Gainesville Black Professionals to host expo Feb. 22-24
Professionals can network and learn more about entrepreneurship, jobs and branding at this year’s expo hosted by Gainesville Black Professionals.
The expo will be held Feb. 22-24 at Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd St., and the theme this year will be “Advancing the Careers of Black Professionals.”
The expo has transformed from a leadership conferences hosted in the past by GBP, according to Virginia Grant, founder of the group.
Grant said this year is the second year GBP hosted the conference as an expo.
“The leadership conference was too narrow,” Grant said. “The expo allows us to touch on more things and allow professionals to grow.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to network with businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs during workshops and throughout the expo, Grant said.
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She is eager for attendees to learn more about professional branding to take their careers to the next level.
“When we think about branding, we usually think about businesses, but we as professionals need to know about personal branding,” Grant said. “When someone hears my name, there should be something to expect.”
Grant established GBP in March 2016 to introduce professionals from all segments of Gainesville and Alachua County with hopes that lasting business relationships will be formed, and she said the goal of the group's business directory is to foster economic equality and opportunity by bridging the equity gap within the community.
The nonprofit organization hosts the GBP Movers & Shakers Gala; publishes Synergy magazine, which aims to recognize and give more visibility to Black professionals in North Central Florida; and has hosted several leadership workshops and discussions with community leaders about social and health disparities in Gainesville and Alachua County.
Day 1 of this year's expo will be “The Connector,” and it is where registrants can attend a job fair/career expo and a non-profit showcase, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free to attend.
Day 2 will be “The Mixer,” which will encourage attendees to network with one another. It will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and will be free to attend.
Day 3 will be “The Conference,” and will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be filled with workshops for professional development and feature an entrepreneurship track with guest speakers.
The registration fee is $80 and tickets can be purchased at https://bit.ly/3u8fOZN.
Speakers during the last day of the expo will include Dakeyan Graham, Ph.D, who will discuss finding value in diversity; Caleb Chambliss, speaking on “Professionals: Leading from Behind;” and Brandon West, with a talk titled “Focus Driven Leadership.”
The keynote speaker will be Angela Howard, president and CEO of the North Central Florida YMCA.
Howard started her YMCA journey in Ohio as a youth and teen director and began her current position in 2019.
“Everything I do is in a sense of community,” Howard said. “This role allows me to see in a greater capacity and address the gaps. I serve on other boards and help maneuver to better serve who need it the most.”
The title of her speech will be “Professionalism: How to Brand and Market Yourself.”
First impressions are important. However, how you carry yourself throughout your professional career is crucial, Howard said.
“I’ve been in this for a long time and have heard that first impressions make or break you — it’s more than that,” Howard said. “It’s how you carry yourself throughout your whole career.”
Howard said she wants to provide advice and share her experience on the importance of developing a professional brand.
“I know Black people are judged sometimes before they open their mouths or they are perceived for what people have heard,” Howard said. “This is an opportunity to show my own experience and talk about a topic I’m passionate about.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Building professional brands to be focus of Gainesville expo
