Chanel Snead

Rochester Business Journal Staff//June 30, 2023//

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Board President, Rochester Black Pride

Years in current role: 2

What do you enjoy most about your position in your company and/or your role in the community?

I enjoy the planning stages; working with other folks and creating is always full of possibility. You have to be ready to change while also maintaining the integrity of what is being created. Every year has its own set of challenges and lessons, so I try to stay present and open to new ideas and ways to accomplish goals.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome in your career?

I diagnosed myself with ADHD in 2020 at 29 years old. It was a moment of clarity and grief. After years struggling silently, I had an answer to questions I was asking myself over and over. I was understanding daily that every part of my life was going to have to change if I wanted to move forward and be successful. I have a new understanding of myself and my limitations which means I work at my own pace. This is really a marathon, each lap means new lessons, goals, and connections. I am grateful for the board at RBP, for my friends and partner who support me. It has been a challenge to trust myself again, a new understanding of myself. My mantra is “keep moving forward, forward moving”; failure and disappointment will come, you still have to keep moving.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Rochester?

The real solutions for a lot of our problems get lost in the talking points. Folks can’t agree on the cause, which means they won’t agree to the solutions. We’ve gotten into a pattern of injustice, unrest, then reform and back again. Reforming is not enough and it is tough to hold on to hope that we can turn this all around. Politicians have made our problems bullet points on their mailers, empty promises. It is exhausting to pay attention to, let alone participate in when they vote for things that will do more harm. I go vote for survival not because I believe in anything these jokers say. After 2020, we all know what real change is possible and how quickly. So anything less is them playing in our faces.

This profile is part of Rochester Business Journal's Power List for LGBTQ+ Business Leaders for 2023. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.