Shavone Charles has always recognized her journey as a multi-hyphenate. Growing up, she nurtured a passion for creativity, understanding that her purpose extended beyond self-expression, but making a lasting impact in the communities around her. This commitment to creativity and service shaped her path, leading her to pivotal roles in the corporate world, most notably at platforms like Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok.
During her tenure in these corporate spaces, Charles cultivated an influential presence, actively contributing to bringing diversity to these platforms and harnessing her understanding of trends and social dynamics to bridge the gap between traditional media and the digital age. “A lot of the work I’ve had to do, I’ve had to kind of figure out problem-solving on my own,” she told EBONY. “A lot of it was intuitive, but also putting my problem-solving hat on, and thinking outside of the box, and thinking about ways communities are showing up for themselves and for their identities online.”
Despite the significant impact she made in her corporate role, she felt a profound calling to expand her horizons and embrace full-time entrepreneurship. Recognizing that over 300,000 Black women were out of work, she became aware of the fickle employment landscape for Black women and the urgent need for change. Driven by this awareness, she aimed to create a space that empowered creatives to thrive independently, free from the limitations of traditional corporate structures.
“It’s terrifying, I think even for me in context to where I’m at now, it sort of was inevitable,” she said. “If you’re a person in today’s age focusing on underrepresented communities, multicultural communities, [you see] the war on DEI, identity, representation and equality, it’s terrifying.”
Her brand, Future of Creatives (FOC), is a space she created that curates an inclusive community of creators and innovators. Charles understood that the creative landscape needed a unifying force to bring diverse voices from across sectors together.
“Future of Creatives is like a perfect combination of all of the many realms and careers I’ve had to walk in, and the communities that I’ve been able to exist in and had a front row seat in seeing, how we’re thriving, but also how we’re surviving and to know what we’re in need of when it comes to equitable resources and gaps in career learning,” she said.
With FOC, she set out to create culture-shifting events and collaborative experiences that break boundaries. The brand’s momentum quickly escalated, allowing Charles to solidify her vision of developing FOC into a full-scale consultancy and multimedia creative company. Charles’ is committed to providing expertise in strategic advisory, marketing communications, creative direction, brand partnerships, original content and experiential production. Each facet is designed to create hospitality-driven experiences that help those looking to enter the space gain not only tools for success but also a sense of community.
“Right now, we have to count on each other,” she told EBONY. “Right now, in this moment for Black women, we’ve always known it’s an ongoing, cyclical epiphany that, ‘wow, nobody has us like we have to have us’.”
With the world evolving rapidly and the creative space continually growing due to many pivots by those in the working class, the key for Charles is to create access so Black creatives can thrive. “I do think it’s critical that we fight for those things, it’s important for our identities and our core and how we show up and serve ourselves in moments like this one, where you can’t lean on your job title and this structure to validate who you are and why you’re here,” she said.
FOC stands as a beacon for underrepresented creatives striving to leave their mark. Charles envisions a platform that not only showcases talent but also empowers individuals to connect, inspire and create meaningfully.
By embodying her multi-hyphenate identity, she continues to represent a new generation of leaders who value versatility and cross-industry collaboration. By building Future of Creatives, she not only fulfills her mission of creativity and mentorship but also guides aspiring artists and entrepreneurs toward a brighter, more inclusive future where they can lean on themselves and each other rather than their job titles and identities.
“You have to know why you’re here without that validation,” she said. “I think that’s a muscle and mental resilience that we have to have in validating who we are, because we’ve been told the opposite every day of our lives, so I think there’s power in our positions and how hard we’ve worked to get into these places.”