Black Wall Street JODY DAVIS DESIGNS to Honor Clean Energy Leader Cherie Brooks

Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards Returns to Downtown Baltimore on May 28

(BALTIMORE – May 12, 2026) – When you talk about the future of clean energy, workforce development, and economic justice in Maryland, one name continues to rise to the top — Cherie Brooks.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards will honor Brooks, Visionary Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Power52 Foundation, for her groundbreaking work at the intersection of environmental sustainability and economic empowerment.

Held at 110 W. Saratoga Street in downtown Baltimore, Black Wall Street JODY DAVIS DESIGNS will celebrate leaders who are transforming communities through innovation, resilience, and vision.

A proud Baltimore native, Brooks is not simply leading a nonprofit — she is building a movement.

Through Power52, she has created pathways for historically marginalized communities to access clean energy careers, workforce training, and sustainable economic opportunities. Under her leadership, the Power52 Energy Institute made history as Maryland’s first clean energy-focused private career school — and one of only two nonprofits in Maryland history approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission to operate a private career school.

That alone would be enough. But Brooks did not stop there.

She also helped lead the transformation of Living Classrooms’ POWER House in East Baltimore into the nation’s first solar-powered, community-based resiliency hub — a critical resource serving a public housing community whose residents are often among the most vulnerable during emergencies.

Brooks did not just talk about environmental justice. She built it.

Before founding Power52, Brooks built a successful career in telecommunications, managing large-scale infrastructure projects for AT&T and Verizon and overseeing the development of more than 200 telecom sites. Today, she brings that same level of precision, strategy, and execution to the fight for energy justice and economic inclusion.

A graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Executive Program, Brooks also holds NCCER Master Trainer credentials and attended Bowie State University. Her leadership extends across numerous advisory boards and committees focused on workforce development, energy equity, small business growth, and opportunities for returning citizens.

Her impact has not gone unnoticed.

Brooks is the recipient of the 2023 Dr. Espanola Jackson Energy Justice Award, was featured on the cover of Baltimore Magazine’s “Game Changers” issue, and earned the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2025 Diverse Business Leaders Award. She also joined the Leadership Howard County Class of 2025.

Yet beyond the accolades and titles, Cherie Brooks represents something deeper — a commitment to building systems that work for everybody, especially communities too often left behind.

That is precisely what the Black Wall Street Awards has always been about.

On May 28th, Baltimore will celebrate a woman who is not only imagining a better future — but building it.