How Imani Ellis, Founder & CEO of The Creative Collective and CultureCon, Brought Inclusivity Into the Creative Space

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

Many of our Second Life stories start with a gap in a specific market in which incredibly talented entrepreneurs find a solution to fill the need, and Imani Ellis is the epitome of this case. In 2016, after a successful stint in the NBC Page Program and working in communications at Bravo, Ellis recognized a gap—there wasn’t a space where Black and Brown creatives could connect, share resources, and grow together. Instead of waiting for the community to emerge, she created it herself. From her living room in Harlem, she founded The Creative Collective, a space designed to uplift young creatives of color by offering them networking opportunities and essential resources. And, importantly, she did it all while working her way up to the VP level at her day job.

In 2017, Ellis launched CultureCon, an annual conference that quickly became the centerpiece of The Creative Collective's mission. Over the past seven years, she has scaled the Collective and CultureCon into platforms of immense influence, evolving into a hub of inspiration, offering panels, workshops, job fairs, and unique activations to empower its attendees. The event has attracted prominent figures like Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, and Regina King, solidifying its role as a beacon for creatives of color.

Ellis’s dedication and entrepreneurial spirit led her to new beginnings and endings. In 2022, she made the bold decision to leave NBC Universal, where she had climbed the ranks from page to vice president of communications, unscripted entertainment publicity, in just 10 years. Her leap into full-time entrepreneurship allowed her to further expand and diversify her business ventures, with a clear focus on community-building and empowering underrepresented voices.

Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to discover how, by creating spaces for others to thrive in, Ellis has built not only a thriving business but also a movement that continues to inspire and support the next generation of creatives.

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