Latresa McLawhorn Ryan

Latresa is the founder and CEO of Blackbird Strategy Group - a capital markets advisory services firm that creates deployment strategies rooted in equity. She is a racial wealth equity strategist, innovator, and executor dedicated to creating equitable pathways to a continuum of capital and support for historically excluded communities. Latresa leverages a broad network of relationships, capital markets expertise, and community and data-centered solutions to build wealth, agency, and strong ecosystems. With a personal purpose and career focused on creating economic security and sustainable generational wealth, she has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor with a unique ability to make complex ideas compelling by combining critical thinking with practical implementation.

Prior to founding Blackbird Strategy Group, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) - a community-built, data-centered, intermediary nonprofit organization focused on closing the racial wealth gap at the systems level through community wealth building strategies - where she raised and distributed over $36M in capital to support small business growth, development–– and ultimately, survival at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her leadership, AWBI developed as an ecosystem hub serving as a think tank, data engine, community convener, funder, and philanthropic and community development advisor launching its signature Advancing Enterprise Prosperity: 1,000 Black Businesses in 1,000 Days initiative to empower businesses with the assets and tools to grow and scale while paying employees a living wage. Before joining AWBI, Latresa held leadership roles at SunTrust Bank, Operation Hope, and as an attorney serving clients nationally.