Bonita Abakah, owner of Silked the Salon is an easy going creative, music lover and foodie with an affinity for beauty & business. Although Bonita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies, her passion for hair, beauty, and business has lead to a successful career. Bonita has made her mark in the Hair industry with her expertise in hair care, growth, thermal styling, weaving and extension services. Bonita operates in a serene atmosphere where clients can feel at peace and leave with a stellar style.

SILKED THE SALON
75 S ORANGE AVE STE 210

Guerlyne Millington, owner of Little Stages goal is to have a family-oriented environment with a philosophy that believes in supporting all families. The program and curriculum encourages a child's individual development while embracing and scaffolding the learning process to make it fun and welcoming. The cozy environment is specifically designed for a child’s well-being while they grow and learn with the support for every child’s style of learning

LITTLE STAGES
14 S ORANGE AVE

Krya Harrison, owner of North Star Realty advocates for clients not only as a Real Estate Broker, but also as an engaged member of the town and chamber of commerce. With unparalleled industry knowledge, 15 years experience and local expertise, working with Krya is a huge win for her clients.

NORTH STAR REALTY
3 VOSE AVE

Police Chief Ernesto Morillo joined the South Orange Police Department in 2005 as an officer, became a detective in the Criminal Investigations Unit in 2013, and rose to the ranks of Lieutenant and Shift Commander in 2019. He is responsible for developing a standardized comprehensive training program for all newly graduated officers, and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Higher Education, Leadership, Management, and Policy at Seton Hall University.

Police Department
Title: Chief of Police
Phone: 973-763-3000 ext 7776
emorillo@southorange.org

Lavonia Bearfield have been a part of the medical field for over 20 years. She worked for many different doctor's offices, pediatrics, internal medicine, infection disease, cardiology, pain management, geriatric, blood banks, inpatient labs, and many more. 

​She knew early on that she wanted to become her own boss and bring new medical resources to her community so she started to research mobile phlebotomy and found out that it was far and few in the state of New Jersey. That's when Angel's Touch Mobile Phlebotomy service was born in 2014 and now she has Angel's Touch Lab Solutions - with a wider and broader range of services meant to serve her community in New Jersey.

Ron “Boogie” Brown, owner of Little Shop of Hip Hop was a recording artist signed to Tuff City Records. Being one third of the hip hop group Priority One, he was the lone rapper of the group. Priority One released a single in 1988 titled "I can't go for that", which was followed by a full length album in 1989 titled "Total Chaos". With his vast knowledge of Hip Hop Culture he is known as the "Walking Hip Hop Encyclopedia" to most of his friends. Ron's love of all aspects of Hip Hop culture is what lead him to open up the Little Shop of Hip-Hop.

LITTLE SHOP OF HIP HOP
111 S ORANGE AVE

Armetta Jones, owner of Demetrius Hair Salon teaches private classes in trichology and hair replacement. She has styled hair for shows around the world including NYC, Paris and Senegal. For over 40 years Demetrius Day Spa & Beauty Salon has been devoted to providing a unique experience for their clients. The utilization of Biostetics, a naturally derived hair, scalp, skin and body care method which combines scientific knowledge and aesthetic techniques, allows them to offer an excellent level of hair, scalp and body care. She invites you to let Demetrius provide a level of service that will leave you looking beautiful and feeling revitalized.

DEMTRIUS HAIR SALON
137 S ORANGE AVE

Village Trustee Bobby Brown has been a proud resident of South Orange for 13 years. 

Bobby was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He attended the University of Notre Dame for college, where he was a two-sport student-athlete (football and track). After graduating from Notre Dame, Bobby played wide receiver in the NFL before returning to Notre Dame for law school. After graduating from law school, Bobby took a role as a corporate attorney at a law firm in New Jersey. 

