Purpose Isn't an Add-On. It's How We Start

In early August, Leverette Weekes produced the 7th World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Ethnic Economic Inequality on behalf of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The following week, we brought that same energy and execution to the third annual Momentum Summit on Martha’s Vineyard.

These back-to-back events were powerful reminders of what strategic event production is really about: bringing the right people together, creating an environment for meaningful conversation, and making sure the message reaches its intended audience.

For the 7th World Conference, we had two short months to step in and support the student- and staff-led team in creating the conditions for a global group of attendees to do their best work and experience Minnesota.

Images from the University of Minnesota’s 7th World Conference. Photo credit: Atomick Photography

The conference role extended well beyond logistics. We helped coordinate media coverage, facilitated a conference marketplace that gave organizations visibility, and designed signage and printed materials that established the event's identity and guided people through the experience.

Our staff and volunteers served as frontline ambassadors, ensuring attendees felt welcomed, informed, and supported. That same principle guided our work at Momentum Summit, where the challenges multiplied because we had to produce an event on an island nearly 1500 miles from our Minneapolis headquarters.

Images from the 2026 Momentum Summit. Photo credit: Dena Porter

The Momentum Summit, initially created in honor of Leverette Weekes co-founder, Wenda Weekes Moore, convenes leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and community builders. Now in its third year, Momentum Summit had the most sponsors and events, including book signings at India Rose Collective and a private dinner at 9 Craft Kitchen.

Jotaka Eaddy served as this year’s Mistress of Ceremonies, with leaders from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and title sponsor Best Buy, helping to draw the Summit’s largest crowds to date.

Momentum Award recipients (from left): Tonya Allen, McKnight Foundation; Van Jones; presented by Nicole Austin- Hillery, CBCF, and Meredith Moore, Leverette Weekes

Photo credit: Dena Porter

For Momentum Summit, Leverette Weekes creates the vision, event framework, production strategy, sources speakers from our trusted network, and we manage the on-island experience to ensure audience, platform, and message are in alignment.

At Leverette Weekes, we do more than produce events. We help clients build the right platform, gather the right people, and deliver the right message with clarity.

Client Wins

Dr. Duchess Harris has two new books out this year, including Black Feminist Politics: From the Voting Rights Act to the Kamala Harris Vice Presidency (1965–2025). The University of Minnesota and Momentum Summit events offered opportunities for us to leverage these major convenings as a strategic author platform for her.

The DeWitt Wallace Professor of American Studies at Macalester College in Minnesota, Harris traces six decades of Black women’s political thought, activism, and institutional engagement in her latest book.

As a public intellectual, Harris naturally belonged in the larger ecosystem of the University of Minnesota and Summit convenings, so we arranged book signings at both.

A great event should create meaningful opportunities for your clients, speakers, and partners.

For authors, entrepreneurs, executives, and thought leaders, the question is not simply, “Where can I speak?” The better question is, “Which platform will put my work in front of the people who are most likely to engage with it, share it, fund it, or act on it?”

We are proud to help Professor Harris connect her scholarship and public voice with audiences already engaged in the issues her work explores. We are also proud to demonstrate what happens when event production and client strategy work hand in hand.

Simone Hardeman Jones

Founding Executive Director, Green-Light Fund Twin Cities

This month, Leverette Weekes client Simone Hardeman Jones takes the stage at the Smith Family Foundation’s 5th Annual Blacks in Philanthropy Conference, joining leaders for a conversation on Scaling Black-Led Organizations & Trust-Based Philanthropy.

For more than six years, Simone has been at the forefront of community-centered philanthropy, developing a distinct perspective on what it takes for Black-led organizations to grow and thrive. At the conference, she’ll draw from that experience to explore how trust-based philanthropy can strengthen organizations, deepen partnerships, and create the conditions for sustainable, long-term impact.

At Leverette Weekes, we are proud to help Simone turn her expertise into influence. Through strategic communications, thought-leadership development, and intentional visibility opportunities, we have positioned her to bring her experience and perspectives to the audiences and conversations where they can have the greatest impact.

And Simone’s platform is growing. Her upcoming engagements take her from the Blacks in Philanthropy Conference to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conference in September, the Independent Sector National Summit in October, and the Collective Summit in November.

Great work deserves to be seen—and the right strategy helps put it on the right stages.

Words Create Wins

Whatever your event production needs, we have you covered. Click here to schedule a free exploratory call to learn more about what makes Leverette Weekes the right partner for your organization.