We are thrilled to announce that the 2026 All- Star mentors will be revealed soon! Stay tuned for more updates as we introduce an inspiring group of leaders who will guide and empower the next generation.

Angela Watts is an award-winning marketing and communications (marcom) executive, and the
founder of RAGTRADE Atlanta, a creative and event production agency, which strategically build
partnerships between brands and fashion design talent, retailers, and multi-hyphenate
creatives through collaborations, brand launches, experiential marketing, content, and business
development programs. Currently based in Atlanta, GA, Watts has led strategy for a variety of
global brands and agencies for 20+ years.

Since starting her marcom and event production career in 2003, Watts has worked with major
brands to produce some of the most memorable fashion moments in Atlanta. Brand
partnerships include Macy’s, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Lincoln Motor Company, Microsoft, Atlanta
Hawks, Bloomingdale’s, Airbnb, United Artist Releasing, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Arts Institute
of Atlanta, Bauder College, and more. A few years later, Watts launched RAGTRADE ATLANTA, a
fashion organization committed to developing a sustainable fashion industry for the city of
Atlanta. Angela’s progressive work for this underserved community garnered her one of the
city’s biggest honors, the City of Atlanta Phoenix Award in 2014.

In 2017, Watts was approached by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the
world’s busiest airport to develop and execute Global Runway, a marketing program that
successfully merged fashion and aviation through a unique brand experience that highlighted
the diverse fashion, lifestyle and beauty options offered at ATL. Since its initial launch, Global
Runway has increased retail profits by millions and garnered brand impressions globally. Two
years later, Watts continued advocacy and belief in the city’s efforts to shape American style,
Watts and her team announced Atlanta Fashion Week official partnership with the City of
Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment in October 2019. In 2021, RAGTRADE
ATLANTA and ATLFW became a founding member of CFDA Connects; a program that
recognizes, promotes, and provides business development support to select Regional Fashion
Organizations (RFOs), their Fashion Weeks and the Designers based within these key US
markets.

Passion for others have always played a major part in Watts efforts to give back to young
leaders. With a knack for cultivating strong relationships and leveraging resources, Angela
provides quarterly mentorship to support creatives and startups who are striving to make a
lasting impact in business and entrepreneurship.

Watts studied marketing at Georgia State University and has served on the board for Fashion
Group International and Black Public Relations Society of Atlanta. Currently, Angela is a board
member with the National Black Arts (NBAF).

Claire Siobhan Sulmers is CEO and Founder of Fashion Bomb Daily, a direct-to-consumer fashion company that leverages content and community to power a multicultural shopping experience. Her pioneering work ushered in a new wave of digital journalism and e-commerce that fed and fueled an under-served community of African-American and Latino style lovers wanting to know more about brand from the culture. 

Beyond developing and directing content for FashionBomb Daily and its affiliate sites, Sulmers has done extensive style writing for other platforms including Vogue Italia , Vogue Paris , and ESSENCE Magazine. Her body of work and online following – now numbered above one million – has made Ms. Sulmers the influencer of choice for major corporate brands who want to reach her audience including Camry, Verizon and others. 

Ms. Sulmers, who hails from Atlanta, Georgia, holds a degree in French and African American studies from Harvard University. In 15 years, Claire has accumulated over 1.6 million followers, written a book “The Bomb Life”, and now Leads a Team of 20 for Fashion Bomb Daily’s media, e-commerce, marketing, and event platforms.

Corey Smith is currently Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at LVMH Inc. As such, Mr. Smith leads all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives for North America for the LVMH portfolio of luxury brands. Prior to joining LVMH in September of 2020, Corey was Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Major League Baseball. With over 20 years in Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Corey has worked in several industries including manufacturing ,technology, education, consumer products, entertainment, media and sports.

Mr. Smith’s overall D&I experience includes creating inclusive hiring programs designed to recruit more diverse talent, as well as implementing workforce initiatives for the equitable growth and advancement of internal talent. Corey has also led external D&I strategies focused on diversifying customer engagement, growth marketing strategies and experiential activations focused on inclusion. Finally, Corey has also created Supplier Diversity initiatives around inclusion in corporate supply chain resulting in economic impact for diverse businesses.

Mr. Smith has served on several boards including Diversity Information Resources (DIR) and served as Board Chair for the NY/NJ Minority Supplier Development Council. Mr. Smith holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA, both from Columbia University.

