HI, I’M BILEN AND THIS IS WHY I CREATED BETTER FOR BILEN.
Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color face significant challenges mainstream personal and business development spaces ignore.
These considerations are real and deeply affect our success and how we shape our businesses. As business owners, creators and builders, we need to be aware of and understand how these systemic barriers affects us.
My goal is to be a resource for Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color, and help shift economic opportunities for us. I believe it’s not just about the individual; it’s about collective care and our collective prosperity.
THE WHY.
My why is to inspire folks of color build, grow and scale businesses by helping them overcome systemic and personal barriers that get in the way of our best and fullest lives.
THE vision.
My vision is to live in a world where the entrepreneurial landscape is more equitable and Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color can thrive.
THE MISSION.
My mission is create a supportive ecosystem where Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color feel empowered, supported, and advocated for; have the tools they need to scale successful businesses; and get information and opportunities to take collective action.
BETTER WITH BILEN IS GROUNDED IN THESE VALUES.
Excellence
Joy
Imagination
Consistency
Generosity
Social Change
MY STORY.
Fifteen years ago, I started out as a solo entrepreneur, offering communications services to nonprofits and foundations; in 2015, I decided to start growing a business, aiming to create a sustainable business that employed not just myself but a team.
Today, Change Consulting is a full-service social change communications agency and communications partner of choice for leaders and organizers driving racial justice, with a growing team of 13 full-time employees. With a focus on dismantling systems that harm communities of color, Change Consulting’s work extends far beyond traditional communication strategies. We aim to build a range of complementary services, fostering learning opportunities and innovation to drive lasting impact in the fight for racial justice and equality. Nasdaq said Change has “emerged as a vital force in supporting change makers to amplify their voices and drive transformative action.”
My path to entrepreneurship was an unexpected one. I transitioned from an early career in journalism to advocacy-driven work. As a Black immigrant woman, I learned a long time ago that a lot of the issues I experienced growing up—racism, exclusion, and poverty—were part of a systemic problem facing many Black, immigrant, and communities of color. After being politicized later in life, I learned that it is necessary to change systems in order to change material conditions and dedicated my life’s work to offering strategic communications expertise to racial justice leaders. Now, I want to take that same perspective—that the personal is always political—and everything I have learned over the past 15 years to help other business owners.
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With 20+ years of experience in media and communications, Bilen Mesfin Packwood is the founder and principal of Change Consulting, a social change communications agency based in Oakland, California. She has established a reputation as a trusted strategic advisor to leading changemakers.
Change Consulting is the communications partner of choice for leaders driving racial and social justice. For 15 years, Change Consulting has partnered with organizations and leaders on the frontlines of creating a just, inclusive world.
Change Consulting partners with visionary leaders enacting racial justice, providing the communications strategy and support they need to make change possible. We understand the vital role of communications in systems change. By providing strategic guidance, creative services, and hands-on support, we help leaders fully realize their mission and vision.
Prior to founding Change Consulting, Bilen advanced communications efforts for then San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. While there, she created and implemented strategies to roll out the District Attorney’s key initiatives, such as truancy and reentry; led outreach to local, statewide and national multicultural media; helped manage crisis communications issues as they arose; and served as the Office’s day to-day print and on-camera spokesperson.
As a journalist, Bilen has written for the Associated Press, the Nashville Tennessean, Edutopia and Art & Antiques, among other publications. She has a Master’s in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in English from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Bilen has been featured in The Root, Blavity, NASDAQ and more. She was named one of 2024’s women to watch by NASDAQ, and has been awarded the California Black Women’s Trailblazer Hall of Fame Awards in 2023 and 2024.
Connect with Bilen on Instagram: @betterwithbilen
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