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BRIDGETT SMITH Bridgett was born and raised in Louisville as one of sixteen grandchildren in the Portland area. She attended Roosevelt-Perry Elementary and Western Middle School. After her family moved to the Victory Park neighborhood, she attended Seneca High School. Bridgett started working at age fourteen and held jobs at Wendy’s, PNC Bank, and Riverside Parking. She participated in the Black Achievers program and was President of the NAACP Youth Council. Following her high school graduation, Bridgett landed a full-time position with Humana, and in 1995, began working for Ford Motor Company as an assembly [...]

EDEN BRIDGEMAN OWNER, CHAIRWOMAN & CEO Of EBONY JET #image_title Eden Bridgeman Sklenar is an entrepreneur, media proprietor, and marketing executive who is currently the owner, Chairwoman and CEO of the iconic brands EBONY and Jet since their acquisition in 2021. She also serves as the CMO of Manna, Inc., which is the parent company that incorporates over 500 restaurant franchises that include Wendy’s, Fazoli’s, Golden Coral, Jimmy Johns and Mark’s Feed Store, and has led in this capacity since 2016. Eden was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Louisville, [...]

ADRIA JOHNSON President & CEO of Metro United Way Adria Johnson embodies hope, integrity, humanity and has focused her career on lifting some of society’s most vulnerable populations and being of service to others. She is a dedicated and well-respected servant leader with almost three decades of hands-on experience in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Johnson’s proven ability to lead efforts toward reform and work collaboratively across a wide range of stakeholders have served her well not only in her current position of President and Chief Executive Officer for Metro United Way, but [...]