Elena Romero is Assistant Chair and Assistant Professor in the Marketing Communications department of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY). Romero is also an award-winning TV Correspondent and Producer for LATiNAS on CUNY TV . A three-time Emmy nominated journalist for over 25 years, Romero currently tells the stories of nuestra mujeres on a wide range of topics including health & wellness, parenting, entertainment, fashion, food and Hollywood. https://tv.cuny.edu/homepage/show/latinas/

Romero began her professional journalism career in 1993 in radio at stations WNYC-AM and WBAI-FM in New York. She transitioned into the trade newspaper business in 1996 becoming a fashion journalist for the now defunct DNR and later, sister publication, WWD. During the span of her career that now encompasses newspapers, magazines, television, radio and book publishing, she has developed an expertise in hip hop music, style and Latinx culture. Her work has appeared in Honey, Savoy, Vibe, Latina, Urban Latino, Sportswear International, USA Today and the New York Post. Her hip hop fashion expertise is highlighted in the CNN documentary Fresh Dressed and current Netflix documentary The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion. She has also appeared as a fashion expert on CNBC’s The Brave Ones featuring the story of Daymond John of FUBU and CNBC’s Suddenly Obsessed about skate brand Vans and its relationship with hip hop as well as In Vogue: The 1990s, a podcast about the decade that changed us.

Romero transitioned into college teaching in 2002 and has pursued academia full-time since 2019. A firm believer of public education, Romero has served as co-vice president and secretary on the Community Education Council (CEC) District 15 and as a Brooklyn Borough President Community Education Council District 15 Appointee in education under the leadership of Eric Adams (today New York’s Mayor). As a CEC member (2013-2019), she was a parent representative for schools in neighborhoods spanning from Boerum Hill to Sunset Park. Among her research interests include diversity, inclusion and equity in public schools, Latine parent engagement and school choice in New York City public schools.

Romero has received numerous awards including a 2024 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Services; a 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 Telly Bronze Award, the 2020 Comité Noviembre Josefina Aguado Scholarship for Single Parents; and the 2017-2018 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching.

Romero was the co-curator of Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style at the Museum at FIT, a comprehensive fashion exhibition which explored the roots and evolution of hip hop style. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/documents/hip-hop-press-release-mfit-acc.pdf. Running Feb. 8-Apr. 23, 2023, the exhibition had an accompanying book by the same title co-edited by Romero (Rizzoli) and released February 7, 2023. https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847899319/

Romero is also the author of Free Stylin: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry (Praeger, 2012). She holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and an MS in Publishing, both from New York University. Romero is currently working on her PhD in Urban Education at The
CUNY Graduate Center.

A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, Romero currently resides in Brooklyn with her three daughters.

For more information on Elena Romero, go to http://elena-romero.com/
Instagram: proferomero
Twitter: free_Stylin
Facebook: Freestylinhhfashion

Zambian born Fiskani Kaira, immigrated with her family to the US at the age of 10. She began what has now become a 3 decade long fashion
career and counting, at the legendary Damselle furs, in New York City. There she obtained an extensive knowledge on textiles and the luxury industry as a whole! Her keen eye for style began to get her noticed, which quickly landed her personal styling opportunities.

Her talents would be recognized by one of the biggest artist at the time, Akon. With both having African roots, that connection just solidified their working relationship even more. She began traveling around the world as Akon’s personal stylist, the two would create a long standing and respected friendship!

Greatness never goes unnoticed, her reputation and work spoke for itself! The name, Fiskani, began to circulate among the industry and she
ultimately became the personal stylist for even more GREATS, such as Keith Sweat, Toni Braxton, TLC and John Legend.

In 2005 in Atlanta’s Art District, Fiskani opened her first eponymous showroom, Fiskani Inc. Over the course of a decade, Fiskani Inc. was
booked for music videos, editorial shoots, television shows and tours! Her and her team of stylist were sourcing it all!

Coming from a very competitive family, Fiskani knew that although she was achieving success as a premier stylist in the industry, she loved! After years of styling herself, she noticed a demand that wasn’t quite fulfilled. Remembering the difficulty of sourcing great pieces for her clients, she wanted to create a resource for stylist to have a place, she wished SHE’D HAD!

She envisioned something EVEN BIGGER. “I come from a very hard working family who expresses, what you did yesterday was great but, what
are you striving for today?” This constantly plays in her head and keeps her motivated FORWARD” states Fiskani.

In 2014 Fiskani closed the doors to Fiskani Inc. and just a few miles down in 2015 ‘The Ivy Showroom’ rose in its place! Over 12,000 square feet of space, in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, is where The Ivy Showroom maintains its main showroom and fur vault. Located in the posh Miami Circle Design district, the personally curated showroom, is a true “curator’s closet”, housing the most beautiful garments and accessories from emerging, international and even the high end designer names, we already know and LOVE!

