Keynote Speaker

Beverly Bond

Biography

DJ and founder of Black Girls Rock! Beverly Bond is a distinguished businesswoman, mentor, producer, and writer.  A true music connoisseur, Bond’s passion for music and her uncanny ability to read the crowd has solidified her as one of the premier DJs in the world. Over the last decade, Bond, a former Wilhelmina model, has brought her versatile talents to the most exclusive events in the world with performances at the VH1 Fashion Rocks Awards, ESPN X-Games, US Open, NBA All-Star Game, and American Music Awards, and to a myriad of celebrity clients including Prince, Alicia Keys, Sarah Jessica Parker, Erykah Badu, Diddy, Derrick Jeter, John Legend, Venus Williams, Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Z, Martha Stewart, and Michael Jordan.

As a mentor, activist, and philanthropist, Bond founded Black Girls Rock! Inc., a nonprofit youth empowerment mentoring organization to empower inner-city girls ages 12 to 17 through the arts. Bond also founded the annual Black Girls Rock! Awards which were created to celebrate the accomplishments of exceptional women of color who have made outstanding contributions in their careers and who stand out as inspirational and positive role models in the community. Past honorees of Black Girls Rock! include Queen Latifah, Bethann Hardison, Erykah Badu, Iman, Susan L. Taylor, Common, and many more. Now in its fifth year, Black Girls Rock! Awards will make its television debut on Black Entertainment Television.

Bond’s work as a community leader has earned her a number of prestigious recognitions. Most recently, she was honored by the United Way Young Leaders Council during its 2010 2nd Annual Red Carpet Soiree which spotlights young philanthropists. Bond was also acknowledged in the Essence40th Anniversary issue as one of the magazine’s “40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who Are Changing the World,” placing her in the company of notables such as First Lady Michelle Obama, author Maya Angelou, artistic director/dancer Judith Jamison, media mogul/philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, President of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, supermodel Iman, singer/actress Beyoncé, actress/singer Queen Latifah, author Susan L. Taylor, singer/actresss Alicia Keys, actress Cicely Tyson, and others. Additional recognitions include, Ebony magazine’s “2009 Ebony Power 150 – The Most Influential Blacks In America,” listing her among top African American leaders including President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Cornel West, Dr. William (Bill) H. Cosby Jr., TV writer/producer Shonda Rhimes, singer/actress Beyoncé, music mogul Shawn (Jay-Z) Carter, actor Will Smith, CEO of BET Debra L. Lee, andmore. In 2010, Bond was again honored by Ebony as one of its “Power 100 – Most Influential Blacks in America.” Source magazine also listed Bond amid their 2009 Power Circle group of leaders in hip-hop.

Other recent acknowledgements for Bond include: the 2009 Agent of Change Award at the Obama: THAT ONE! Pre-Inaugural Awards Gala in Washington DC; the 2009 Gold Rush Award bestowed by Russell Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation for her community work and for promoting youth Arts programs through Black Girls Rock!; the Hip-Hop Association’s 2009 Womanhood Passage for making significant strides that have raised the bar of achievement for all women in hip-hop culture; Vibe magazine’s Future Urban Icon Award; and being named as one of New York’s Fifty Fabulous Females by Love Heals, a leading foundation for AIDS education in 2006 and 2008. Alicia Keys also handpicked Bond to be featured in her 2008 American Music Award Tribute to super-women, which included Queen Latifah and opera Singer Kathleen Battle. Additionally, Bond is a recipient of the Justo Mixtape Award for best female DJ.

With such diverse talents combined with an unparalleled and passionate devotion to music and to community, it’s little wonder that Bond has emerged as a force in music and a powerful and respected voice in the world. Humble and modest beyond measure, she has created a niche for success, determined to make a difference in the lives she touches that stretches further than ordinary boundaries – a true testament to reaching for the stars.