Hosted by the Empowerment Network (empoweromaha.com), the African American Leadership Conference will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, at CHI Health Center Omaha.
The conference will be held alongside the Revive Black Business Expo. This year’s theme, “This Is Our Season,” recognizes two decades of community collaboration while looking toward the next generation of leadership.
Featured speakers include national strategic partners of the Empowerment Network:
- George Fraser, CEO, FraserNet Inc.
- Jay Bailey, CEO, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship
- Dr. Randal Pinkett, CEO, BCT Partners
- Dr. Pamela Jolly, CEO, Torch Enterprises Inc.
- Simon Bailey, award-winning speaker and former Disney executive
- Jaylen Bledsoe, chief executive business officer, The Potter’s House
- Will Moreland, president, Moreland Enterprises
- Suzan Hart, CEO, Suzan Hart Enterprises
- Anna Barber, president, Barber & Associates
Mayor John Ewing, Jr. will also join the line-up as a keynote speaker. Local and national partners will join as breakout speakers.
“This year’s conference will recognize the 20th anniversary of the very first leadership meeting that we hosted to start the Empowerment Network. Since then, we have worked together to generate new jobs, investments and opportunities that strengthen the entire community,” said Willie Barney, founder and CEO of the Empowerment Network.
Sessions are broken out into six categories: Career advancement, leadership development, health, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and wealth building.
The conference is supported by: American National Bank, Carver Legacy Center, Charles E. Lakin Foundation, CHI Health Center, Metropolitan Community College, Mutual of Omaha, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance/Obama Foundation, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Omaha Economic Development Corporation, PPRP Innovations, Revive! Omaha and Weitz Family Foundation.
For more information, visit empoweromaha.com.