Imani Ellis is a visionary leader who has reshaped the way Black and Brown creatives gather, connect, and thrive. As the founder and CEO of The Creative Collective NYC (The CCNYC) and its flagship conference CultureCon, Ellis has built one of the most powerful cultural gatherings this generation has seen. What began as intimate meetups in her Harlem apartment has transformed into a global movement that celebrates creativity, community, and possibility. Over the years, CultureCon has welcomed cultural giants such as Issa Rae, John Legend, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Spike Lee, but its heart has always remained rooted in the people who show up seeking connection, belonging, and inspiration.

Ellis’s work extends far beyond CultureCon. Under the umbrella of The CCNYC, she has championed initiatives like grants for emerging creatives and even six free months of therapy for the community.

“We can’t be everything to everyone,” Ellis said to 21Ninety. “But like, what does our community need right now? … We try to make the barriers just nonexistent as best we can.”

For her, the mission is always clear: listen, respond, and serve.

Scaling CultureCon While Keeping Its Intimacy

One of CultureCon’s most striking qualities is its warmth. Though it draws thousands of attendees, the event retains a sense of closeness that makes people feel like family.

“That’s how we build it to feel,” Ellis explained when asked how she cultivates belonging on such a large scale. “It did come out of an apartment, and I think you can feel that. One of the things we like to say is that we’re scaling intimacy.”

That intention shows up in everything from programming to design.

“We recognize that a lot of people might be coming by themselves and it can be super intimidating to walk into a room of 10,000 people,” Ellis said. “So we set it up so that you don’t have to do it alone.”

Whether it’s the SoloCon channel in the CultureCon app, icebreaker activities, or activations designed by community artists, every detail reinforces the message that “you belong here.”

When the Vision Became Real

Like many founders, Ellis had moments of doubt.

“Every year I turned to my parents and it’s kind of depressing, but I’m like no one’s coming,” she laughed. “Every year my parents go, they’re coming.”

That tradition of worry has become a reminder of how far CultureCon has come.

“When I looked over the balcony and saw at the time 4,000 people filled it up looking at Tracee Ellis Ross, I really realized that this was so much bigger than the apartment. This was really for all of us,” she reflected.

For Ellis, success is not simply measured by numbers but by the spiritual lessons along the way.

“The process of CultureCon has absolutely brought me closer to God,” she reflected. “When I look back over my life at the specific places God put me in, the specific people he put in my life, I absolutely am like, wow… there’s just no way that even me or the team can take all of the credit. It really is something so much larger than us.”

As CultureCon grew, Ellis faced the challenge of scaling a deeply personal vision into something much larger.

“The biggest part of scaling is really taking the time, especially as a founder, to document your process so that you can get help,” she shared.

It required learning to delegate while holding on to the essence of what made CultureCon special.

“What are the decisions that have to pass by my desk, and what are the decisions I can empower my team to run with?” she said.

That balance of leadership and trust has allowed CultureCon to remain authentic while growing in impact.

A Legacy of Community

For Ellis, the mission has grown past just building out an event. She has now honed in on shaping a legacy rooted in community.

“Every generation, especially when you’re thinking about the Black experience, has really seen strong movements that were steeped in community,” she reflected. “When you think back to even the Black Panthers or the Harlem Renaissance, this is the next generation of what was birthed out of those movements.”

Her hope is that CultureCon carries that torch forward.

“If our legacy is that we continued the tradition of community and we showed that you don’t have to do it alone, I think that alone is something we would be really proud of,” Ellis said. “When you looked over time, you were able to see that CultureCon existed and we did it our way, and we built it from the ground up.”