The 2023-2024 cohort will offer mentorship and professional development opportunities for students in the entrepreneurship minor as they visit campus this year.
A new cohort of Shuford Innovators-in-Residence will support students in the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship through academic lectures, professional development initiatives, mentoring opportunities and candid conversations across campus. Each innovator will visit campus for one week during the academic year to establish connections and build community with students — a connection that they will continue to nurture beyond that time.
The Innovator-in-Residence program gives students exposure to professionals, all Carolina alumni, who have various personal and professional backgrounds, experiences and identities, with an emphasis on how students benefit from hearing underrepresented perspectives.
“When one’s personal core values are aligned with one’s business core values it doesn’t feel like work,” said Bernard Bell, executive director of the Shuford program. “The Innovator-in-Residence program exists so our students can see the value of personal life and professional life alignment. I have no doubt that our second class of innovators will keep pushing the limit of what is possible when authenticity and vulnerability mix with entrepreneurship.”
Additionally, this year, the Shuford Innovator-in-Residence program has built a formal partnership with Honors Carolina, helping increase this intersectional representation and expertise across campus.
The 2023-2024 Shuford Innovators-in-Residence are:
- Pedro Carreño ‘09: Education
- Jasmine Cogdell ‘13: Marketing and Tech
- Brooke Elby ‘15: Sports
- John Geraghty ’16: Entertainment
- Treye Green ‘12: Journalism
- Brooke Hill ‘15: Hair and Beauty
- Kene Onuorah ‘12: Marketing and Branding
Hill will visit UNC during the week of Oct. 2; Elby, Onuorah and Codgell will visit during the week of Nov. 6; and Carreño, Green and Geraghty will visit in the spring of 2024.
Meet the new Shuford Innovators-in-Residence:
Pedro Carreño: Education
Pedro Carreño is a partner of school design at Transcend, a community-focused education management organization. Carreño has spent the past 15 years dedicated to excellence and equity in learning environments. In his role at Transcend, he reimagines schooling to give every student equitable learning experiences. Carreño is also an adjunct instructor with Alder Graduate School of Education and serves as a board member with Voices College-Bound Language Academies and the South African Education Project. He received a B.A. in Latin American studies and a minor in social entrepreneurship from UNC as well as a master’s from the Relay Graduate School of Education.
Jasmine Cogdell: Marketing and Tech
Jasmine Cogdell serves as the chief communications officer and head of operations for Blacktag, a global platform for Black creators and content. Cogdell jump-started her career in advertising at creative agency BBDO NY before working at the agency Wieden + Kennedy New York (WKNY) where she advised on brand strategy and creative development for clients such as Vitaminwater, HBO and Lyft. After six years, she left WKNY for Blacktag where she continues her passion of advocating for Black creatives and working to change the landscape of the creative and entertainment industry.
Brooke Elby: Sports
Since graduating from UNC in 2015, Brooke Elby has become a fervent advocate and leader for women’s sports. She played five years of professional soccer in the National Women’s Soccer League before starting the player’s association for the league and leading the association through its first collective bargaining agreement. Elby has retired from professional soccer, but she continues to maintain a number of advisory roles within the sports business space. She is currently an associate at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, and recently graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA.
John Geraghty: Entertainment
John Geraghty is co-founder of rogue., a forward-thinking management and entertainment company with offices in Nashville and Los Angeles. Geraghty was named to the 2022 Billboard Managers to Watch list. In 2022, the company saw artist Ingrid Andress reach her second career #1 at country radio and artist FLETCHER debut atop the Billboard 200. Geraghty also created the “Meet Her At The Bar” experience to save and celebrate woman-owned queer bars, raising $50,000 for GLAAD in 2022 and already surpassing $150,000 in 2023.
Treye Green: Journalism
Treye Green is a journalist, editor, content strategist, professional development expert and poet whose work blends his love of music, design, literature and style. He has over 15 years of digital media experience across digital and print editorial, broadcasting and videography. He has previously held editorial director, editor, reporter and videographer roles at outlets such as The New York Times, New York Post and BuzzFeed. His entertainment and culture writing has appeared in outlets like The Guardian, NBC News and CNN. Green recently joined NPR’s “Morning Edition” as a digital manager. He also founded his own brand, Black in Media, which empowers and enriches Black creatives.
Brooke Hill: Hair and Beauty
Brooke Hill is the co-founder and CEO of Swella, a company on a mission to disrupt textured hair care for the better. Hill graduated from UNC in 2015 with a B.S. in business and a minor in public relations from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. She earned her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2022. Before founding Swella, Hill worked at Google in analytics and marketing for over five years. Through her work at Swella, she works to empower people with textured hair and use technology to close disparities in hair care.
Kene Onuorah: Marketing and Branding
Kene Onuorah is the founder and CEO of Comme Homme, a men’s personal care brand that bridges the gap between personal care and mental wellness to help men everywhere embrace their natural evolution. Onuorah has an undergraduate degree in health policy and management from UNC and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Onuorah’s entrepreneurship ambitions originated during his time on campus at UNC where he and his friends created the community that would fuel his first business venture. He is passionate about brand building, storytelling and community development and has a background in brand strategy consulting at Prophet, venture capital at Detroit Venture Partners and entrepreneurship.
Learn more about the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.
By Andy Little ’24, College of Arts and Sciences