Building the Movement, The NEW EE Part 2

MARGARITA “MAGGIE” ANDERSON IS THE FOUNDER OF THE EMPOWERMENT EXPERIMENT (EE), THE CEO OF ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FOR POWERED BY ACTION, INC, AND THE AUTHOR OF “OUR BLACK YEAR”.

Margarita Anderson and her family made history and dominated headlines as national media covered their year-long stand living exclusively off Black businesses, professionals, and products for an entire year. This first-ever real-life case study in self-help economics was called The Empowerment Experiment (EE). Their experiment resulted in a landmark study conducted by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business which proved with the data from the Anderson’s journey how incremental support of Black businesses can rescue the Black community and improve the American economy as a whole.

Margarita, a first-generation Cuban-American, has a BA in Political Science from Emory University; and earned a Juris Doctor (JD) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago, where President Barack Obama was her law professor and mentor. Before the experiment, she was an aide to civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis, the speechwriter for the Mayor of Atlanta, a corporate strategy executive at McDonald’s Corporation, and a strategy consultant.

Since the experiment, Margarita has become the face of a conscious consumerism movement uniting consumers, corporations, and the quality Black businesses that can rescue struggling communities and provide role models to Black youth. A sought-after speaker, she tours the country inspiring more consumer and corporate engagement of Black professionals and firms. Margarita appears on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, PBS Newshour, and CBS Morning News, among many other national television and radio shows…and uses her growing platform to increase awareness about economic inequalities that starve Black neighborhoods and deny Black businesses, and how proactive support of Black businesses can create jobs and curb crime in America.
Maggie is also the author of the critically acclaimed book about EE, Our Black Year, presented by William Morris Entertainment and Public Affairs Books. Publishers Weekly called it “ a dynamite subject” and “an effective probe into how African Americans spend so much money that overwhelmingly leaves their communities.” Library Journal raved, “Anderson’s book successfully illuminates the racial divide that continues to persist in the U.S. economy... [T]his book will appeal to those looking for inspiration to effect positive change in their communities.”

Maggie lives in Oak Park, Illinois with her husband John (AB, Economics, Harvard University, 1993; MBA, Finance, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1999) and their two daughters, Cori and Cara, seven and eight.

Andre Hughes

Andre is the founder and servant leader of Powered by Action. Andre is also the Chairman of C3 Venture Group, LLC and Co-Owner of BigMarker.

Andre Hughes was a Managing Director responsible for evaluating strategic growth initiatives that can substantially fuel Accenture’s growth agenda globally. Andre evaluates strategic partnerships and ventures, along with assessing which new companies to launch or acquire.

Previously, Andre Hughes was the Global Managing Director of Accenture’s Network Consulting and Outsourcing Business. Launched as a virtual entity in February 2009, this practice area has experienced accelerated growth, including $1.5 billion in net new sales within the first 26 months of operations. Andre founded and was accountable for managing this business practice.

Andre was the visionary leader of Accenture’s Human Capital, Inclusion and Diversity, and Corporate Citizenship actions and results in the US. In this role, he led a team and strategy committed to developing globally responsible leaders; shaping proactive strategies that improved our human capital effectiveness and helped deliver our business strategy.

An innovator, Andre accelerated as a Partner by identifying a new market that focused on Transformational opportunities in the Telecommunications market place. As part of his five-year tenure as the Founder and Global Managing Partner of the Network Service Line of Business, Andre and his team grew this practice to more than one-half billion in revenue.

Andre was the Communications & High Tech North America Managing Partner for Consulting, where he directed business strategy, and market development initiatives focused on growth.

Andre initially joined Accenture as an experienced consultant in the Network Solutions practice – where he worked his way up to Partner within 10 years in leadership positions spanning the Finance, Government, and Communications industries.

Andre serves on the Boards of the Accenture Foundation; the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago; the Krannert School of Management – Business Opportunity Program, Purdue University; the Chicago Urban League; Thurgood Marshall College Fund; and the Presidential Council for Economic Growth and Development in Haiti. In addition, he is an adviser to the Women’s Vision Foundation in Denver, and is an advisor to Teen Living in Chicago. Recently, he founded and serves as the Executive Director for Powered by Action – a global nonprofit organization focused on building distressed and developing communities to self-sufficiency.

Personally, Andre enjoys gardening and spending time with his family. He is an alumnus of both Purdue University and the University of Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Engineering and MBA in Finance respectively.