The African American Business Leaders Council

Did you know? According to the Center for American Progress, the U.S. gained about 132,000 new employer businesses between 2017 and 2022. Over 70,000 of those businesses were Black-owned.

This month (and all year), shop Black-owned, invest Black-owned, and support Black-owned. ✨ Visit https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/black-owned-businesses.html to support our community!

Last Friday, we launched our Empower Black initiative at 3Pc Chicken to jump start our celebration for Black Business Month! Thanks to all that came out to spend their dollars intentionally!🤩💸

📸Photo credit the talented McKinney Media

August is National Black Business Month! This gives us time to recognize the social and economic impact of Black-owned businesses and celebrate the entrepreneurs who help strengthen our community. We encourage you to support Black-owned businesses this month ✨and all year long ✨.

Own a Black-owned business and want to be included in our directory? Visit https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/black-owned-businesses.html to add your business to the list!

📣 We are excited to share that Danielle Fletcher has been elected to serve as an African American Business Leaders Council Board member!

Danielle Fletcher is a seasoned healthcare and product marketing leader with more than 25 years of experience in the medical device and life sciences industries. As a Product Manager at Aesculap Inc., she manages a multimillion-dollar laparoscopic portfolio for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). In this role, Danielle leads comprehensive lifecycle strategies, encompassing market analysis, product development, and sustainable commercial growth. In addition to her professional leadership, Danielle is deeply committed to service and community engagement. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Family Connection of Easton, Inc., where she supports the organization’s mission to strengthen children, families, schools, and the broader Easton community. She is also a member of Professional Women in Healthcare and an active member of B. Braun’s Blacks in Leadership and Development (BUILD) Employee Resource Group, where she serves on the Community Outreach Committee.

Congratulations, Danielle!

REMINDER - Would love to have a nice show of support!

Empower Black Kickoff on Friday, July 31, 2026, from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM at 3pcchkn.donuts (3690 Lehigh Street, Whitehall, PA 18052) for networking and make an impact on our local Black-owned business community. There is no formal programming, so feel free to stop by at any time during the event to support 🩵

This event is free to attend, but we encourage you to support by purchasing coffee, tea, or a pastry!

Register here: https://bit.ly/4yQcj6T
- page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D4cTwut9u/
- LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7485340176337166336?viewAsMember=true

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Learn more about the Empower Black initiative: https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/empower-black.html
**If you cannot make it for our event, we invite you to stop by anytime during the day to show your support!

Last month, we had the pleasure of celebrating the grand opening of Lisa Lake Creative in Allentown with an official ribbon-cutting — and we're still smiling about it.

Lisa Lake Creative is a full-service creative studio based in downtown Allentown, specializing in commercial photography, branding, graphic design, video production, FAA Part 107-certified drone services, and digital marketing. The studio partners with businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and real estate professionals to create compelling visual content that helps brands stand out. From corporate headshots and product photography to cinematic real estate tours, event coverage, website design, and social media content, Lisa Lake Creative offers a personalized, one-stop creative experience backed by decades of professional expertise and a passion for telling every client's unique story.

It was wonderful to see friends, family, and fellow members come out to mark this milestone. Congratulations, Lisa! The Chamber is proud to have you in the community!

📣 We are excited to share that Carter McKinney has been elected to serve as an African American Business Leaders Council Board member!

Carter McKinney is an award-winning entrepreneur and educator born in Pittsburgh and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the founder of McKinney Media, a community-centered creative institution focused on leadership, storytelling, and public engagement. His work connects business, creativity, and community, helping individuals and organizations communicate clearly, lead responsibly, and turn vision into ex*****on through real-world experience and long-term thinking. Carter also hosts The Entrepreneurs Club Podcast, which is a platform for honest conversations on entrepreneurship, leadership, creativity, and community impact. The show highlights real stories and lessons from founders and leaders building with discipline, responsibility, and long-term vision.

Congratulations, Carter!

Join the African American Business Leaders Council for the Empower Black Kickoff on Friday, July 31, 2026, from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM at 3pcchkn.donuts (3690 Lehigh Street, Whitehall, PA 18052) for networking and make an impact on our local Black-owned business community. There is no formal programming, so feel free to stop by at any time during the event to support 🩵

This event is free to attend, but we encourage you to support by purchasing coffee, tea, or a pastry!

Register here: https://bit.ly/4yQcj6T
- page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D4cTwut9u/
- LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7485340176337166336?viewAsMember=true

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Learn more about the Empower Black initiative: https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/empower-black.html
**If you cannot make it for our event, we invite you to stop by anytime during the day to show your support!

Gather our community. Grow our economy.

Empower Black is an initiative established from the African American Business Leaders Council (AABLC) to lead economic empowerment in our community. Through this initiative, we partner with local Black-owned businesses to host events that give attendees the opportunity to support these businesses directly.

❗️Stay tuned as we share more details tomorrow on the kickoff event for this initiative!