Kim Anthony • September 24, 2026

Meet the Design Visionary Bringing Artistry to the World’s Most Memorable Spaces

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.

Meet the Strategist Who Sees Opportunity Where Others See Obstacles

By Kim Anthony • September 24, 2026
Beverly Kuykendall helps businesses navigate complex markets, build stronger partnerships and turn ambitious ideas into workable plans. Some business leaders see a procurement requirement and stop at the obstacle. Beverly Kuykendall asks what it would take to move forward. Over decades in federal acquisition and commercialization, Kuykendall has helped organizations work through the demands of government contracting while keeping their commercial goals in view. Her career has included executive roles as President of Government Business, Chief Strategy Officer and President. In each, she has worked at the point where strategy must become something a team can actually execute. Today, Kuykendall advises mission-driven organizations and manufacturers seeking new routes to growth. For companies pursuing domestic production, that may mean beginning with practical steps such as packaging, labeling, kitting, light assembly or fulfillment. These staged solutions can help a manufacturer establish domestic capacity and enter a market while building toward a larger goal. She also helps manufacturers develop reseller and distribution programs with clear standards for selecting partners, onboarding them and measuring performance. The aim is to grow revenue while protecting the relationships and reputation a business has worked hard to build. Kuykendall’s strength lies in making complicated systems understandable and actionable. She sees how procurement rules, supply chains and commercial partnerships fit together—and where an organization can make its next move with confidence. For entrepreneurs and business leaders trying to enter a demanding market, that perspective matters. A complex path can still be a path. Kuykendall’s work helps organizations find it, prepare for it and take the next step.

Meet the Pathway Builder Who Turns Education Into Opportunity

By Kim Anthony • September 24, 2026
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 .

Meet the Connector Who Helps Businesses Get Ready for Opportunity

By Kim Anthony • September 24, 2026
Robin Morgan Billups brings experience in commercial real estate finance and supplier diversity to her work helping entrepreneurs pursue contracts and build stronger businesses. Robin Morgan Billups has spent her career working on both sides of a question many entrepreneurs face: How does a business become ready for a major opportunity? She began in commercial real estate construction finance, sourcing, underwriting and managing conventional and affordable housing investments for institutions including Bank of America and U.S. Bank. As a commercial real estate construction relationship manager at U.S. Bank, she averaged more than $150 million in annual loan production. Billups later created U.S. Bank’s national supplier diversity program across a 24-state footprint. She built a program focused on education, assessment, compliance and certification for businesses seeking a place in corporate supply chains. After leaving the bank, she joined the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as a national business development manager, working with corporate members across the public and private sectors. Today, she brings those experiences together through The Billups Group. Her firm works with organizations on supplier inclusion and procurement strategies while helping entrepreneurs assess their capabilities, strengthen client relationships and prepare to pursue contracts. Billups also serves as a speaker, panelist and facilitator on business strategy, women-owned and diverse business enterprises, and opportunities connected to housing, infrastructure and transit development. An alumna of the USC Marshall School of Business’s Minority Program in Real Estate Development and Finance, Billups understands both the financial demands of large projects and the preparation smaller firms need to participate in them. Her goal is to help businesses recognize their marketable strengths, meet procurement requirements and turn a promising connection into lasting growth. For more information connect with Robin Billups here.
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