October 2017 Honoree
Jennifer Parker
Owner, Jackson Parker Communications, LLC
Jennifer Parker is the owner of Jackson Parker Communications which has introduced a number of memorable program brands such as “Think Big with 43North” (encouraging minority and women entrepreneurship), “I’m a Woman in Charge” (a family planning program targeted to women), “Taking Care of You” (medical outreach campaign to the minority community), and “Success Looks Like Me,” a program designed to provide urban youth of color with access to successful professionals of color.
In addition she is the founder of the Black Capital Network, LLC, a small business consulting company that provides services to support minority business development. Under Parker’s leadership the Black Capital Network has hosted an annual Economic Empowerment Conference, networking events, and a business speaker series featuring national business leaders.
She spearheaded THE PITCH, which is run under the aegis of 43NORTH. THE PITCH is a collaborative Minority/Women Business Enterprise business plan competition designed to elevate the profile of minority and women business owners in the city of Buffalo. At the 2017 THE PITCH competition $50,000 was awarded to minority and City of Buffalo entrepreneurs.
In October 2017, in conjunction with the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and WUFO 1080 AM Radio, Parker mobilized area women create care packages for women in Puerto Rico affected by hurricane Maria. Personal hygiene items and cosmetics packaged with batteries and inspirational messages of hope were shipped to the beleaguered island.
Parker is a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo Law School and Johnson C. Smith University in Charlottesville, NC.
In 2011, she was selected by Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on the Western New York Regional Economic Council, where she served as chair of the tourism workgroup. She is a former board member of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and served for three years as the chair of the Communities of Giving Legacy Initiative, a philanthropy fund led by leaders of color. As chair, Parker developed and led the introduction of the fund’s signature program, “Success Looks Like Me.”
Currently, she serves as the board marketing chair for the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and co-communications chair on the WNY Women’s Foundation Board. Other community boards have included WNED Television, the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she was the first female and African-American chairperson, Leadership Buffalo, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and the Advisory Board for Canisius College Women’s Business Center.