T.J. Breeden serves as Director of Programs at ABFE and is responsible for steering the operational success of ABFE’s programming, which includes its fellowship program, conferences, webinars, and other programmatic convenings. 

T.J. enters the philanthropic services sector by way of his adjacent work in the non-profit industry. In 2012, he founded Emerging Entrepreneurs, Inc. which serves as a vehicle for advancing the business interests and economic welfare of underserved communities, namely minority populations, women, untapped youth, and our nation’s transitioning veterans. As the Executive Director, T.J. helped the organization reach over 10,000 founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, veterans, and youth via an array of educational trainings, webinars, and convenings, with T.J. having received a number of national endorsements; ranging from former President Obama’s “Champions of Change” Award and being named the Small Business Administration’s “Veterans Entrepreneurship and Advocate of the Year,” to receiving Radio One’s “Cathy Hughes Community Service” Award and being featured in Black Enterprise as one of its “BE Modern Men of Distinction.” 

T.J. has earned a bachelor’s in Communications Studies from East Carolina University, an MBA from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, and a Doctorate in Education (EdD) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where his research examined the disproportionate underrepresentation of African American women and girls in science and technology fields of learning and how HBCUs are working to bridge the racial equity gap.