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CW

@the_cw_network

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MICHIGAN📍
🎯 2025 Crain’s 40 Under 40
🎯 2026 Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40
👷🏾‍♀️ Ecosystem Architect
🫶🏾 Community Advocate
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Rise with Tech is built for two people. The employer who cannot find the talent, and the Detroiter who cannot find the door. Detroit at Work, GapBridge Strategies, and Black Tech Saturdays are launching it together, with support from Rocket Community Fund: 450 Detroiters placed in tech and tech-adjacent roles over the next three years. That is 150 a year. We are building both sides at once. Employers set real hiring goals and commit to Detroiters, and they get a talent pool that is ready and convenings where hiring actually happens. Detroiters get one front door to a tech career: training, the city's workforce system, and a community that walks you to the interview. We keep score on placements, wages that rise, and people who stay. Detroiters hold 8 percent of the region's tech jobs. In the rest of the economy, 11. This is where we start. Hear it from Kevin Naud of @detroitatwork, Christina Ware of GapBridge Strategies, and our co-founder Johnnie Turnage. If you know a Detroiter with the skills who is still waiting on the callback, send them this. If your team has had a role open for months, this is for you too. Sign up at detroitatwork.com/rise-tech. That is the door, for job seekers, employers, and community partners. #BlackTechSaturdays #RiseWithTech #DetroitTech #TechJobs #WorkforceDevelopment
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Sometimes all you need is a bike ride, good company and nowhere to be in a hurry. 🤎🚲 We rode from Michigan Central all the way to Belle Isle, and it reminded me how beautiful Detroit really is when you slow down long enough to take it all in. And getting to experience my city with my favorite person? Even better. #DetroitLife #BelleIsle #MichiganCentral #DetroitLove #FYP
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One thing I really admire about the Black Tech Saturdays team is how intentional they’ve been about building community. In just a few years, they’ve created something special, not just for Detroit, but for the other cities they’re expanding into. And you can feel it when you’re in the room. People genuinely WANT to be there, connect, learn and support one another. I had such a good time being part of the experience, meeting so many entrepreneurs and professionals at my station, and watching the community they’ve built come to life. But my favorite part? Getting to experience it alongside Christina Marie. 🤎 We both had tables at the event, so between working, meeting people and sneaking in a few moments together, it made the day that much sweeter. A little business, a little love and a whole lot of community. My kind of Saturday. 😂 #BlackTechSaturdays #DetroitEntrepreneurs #WomenInBusiness #BlackWomenInBusiness #FYP
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From thinking I was a catfish on Hinge to planning a whole wedding together. 😂💍 One thing about us? We love a good story, and apparently we’ve been collecting them since day one. From the moment I walked into that room to a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park, it’s the little details and thoughtful moments that have made our love story so special. Welcome to our Engagement Fireside Chats. 🤎 #BlackWLW #QueerLove #BlackLove #EngagedTikTok #FYP
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When Christina and I first connected on Hinge, she thought I might be a catfish and decided to distance herself. Three years later, we reconnected and built something more real than either of us could have imagined. Our love has been built through ​support, intention, faith, and choosing one another again and again. Christina Marie, you are my best friend, my home, and the woman I am honored to build a life with. We met on Hinge. We found our way back to each other. And now, we are choosing forever. 💍🤍 Welcome to the BrideNavy: @kiana_thepublicist & @the_cw_network Photography: @j.milhouse #BrideNavy #BlackQueerLove #MrsAndMrs #WLW #Engaged
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I keep thinking about how beautiful it is to be loved by someone who pays attention. She knew I would want my hair and makeup done. She knew I would want to feel good in what I was wearing. She knew I would want Cardigan there. She knew our first trip to New York deserved a place in this moment. And she knew exactly what to tell me so I would show up without questioning a thing. 😂 What I thought was a content day was actually the beginning of one of the most intentional, thoughtful days of my life. There is something incredibly special about realizing that while you were simply living and loving someone, they were paying attention to all the little things that make you, you. I said yes to my favorite person. And somehow, even before she asked, the entire day felt like us. 🤎💍 This is only the beginning. Stay with us as we share more from the proposal and this new chapter of our story. Content : @karsten.armani #BlackLove #BlackWLW #QueerLove #Engaged #FYP
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Apparently I’m left-handed now. 😂💍 Still taking in just how perfect this day was. The room, the details, our people there to celebrate with us, our little family and, most importantly, getting to say yes to doing life with my favorite person. I knew I loved her. I knew we were building a life together. But there is something very surreal about looking down at my hand and realizing… oh, we’re really getting married. 🥹 Still on cloud nine. Still staring at my hand. Still finding completely unnecessary reasons to use my left hand for everything. #Engaged #BlackLove #BlackWLW #LesbianLove #FYP
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The publicist finally has some news of her own… 💍 I said YES to my best friend, my answered prayer, and the woman I get to choose for the rest of my life. Christina Marie, loving you has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. And now, I get to marry you! God knew exactly what He was doing when He brought us together. Here’s to choosing each other again and again, and to the beginning of our very best chapter yet. And to think, it all started with a match on @hinge Future Mrs. Ware has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? 💇🏾‍♀️: @lacedby_lexnicole 💄: @thekaylajay 🏠: @roseestatedetroit 📸: @j.milhouse 🎤: @__mattypmusic 💐: @iam_msgolden #engaged #proposal #Blackqueerlove #wlw #justengaged
