Four distinguished African-American individuals spoke about their rise to the top, the challenges they faced and how others can succeed as part of the Distinguished Business Leaders Panel following the Pioneer Breakfast on Feb. 23 at Cal State San Bernardino.

The panel session was hosted by the university’s Black Faculty, Staff and Student Association and held at the Santos Manuel Student Union Theater.

The panelists included: Reginald Webb, franchise owner and operator of McDonald’s restaurants, and founder and CEO of Webb Family Enterprises Inc.; Howard Booker, foundation and corporate giving director of the In-N-Out Burger Foundation, and CSU alumnus; Kiesha Nix, executive director of the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation; and Celeste Alleyne, West Region director of citizenship and public affairs for Microsoft.

The panelists answered a series of pre-selected questions related to their successes and challenges, such as what it means to be a leader and how they have handled and overcome racism. Audience members, consisting mostly of CSUSB students, were also given the opportunity to ask questions.

Webb, who was once a pilot, said he saw potential in McDonald’s when it was a young company and knew it could grow into a successful business. Webb Family Enterprises now owns 16 McDonalds restaurants in the Inland Empire and Los Angeles and provides employment for more than 1,100 Southern California residents. Webb acknowledged that African-Americans often have to work twice as hard for half as much, but encouraged the audience to never give up.  

Booker started working at In-N-Out after he graduated from high school and, with hard work and dedication, he advanced in the business. He largely credits his father as his inspiration, who has been a teacher for more than 40 years. Booker hopes to instill the importance of giving back to his own young children, who he says help their elderly neighbors take out their trash.

According to Nix, she grew up so rich with love, she never realized she was low-income until the eighth grade. Because of her upbringing, she said she wants to show the low-income youth she works with the same care and attention she felt as a child. Nix also acknowledged she was born to a teenage, unwed mother, and statistically, she should have ended up the same. She said she wants to show the children that they, too, have the potential to thrive no matter what statistics say or what society thinks they will become.

Alleyne originally hoped to become the first African-American principal ballerina and admits to now living vicariously through Misty Copeland, the first African-American female principal ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Although she did not fulfill her dancing dreams, she went to college and obtained her bachelor’s from Brown University. When an audience member asked a question about failure, Alleyne admitted to losing a great job in her late 20s. But instead of focusing on her failure, she turned it into positive motivation and wrote a book called “A Punch in the Stomach: Taking Back Your Life After Job Loss.”

Each panelist offered advice and encouragement to the audience. Alleyne, for instance, said that when people have negative preconceived notions of you, you must ask yourself, “Do I love myself?” If you love yourself and remember that you are worthy, she said, then it does not matter what people think of you.

Kimberly Shiner, associate vice president of University Development, made the closing remarks and thanked the panelists for their time and insight.

Visit the CSUSB Black Faculty, Staff and Student Association website for more information on its programs.