DeShuna Elisa Spencer

DeShuna Elisa Spencer is the Founder & CEO of kweliTV, a Black-owned streaming platform that amplifies global Black stories. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she was Director of Communications at EdMarket, overseeing all media properties. A former radio host and producer of emPower Hour on Washington DC’s 89.3 FM WPFW, she began her career as a journalist, writing for The Clarion-Ledger, The Oakland Tribune, and The Crisis Magazine.

She is a Halcyon Incubator Fellow, Voqal Fellow, former AmeriCorps*VISTA, and Chips Quinn Scholar. Her work is featured in the book How We Fight White Supremacy, spotlighting over 60 Black leaders creating social change. In 2019, she was named Innovation & Inclusion Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Digital Diversity Network, and in 2023, she was a Black Ambition Prize Winner founded by Pharrell Williams. Under her leadership, kweliTV has been recognized by PCMag as one of the top 10 best movie streaming services of 2025 (on the list since 2020) and was named Most Culturally Effective Black-Focused Media Brand (Silver Winner) by ANA AIMM. Her work has been featured in CNN Business, Fast Company, TIME, Refinery29, Emmy Magazine, Bloomberg and more.