De Asa Nichols is the new executive director of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce. She began her duties April 23, and at 33 is the youngest person to head the organization. Enquirer contributor Jenny Callison spoke with Ms. Nichols last week after she had been on the job for one week.

        Question: Tell us about your background and how you came to your current position.

De Asa Nichols

        Answer: I'm a native Cincinnatian and graduated from Withrow High School. I went on to earn a bachelor of science in business administration from Xavier University. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to gain some insight into the business world, so I joined the staff of Applause Magazine, which is owned by an African-American female. As director of special projects, I was responsible for putting on events, including the Applause Image Maker Awards. Through the awards, I had the opportunity to interact with many people in the business community. After three years at Applause (1991-94), I left to establish D. Nichols & Associates, a PR and promotions firm, and worked on special projects for various companies. I also started at the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, where I worked as executive director of minority development. It was a mentoring program designed to match up minority business owners with major companies for business-to-business partnerships. I was then tapped to go to the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce. They were interested in starting a minority business development program. I actually worked with minority business and supplier development programs throughout the state. I was also responsible for minority recruitment. Minority membership grew 15 percent during my first year, 1999. But because I'm getting married to a Cincinnatian, I wanted to return here for personal and professional reasons.

        Q: Why a separate African-American chamber?

        A: A chamber of commerce is an organization that provides a central point of advocacy as well as a central point of contact for businesses. It makes sure that information on business development is disseminated to members. Often, African-American businesses have much smaller revenues, and some have felt that the larger chamber wasn't for them.

        We have a strong partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Chamber because in many cases we are serving the same membership. But issues that face black-owned businesses are sometimes different based on finances and the size of the organization. We like to think we have a niche organization where we make sure we extract information available in the larger community and disseminate it to our membership. Our members might also be members of the GCCC as well as neighborhood chambers or even national chambers, depending on the nature of their business.

        Q: What programs and benefits does the AACC offer?

        A: I've been a member of the AACC since its inception in 1996, and have been a contributor to its capital campaign in the past. I'm passionate about the organization and have put my time, talents and resources toward that passion. Our Business Institute helps members gain access to training through workshops and other means. It also provides resources for businesses. We provide marketing services, such as advertising and event planning. We also have a Web site with links to their businesses. Our goal is to increase membership, and we're working toward offering medical and dental insurance as well as telecommunication services to members.

        Q: What's the size of the AACC?

        A: Our membership is currently at 650, which includes both business and individual members. We want to increase that by 10 percent in the near term. Anyone is welcome to join. There are currently four people on staff, and we have a consortium of consultants who provide services, and a host of volunteers.

        Q: What are the organization's goals?

        A: One of our long-term goals is to become self-sustaining. Our membership provides 10 percent of our revenues. We also get funds from city and state governments and private corporations. As we look to increase our funding, we are pursuing opportunities with Hamilton County and are exploring grants.

        Another goal is to strengthen our internal infrastructure.

        Q: What special qualities do you think you bring to this challenge?

        A: I am high-energy and motivated. This organization needs somebody like that to move it along. I also know the business community.

        Q: What is your overarching goal as the AACC's new executive director?

        A: To position the African American Chamber of Commerce as the leading business advocate organization for African-American business owners and consumers.
       

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