Jérôme LaMaar is a Bronx born Visionary, Creative Consultant, Designer, storyteller and futurist stylishly blending and transforming fashion, accessibility, art, technology, color and culture. With over 20 years of experience thanks to an early start at Baby Phat at age 15, where he gained significant experience for his role as Associate Creative Director for the successful brand all while attending school. An ambitious teenager full of talent and a lover of art & fashion history, Jerome would collect his grandfather’s vintage clothes and styled them with modern pieces with a strong sense of color and style which led him to stand out from his peers. This strong sense of style created unique features in several Japanese street style magazines throughout the early 2000’s. Later in 2008, he official cultivated trends in New York, Paris and Japan and became a certified trend forecaster for Promostyl, Peclers Paris, The Doneger Group and WGSN, traveling the world identifying fashion, emerging cultural movements, color, technology trends for global trend agencies.

In 2015, Jerome created his own store, called 9J Concept Store in the Mott Haven area in the South Bronx which sparked the development of
the forgotten area. 2017, Jerome was the inspiration for the best selling children’s book, Scholastic’s The Word Collector highlighting his New York, November 2024 Captured on lm love of community, words and the color pink. In 2022, he made history once again creating a
successful 3 part collection for Macy’s . The collections focused on New-American classics fusing color, tailoring, glamour , vintage ideals and workwear details from menswear and womenswear with a touch of refined street style and dreamy preppy style for 5:31 by Jérôme LaMaar x AND NOW THIS. The collections sold out in record breaking time both online and in-stores.

Driven by her love of design and the power of telling stories through fashion, Visual Architect, Brand Consultant & Author, Kesha McLeod has made a name for herself in the music, sports and film industries by working with high-profile clientele. Attracting an array of notable names such as, Serena Williams, Chris Bosh, James Harden, PJ Tucker, Ne-Yo, LaLa Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Jordyn Woods, Karl-Antony Towns, Rosie O’ Donnell, Candace Parker, Matthew Tkachuk, Joel Embiid and more.

While taking a holistic approach to her work, Kesha is known for her ability to incorporate client’s diverse tastes while moving fluidly through the fashion, music, sports and film industries.

With years of experience and success Kesha has added “Author” to her resume with her new book titled,THE ESSENTIAL”HOW TO” GUIDE: STYLING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR BUSINESS. A handbook designed to help future creatives identify and develop the best practices needed to successfully grow their brand & business. Kesha shares proven tips, resources and insight that has helped her flourish, gain success and create her career. She gives you an in-depth look into the world of Fashion Styling by detailing the steps one needs to take to have a career in this profession. In her own words Kesha shares her vision for her book. “My mission is simple; I want my readers to be successful and understand that your creative ideas can also be lucrative.”

With a unique ability to problem solve, while bringing creativity and individuality to the forefront, Kesha has been appointed to serve as Fashion Director by brands such as GSTQ and Sherwood Hockey. In these critical roles, Kesha has been instrumental in merging fashion and style into the company culture.

Kesha’s work can be spotted in multiple Nike, Adidas, Google, New Era, Michelob Ultra (Super Bowl), and Apple campaigns to brand partnerships with Vogue, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Advertising Week, NBA, NFL, MLB, international brands, and events. Various programs and panels also note her expertise through personal speaking engagements. Kesha sits on the board as a Brand Ambassador for NBPA (National Basketball Players Association), The Floorr Fashion, and consults for S by Serena, Sports Illustrated & various client endeavors.

Ouigi Theodore is a Haitian immigrant who was raised in Brooklyn that has developed a detailed 100-Year Plan in order to solidify The Brooklyn Circus’ legacy and authentically drive culture forward with The Global Village. Members of this group include multi-faceted creatives who think in and out of the box while working to enrich the collective community wealth. Through the 100-Year Plan and The Brooklyn Circus’ style releases, Theodore aims to tell untold stories and inform the future by incorporating elements of the past. The preliminary opening of The Space is just one of the many items that The Brooklyn Circus seeks to accomplish as part of this plan.  Cultivating a unique style that has garnered recognition not only among the fashion pundits of New York but also from streetwise fans as far away as Europe, South Africa, Japan, Korea, and the UK. He has become a recognizable figure and has established himself as a trend forecaster for advertising and marketing agencies looking to get an edge in the market. He has consulted on campaigns for Hennessy/LVMH, Sean John Vote or Dies, Toyota, Casio G-Shock, American Express, PF Flyers, Liberty Fairs, ENVSN FEST, New Balance, Reebok, Deutsch Advertising, Sennheiser Audio.  As founder of The Brooklyn Circus, one of the most influential retail concepts in the USA, he travels extensively sharing The Brooklyn Circus/BKc perspective and the 100-Year plan of Style + Character.  Most recently, The Brooklyn Circus has collaborated with GAP, Macy’s, Jack Daniels, and Todd Snyder.

