Co-Founder/HBCU HEROES

DEI & Professional Speaker , Entrepreneur

Email: traceypennywell@hbcuheroes.org  Cell 818.749.0198 LinkedIn

Tracey Pennywell is a dynamic professional speaker who’s been instrumental in bridging the gap between corporate America and Historically Black College & Universities (HBCUs). She is passionate about helping to solve the talent pool crisis. Via HBCU Heroes,  non-profit she co-founded with NBA veteran George Lynch, she provides diversity, equity & inclusion talks, DEI strategies, and insight to successfully recruit & retain top talent for global corporations. 

Pennywell is a highly sought after speaker who’s built a following speaking to audiences nationwide. She’s a specialist in the topic of DEI, particularly with corporate strategies to recruit top-tier diverse talent to drive sustainability, profits & success. She consults with Fortune 500 companies and connects them to highly-employable talent via webinars, career fests and onsite hiring events that help both grow. 

Pennywell is a seasoned business owner and subject-matter expert with over 25 years of experience in the corporate, nonprofit and entertainment arenas. She uses her expertise, vast network and speaking abilities to help companies across industries boost their DEI efforts while supporting minority and underserved communities with hiring opportunities. 

During the pandemic, she hosted and produced 15 monthly virtual career fests, speaking to thousands of attendees and corporate leaders from AT&T, Coca Cola, SiriusXM/Pandora, Citi, WM (Waste Management), NBA, NFL, MLB – to name a few. She also hosts and produces annual events, such as the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic Career Summit Presented by Amazon at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Pennywell is also the founder of HBCU Heroes Online Academy, spearheading DEI with marketing events, movie campaigns, and corporate partnerships. Via her leadership, the Academy serves as a hub for projects and initiatives giving students hands-on experience while providing scholarships and resources.Pennywell also takes pride in hosting professional development workshops to prepare scholars for successful entry into the corporate world while networking with corporate leaders across industries. 

A visionary, she excels at connecting employers to talented candidates through engaging live, virtual and hybrid events particularly in hard-to-enter fields, such as sports & entertainment. Thus, she proudly orchestrates partnerships with films ranging from Delia’s Gone (Vertical Entertainment) starring Stephan James (Golden Globe nominee) and Marissa Tomei (Academy Award winner) to John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Films, Participant).  Pennywell speaks to audiences, hosting social impact campaigns that include virtual and onsite theater screenings plus Q&As to propel buzz for movies while driving social impact and career initiatives in each campaign.

Prior to this, Pennywell owned Switch Media Inc., a boutique social media agency that specialized in growing fanbases for celebrities such as DL Hughley, Mike Epps and Christopher Meloni (Law & Order/NBC). She has a bachelor of arts degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. Pennywell is available for speaking bookings onsite, online & hybrid events.