DAPS & DONATIONS
FRIDAY, APRIL 19TH
4PM - 6PM EST
Historic Downtown Mall:
204 East Market Street, Charlottesville
Black Alumni Weekend
Join New Hill Development Corporation and UVA Alumni hosts Cheis Garrus, Lisa Hamilton, and Christian West for an afternoon of art, music, drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and giving in support of Black Entrepreneurs in Charlottesville.
We are Building Avenues for Financial Mobility in Greater Charlottesville
Who is New Hill
Vision
Expanding economic opportunities that redefine wealth for a thriving Black community.
Mission
We will expand economic opportunities to grow wealth and home ownership in the Charlottesville Black community through financial coaching, entrepreneurial support, economic development and asset building.
Meet Our Event Hosts
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Yolunda Harrell - Founder & CEO, New Hill Development
Yolunda Harell leverages over 24 years of profit management, staff development, external and internal customer experiences, and community engagement to help entrepreneurs establish solid foundations for growth and improve profitability. She is a community leader, having a founding hand in several successful initiatives that serve early stage businesses and entrepreneurs with a focus on under served populations.
David Givens - Director, BEACON Kitchen
A passionate mixologist, wine connoisseur, and chef, Givens began his hospitality career as a teenager washing dishes, and eventually worked his way to Executive Chef and then Director of Food and Beverage, having worked for both Hilton and Marriott. Today Givens is working for New Hill Development Corporation as Director of BEACON Kitchens, helping Black entrepreneurs make their dreams come true.
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CEO, Managing Member, MannaWell LLC
Cheis believes in the power of business to transform and heal communities and feels the real estate development industry will do just that. While deeply versed in investment evaluation and financial structuring, Cheis most enjoys working closely with companies’ management to provide strategic advice, operational and performance guidance, and targeted capital that drive investment returns.Experienced as an investor and operator of several startups, in 2023, Cheis became the Chief Financial Officer of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, a quasi-governmental organization whose mission is to promote, advance, and stimulate the economic health and vitality of the approximately 160 square-blocks of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. In 2020, Cheis became the Chief Financial Officer of Canna Provisions, a top-grossing, vertically-integrated cannabis
company in Massachusetts. In 2019, Mr. Garrus became CEO and is currently a Managing Member of Mannawell, a start-up cannabis processing company located in the Emerald Triangle of Northern California.
Cheis is an expert investment evaluator with nearly 30 years’ experience in bottoms-up, fundamental investment analysis. Starting his career in 1992 with T. Rowe Price as an investment analyst, he evaluated and placed strategic equity, mezzanine and other structured private equity investments in both private and publicly-traded companies in a variety of industries. Later, while resident in Ghana West Africa, Cheis provided to international investors equity research and advice on Ghanaian companies, and while resident in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he developed strategies and provided M&A expertise for Cargill, the global food processer and grain trader and the largest privately held company in the United States. From there, Cheis joined Latin American Partners, a private equity fund and member of the global fund management group TCW Group. Mr. Garrus has also provided advice for global real estate development and investment, as a Director for the South Africa Workforce Housing Fund a private equity fund sponsored by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and for Catalyst Real Estate Advisors, a private real estate advisory firm.
Cheis earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Latin American Studies, and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in Finance.
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President and Chief Executive Officer, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Lisa M. Hamilton is the president and chief executive officer of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private philanthropy based in Baltimore and dedicated to building a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities in the United States. The Foundation was established by Jim Casey, founder of the logistics company UPS, and named in honor of his mother.Since taking the helm in 2019, Hamilton has spearheaded several new initiatives to maximize Casey’s impact, including its Thrive by 25® effort, which aims to improve outcomes for adolescents ages 14–24 to ensure they successfully transition to adulthood.
Before becoming president, Hamilton was the Foundation’s executive vice president and chief program officer, overseeing all the organization’s grant-making efforts. Prior to that, she served as vice president of external affairs, leading Casey’s work to provide data, analysis, research and policy solutions to help all children realize their full potential. In this role, Hamilton oversaw the Foundation’s annual KIDS COUNT® Data Book and was a key architect of the Race for Results® series, which compares how children across racial and ethnic groups are faring at the state and national levels on key education, health and economic milestones.
Hamilton came to the Foundation after a 14-year career with UPS, where she held various roles, including president of The UPS Foundation and vice president of corporate public relations. Her unique blend of philanthropic and corporate expertise has helped Hamilton expand Casey’s reach and find new ways to improve child well-being.
A testament to her influence in the sector was Hamilton’s selection as one of Inside Philanthropy’s 50 most powerful women in U.S. philanthropy in 2023 and her inclusion in the Nonprofit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50 list in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Hamilton’s dedication to service extends beyond the Foundation. She is a member of numerous national boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Living Cities and StriveTogether, and is on the advisory board of the public company Twilio.org. Hamilton is deeply committed to the Casey Foundation’s hometown, serving on the boards of the Baltimore Community Foundation and Baltimore’s Promise as well as the board of the Greater Washington Partnership.
An Atlanta native, Hamilton earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Michigan. She also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Livingstone College.
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Senior Director of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Recruiting, UVA
Christian WestChristian West (he/him/his) is the Senior Director of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Recruiting. He oversees diversity pipelines for the full-time residential MBA program. In this role, Christian collaborates across the Darden enterprise focused on diverse populations and leverages partnerships with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM), Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), and ROMBA. Prior to Darden, Christian served as the Assistant Director for Undergraduate Admission at UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce and Assistant Dean for Outreach at UVA’s Office of Undergraduate Admission. Christian is originally from Washington, D.C. and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Virginia. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development.
Become a Sponsor
We’re Seeding the Future of Black Economic Growth in Charlottesville
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
- African Proverb
Over the last 6 years, the University of Virginia (UVA) has been a committed partner dedicated to helping us live out our mission to serve the needs of Black residents in Charlottesville. Our collaboration has taken root and grown in a way we’re deeply proud of.
But our work is far from over! In the days and months ahead, we look forward to deepening our engagement with UVA and Black alumni.
DONATE
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DONATE ❤︎
Help Us Get to the Finish Line
Construction is underway on BEACON’s Kitchen, a shared-use facility that will serve as a space for local food entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses without having to worry about start-up costs, overhead, or storage.
Upon opening in the Fall, the 10,000 sq. ft space will be accessible 24-hours a day, 7 days per week giving entrepreneurs the flexibility to work during times that best suit them. It will also feature commercial grade equipment that can be rented on an hourly basis, just like a gym membership!
This project has been years in the making and while we could not have gotten this far without the support of the Charlottesville community, we still have a ways to go before reaching our funding goal of $4.5M.
A Little Giving Goes A Long Way
Help support our cause to grow the wealth of Charlottesville's Black community. We believe one of the fastest ways to grow wealth is through profitable business ownership.
This is one of many reasons the impact of your attendance at Daps & Donations will last a lifetime. All proceeds from our event will directly support BEACON’s permanent Shared-Use Kitchen in the following ways:
The construction of the shared-use kitchen
Outfitting the kitchen with industry-grade equipment
General Support (ex. Running and maintaining the kitchen)
Providing education and resources for startup food entrepreneurs who will use the space
Thank you for helping us build a stronger, more vibrant local food economy!
DONATE
❤︎
DONATE ❤︎
Featured DJ
DJ Double U
Mobile DJ, Central VA • Instagram: @dj.double.u