Mbele Leadership Foundation

📣 AN IMPORTANT KWANZAA BLACK MAKERS EXPO UPDATE

The Village is moving!

We’re excited to announce a NEW DATE and NEW LOCATION for the 2026 Kwanzaa Black Makers Expo!

📅 Saturday, December 19, 2026
📍 Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center
7 Town Square | Lima, Ohio

Just one week before Christmas, the Expo is a perfect opportunity to be intentional about where we spend our holiday dollars. Support Black businesses. Shop with Black makers. Invest in the Village. Every purchase helps strengthen Black entrepreneurship and keeps the spirit of **Ujamaa—cooperative economics—**at the center of our celebration.

For Us, By Us: The Work of the Village

New city. Bigger Village. Same commitment to culture, commerce, community, and Ujamaa.

🛍️ Interested in becoming a vendor?
Contact Meagan with Mega Pop-Up at [email protected] for vendor information.

Presented by Mbele Leadership Foundation
in partnership with Jegna Corporation

Stay tuned—more details are coming!

Registration closes today at midnight.

Register at: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/she-emerges-refined-in-the-fire-converting-lived-experience-into-leadership-capital

We’re excited about the registrations coming in 🎉 The deadline is almost here!

Registration for She Emerges: Refined in the Fire closes September 19.

Join women from across the globe for a powerful leadership experience featuring Dr. Tammi Love, Ms. Everlyne Koiyan of Kenya, and Dr. Queen Zabriskie of the United States.

Your lived experience has value. Turn it into leadership capital.

Register by September 19 at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/she-emerges-refined-in-the-fire-converting-lived-experience-into-leadership-capital

We are honored to share our second special guest presenter for our eight-week online leadership development cohort, beginning September 26.

She Emerges: Refined in the Fire
Converting Lived Experience Into Leadership Capital

Special Guest Presenter: Dr. Queen Meccasia Zabriskie, Director of the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom and Associate Professor of Sociology and Performance Studies at Antioch
College, joins us November 7!

📅 Registration closes September 19
🌎 Open to women worldwide
🔗 Register at mbelelead.org

Emerge refined. Lead forward.

We celebrate the man of God, Bishop Jawwad Love. He pours and gives unselfishly and transforms every space God leads him to. Happy Birthday Bishop Love! May God pour upon you more grace for the journey ahead.

🔥 SHE EMERGES: REFINED IN THE FIRE
Converting Lived Experience Into Leadership Capital

Enrollment is OPEN!

We’re excited to welcome Ms. Everlyne Koiyan, Council Director at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communications, as a special online guest presenter on October 10! 🌍

She joins our eight-week online leadership development cohort designed to help women turn lived experience into leadership capital.

Our first session begins Saturday, September 26, 2026, bringing together women from across the globe to:

🔥 Sharpen their leadership
🌍 Expand their networks
🤎 Collaborate across borders
✨ Leverage their experiences for greater impact

Open to women worldwide.

📅 Registration closes September 19
🔗 Register today at:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/she-emerges-refined-in-the-fire-converting-lived-experience-into-leadership-capital

Want to help another woman participate? Sponsor a future leader:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sponsor-a-future-leader

Save the Date 🗓️

Mbele Leadership Foundation is excited to share this year’s information for the 2nd Annual Kwanzaa Black Makers Expo!

📍 When: Saturday, December 5, 2026
⏰ Time: 9 AM – 6 PM
📍 Where: Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center, 275 S. Limestone, Springfield, OH

If you’re interested in being a vendor, please complete the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5AEgAmtzoNvtKFEt1m7OQJ4sMYy0lvKmXbLZNnES79fIxhw/viewform?pli=1

We had a beautiful time in community last year, and we’re excited about the growth we’ll experience this year. Mark your calendars and plan to join us!

The Mbele Leadership Foundation Sankofa Circle: Kizomba Dance, hosted by Brie, was an evening filled with engaging instruction and rich cultural insight from Amen Johnson of Columbus Kizomba. The energy was vibrant, and the community was exceptional.

Stay connected for our next Sankofa Circle event.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the Mbele Leadership Foundation Sankofa Circle: Kizomba Dance 🎉

Come have some fun and meet others also wanting to have some fun, dancing, with guest instructor Amen Johnson. Starts at 6 pm. It’s a free event!

Learn more about Kizomba Dance from these slides provided by Columbus Kizomba.

See you Tuesday at 1101 E. High Street (Recovery X space)