CCBB STAFF

Ken Foree is an American actor best known for his starring roles as the heroic "Peter Washington " in George A. Romero's cult-classic horror film Dawn of the Dead and sitcom dad "Roger Rockmore" in Nickelodeon's Kenan & Kel.

 Yet before his career as an actor, Ken was a community activist in New York City, fighting for Harlem's minority community in conjunction with the Urban League, NAACP, CORE, SNICK, and other non-profit organizations.

Today, Ken has come full circle, using his experience and celebrity to shine a spotlight on the burgeoning minority-owned small business scene in downtown Corpus Christi. 

As Executive Director of Corpus Christi Business Boosters, Ken hopes to help Corpus Christi's minority community achieve its dreams of entrepreneurship and business ownership, drawing on his own experience as a business owner and operator.

Ken has served as the CEO and owner of the Long Beach, CA restaurant, Deli Lite, Inc. and operated the food service for the Job Corps in San Pedro, CA. He has also consulted for, and operated, restaurants such as  Sugar Shack in Indianapolis, IN; Gildersleeves in Chicago’s Hyde Park; and Phoebe’s in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

Philip Dennis is an attorney, municipal judge, and businessman who (while functioning as CEO of Black Tie Communications) produced the groundbreaking, live television program, "Star 87", was the founder of the Utopian Loft Art Gallery in the 1990s and serves on the board of directors of Workforce Development Midwest.

Phil Dennis has practiced in 4 states, often successfully trying cases that many thought to be unwinnable.  His strengths are negotiation, strategizing, and closing, making it clear that getting to "yes" is the only objective.

After 25 years in practice in Missouri, he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas in 2021 to work in minority small business development.  After mapping the best route for downtown growth in Corpus Christi, he began laying out the plans for a bigger and better coastal community.  

An active member of the Corpus Christi Black Chamber of Commerce, he interviewed over 100 minority businesses to identify the obstacles and assets that many small businesses face and plotted a path to success.