From CEOs to cultural icons, Philadelphia has always been an epicenter for trailblazers. Here, the top four local luminaries to know now.
Yin has remained a power player in the restaurant industry as one of the first female restaurateurs in the city and continues to keep a seat open at the table for women and beyond.
Co-Founder and Owner of High Street Hospitality Group, highsthospitality.com
Fork, a.kitchen + bar and High Street Philly are some of the most revered culinary experiences in Philadelphia, and, in case you forgot, all concepts by talented restaurateur Ellen Yin. These award-winning restaurants are nothing short of delectable, and like many that came before her, the force behind High Street Hospitality found her start working in a neighborhood spot during high school. “I remember falling in love with the diversity, pace and energy of the restaurant scene,” she says. “After that moment, I wanted to focus on making a mark in the hospitality industry by creating innovative, equitable and sustainable concepts that keep the industry moving forward.” And she did, starting with Fork in 1997, which is now coming up on its 25th anniversary. Since opening the sophisticated New American eatery, Yin has also prevailed in popular spots like High Street Philly (previously known as High Street on Market) and one New York City outpost, and even boasts six James Beard nominations from over the years. She continues to exude leadership in the field this year with two more nominations by the prestigious foundation, including Outstanding Restaurateur. “Coming out of the two most difficult years in the restaurant industry, it was amazing to be recognized in the industry as a leader,” she shares. Yin continues well beyond the plate, however, with causes that are near and dear to her own heart with The Wonton Project. Launched last year, the ghost kitchen has donated over $13,000 toward pro-AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) organizations like Asian Americans United. She concludes, “I want to continue striving toward an industry in which there are diverse voices in all positions— especially those of power—to create more equitable workspaces, products and concepts.”
In 2019, Philadelphia’s The String Theory Schools (STS) announced their hopes to build a new charter school called Joan Myers Brown School of the Arts.
Founder of PHILADANCO!, philadanco.org
Upon stepping into a tutu-filled, white-washed world at 16, aspiring dancer Joan Myers Brown was ready for the challenge—and she certainly took the world by storm. As the founder of nonprofit Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO!), she’s also the face behind the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by former President Obama in 2012. Looking back, Brown’s love for the arts all began in Philadelphia. Years of dance in her Black community proved she was a natural talent, but it was not until high school that she began classical training with former ballerina Virginia Lingenfelder’s all-white class. “I was not prepared for the disdain of the girls in the group,” she says. “I immediately went on the defensive.” However, with perseverance, Myers Brown did not let the industry’s limits stop her. In the 1960s, she worked as a revue dancer in places like Atlantic City’s Club Harlem and as a choreographer before founding PHILADANCO! in 1970, and then taught dance at Howard University in the early ’90s. Here, she commenced her lifelong task to mold a more accepting dance world. In doing so, she launched the first International Association of Blacks in Dance in 1988 through PHILADANCO!—an annual gathering currently in its 34th year where the Black dance community works together and shares resources. This conference was later renamed IABD in 1991. “IABD has made a major impact on the dance world in general,” she explains. “I started the first conference with $5,000 and now the budget is over $3 million. Truly international.” With these accolades under her belt, Brown officially retired from her artistic director role at PHILADANCO! last fall, but still continues to run the company as executive artistic adviser. “I hope people remember that I did the best I could with what I had,” she notes.
Founder of Tribaja, tribaja.co
It goes without saying that when one door closes, another opens. For Shannon Morales, founder of tech networking platform Tribaja, this couldn’t be more true. From 2013 to 2018, Morales was trudging through a career in finance, but when a tuition reimbursement for her MBA program at Syracuse University was denied and catapulted a domino effect of financial struggle as a single mom, the Lawrence local was forced into rethinking her future. After a few more tries in the industry, Morales was not motivated or passionate about the work. There was little room for growth, and it was toxic, male-dominated and lacking in diversity. “I didn’t think anything had changed no matter where I went—West Coast, East Coast—it was still the same, and so I said, ‘OK, it really just has to be something else. I have to figure this out because I don’t want my daughters to go through the same situation that I’ve had to go through,’” she explains. And thus, Tribaja was born. Combining the words “tribe” and tribajo, which means work in Spanish, Morales sought to create a job platform that presented genuine connections, collaborations and development as a priority— one that connected diverse people to a large tech pipeline of opportunity that she personally vetted. Since starting the company in 2017, she’s grown the community to 6,000 members; had a 91% attendance rate to her weeklong summit, Diversitech Fest, in its first year (it’s the largest of its kind on the East Coast); and has helped those members increase their salaries by an average of 45% through a series of workshops and webinars with local startup leaders. More recently, Morales even partnered with Karat, which is behind Brilliant Black Minds and partnered with Serena Williams, to help increase technical assessments. “Our overall mission is to increase the success rate of marginalized groups entering into tech,” she concludes. “The thought is that if we can increase those numbers, then they’ll also help families like mine generate more wealth.”
President and CEO of CHOP, chop.edu
Breaking through the glass ceiling as the first-ever female leader of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Madeline Bell never pictured herself at the helm of one of the most prestigious children’s hospitals in the U.S. In fact, she started as a pediatric night nurse at CHOP, but in 1995, that all changed when she switched her focus to hospital administration. “I wanted to be part of creating a system that could address and answer problems that I was seeing at the bedside,” Bell says. Rising through the ranks at the renowned hospital, she sought out job opportunities that helped hone her skills as a leader. And then in 2015 it all paid off as she became president and CEO of CHOP. As a leader, Bell credits much of CHOP’s success to her incredibly talented and diverse team, and knows that the ability to empower others is of the utmost importance. “Having different perspectives around the table really enriches the discussion and improves creativity… and improves the clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction—all the things you can think of how we measure our success,” she adds. It’s this leadership that has helped Bell to take steps toward her mission of advancing healthcare for children, a more recent leap being expanding CHOP’s footprint to King of Prussia, as well as adding more research facilities in its Philadelphia campus. During her tenure, Bell has also furthered CHOP’s commitment to the Community Asthma Prevention Plus (CAPP+) Program, which works with community organizations and minority-owned businesses to address and remediate in-home asthma triggers for families; in February, the program celebrated the completion of its 100th home renovation. “For me, it’s really important that all children have access to good care,” Bell says.
Photography by: CATHERINE KARNOW; COURTESY OF PHILADANCO!; COURTESY OF TRIBAJA; COURTESY OF THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PENNSYLVANIA
