diligence, etc.
Crystal Y. Mitchell
CEO Mitchell Business Solutions
VIEW BIO
Crystal Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchell Business Solutions, bringing over 30 years of experience to her roles as a coach, educator, trainer, and speaker. She also co-hosts a talk radio show and has expertise that spans multiple sectors.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Financial Management, Business Operations, QuickBooks, Staffing Solutions
Felicié Bright
Executive Coach
VIEW BIO
Felicié Bright is an Executive Coach with over 15 years of experience empowering entrepreneurs to organize their business ideas in a systematic, strategic way. Specializing in business planning and management, she guides clients in breaking down their business plans into manageable steps and supports their progress in creating a strong foundation for sustainable growth. With expertise in entrepreneurship fundamentals and strategic thinking, Felicié empowers clients with the clarity and confidence they need to succeed.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Business & Leadership Coaching,
Change Management, Business Strategies, Training & Development, Entrepreneurship
Gloria Dioum
CEO Joseph Management
VIEW BIO
Gloria Dioum is the CEO of Joseph Management Inc., with more than 20 years of managerial finance experience in leading successful large businesses. She’s dedicated to working with small businesses needing financial guidance from a CFO. She transforms operations by developing and instituting robust financial processes and systems.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Finance & Accounting – Budgeting, Cashflow Management, Financial Reporting, Product and Service Offering Pricing Policies, and Long-Term Planning
Gilbert 'Gil' Cargill
CEO Cargill Consulting Group
VIEW BIO
Gilbert (“Gil”) Cargill is a business development strategist known for transforming his IBM sales team from last to first among 220 branches in under a year. He is the CEO of Cargill Consulting Group, Inc., utilizing the successful strategies that fueled his earlier sales achievements.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Lead Generation, Closed-Loop Marketing, Sales Coaching, Sales Management
Rhonda Holbert
Business Development Coach
VIEW BIO
Rhonda Holbert is a seasoned marketing professional with 25 years of experience. She founded the Urban League’s Biz Camp and Biz Institute youth entrepreneurship programs and continues to serve as the Lead Instructor and Curriculum Developer. Additionally, she holds a Master of Ministry and was ordained as a Pastor of Christian Education in 2001.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Sales & Marketing, Business Plan Development, Budgeting, etc.
Dr. Tora Brown
Organizational Psychologist
VIEW BIO
Dr. Tora Brown is an organizational psychologist and business coach with 16 years of experience in coaching, training, and empowering leaders. She specializes in one-on-one coaching and offers training sessions within organizations on various topics, including branding, diversity, unconscious bias, overcoming impostor syndrome, wellness, and living a fulfilling life.
Email: [email protected]
Specialization: Organizational Psychology, Business Coaching, Business Startup, Government Contracts, Sales and Marketing, Branding and Public Relations
2026 SELECTED PROGRAM OFFERINGS
SPONSORED PROGRAMS
The Urban League will be launching the new phase of our Capital Readiness Program, supported by the Minority Business Development Agency. The program will, similar to last year, be available for companies in the:
Creative Industries (including film & TV production, media, design-oriented professional services, technology and retail design); and the
Food & Beverage sector (restaurants, caterers, food trucks, etc.)
More information about the Capital Readiness Program, supported by the Minority Business Development Agency, can be located here and via this video link. We will begin reviewing applications for this program in late February. More information will be available by the beginning of February on program specifics and the application process.
The Entrepreneurship Center provides other impactful sponsored programs including:
- Intuit IDEAS business accelerator program powered by its world class product suite
- Elevate Together program designed help leading edge companies scale, in partnership with Office Depot
- Restaurant Accelerator Program for restaurants and food services firms, in partnership with Pepsi
- Logistical Support Program in partnership with UPS
LAUL LEARNING SERIES
In the coming weeks, LAUL will launch two new seminar series. We believe the topics in these series will be of significant benefit to both medium sized businesses as well as start-ups and early-stage companies.
Specific details for each series will be announced by the end of this month.
Creating a Sales Strategy for the 21st Century
LAUL will offer a seminar series to its clients on The Art and Science of Sales: Strategies for Driving Growth, Building Sales Teams and Increasing Profitability.
This online series will explore sales-related topics including (i) capitalizing on sales leads, (ii) price vs. value for your goods & services, (iii) managing your sales team and (iv) leveraging CRM, AI and other technology to support your sales effort.
Securing Business Certification
The Urban League will launch a series of online seminars related to securing and maintaining your business certification at the local, state and federal level.
These certification allows you to take advantage of a large range of commercial and capital access opportunities, directly or in partnership with other businesses.
This seminar will cover the certification process, assist you in completing your application, and introduce you to key organizations (such as City of Los Angeles economic development team, representatives from the Small Business Administration) that can provide further assistance.
ACCESS TO GROWTH CAPITAL
We are building stronger partnerships with commercial banks and community development finance institutions. These partnerships and the support they enable will help you (i) better understand the capital provider landscape, (ii) improve your ability to “pitch your business” to capital providers and (iii) enhance your ability to navigate the lending and investing process.
Capital providers we work with frequently include:
- Diamond Ventures
- Urban Empowerment Fund
- Chase Bank
- Momentus Capital.
- PNC
LAUL has relationships with many other lenders and investors. Please reach out to your business counselor for more information about capital access and to work to get your own business “underwriter ready” so you can secure growth capital for your firm.