In addition to general corporate matters, Bobby also specialized in complex real estate transactions while working at the law firm. After practicing law for several years, Bobby then obtained his MBA from Yale. Upon graduating from Yale’s School of Management, Bobby worked in the financial services industry as a sales & trading professional and then at an asset management firm. Bobby has combined law, business, and civic duty in his current position at a securities litigation law firm that protects clients in global financial markets and advocates for civil rights as well. 

As the proud son to a mom who was an educator for over 40 years, Bobby has always had a passion for helping others. Bobby has been an adjunct professor at two different colleges teaching both business and law courses and served on the national board of an education reform nonprofit organization. Bobby is a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and volunteers a considerable amount of time coaching youth sports (football, basketball, and track & field). Bobby and his wife Emily are the proud parents of two sons (ages 8 and 10).  

Assistant Manager & Personal Stylist at Sadie's

Executive Director at South Orange Downtown

Jacqueline says, "As a SOMA native and seasoned real estate professional, I recognize and value the trust my clients place in me. I take pride in giving back to my community and serve as a Board Member of the South Mountain YMCA in Maplewood. With my comprehensive market knowledge let me help you find your next home!"

HEARTH REALTY
22 FIRST ST

Ghana-native, Kosia Asiamah owner of Lumie Salon has over 20 years of experience as one of NYC’s most sought after hair artists. Kosia boasts expertise in hair color, dry curly cuts, color correction and balayage. She is a color educator and empowers her team of stylists with techniques that create beautiful and effortless dimensions in the hair.

A customized creative experience and meticulous attention to detail - these are the ideals that guide every stylist at Lumie Salon.

“We know that your hair is an extension of you and our job is to equip you with an effective, simple, doable hair care routine. We believe in simple pleasures, healthy solutions, and feeling beautiful everyday.”

LUMIE SALON
260 VALLEY STREET

Ky Clory, owner of Global Hair Image has over 20 years in the beauty industry, opening her first fully functioning salon at the age of twenty-two. She curates and provides an array of services to be a one-stop shop for all of your beauty needs! Her Beauty Bar currently offers high-end hair extensions, full body waxing, fully certified eye brow and lash technicians as well as semi-permanent make up services. Ky also offers eye lash certification classes.

GLOBAL HAIR IMAGE
124 S ORANGE AVE

Nubia DuVall Wilson, member of SOMA Board of Education, published author and journalist who contributes content about mental health as a SWAAY Voice on SWAAY.com. She is also the founder of Cielo Consulting, a boutique public relations and marketing agency, and the co-founder, partner of TV/film development company Starfury Productions.

As a storyteller, her mission is to liberate survivors of the struggles of life after enduring sexual abuse by curating content that supports their wellbeing and gives them a voice and a community to embrace the reality of living and loving after an assault. In May 2018, she published her second book, The Survivors Club, a mind-bending, supernatural novella inspired by her journey to heal. It is also the inspiration behind a TV Pilot currently being optioned. 

A nationally-recognized published writer and advocate for survivors of abuse, when Nubia is not managing the day-to-day operations of her businesses, she speaks to organizations, groups, and survivors to break through the silence around the high prevalence of child sexual abuse in the United States. With a deep understanding of this issue among women of color, Nubia’s talks highlight the long-term effects of abuse into adulthood, such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and how it impacts parenting, leadership and body positivity. Nubia has been featured on RAINN, Wake Up with Marci, SWAAY, Where Women Work, Medium, BuzzFeed and Thrive Global, among others. She has spoken about survivorship, mental health and communications at Together Digital Summit, Trinitas Medical Center, Bloomingdales, Medgar Edgars College CUNY and the Own Your Voice Summit. 

Through her healing process, she has learned about the importance of community and has since created a secret Facebook group for those who are survivors of abuse, who have PTSD and/or any other mental illness and who need a safe space to connect with others. 

​

Rayon Mclean, owner of Steel Mclean is intensely committed to providing a very high level of customer service. We have our own premium hair and skincare product line, SteelMclean Products, which consists of products of high quality, natural ingredients that are effective and gentle on your hair and skin.  

