Black History Month: BINJE.com Releases Best Black Leaders List, 11 from South Jersey Included
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
ATLANTIC CITY – Eleven African American business leaders with ties to South Jersey were named this month to BINJE.com’s Best Black Business Leaders list of 2026.
BINJE.com was created by Tom Bergeron, formerly of ROI-NJ, last year, to cover business in New Jersey and its ties to state politics. The list comes during the 100th celebration and Black History Month/Negro History Week as the country prepares to recognize its 250th anniversary.
BINJE.com named Kean University President Lamont Repollet as tops on the list. Readers can view the entire list here.
Those with South Jersey ties who made the list include:
*Modia “Mo” Butler, chair, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, Atlantic City
*Lisa Cottman, senior talent attraction program specialist, South Jersey Industries, Folsom
*Damien Ghee, senior vice president, market manager, Citizens Bank, co-chair, DEIB advisory board, Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey
*David Gould, chief corporate affairs officer, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, Camden
*Braxton Plummer, principal, Cherry Hill office, Cozan O’Connor Public Strategies
*Dennis Pullin, president and CEO, Virtua Health, Evesham
*Dana Redd, CEO, Camden Community Partnerships, Camden
*Adam Taliaferro, director, state and community engagement, Johnson & Johnson, Voorhees
*Mike Wallace, senior manager, government and external affairs, Atlantic City Electric
*Robin Walton, senior vice president, external affairs, chief philanthropy officer, Inspira Health, Vineland
*Anthony Welch, Cooper University Health Care, Camden
There are a total of 61 business leaders named to the list.
Black-owned businesses in New Jersey have grown significantly, representing roughly 3.36% to 10% of state businesses (depending on survey methodology) with more than 6,200 to 88,000-plus enterprises.
While entrepreneurship surged post-pandemic, these firms face systemic challenges, receiving 1% or less of state contracts. Most are sole proprietorships. The number of Black-owned firms in NJ grew from 1.94% (3,636 firms) in 2018 to 3.36% (6,213 firms) in 2022, per Census data.
NJDOL data suggests a higher estimate of over 88,000 businesses (10% of total).
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