• LinkedIn

Born in the Third Ward of Houston, Chef Bowie is the chef/owner of Taste Bar + Kitchen, a hugely successful restaurant and bar based in Houston. With a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Houston, Chef Bowie’s career began at the famed, now departed Red Cat Jazz Cafe. From there, Chef Bowie moved to Atlanta working in the music industry and fine tuning his palette while publishing hit singles for Grammy Award-winning producers. 

Chef Bowie received a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta, which opened the doors to the culinary world that took him to consulting with and helping build restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and finally in returning to Houston to help Flower Child with its openings. From there, he launched the Taste Bar + Kitchen in 2019, and since its opening, the Taste Bar + Kitchen has become one of Houston’s must-visit hotspots.

• LinkedIn

Justin Mink, CFE, has spent a career in leadership and founder roles at companies that have grown from 0-1000s of employees, raised millions of dollars in capital, and been valued at over $1B.  In 2007 he moved to Dallas from the Washington, D.C. area to launch the Franchise division at digital marketing firm ReachLocal, helping take the company public while pioneering digital marketing best practices for franchise brands.  Career highlights include cofounder of Music Audience Exchange, an innovative music marketing technology company based in Frisco that today has over 80 employees, CMO at the cannabis big data firm New Frontier Data, and sales leader of the Franchise team at Scorpion, a digital marketing firm that has spent 11 consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America list.  Today, as a Professional Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) Implementer, he helps entrepreneurs and leadership teams solve root problems and lead more effectively through a simple set of proven, practical tools.  He lives near White Rock Lake with his wife, Kate, son, Jude, and a very old and well-fed dog named Titan.

Originally from Kansas but of Mexican descent, Juan Carlos Ramirez began his career at an early age collaborating with his father in Spanish Radio La Super X 1250 AM in the sales, marketing and management roles, which allowed him to keep his fingers on the pulse of the Hispanic community in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Once he obtained his license as an insurance and real estate agent Juan Carlos worked building his experience in these fields and in 2012, together with his partner, launched R&S Agency, an Insurance, Tax and Accounting as the President of the company. This agency’s philosophy has been centered on both customer service and support for the needs of the Hispanic community. Juan Carlos has expressed that this philosophy of helping people has given deep meaning to his professional career.

In 2015 the agency opened their second branch in Olathe, Kansas and by the end of 2021 R&S Agency has expanded to 5 branches in the Kansas City metropolitan area. He is currently working on an expansion project through the franchising model, whereby 2 more offices are already in the process of being opened, one of them in Omaha, Nebraska expanding our reach.

In addition, R&S Agency has created a network of companies that have provided additional services that come full circle in providing the needs of our community and clients such as Real Estate, Immigration Law Services, Business Consulting.

• LinkedIn

Kevin Knight is the Founder and CEO of Urban Events

Global (UEG), a travel company of professional, African-
American adventure seekers. Urban Events Global encourages travelers to experience all that life has to offer through group travel events, networking, and by meeting like-minded individuals with an appetite for fun and exploration. Urban Events Global’s vision is to cultivate a space for professional people of color to interact organically through events around the world. The development of these unique and non-traditional experiences ultimately allows participants the opportunity to relax and develop new friendships in a care-free environment. During the many adventures, travelers
range from 400 to 2,000 participants. Beginning as a camping trip in 2011, the organization has grown to become the hub for several events, such as Urban Camp Weekend, Urban Excursion Weekend, Urban Cruise Weekend, the annual UEG Meet Up, and much more.

In 2017, Urban Events Global was included in BAUCE Magazine’s “7-Black Owned Travel Groups That You and Your Squad Should Join Now”. Furthermore, UEG was selected as USA TODAY 10Best Top 5 Best Adventure Travel Company in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Kevin’s passion for travel and people started as a child; he has literally been traveling since birth. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and grew up mainly in Louisiana and Texas, with a sprinkle of South Carolina. His mother was in the US Army for 22 years before she retired. Her professional career afforded him the opportunity to travel, visit different places, and allowed him to meet & assimilate with many types of people and cultures.

