Black Chamber of Arizona Honors Growth and Investment in Arizona
News related to:Black Chamber of Arizona · 3 min read
PHOENIX, Ariz., Nov 10, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The Black Chamber of Arizona has named Chandler City Council member OD Harris and co-founders Andres Pacheco and Joe Ducey as co-chairs for its 28th Anniversary Pinnacle Pathways Gala, which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler. The gala, which is the chamber’s 28th anniversary event, will spotlight the chamber’s vision to help create 100,000 new jobs in Arizona by 2035 by turning more small businesses into employer firms, preparing young people for high-wage careers, and connecting entrepreneurs with capital and contracts.
The event’s theme is “The Golden Hour,” and the City of Chandler is the presenting sponsor. The chamber’s vision is to help create 100,000 new jobs in Arizona by 2035 by turning more small businesses into employer firms, preparing young people for high-wage careers, and connecting entrepreneurs with capital and contracts. The chamber will also release its Arizona Black Business Growth Report 2026, which shows where Black-owned businesses are growing fastest across the state.
This year’s event will double in size to 1,000 seats, up from a sold-out 500, and the chamber now works with more than 50 corporate, civic, and community partners. The gala will honor the Arizona Diamondbacks and National Bank of Arizona as its 2026 corporate honorees, recognizing their commitment to community investment and economic opportunity across the state.
The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro added 59,065 residents in 2025, the fourth-largest numeric gain in the nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Arizona companies committed to creating a record 26,225 new jobs and investing more than $109 billion in the state in fiscal year 2026, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. Chandler was among the communities with expansion projects.
Chandler’s population has passed 290,000, and more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies have offices in the city. Chandler sits in Maricopa County, which added more residents in 2025 than all but two U.S. counties, according to the Census Bureau.
A community growing faster than the state, Arizona’s Black population grew about 33% from 2010 to 2020, nearly three times the state’s overall growth rate of 11.9%, according to an Arizona State University analysis of 2020 census data. Growth was 38% in Maricopa County. Today, about 524,000 Black Arizonans make up 6.9% of the state, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.
Black-owned businesses are growing even faster. Arizona had 44,458 Black-owned businesses in 2023, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The number with employees more than doubled, from 1,195 in 2017 to 2,458 in 2023, growing eight times faster than all Arizona employer firms. Those companies now employ 22,590 people and generate $2.7 billion in annual revenue. Still, about 95% of Black-owned businesses are owner-only.
The chamber says closing that gap is the fastest path to new jobs. If one in four of the state’s 42,000 owner-only Black businesses grew into an employer firm with 10 workers, close to today’s average of nine, Arizona would gain more than 100,000 jobs. The chamber’s five-year strategy for 2027 to 2031 focuses on four areas: connecting diverse suppliers with public agencies and private buyers through Impact AZ; building career pathways for young people; expanding statewide access to resources and capital for business owners; and supporting those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Partners will receive reporting tied to their investment, including quarterly reviews and an annual report tracking supplier readiness, contracts, career progression, and regional access. The chamber’s own growth reflects that momentum. The gala has doubled to 1,000 seats this year, up from a sold-out 500, and the chamber now works with more than 50 corporate, civic, and community partners.
OD Harris, a former Chandler vice mayor, is a co-chair of the gala. Andres Pacheco and Joe Ducey, co-founders of Nameless, are also co-chairs. Together, the co-chairs bring public service and a new generation of founders to the chamber’s milestone year.