Tai Neal, a Harlem, New York native, boasts a distinguished 20-year career within the luxury and retail sectors, holding prominent merchandising and executive positions. Her expertise encompasses a diverse range of areas, including global marketplaces, omni-channel strategies, strategic planning, and revenue growth.

Prior to joining Foot Locker, Tai honed her skills at Ermenegildo Zegna and Bloomingdales, effectively leveraging her Bachelor of Business Management from Hampton University. In 2015, her exceptional contributions were acknowledged with the prestigious SGB Media 40 Under 40 award, solidifying her position as an industry leader.

Currently serving as Vice President, Strategy for Leading Education and Economic Development (LEED) – Foot Locker’s dedicated initiative aimed at investing in, amplifying, and empowering communities – Tai seamlessly integrates her passion for sneaker culture and fashion with a strong commitment to fostering equitable and inclusive environments.

Tai’s affinity for running, cultivated since 2009, reached a pinnacle in 2011 with her triumphant completion of the New York City Marathon – an experience she describes as the most challenging and rewarding of her life. Driven by a desire to reciprocate the positive impact running has had on her life, she actively contributes to advancing industry diversity through her role as a board member of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition (RIDC), a position she assumed in 2024.

Furthermore, Tai’s dedication to empowering underserved communities is evident in her 2024 appointment with the UNCF New York advisory board. This role allows her to champion the advancement of underrepresented youth, providing them with crucial visibility and demonstrating that their aspirations are attainable.

Tai’s exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to community impact were formally recognized at the 2024 Black Footwear Forum, where she was bestowed with the esteemed “Community ICON Award.” This prestigious accolade now bears her name, serving as a lasting testament to her significant contributions.

Celebrating fifteen dynamic years in the Television and Film Industry, Veronica James blends creativity, keen style, and diligence to bring imaginative visions to life through fashion. Ascending the industry ladder, she is currently in her fourth Costume Design role for “Found” on NBC, following her work on “Average Joe,” “Praise This,” and “Ambitions.” Esteemed actors such as Shanola Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Deon Cole, Tammy Townsend, Chloe Bailey, Anjelika Washington, Quavo, Druski, and Robin Givens have donned her designs. Veronica is determined to leave a mark on the industry, channeling her expertise into costume design and styling.

Beyond her role as a TV and film costume designer, Veronica holds the esteemed position of Head of Wardrobe at Revolt Studios Atlanta. Her styling prowess shines at distinguished events such as the Met Gala, Oscars, Billboard Awards, BET Awards, VMAs, and Revolt Black Summit. As the lead stylist for the network, she spearheads shows like “Michelle Obama x REVOLT: The Cross-generational Conversation,” “Black Girl Stuff,” “Revolt Black News Weekly,” “BET on Black,” and “Tez on Ten,” among others. Additional highlights include styling for Will Packer at red carpet events, magazine features and personal life, as well as Deon Cole when he hosted the 2022 Soul Train Awards.

Although her college journey began with a profound fashion interest, Veronica initially pursued Marketing, aspiring to enter the corporate facet of fashion. However, an internship at Nordstrom during her junior year at Clark Atlanta University and a subsequent full-time Assistant Manager role in footwear post-graduation illuminated unforeseen fashion opportunities.

Thanks to two Clark Atlanta alumni, Veronica’s career trajectory swiftly transformed. With little insight into what the new job truly entailed and what the next step would be at the conclusion of the show, she took a leap of faith and accepted the opportunity. Within four months of graduating college and starting her job at Nordstrom, she transitioned to a new role as a Production Assistant for BET’s new nightly talk show, The Mo’Nique Show, hosted by Academy Award-winning actress and comedian, Mo’Nique. The show ran for two seasons (2009-2011), solidifying Veronica’s desire to explore the Television and Film industry.

Since her first role as a Production Assistant on “The Mo’Nique Show,” Veronica has contributed to numerous films and TV shows, including “What Men Want” (2019), “Night School” (2018), “Ride Along” (2014), “Being Mary Jane” (2016), and “Survivor’s Remorse” (2014-2017). Throughout these projects, Veronica’s roles in the costume department have spanned from Production Assistant and Set Costumer to Buyer, Assistant Costume Designer, and Head of Department as Costume Designer.

To learn more about Veronica James’s journey, follow her on Instagram @vjstyles or reach out to vjamesstyles@gmail.com for more information.