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Bestie, congratulations on finding your forever love! ❤️ We love you, we are proud of you, and we are cheering you on every step of the way! Here’s to LOVE, HAPPINESS, FOREVER, and your beautiful new beginning! 🥂💍💕✨ #SheSaidYES #Engaged #NewChapter #TrueLove #LoveWins🏳️‍🌈 BestieIsGettingMarried 💍❤️🥳
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Detroiters hold 8 percent of the region's tech jobs. Kevin Naud and Christina Ware are running the table built to change that. Meet the Workforce Circuit hosts at BTS × TCC: Kevin Naud of @detroitatwork and Christina Ware of GapBridge Strategies. This circuit is built for two people. The business owner or leader who cannot find the talent. And the talent who cannot find the door. In every other part of the economy, Detroiters hold 11 percent of the jobs. In tech it is 8. Close that three-point gap and 13,500 more Detroiters are working in tech, at a regional average of $111,000 a year. Do it while the industry grows and the number is 20,300 jobs and $6.8 billion in new wages over five years. Source: Detroit Future City. Detroit at Work and GapBridge are leading the charge to move Detroiters into IT careers. Employers are starting to hire on what you can actually do: the skills, the certification, the portfolio, the badge. Christina grew up in Southfield and West Bloomfield expecting to end up in the auto industry. She got a design degree from Ferris State and landed in recruiting instead. Fifteen years later she had built a government staffing division across eleven states. Then she left to start GapBridge, which connects employers, public agencies, and community partners so the gaps close. Crain's and Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40. She blazed her own trail so others could see they can do it too. Kevin came up in Ann Arbor, interned for Senator Stabenow, and spent five years analyzing workforce policy nationally. Then he came home for a Ford School master's and a seat at Detroit at Work, where he now leads the agency's engagement with local businesses. He is raising his kid in Detroit. His line: unlocking potential is not about programs, it is about responsibility. If you are hiring, bring the role. If you are looking, bring what you can do. BTS × TCC Half-Day Summit Saturday, September 26 | 12–4PM Newlab at Michigan Central Tickets: blacktechsaturdays.com
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Back in 2007, I had a dream called What Crêpe?. I didn’t come from the restaurant business. I didn’t have the experience people said I needed. I simply believed we could create something beautiful—something built around great food, unforgettable hospitality and the way people felt when they walked into the room. And somehow, that dream became real. We built a brand. We created memories. We welcomed thousands of people through our doors. And although that chapter eventually came to an end, the feeling never completely left. Over the years, I’ve grown. I’ve built other businesses, lived more life, made mistakes, learned lessons and become clearer about what truly mattered about What Crêpe?. It was never just the crêpes. It was the music. The people. The hospitality. The energy in the room. It was how we made people feel. That brings me to HOUSE GUEST V.1: A What Crêpe? Conversation. As I dare to imagine what a reimagined What Crêpe? could become, I invited a few special people into my home. Some had experienced What Crêpe? all those years ago. Others had never heard of it and were feeling its spirit for the very first time. And I’m deeply grateful to every person who came. You brought your stories, your laughter, your energy and your openness into our home. You reminded me why this dream meant so much to me in the first place. To those who remember What Crêpe?, thank you for carrying a piece of it with you all these years. And to those who never experienced it before, thank you for showing me that the feeling can still reach someone—even without knowing the history. The truth is, I don’t know exactly what the next expression of What Crêpe? looks like. I don’t know where it will live, when it will happen or how it will all come together. I’m not announcing that What Crêpe? is back. I’m simply saying that I’m dreaming again. So we’ll keep inviting people in. We’ll keep creating moments. We’ll keep having the conversations. And one day, together, we’ll discover what this next chapter is meant to become. Thanks to my team for rocking it out: 🎥 @na__ce @mirohmeals @givethanksbakery
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1 year down, infinite impact ahead! 🚀🎉 We are building something truly special—built on a rock-solid foundation, not quicksand. Today marks 365 days of Athletech Academy, and we owe so much of this momentum to our Founder & Executive Director, Chloe Barnes-Henderson @chloebarnes03, who has laid an incredible groundwork and charted a path of growth, resilience, and scalability. 🏆 Taking a look back at Year 1: 📍 The Beginning: Launched our vision at Greyson Clothiers alongside an incredible community of supporters. 🤝 Big Partnerships: Teamed up with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) @msufcu as our official Financial Empowerment Partner. 💥 24-Hour Impact: Raised over $60K in 24 hours during our inaugural Giving Day thanks to 60+ donors across 15+ states! 💡 Empowering the Next Gen: Hosted our inaugural Tallahassee Dreams Summit, equipping high school student-athletes in Entrepreneurship, Personal Branding, AI Upskilling, Leadership, & Financial Literacy. 📈 Scaling Up: Expanded our Board of Directors from 7 to 12 leaders (stay tuned for introductions!). Deeply rooted in Detroit, MI, we are beyond honored to serve our local community and partners nationwide through game-changing activations. 🏙️💙 More partnerships and exciting ventures are right around the corner. Our story is just being written, and we appreciate everyone contributing to these chapters! Drop a ⚡️ in the comments to celebrate Year 1 with us! #AthletechAcademy #YearOne #AthleteDevelopment #FutureofWork #FinancialEmpowerment
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