Shawntele Green
Shawntele Green is a visionary entrepreneur, businesswoman, and community leader.
She is the founder and CEO of Star Automotive LLC, a specialty automotive care business based in south Louisiana. Since the company’s inception in 2008, Shawntele and her husband, Gary Green, have grown the business from a mobile car repair service to a 5,000-square-foot, fully operational brick-and-mortar enterprise serving hundreds of clients each year.
Shawntele oversees operations, finance, employee relations, and sales while ensuring a quality customer service delivery experience.
Besides serving in various capacities as a community leader, Shawntele is committed to developing and growing the region’s small and medium-sized businesses, focusing on Black and women-owned enterprises. During Shawntele’s time on the Board of Directors of the American Business Women’s Association, she served as President of the Membership Committee. Formerly served as a Director of Business Networking International. An inaugural advisory board member for a program called Potential of Women Entrepreneurs Realized (P.O.W.E.R.) sponsored by Fidelity Bank. Among her accomplishments, she has served as an executive board member, membership chair, and founder of the Ambassador Leadership Program at the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce. Moreover, I have the honor of serving on the Women’s United Executive Committee, with a particular concentration on the organization’s membership. As a member of the Chairman’s Council, I serve as an ambassador and board member of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, we are partnering with United Way Southeast Louisiana to accomplish our goals.
Gary Green
As the inspiration for establishing the Gary Green Foundation, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a Godly gentleman who is humble, sensitive, and an excellent listener. There is only one word that can describe him:
Perspicacious.
The Gary Green Foundation was established in honor of my husband, Gary Green. He always inspired me through his loving acts no matter the circumstances, and I wish to make sure that his legacy lives on. He is a Godly man who is sensitive, humble, and excellent at listening, with a great deal of integrity. Perspicacious, in a word, is the best way to describe him. As my best friend, teacher, king, president, and bodyguard, he is one the most important people in my life.
As well as this, I am motivated by the pain of injustice in the United States of America, the country known as the land of peace, liberty, and justice for all.
“Injustice, it hurts”
It is a difficult concept to comprehend at times. The challenges that the Black Man faces are insurmountable and unfair in nature. During our deep pillow talks, we always discuss how we can remove obstacles to make actionable progress against peculiar artifice institutions. I would continue to hear in my heart bring solutions to a problem that affects the soul of “the black man.”
Shawntele's Vision
Shawntele’s vision is to develop mission-driven enterprises that catalyze community healing and restoration through wealth-building and economic opportunities for vulnerable citizens. Her plans include the launch of a re-entry, workforce, and entrepreneurship training institute for recently returning citizens where participants learn all aspects of the automotive repair business and gain training and exposure to new career and entrepreneurial pathways.
Shawntele’s vision and business acumen are undergirded by her unshakeable faith in the Word of God, a desire to support and uplift Black men and women, and an unwavering commitment to living out her purpose of inspiring and amplifying the talents and gifts of those around her.
Emile Session
Emile Session is a strategic consultant with Bellwether, a nonprofit consulting firm. He helps clients define their operating models and create implementation strategies to make their core values a lived reality. Before joining Bellwether, Emile worked for eight years in schools as a Director of Operations, building out data tools to protect student and family interests and train strong operations teams. His experience also includes government and nonprofit agencies, where he drove initiatives to redefine how states assess student performance, build stronger networks for young Black professionals, and connect Black entrepreneurs to mentorship and consulting opportunities.
A resident of Memphis, Tennessee, Emile holds master’s degrees in Education Policy and Adolescent Education from Columbia University and Pace University. He also received a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Emile is a native of Houston, Texas, and until recently, she spent years working and living in New York City and Connecticut. His passion is to ensure all families can access strong education options for their children.
Vivian Nevis
Emile Session
Kyle Francis
Karl Prevost
