Upstate Minority Economic Alliance appoints Brown as first executive director

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA) has appointed Rickey Brown as its first executive director.

UMEA is a nonprofit chamber of commerce supporting minority business owners and professionals of color in Central New York. It is the “first” minority chamber of commerce located in the 16 county Upstate New York region, according to CenterState CEO.

In his role as executive director, Brown is responsible for “building the organization into a viable regional chamber.” Brown will also focus on “expanding the capacity of, and fully advocating for the advancement of,” minority and women-owned businesses in the region, per a CenterState CEO news release. Brown brings more than a decade of experience to the role.

In his previous position as director of community engagement for Home HeadQuarters Inc., Brown worked to boost minority and women-owned business enterprise participation in state-funded contracting opportunities, specializing in the state certification of these businesses with New York State government.

“With more than 10,000 minority-owned businesses in the region, UMEA serves a critical role in enhancing economic opportunity,” Ed Cuello, president of the UMEA board of directors, said in the release. “We are extremely excited to have Rickey on board to help build a robust organization, in partnership with CenterState CEO, which will significantly contribute to the Central New York economy.”

“Rickey’s appointment fulfills a three-year collaborative effort to establish the region’s first minority chamber of commerce,” Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, added. “Our region’s economic future depends upon our ability to provide access to opportunity to every corner of our community.”

About UMEA
Over the past year, UMEA has “worked hard” to support minority-owned businesses and “expand opportunities” for professionals of color, CenterState CEO said.

It has provided training for minority business owners, “increased outreach” through community forums, hosted networking events, and assisted in securing loans for minority business entrepreneurs.

Through its partnership with CenterState CEO, UMEA has launched more than 20 new minority-owned businesses and through its partnership with New York City–based Center of Hope International, it co-hosted the first Minority & Business Economic Empowerment Summit in Central New York.

In the coming months, UMEA will expand these efforts under Brown’s direction.

Brown has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. He is also a graduate of Henninger High School in Syracuse.

Besides his UMEA leadership post, Brown also currently serves as president of the Urban Jobs Task Force (UJTF), an organization focused on workforce participation and advocacy.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com