Black History 365: Ebony Anglers
We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!
Anchored in Family, Fishing and Fine Outdoor Living
Ebony Anglers is a competitive women’s fishing team. We are five professional Black women who embrace the sport of competitive fishing while balancing family, motherhood, and business.
Gia Peebles: With a charming personality, remarkable smile, and the ability to multitask, Gia Wilkerson Peebles is a successful entrepreneur. In 1993, she received a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from California State University at Long Beach and went on to work for the prominent law firm of Ault, Duprey, Jones and Gorman in San Diego, California. Later, Gia relocated to North Carolina and in 2001 opened Aura Salon and Boutique, known today as the Aura Galleria, a premier full-service salon, barbershop and day spa located in Durham, North Carolina. Gia has become a master in the cosmetology industry – styling an array of prominent women and men in business, entertainment and beyond.
What most folks may not know about Gia is her athleticism, she has many accomplishments as a life-long competitive athlete. At the age of seven (7) Gia began playing softball and continued throughout high school. Gia lettered in four (4) sports and won the Jr. Olympics in softball.
She went on as the first black female in the Cal State Long Beach softball program. With a full athletic/academic scholarship Gia achieved among the top ten at bat, among the top ten in triples, first team all-conference, and competed in four (4) College World Series.
In 1997, Gia played for the Durham Dragons inaugural professional women’s softball team. In 1999, she coached the North Carolina Central University Eagles women’s softball to a CIAA Championship.
In 2000, Gia married the love of her life, William Maurice Peebles, former collegiate athlete, Omega Man and avid sportsman. Through this union, three sons Caleb, Aeneas and Braylon were nurtured and loved. Gia and William have a family legacy of successful athletic competition. William’s love for fishing has influenced Gia. Gia remarks, “ if I’m going to be out here with you, I want to know what we are doing”.
After seeing many women Anglers and with little to no representation of women of color, this sparks her competitive nature to form an all-black women’s fishing team called the ”Ebony Anglers’ ‘. Gia serves as the President for possibly the only black women’s fishing team in the US. In their first competition they won first place with an award winning catch-48lb/56.4 inch King Mackerel. The State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fishery, Saltwater Fishing Program has awarded the Ebony Anglers a citation for the catch.
Lesleigh Mausi, M.Ed. is an entrepreneur, award-winning educator and author. She is Co-Founder and VP of The DOME Group (@domegroup) an entertainment promotions company producing live-music concerts and festivals throughout the country. With her husband and partner Sulaiman Mausi, Lesleigh owns the Art of Cool Music Festival (@AOCFEST), a destination weekend event drawing over 10,000 music fans annually. In 2019, Lesleigh expanded the brand as CEO of Art of Cool Radio (@AOCRadio), an online radio station and free app featuring Neo-soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop with talk content focused on economic and cultural empowerment.
Lesleigh’s heart for youth is reflected in her 23-year career in education, serving thousands of public school students in both Detroit, MI and Durham, NC. She was named Assistant Principal of the Year in 2016 for Durham Public Schools, the first ever to receive the district’s inaugural award. She took a leap of faith in 2016, leaving her career in education to join her husband to grow their family businesses. She continues to impact youth and women across the country speaking at conferences and hosting vision board mentorship seminars.
Creatively, Lesleigh is a classically-trained pianist and a writer. She has served as Minister of Music and choir director for churches and various musical projects. Her published works have appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Spectacular Magazine, and the recent anthology, Black Girls Hear. Her first published book, Through the Fire, is set for release in November 2020. Co-authored with her husband Sulaiman, the book chronicles their personal pinnacles and pitfalls of marriage and business, and serves as a guide for entrepreneurial couples in their journey to success.
Lesleigh’s skill for angling was kindled at a young age by her father Raymond, a lifelong fisherman who chartered deep-sea tours for Black anglers across the country. After his death in 2019, Lesleigh uses her competitive experiences as an Ebony Angler to connect with the spirit of her father, earning her the team name, “Legacy”.
A Detroit native, Lesleigh holds a B.A. in Communications from The University of Michigan, a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Wayne State University and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She’s a loving wife of 21 years, a nurturing mother to three amazing sons, and a woman with a testimony to the power of God.
Glenda Turner is an award-winning Nail Stylist currently in residence at Aura Galleria in Durham, North Carolina. She has a reputation for highly personal and exceptional customer service maintaining a diverse star-studded clientele.
Glenda’s career spans the inception of the nail industry in Durham, North Carolina to the present time which is 38 years. She was instrumental in the establishment of the first Black Nail Salon in Durham, North Carolina with the Phyllis Enterprises Corporation, which was 10 years prior to the influx of Asian Nail Salons.
During the 1980’s, the cosmetic nail industry was new to the Durham area and Glenda was and has continued to be a trendsetter from the inception. As a leader in the cosmetic nail industry with no previous mentors, they were left to carve out their own path with creative and ingenious new ideas to expand the vision. Glenda assisted with nail seminars to train staff, the production of training cassettes, slide presentations, and posters to promote the business.
As an entrepreneur/mentor and pioneer in the cosmetic nail applications industry, Glenda generously assisted others in pursuing their dreams in Durham, Chapel Hill, Henderson, and Washington, D.C.
Glenda has helped and inspired many young people in our community. She takes pride in her longevity in the nail industry and credits the longevity to her passion, commitment, and continuing education. Glenda offers a full range of nail services: natural nail maintenance, nail tips, sculptured nails, pink and whites, gel nails, and more. She adapts to the ever-changing trends in the nail and the beauty industry keeping her clientele current. Her pedicure is coined “tantalizing.”
