Our Team

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Culture keeper and entrepreneur Michelle Darden-Lee has over 30 years of experience in small business and community development, marketing and communications.

Culture keeper and entrepreneur Michelle Darden-Lee has over 30 years of experience in small business and community development, marketing and communications. She is currently president of Mingus Communications and has worked with such well known entities as Black Entertainment Television (BET), the Children's Defense Fund, Howard University and the Democratic National Committee. Throughout her career, she has combined her communications expertise with her commitment to community empowerment and has ushered in initiatives that expand opportunities in education, business development and politics.

In 1995, Michelle began her life as an entrepreneur, managing marketing and outreach campaigns for BET's Publishing Division, the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), and numerous small businesses and nonprofit entities. Her interest in minority business development and community empowerment grew, prompting her to form Mingus Communications. Her most recent work includes co-founding and developing a visibility campaign for the Prince George's Gateway Arts District–Art Lives Here. The project brought attention to the more than 300 artists in the community, funded numerous local art projects, and harnessed more than a half a million dollars from the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtPlace America and other regional funders. She is now Program Director for the Gateway Media Arts Lab, a creative industries hub designed not only to provide growth platforms for creative entrepreneurs, but to fuel community and economic development in Prince George’s County.

Prior to her journey as an entrepreneur, Michelle entered public service in the local Washington community. There she met local community and political leaders, including then mayoral candidate Sharon Pratt Dixon, who recruited her to work on her 1989 campaign. After Dixon's overwhelming victory, Michelle entered government service, first in the mayor's Office of Boards and Commissions, then the mayor's Office of Communications. In these roles, she served as liaison to many high-profile figures in politics, media, business and entertainment that helped to build the solid foundation and reputation on which she operates her business today.

Michelle holds a B.S. in political science from Hampton University. She is a member of the Recording Academy (DC Chapter) and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

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Troy Fridy is an independent consultant and business strategist with more than 20 years of corporate business development, strategic partnership management, relationship management, operations and customer contact experience.

Troy Fridy is a business development professional and strategist with more than 20 years of corporate Business Development, Strategic Partnership Management, Relationship Management, Operations and Customer Contact experience.

Having obtained most of his professional experience from the corporate arena in areas such as Financial Services, Consumer and Corporate Identity Risk Management, Telecommunications, and Data Analytics, Troy has supported the growth of products and services offered by nationally recognized companies including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Verizon and Capital One.

Currently serving as a Senior Business Development Executive for the National Student Clearinghouse, the nation’s central repository of higher education credentials, he is among a select few tasked with expanding the Clearinghouse’s footprint into the commercial space in order to help businesses understand, evaluate and use the value of higher education data in consumer modeling and predictive analytics.

Being especially effective in building relationships and connecting the right resources with the right opportunities, Troy launched his entrepreneurial journey nearly a decade ago by forming a variety of LLCs and LLPs focusing on strategic event planning solutions, concierge services, copywriting, copyediting and small business consultation and development.

Troy holds a B.S. degree in International Business from Strayer University.

Multi-hyphenated entrepreneur and multi-disciplinarian, Rhett Butler has been creating his own narrative for years. The New York City native and Howard University graduate has lived across the nation and worked in the upper echelons of media, sports, entertainment, and business consultation for almost twenty years.

Multi-hyphenated entrepreneur and multi-disciplinarian, Rhett Butler has been creating his own narrative for years. The New York City native and Howard University graduate has lived across the nation and worked in the upper echelons of media, sports, entertainment, and business consultation for almost twenty years. His specialty focus on luxury consumer goods, services and experiences has made him one to watch.

Rhett founded his first company, Nation Wide Takeover, LLC while still a student at Howard University. Since then he has overseen and executed brands such as Fight Services, Albee Square 87, Shine Fight Promotions, Upper Cuts Gentlemen's Grooming Place, Upper Cuts Salon & Spa, experiential concepts, campaigns and more.

Also a journalist, Rhett is an Affiliate member of the Boxing Writer's Association of America, host, and producer for digital media and broadcast properties and has a long lineage as a writer for top-tier media organizations. His list of media work includes: TIME Magazine, Money Magazine, The Shadow League, Heavy.com, UFC.com and UFC Magazine among a slew of other outlets.

Currently, Rhett specializes on creating unique original content for clients and his brand in the digital media space.

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LaKeysha “Elle” Jackson has four years of experience as an Administrative Assistant in healthcare, arts and entertainment.