Brooks-Rolling named executive director of Upstate Minority Economic Alliance

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA) has named Me’Shae Brooks-Rolling as its new executive director.

Brooks-Rolling has served as interim executive director for the past year, managing the organization’s day-to-day operations. UMEA is an organizational partner of CenterState CEO.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we are excited to have Me’Shae join UMEA as our executive director,” Calvin Corriders, president of the UMEA board of directors and regional president of Pathfinder Bank’s Syracuse market, said in a release. “Me’Shae brings a diverse skill set that will prove beneficial to our minority business community. As interim executive director, she has helped this organization grow in impact and reach, and connect more minority and women-owned businesses to the resources they need to grow and succeed.”

As executive director of UMEA, Brooks-Rolling will work with minority businesses to help them grow and expand, engage in strategic networking, and identify technical assistance and financial support resources they may need.

She will also be responsible for managing stakeholder relationships.

About Brooks-Rolling

As a serial entrepreneur, Brooks-Rolling brings more than 25 years of experience in special events, conferencing, and hospitality industries, per the release.

Prior to becoming a business owner, she was the director of special events and conferences at the Institute for Veterans & Military Families at Syracuse University, where she was responsible for vendor procurement. In 2018, she became the first franchise owner/operator of EventPrep, Inc. in New York and the northeastern territory.

Brooks-Rolling also operates Just The Basics Financial Literacy, a micro-socio business enterprise.

In addition, she is an author, a certified educator in personal finance, and is the executive producer of the 2021 Financial Empowerment Summit. The event is scheduled for April 10 at the Oncenter, per its Facebook page.

Brooks-Rolling is certified as a minority and/or women-owned business enterprise with the City of Syracuse and the NY/NJ Minority Supplier Development Council.

She earned her master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, having attended on a full fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.