Starex Smith is an accomplished and experienced public administrator, fundraiser, foodie, and culinary business developer who has committed himself to maximizing the Black experience in the United States! He is the creator of www.thehungryblackman.com one of the nation’s largest food blogs with over 100k unique visitors per month and over a year of assisting mom and pop businesses scale through strategic interventions inclusive of an integrated media platform. The blog success has been captured in major publications such as the Miami Herald, Miami Times, Detroit Hour Magazine, and USA Today. Additionally, The Hungry Black Man was selected by Airbnb to serve as the official culinary tastemaker for the City of Detroit, Michigan! With over twelve (12) years of experience in managing public/private partnerships, large scale events, and nonprofits Starex Smith aka, The Hungry Black Man has successfully raised over 20 million dollars in funding for various governmental entities, food companies, and individuals. With the Hungry Black Man platform, he has assisted countless food industry businesses successfully obtain funding, taking mom and pop storefronts to scalable businesses totally free of charge to the benefiting businesses. His success in working with restaurants sparked a passion for food and entrepreneurship which led to the launching of The Hungry Black Man Culinary Week and Conference – South Florida Edition as a teaching platform, culinary exploration, and inclusion intervention. The inclusion of innovation and technology continues to expand the ever-evolving food and drink space, further stressing the importance to provide resources and technical assistance to food and drink businesses who otherwise would be excluded from participation is at the core of interventions stressed by www.thehungryblackman.com. Starex completed his Bachelor’s degree along with Master’s coursework in Public Administration at Florida International University where he served as president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, Lambda Tau Chapter.