A visionary leader and results-driven entrepreneur, Kai Grant has spent over a decade catalyzing economic growth, advancing cultural preservation, and designing transformative public spaces that drive sustainable impact. As a Roxbury-born changemaker, she has raised over $1 million in funding, led multiple large-scale public art and community development initiatives, and helped 1,500 artisans generate $3.5 million in gross revenue—all while advocating for equitable urban development and socio-economic justice in Greater Roxbury and beyond.

Her deep-rooted knowledge of Boston’s civic and social networks, combined with her ability to cultivate authentic partnerships, has positioned her as a leader in Community engagement, and immersive event production. Whether through curating public art installations, developing micro business incubators, or revitalizing blighted and underutilized spaces into thriving cultural hubs, Kai’s work ensures that community voices remain at the forefront of development.

Community Development & Public Realm transformation

As Co-Founder of Black Market Nubian and founding partner on the Nubian Square Ascends, Kai has been a driving force behind Roxbury’s cultural and creative revitalization. Since 2020, she has spearheaded the Nubian Square Public Art Initiative, transforming 30,000 square feet of public realm while cultivating a local artistic workforce. Her leadership has resulted in securing funding from corporate and community partners, including Eastern Bank Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and Amazon.

Through Black Market Nubian, founded in 2017, Kai has led over 10 festivals—including the Afro-Indigenous Arts and Healing Festival (2019) and NUBIANA Activations (2021)—transforming Roxbury’s 2-acre Blair Lot into a vibrant open-air gallery, marketplace, and cultural festival space. These immersive activations have not only celebrated Black and Indigenous artistry but have also provided economic opportunities for artisans, vendors, and performers.

A champion for the creative economy, Kai has played a key role in the amplification of Boston’s $247,500 racial wealth gap by convening roundtables, charrettes, and community-driven initiatives that align program goals with long-term social and financial equity outcomes. Her work as an advocate for local businesses and creative entrepreneurs has been instrumental in preserving Roxbury’s cultural identity amid rapid urban development and gentrification.

Leadership & Civic Engagement

Kai’s influence extends beyond business and the arts. In 2010, she championed the creation of a family-friendly STE(A)M space in Dudley Square’s Bruce C. Bolling Building, on the building’s second floor (the Roxbury Innovation Center) and it’s roof top deck alongside Bridget Wallace. (She was appointed to the Dudley Vision Advisory Task Force (DVATF) by Mayor Thomas M. Menino in 2012, where she helped shape the development of the Ferdinand Blue Store into the Bruce C. Bolling Building). Additionally, she served as a leader on the DVATF’s Boston Jobs and Residents Policy Committee and chaired the Economic Development Committee of Dudley Main Streets Board of Directors, and spearheaded a successful cash mob initiative partnering with the NAACP Boston branch to prevent Roxbury’s historic A Nubian Notion from closing.

A dedicated enterprising leader, Kai is the co-founder of the John Eliot Square Neighborhood Association in Roxbury’s historic Highland Park, where her family has lived for over 100 years. Her work in urban planning and community design, in addition to space activation continues to shape the cultural and economic future of Roxbury.

Entrepreneurial roots

Kai’s journey began in the $49 billion cosmetics industry, where she identified a gap in the market and launched Lip-Hop Cosmetics, a multicultural brand for the hip-hop generation. Featured in Teen People, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, The Boston Herald, and Chronicle, Lip-Hop positioned her as a trailblazer in branding, marketing, and business strategy. She later applied these skills in senior retail leadership roles within LVMH and Limited Brands, managing multimillion-dollar operations and teams of up to 35 employees.

Her concern for empowering future leaders led her to establish Diamond Girls Boston, Inc. in 2009, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring young women in entrepreneurship and career development. Over 500 young women across Boston gained hands-on experience in product development, marketing, and leadership, ultimately creating Diamond Dust, a cosmetic product developed by program participants. Their work caught the attention of BET’s Black Girls Rock, earning them tickets to attend the show’s taping in Newark, New Jersey in 2013 where the teens met the President and CEO of BET and Founder of Black Girls Rock. Through fundraising efforts—including running four Boston Marathons (2011–2014), Kai raised over $30,000, and earning a special designated number to complete her race as a 2013 Boston Marathon bombing survivor—demonstrating her unwavering commitment to the future of the City.

Education & Personal Life

Kai was the only Black  graduate of her 250-member class at Reading Memorial High School and later attended Bentley College on a full scholarship as a Muriel and Otto Snowden Project REACH Scholar through Roxbury’s Freedom House. Kai was invited to Suffolk University as a Dr. Joseph Warren Urban Fellow – Selected for a prestigious fellowship focused on urban planning, civic leadership, and public service in Greater Boston where she gained comprehensive training in community development, stakeholder engagement, and policy advocacy to address urban challenges. She also took part in MIT’s Entrepreneur Forum Start Smart Cohort, an intensive program designed for early-stage entrepreneurs seeking to establish a solid foundation for launching and scaling their ventures.

In her spare time, Kai is a  lifelong explorer of African cultural aesthetics, she is passionate about world travel, fashion, music, culinary arts, retreat spaces and indigenous traditions.

Fun Fact:

Kai’s family has a deep-rooted history in abolitionism and has resided in the City of Boston for 169 years (1856). Their family has deep ancestral ties to the neighborhoods of the West End,  Beacon Hill, the South End and Roxbury. Both Sisters are fourth-generation Roxbury residents, continuing a proud legacy of civic engagement and cultural stewardship.