ColaGroup Team
GARY LITTLE
CEO/Partner
Gary has experience in Growth and Scaling: He has launched key business ventures for midsize companies; built specialized servicing practices from the ground up locally and globally. Delivered operation efficiencies saving organizations millions of dollars in operational expense.
He has delivered industry leading fintech, operations and customer experience solutions to midsize/large companies across the financial services and insurance industries.
Having worked on M&A transactions within Consumer Finance and Insurance, Gary has lead M&A integration on a Fortune 500 (100M) and midsize (15M) business scale.
Gary’s last responsibility was management of a division of a 4B publicly traded real-estate company. Responsibilities included, $22M P&L and team of 310. Supporting 764 U.S. field locations and 51,000 Sales Associates. Business-critical initiatives include providing process expertise and vision, driving process optimization, identifying, and implementing business tools and technologies, overseeing workforce planning, facilities management, vendor management, contract negotiations & management.
Gary earned his EMBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. His business expertise, management background and having worked 12 of the last 18 years in subprime automobile finance where 95% of the customers are from socially impacted areas, adds to Gary’s expertise in navigating the subprime lending space to prime lending. Which results in lower interest rates and a better vehicle(s) for hardworking people who are less knowledgeable about the field. Gary will use his expertise to help people socially impacted by the war on drugs to improve their financial acumen.
Gary while earning his undergraduate degree from DeVry University also worked as store manager for Silo Electronics department stores. He managed a location in Des Plaines IL for three years. Gary has vast experience in consumer retail, specifically, inventory management, loss prevention, resource management and sales / marketing.
JAMILAH DORSEY
Partner
She has the capacity to transfer knowledge and ability among members of communities that have been historically excluded from disciplines (STEM) that are the necessary foundational elements of most wealth-building industries. Jamilah will apply her unique skills to empower the increased capacity of social equity partners and their communities. She will help to create and implement an educational plan to increase the knowledge and give strategies to those impacted by the war on drugs, in order to help better themselves and their communities. Jamilah will be responsible for employee training and development on all the aspects of cannabis and adult use.
Jamilah’s role and focus is to empower and engage community members to seize the opportunity presented by the legalization of cannabis, while devising a framework to ensure adherence to collaborative decision-making that keeps community benefit at the center of operations.
Jamilah is the Vice President of a youth organization that celebrates youth who have demonstrated strong character and leadership skills. She has helped design and implement youth educational leadership programs, focused on giving back to their community. Jamilah has lead many community engagement activities for the non-for profit organization, in order to bring awareness of issues to the community.
Jamilah looks forward to harvesting and enhancing the existing grass-roots wisdom and pairing it with the resources needed to develop a vibrant social and financial eco-system that will enable community members to address their own needs while creating generational wealth that can sustain the ultimate goal of true equity and opportunity for holistic success.
Jamilah earned her BS in Education with a Concentration in Mathematics from the University of Illinois in Champagne-Urbana, as well as having a Masters in Administration.
KIWANA BROWN
Partner
In addition, Kiwana’s work as an adjunct professor enables her to train graduate students to become reading specialists who are proficient in diagnosing reading needs and implementing instructional plans to increase reading success.
Kiwana looks forward to providing educational opportunities to people in her drug-ravished community about the dangers and benefits of both prescription and illegal drugs. Relying on 15 years of previous experience as a licensed pharmacy technician, Kiwana plans to use her pharmacy experiences in conjunction with her experiences as an educator to inform members of her community.
Kiwana has a BA in English in Secondary Education, MA in Reading, Ed.S in Administration and Supervision and Doctorate (conferred 12/2019) in Educational Leadership.
JAIME BROWN
Partner
Jaime has over 15 years experience as an environmental scientist at the US EPA and currently serves in a supervisory role. As a Navy veteran and an advocate for youth, Jaime is dedicated to improving the conditions of his neighborhood and the future of the youth in his community. He spends much of his free time volunteering to coach for local baseball and basketball teams and supports several kids in the community by introducing them to organized sports and covering the costs associated. Jaime is a believer in the power of motivation. He believes if you know better, you do better. He also believes that positive role models are highly effective.
Jaime has always valued living on Chicago’s west side as he was born and raised there. He made the decision to remain on the west side of Chicago with his family because he understands how he could help influence and motivate other young, Black males around him. He is a strong proponent for building Black wealth as well as generational wealth.
Jaime is an extreme thinker, trained facilitator and experienced leader. His dedication to education and educating others is shown in conversation and action. Jaime has a BA in psychology and a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry. He also has a MS in Public Administration.
AKELE PARNELL
Prior to joining Lantern, Akele was an economic development attorney with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (CLC), a preeminent Chicago-based social justice organization. There he led the organization’s strategies to advance racial equity in the marketplace and promote economic development in historically disinvested communities of color. Among his most notable accomplishments at CLC, is the development, negotiation and implementation of a historic community benefits agreement (CBA) that is the first in the cannabis industry and the first CBA signed in the City of Chicago, in any industry. The landmark CBA secured fulltime jobs, living wages, training, and community investments for residents of marginalized communities in Chicago.
Previously, Akele was an in-house counsel for Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a fast-growing startup company that grew into one of the largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the country. There, he worked on the company’s market expansion and business development activities. Prior to joining GTI, Akele worked in private practice where he counseled public and private companies on a broad range of corporate transactions and business development activities. He also worked for a healthcare consulting firm where he analyzed economic, technological and regulatory trends in the healthcare industry in order to help clients identify emerging market opportunities. Before his career as an attorney, Akele worked as a program associate for North Chicago Community Partners, a startup nonprofit that was early adopter of the venture philanthropy model. Akele received a B.A. from Auburn University and a J.D. and M.P.H. from Washington University in St. Louis.
JAIME BROWN
Partner
Jaime has over 15 years experience as an environmental scientist at the US EPA and currently serves in a supervisory role. As a Navy veteran and an advocate for youth, Jaime is dedicated to improving the conditions of his neighborhood and the future of the youth in his community. He spends much of his free time volunteering to coach for local baseball and basketball teams and supports several kids in the community by introducing them to organized sports and covering the costs associated. Jaime is a believer in the power of motivation. He believes if you know better, you do better. He also believes that positive role models are highly effective.
Jaime has always valued living on Chicago’s west side as he was born and raised there. He made the decision to remain on the west side of Chicago with his family because he understands how he could help influence and motivate other young, Black males around him. He is a strong proponent for building Black wealth as well as generational wealth.
Jaime is an extreme thinker, trained facilitator and experienced leader. His dedication to education and educating others is shown in conversation and action. Jaime has a BA in psychology and a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry. He also has a MS in Public Administration.