Kevin attended the University of Texas at Austin and received his Bachelor of Economics and Business degree. During his time at the University of Texas, Kevin was involved in student government and became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. In addition, Kevin was afforded an opportunity of a lifetime to study abroad for a semester while pursuing his undergraduate degree. This trip really ignited his passion for travel and changed his perspective on life. He hopes Urban Events Global guests can spark the same “awakening” he had back in 2000 with his travelers

After earning his bachelor’s degree, Kevin began his professional career in financial advising, consulting, and investments and advanced quickly in this fast-paced industry. In addition to obtaining his bachelor’s degree, Kevin also obtained a certification in Certified Financial Planning from Southern Methodist University. During his professional financial planning career, Kevin held positions such as Associate Vice President of Provasi Capital Partners and Vice President of Capital Markets/National Accounts at Ascendant Capital, LLC. In early 2016, after 16 years of financial services, Kevin decided it was time to pursue his passion of entrepreneurship and share his love for adventure and travel with others by starting his company, Urban Events Global. Kevin was open to a world full of opportunities and experiences that changed his life forever. He knew his purpose was to serve others by sharing his zeal for travel and engage others in a world beyond their imaginations.

Urban Events Global believes in serving others and participates in philanthropic efforts towards various charities and organizations. We have contributed to the University of Texas at Austin Black Alumni Scholarship benefiting minority students, Develop University’s field day event - serving youth of all ages in character development, mentorship, and life coaching, and Star of Hope Christian-centered community - dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless men, women, and their children. Urban Events Global continues to find new opportunities to be a blessing to others in need and make a lasting impact on their lives. Kevin Knight is a natural born leader and life enthusiast, who creates an atmosphere of fun & adventure for all guests. When Kevin isn’t busy with the operations of Urban Events Global, he is busy being a proud father, enjoying family and friends, and doing what he loves…traveling the
world! He continues to make his community proud by achieving many accomplishments and using his influence for a greater purpose beyond himself.

To contact Kevin Knight, please email [email protected].

Please visit
www.urbaneventsglobal.com for further details regarding Urban Events Global.

“Are you living, or just making a living and hoping to one day live?” –Kevin Knight

• LinkedIn

Michael T. Baldwin is the former Assistant Vice President of concessions at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).  A seasoned executive with over thirty years of diverse experience in Airport Concessions Consulting in Retail and Food Service Environments, Enterprise Strategic Planning, Contract Negotiations, Transition Planning, Category/Operations Management, Sales/Marketing, Product Development, Purchasing, Supplier Diversity, Personnel Supervision, Training and Franchise Operations. 

As a member of the senior management team for DFW’s concessions department, Michael and his team shared the responsibility for achieving over $425 million in annual revenues.

Responsibilities included charting strategies and monitoring progress to identify, recommend and develop new business opportunities to increase non-aeronautical revenues, monetized telecommunications services, customer service enhancements, and tenant design build-out.   

Michael consistently focused on effectively developing and managing a diverse, full-spectrum multi-dimensional concessions program to optimize the airport’s revenue potential. 

Michael is a recipient of DFWs Leadership in Diversity Award in the Senior Management Category, the result of demonstrating his outstanding commitment to diversity at DFW and surrounding communities.  He is also past chair of the ACI-North America Business Diversity Committee.

Prior to joining DFW, Michael was national category manager of prepaid services for the Southland Corporation (7-Eleven) where he developed new product concepts, identified marketing strategies and expanded prepaid calling cards and cell phone categories, generating over $249 million in annual revenue.  Prior to 7-Eleven, as an entrepreneur Michael worked in his family’s business developing and expanding The Famous Amos Cookie Corporation Franchises in airports and street-side locations both nationally and internationally.  He is known for his innovative business development skills, love for music, extreme energy, positive outlook on life, love for people and spiritual inspiration.  His mottos are “Always Begin With The End In Mind” and “Choose To Have A Great Day!”

Michael is an International Airport Professional and graduate of the Global ACI-ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Program (AMPAP); a graduate of the McKinsey Black Executive Leadership Program; and graduate of the Southern Bible Institute College in Biblical Studies.

He is also the recent recipient of the Airport Industry’s First-Ever AX Industry Icon Award – Airport Experience News.  

• LinkedIn

Carlos White is a HBCU-Bred (Southern University), Ivy League Law Trained (University of Pennsylvania Law School) transactional attorney that specializes in optimizing business systems and structuring franchising and licensing arrangements. Carlos has been recognized multiple times by D Magazine as one of the best franchise lawyers in Dallas. Economic development and business mentoring are passions for Carlos. Accordingly, Carlos has served on various economic development boards throughout DFW.