Felecia Fisher-Shamu has built a women-owned furniture manufacturing business whose work reaches from Los Angeles hotels to destinations around the world. Before Felecia Fisher-Shamu’s work appeared in luxury hotels and major entertainment venues, she was building relationships with the people who knew those spaces best: hotel engineering and housekeeping teams in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. She listened, learned what the work demanded and built a business around delivering it well. Today, Fisher-Shamu is CEO and co-founder of Vitality Casegoods, Restorations, and Furniture Manufacturing, Inc. In a competitive industry where women business owners have had to establish their place, she has earned a reputation for custom furnishings, furniture design and restoration. She has done it with creative vision, perseverance and a team of skilled craftspeople. Vitality’s work has reached properties in the United States, Anguilla, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Fisher-Shamu has contributed to sustainable projects with Google and ARIA in Las Vegas, as well as furnishings for major hotels and entertainment spaces. Her team’s work has also supported events associated with the NAACP Image Awards, the Daytime Emmys and Oscar celebrations, including a VIP gala honoring Black Panther costume designer Ruth E. Carter. Her passion for restoration gives the business another dimension. Vitality helped restore antiques from Paris for Lumière at the refurbished Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Earlier in her career, Fisher-Shamu restored antiques for the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills. She values the artistry in preserving a piece’s character as much as the skill required to create something new. Even during the pandemic, when the hospitality industry faced extraordinary disruption, Vitality continued to win work. Projects included SoFi Stadium’s Owners Club, Loews St. Louis Live! hotel and Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Fisher-Shamu’s story celebrates what a woman-owned business can build through talent, trusted relationships and the determination to keep going. Her furnishings may be found in celebrated spaces, but the deeper achievement is the enterprise she and her team have crafted along the way.

Richard “Rick” Benbow III connects employers, educators and communities to help more people reach the careers they imagine for themselves. For Rick Benbow, access to education means more than opening a door. People also need a path through it: a way to gain skills, connect with employers and see where their effort can take them. As a vice president at Western Governors University , Benbow builds partnerships that connect education with workforce needs. His market expansion work has contributed to more than 45% enrollment growth, and he has secured $5 million in grant funding to address education gaps. Among his accomplishments is a California High Road Training Partnership grant aimed at expanding workforce opportunities. Benbow’s work has also included developing Nevada’s first software development apprenticeship program and building relationships with companies such as Apple and Google. Across these efforts, he focuses on a practical question: What would make this opportunity reachable for someone who has the talent, but needs a clear route forward? He describes his leadership style as part builder, part connector and part coach. That approach has shaped his work with employers, agencies and educational institutions, as well as outreach efforts designed to speak to the communities they hope to serve. His experience also includes a strategic plan that strengthened UCLA’s engagement across greater Los Angeles. Benbow measures growth by more than enrollment or the size of a partnership. The greater promise is what happens when those connections lead to skills, credentials and careers. By bringing the right people and resources together, he is helping make that promise possible for more learners. Connect with Richard (Rick) Benbow, III >> here .