STEELMCLEAN
4 VILLAGE PLAZA

This mother-daughter duo, Sharon and Shauna Arnette, owners of Elitist Coffee have lived in South Orange for the past eight years. Elitist Coffee is a paradise for coffee lovers and enthusiasts with the mission of offering a positive experience to all. Sharon and Shauna serve a quality stock of premium coffee beans that come from farmers, who are not only committed to the health of Earth's ecosystem, but also to the fair treatment of their own workers. Elitist Coffee Roast Weekly process uses an "in-house water purification system" to ensure the integrity of the bountiful beans and additional diverse optional drinks. They also serve quality pastries and nutritious sandwiches with the freshest ingredients.

ELITIST COFFEE
132 S ORANGE AVE

Shewaye Yassin, owner of Walia Ethiopian Restaurant is a long time resident of South Orange. Her passion for food and entertaining led her to open Walia in 2013. At Walia they share their culture by introducing and serving authentic Ethiopian food, When people dine at Walia Shewaye wants them to feel like they are part of the family and at home.

WALIA ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT
11 VILLAGE PLAZA

SONYA KIMBLE-ELLIS is the Communications Specialist at JESPY House and an award-winning writer/author/editor whose articles have appeared in Scholastic’s classroom magazines, Black Enterprise, The New York Daily News, Matters, Essence, and other publications and web sites (including Patch.com, The Village Green, and Tapinto).

Born in Newark, NJ, she graduated from Columbia High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Rutgers University (Douglass College). Throughout her career, Sonya has been an editor for a number of entertainment, education, and arts-related magazines. She is the author of the children’s activity books Math Puzzlers (Scholastic) and Traditional African American Arts & Activities (John Wiley & Sons). She self-published the children’s picture book The Sandcastle Kids: A Mayan Adventure, and a book of poetry titled Stages: Poetry & prose that reflect a life’s journey.

As the Communications Specialist for JESPY House, a South Orange non-profit that supports adults with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, Sonya’s responsibilities include writing JESPY’s quarterly newsletter, annual report, and press releases; taking photos and recording video; and managing the organization’s website.

Independently, she is a writing facilitator for adults with disabilities, teaching reading and guiding participants through the creation of poems, essays, short stories, and novels.

During her studies at South Orange’s Seton Hall University, Village Trustee Summer R. Jones saw the trajectory of how technology has an impact on our everyday lives. As the Assistant Vice President within Montclair State University’s Division of Information Technology, she oversees the Technical Support Services (TSS) department which has been actively involved in supporting the University’s Strategic Plan, "Connecting Tomorrow", by expanding remote services through the IT Service Desk and migrating mediated classrooms across campus to the latest technology standards.

She has been instrumental in bringing an internship program to the Division of Information Technology. This internship program offers students the opportunity to gain work experience and learn technical and customer skills in an IT environment prior to entering the workforce.  For the past few years, she has been a mentor working with the University’s EOF Women’s Leadership Academy.  

In 2015, Ms. Jones returned to the South Orange community as a resident because of her love for its diversity, Arts and community feel. She was a Board of Governors for South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC), whose mission is to enrich individual lives and to engage and serve the community in South Orange and beyond, through art experiences that inspire and transform. She was very active on several committees including Diversity in Programming, Development, and on the Executive Board. Additionally, she served as Chair for the Marketing Committee. As South Orange moves toward the completion of the South Orange Master Plan, she serves as part of the South Orange Master Plan Management Committee. During her downtime, she takes part in several SOMA groups that include the SOMA Book Club, SOMA Sports and Social (Intramural Softball) and the SOMA Tech Collective.

Originally from Haiti, Yanick Ranieri, owner of Papillon 25 was born with a passion and eye for food. She strives to provide her customers with the perfect meal and best experience. Papillon 25 is a sophisticated restaurant & martini bar that will take you around the world without you ever having to book a flight. Your palate will thank you.

Fun Fact: Papillon 25 uses fresh ingredients and organic chicken.

PAPILLON 25
25 VALLEY STREET