Sisters Making Moves

Aisha Glover Joins Audible Global Center for Innovation Launched

Aisha Glover joined Audible as vice president of Urban Innovation on October 5, 2020. In her role, Glover will help establish the strategic direction of the the company’s new Global Center for Urban Development and lead a team dedicated to advancing equitable economic development solutions in cities worldwide. Glover joins Audible from the Newark Alliance, where she served as president and CEO for the past two years.

A seasoned economic impact executive, Aisha Glover has a proven track record of spearheading equitable economic development programs throughout the region. Glover has more than 15 years of experience as an agent for economic empowerment and social justice. At the Newark Alliance, she worked closely with Mayor Ras Baraka to push for inclusive economic growth, helping to align dozens of corporations and private institutions with Newark’s needs, attracting billions of dollars in real estate development, and advancing citywide economic empowerment initiatives, including workforce training and women entrepreneurship programs.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel, honored as a “Hero of Liberty” for her support of humanitarian initiatives and for promoting the responsibilities of a free and diverse America, is the newly elected chair of the New York Building Foundation. President and CEO of McKissack & McKissack, the oldest black-woman owned design and construction firm in the country, McKissack Daniel has blazed a trail for other women, especially Black women in the construction field.

Cheryl represents the fifth generation of the McKissack family’s century-old business. Moses McKissack, her great-grandfather and a former slave, laid the foundation for the business having learned the trade of brick-making from his owner. He passed knowledge on to Cheryl’s grandfather and great-uncle, who incorporated the business in 1905. When Cheryl’s father, who had taken over the business from his father, suffered a stroke in 1982, her mother, Leatrice B. McKissack, stepped up to run the company.

Following in her mother’s footsteps, McKissack Daniel took over the reins in 2000 and moved the

“Aisha Glover’s commitment to, and success in, improving the lives of the people of Newark makes her uniquely suited to help carry out the vision of our Global Center for Urban Development,” said Audible Founder and Executive Chairman Don Katz. “Aisha’s experience bringing together public, private, and community-based organizations to create and sustain equitable economic development will be critical as we double down on our efforts on behalf of the city we call home, and other communities in which Audible operates.”

“I commend Audible for embracing its role in Newark, advancing its economic and social impact and investing in and launching initiatives that are aligned with my vision for an inclusive and equitable city,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “Aisha is the perfect leader to continue this work.

Aisha remarked, “My commitment to developing deep community, corporate and government partnerships has generated strong results for Newark. I am energized to bring similar innovative and inclusive solutions to bear in Newark that not

Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Newly Elected New York Building Foundation Chair

only help the city recover, but ensure that it thrives.” company from Nashville, Tennessee to New York. Among the company’s outstanding New York projects are Coney Island Hospital, The New Terminal One at JFK, the World Trade Center Oculus, and many more.

“I’m thrilled to continue working toward implementing positive and impactful change within the building industry and the greater New York community as chair of the Building Foundation,” Ms. McKissack Daniel said upon accepting the position. “I look forward to using my experience working across the business and on MWBE issues, as well as my passion for philanthropy, to ensure the success of the organization.”

New York Building Foundation, the charitable arm of the New York Building Congress, is a nonprofit organization that promotes the long-term growth and well-being of the New York City building industry and the wider community. —TPC Staff