More than 450 people packed CHI Health Center Omaha for a conference marking 20 years of work by the Empowerment Network, a nonprofit that says its efforts have helped connect thousands of residents to jobs, housing and youth opportunities across the city. The African American Leadership Conference and its companion Revive Black Business Expo brought together entrepreneurs, civic leaders and national speakers under the theme “This Is Our Season.”
According to EIN Presswire, the gathering was held from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, though Revive Omaha Magazine described the event as scheduled for Oct. 1-2 at the same downtown venue. Willie Barney, CEO and founder of the Empowerment Network, told attendees the conference's work would build on two decades of collaboration, adding that partners working shoulder to shoulder can achieve much.
Two Decades of Jobs, Housing and Youth Programs
Organizers credited Transformation 2025 and its partners with connecting more than 3,000 adults to employment and building or renovating 3,000 housing units over the life of the initiative, per the EIN Presswire account. The same report states that more than $1.5 billion has been committed to revitalizing North Omaha through that effort, while Step-Up Omaha has connected more than 9,000 young people with employment, internships, career exploration and entrepreneurship opportunities. The Empowerment Network also recognized participants from Step Up, Youth 360, My Brother's Keeper and Skill Up during the event.
Omaha Mayor John Ewing told the crowd that community members and partners have been working together for 20 years, saying their hard work makes dreams happen. Ewing joined Barney and Timothy Christian in recognizing community leaders and partners who sustained the work over two decades, the organizational account notes.
National Speakers Tackle Business and Leadership
The conference's agenda covered entrepreneurship, business growth, wealth building, career advancement, leadership development, health and civic engagement, according to the same report. Keynote speaker Simon T. Bailey, CEO of Simon T. Bailey International, headlined a lineup that also included James Bailey, president and CEO of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship, and Dr. George Fraser, CEO of FraserNet.
Also featured were Dr. Pamela Jolly, CEO of Torch Enterprises; Dr. Randal Pinkett, managing partner of BCT Partners; and Jaylen D. Bledsoe, chief executive business officer of The Potter's House, the organizational account states. Meanwhile, the adjoining Revive Black Business Expo connected attendees with participating businesses and organizations, allowing them to network, meet customers, make connections and generate revenue.
A New 4-3-8 Strategy and Growing Business Numbers
Barney used the milestone to introduce what organizers call the 4-3-8 strategy, an economic empowerment approach that emphasizes investing in the community, supporting Black businesses and strengthening institutions, per the same account. Transformation 2030 is intended to build on the progress made through Transformation 2025, with the Empowerment Network saying it will carry the conference's conversations and connections into ongoing work with residents and partners across Omaha, including continued capacity-building cohorts and collaborative initiatives.
The push comes amid broader momentum in Omaha's Black business community. Between 2017 and 2022, the city added 182 Black-owned businesses with employees, a 95% increase, according to the Brookings Institution as reported by WOWT. Fifty-one more opened in 2023 alone, pushing the six-year increase to 122%, the station reported — figures tied to a broader goal of doubling the number of Black-owned businesses in Omaha by 2030.
A Model Other Cities Want to Copy
The Empowerment Network describes itself as a nonprofit advancing economic, social and civic progress in Omaha's African American community, North Omaha and the broader region, working to create opportunities for empowerment and transformation in every Omaha neighborhood and in partner communities across the country. Its collaborative approaches have already expanded to Kansas City, New Orleans, Lansing, Tulsa and Syracuse, with emerging partnerships taking shape in St. Louis, Durham, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Oklahoma City, per the organizational account.
More than 20 cities have turned to Barney for guidance in replicating Omaha's collaborative model, according to the nonprofit's own team page. Locally, Revive Omaha has built a connection with Tulsa that links Omaha businesses to a Black-owned grocery store where their products could be sold, while the Midlands African Chamber has been developing an expansion relationship with Atlanta's Black Chamber through its Go Global Trade Conference, according to earlier WOWT reporting.
