Create
Campaign, Inc.

The Create Campaign Forum

The Create Campaign Forum is THE signature business development event for minority entrepreneurs and business owners.

This annual event features workshops, panel discussions, keynote speakers and is followed by the Launch Luncheon, a celebration of inclusion in entrepreneurship.

Learn more about the 2021 Forum and Luncheon then stay tuned for 2022 details.

MORNING KEYNOTE

TO BE GREAT - INSPIRATION FROM TROY BROOKS
OF GREATNESS VODKA

ROTATION 1:

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SIMPLE STEPS FOR STARTING A BUSINESS

Presented by Christina M. Long,
President/CEO Create Campaign, Inc.

WORKSHOP ROTATION 1

WHERE THE MONEY RESIDES: CITY OF WICHITA

Presented by Vice Mayor Brandon Johnson
and Jamie Buster
The City of Wichita

WORKSHOP ROTATION 1

WHERE THE MONEY RESIDES: NETWORK KANSAS' EMPOWER LOAN FUND
Presented by Imagene Harris
NetWork Kansas

WORKSHOP ROTATION 2

WHEN YOU WEAR ALL OF THE HATS: HOW TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Presented by Emily Whiteside
WSU Kansas Small Business Development Center

WORKSHOP ROTATION 2

HOW TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH CONTRACTING: QWALLY DEMONSTRATION

Presented by Chris Haislett
The City of Wichita

WORKSHOP ROTATION 3

MARKETING AND BRANDING WITH A FESTIVE TWIST

Presented by Nnanna Okpara
Festive ICT

INFORMATION RESOURCE
BOOTHS

The following vendors shared resources & information.
Click on their logo to visit their sites.

BONUS FEATURES

Complimentary HEADSHOT BOOTH BY JSky Photography
(View the photo gallery to download your headshot)

Let's Launch
LLC Filing Clinic

Powered by Martin Pringle

Martin Pringle is performing complimentary single-member LLC filings for Create Campaigners through December 31, 2021. 
Congratulations to Goyia Riddiough for filing her
brand-new LLC through this partnership.
 

LAUNCH LUNCHEON

CELEBRATING INCLUSION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Immediately follows the Forum in the Beggs Ballroom.
 

 AWARD WINNERS

Spark! Award -

Rodney and Stephanie Brinkley

R&J Legacy Transport, LLC

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Elevate Award -

Paris Lipsey-Coley

Lipsey Consulting Group

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Prosper Award - 

Jordan Harris

Harris' Dream Clean

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Let's Create Award - 

Sapphire Garcia-Lies

Sapphire's Holistic Doula Services & the Wichita Birth Justice Society

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Legacy Award - 

Jodee Bradley, Jodee B's Catering

Marquis Cochise Bradley, Omnicut Motivational Fitness

Throughout her public service career, Samira Cook Gaines has leveraged her knowledge and experience as an entrepreneur leader to support policies and initiatives that insure fair and equitable access to wealth creation and community economic development through business development and homeownership across the country.

As the recently named Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships for Rising Tide Capital (RTC), Samira brings her experience and insight to cultivate local, national and international collaborations in major markets and identify potential partners to share the RTC model and build the entrepreneur support program capacity of local organizations.

Prior to her new role, Samira served as the Economic Development Manager for Takoma Park, Maryland, where she guided the growth and development of local community businesses in the only designated Opportunity Zone in Montgomery County. Samira was solely responsible for the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Response for the business community and retained over 95% of local businesses through direct financial assistance, targeted technical assistance, creative marketing, and business outreach and relationship development. Samira was the Founding Director of the Washington, DC Women’s Business Center (DC WBC), which supports women entrepreneurs through training, coaching, and mentoring. Under Samira's direction, the DC WBC assisted over 1000 women in achieving their business goals. She previously served as the Chief of Economic Empowerment for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) where she provided programmatic leadership in the areas of wealth creation and asset building.
 

In honor of her work with small businesses, Samira was selected as a White House Champion for Change in the area of entrepreneurship mentoring under the Obama Administration. She has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles, and currently supports the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s (WACIF) Enterprising Women of Color Advisory Council, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity’s (AEO) Tapestry Innovation Registry Cohort which supports Black-owned businesses, and is a member of the International Economic Development Council. She has formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Women’s Business Centers, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC.  Samira is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

As an entrepreneur first, Samira is the President of Purposeful World Strategies, which helps cities and countries identify, incubate, and ignite their entrepreneurs and small business owners by creating structures for inclusive entrepreneurship and small business support. Her women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship work have also taken her to numerous countries as a speaker, facilitator, trainer, and consultant for governments, organizations, and universities in Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Samira received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and her MPA from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. 

ABOUT OUR FACILITIES

Since 2015, Wichita State University's Center for Entrepreneurship has partnered with Create Campaign, Inc. to make facilities at the campus available for the Forum. From premium conference rooms to the grand ballroom, the facilities have offered a central location with state-of-the-art technology for participants to gather. 

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The Center for Entrepreneurship offers a number of resources to help entrepreneurs, on campus and in the Wichita community, to bring their ideas to life. Create Campaign values the partnership and ongoing commitment to ensure the Forum is a great success. Learn more about the Center by clicking here.