Glenda has been a licensed manicurist in Atlanta Georgia and Durham, North Carolina. Glenda is a Certified Nail Professional with Creative Nail Design Inc. in Brisa Gel, Retention Acrylic and Shellac Gel System. Dazzle Dry Inc. Erica’s E. File Inc. Centre for Beauty Inc, Gehwol profession foot care, just to name a few. She has attended many Professional Nail Shows over her career.
Participate in charitable events. Glenda is also a published Nail professional in The News & Observer discussing how safe gel nails are. Her abstract nail designs can be seen in Durham magazine. Glenda strives to be knowledgeable about the Nail industry and keep up with the latest trends.
Glenda graduated from Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina Glenda is married to the Love of her Life, Walter L. Turner III and they have three children and eight grandchildren. In her spare time, she is a member of the Ebony Anglers and enjoys deep-sea and competitive fishing. Glenda is
very adventurous. Loves traveling as well, She is also a member of World Overcomers Christian Church in Durham North Carolina where she has facilitated a Financial Peace University Class to members, orchestrated lunch for The Samaritan Inn for eight years. Served on the CARE team, Greeters ministry, Service Coordinator. Volunteered for countless Christmas,thanksgiving and back to school drives.
In reflection, Glenda understands fully through her life experience when much is given, much is expected. She has discovered her purpose, ministry, and passion through the people she has met and the fortunate events that have occurred through her vocation. Thereby she finds satisfaction in sharing with others and strives for excellence and perfection.
Graphic Media Artist, Creative Director and CEO of Socialotus Media Group and Baroque Fashion Media, Bobbiette “The Brand” Palmer, began her marketing firm, SMG in 2010 and her clients extend domestically and internationally. Bobbiette passionately believes in creator collaboration for the elevation of each other’s platforms, unique skills and crafts.
As a self-starter and entrepreneur, she strives to demonstrate the value of quality marketing and media services and derives delight working and collaborating with other artists and creative professionals in the fashion, arts, entertainment, as well as non-profit, government and commercial industries. Her latest endeavor Brand or Die is a series of classes that teach aspiring entrepreneurs and veteran business owners looking to refresh their image and audience how to create, organize, implement and launch their brand in as little as 30 days.
Past Ventures Include:
Socialotus Media Group (2010 – 2020)
A branding agency specializing in social media, digital marketing and event coverage. We help small businesses, entrepreneurs and local governments and nonprofits claim a strong presence in their respective markets and across the web. Our mission is to provide top quality AFFORDABLE services to small business, non-profits, corporations and individuals while maintaining the highest standards in customer service and portability.
Socialotus Media Group is the parent company of Baroque Fashion Media.
Baroque Fashion Media (2013 – 2018):
A fashion marketing and media group that represents an intimate network of creative professionals in the fashion and entertainment and art industries domestically (U.S.A.) and internationally. BFM is based in Durham, NC and serves artists and creative professionals in North Carolina, New York and international markets.
Baroque Fashion Media helped to facilitate healthy collaboration among artists and creative professionals and provided high quality media and marketing services to those creative professionals, thereby attracting quality clientele for membership.
Bobbiette has been in the fashion and entertainment industry for over 13 years. During the span of her career, she has worked to foster healthy collaborations between artists in fashion entertainment and art, and her passion for fashion and penchant for creative and dynamic branding has led her to work with some of the world’s top industry talent.
Beauty and fashion are important to her because they are universal vehicles that have afforded her the opportunity to pursue her dream of traveling often and abroad, to places like New York, attending and covering fashion week, to Miami to attend and co-produce an event for Art Basel, to Las Vegas and soon to Sweden where she produced and directed of an internet reality series featuring celebrity designer, Stevie Boi. She also traveled to Europe to walk for Stevie Boi during Paris Fashion Week and produced a new clothing line presentation for him, for Paris Fashion Week.
At only 5 foot 4 inches, Bobbiette has faced many challenges and obstacles. As a freelance model and entrepreneur, beginning her career in Iowa, Bobbiette is no stranger to turning challenges into opportunities. Bobbiette used her unique looks and discovered partnerships in a low volume market which propelled her career early and thus began her love of collaboration with fellow creative professionals. It is to this end, that Bobbiette has built the principals of her company, Baroque Fashion Media, upon.
Some of the people that Bobbiette has worked with include, six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer, Nnenna Freelon, celebrity fashion designer, Stevie Boi, celebrity fashion designer, Lizzie London, Hip Hop Icon, Big Daddy Kane, Singer and Songwriter, Yahzarah, celebrity photographers Steven Paul Whitsitt, Chris Charles, Antonio Martez to name a few.
By creating safe and healthy spaces for artist collaboration, she continues to blaze a safe trail for those creatives and self-propelled freelance artists into the industries of fashion, entertainment, and art.
New York native Tiana Davis, is a woman of many talents. She is a proverbial Jack of All Trades and master of some! Tiana graduated from Hampton University in 1997, where she earned a B.S in Pre-Medical Biology. In 2004 she exchanged her career in the medical field to pursue her dreams of entrepreneurship.
She and her husband, Bruce Davis, opened their first restaurant in Long Island, New York, while simultaneously welcoming the first of their five children. Soon after they relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina where they ran a successful publishing company for a decade before returning to their roots as restaurateurs and caterers.
Finding balance in business, home and self remains one of her greatest talents as well as greatest challenge. The self-proclaimed foodie is currently the curator at On Board Char where her love of artistry and food collide. In addition to wife, mother and businesswoman she now adds professional angler to her resume.
Tiana is often heard saying “what I lack in skill, I make up for in competitiveness”, she is however, no novice to fishing. It is a skill she began developing long ago, but she admittedly still has much to learn. As she embarks on the journey of professional angling she welcomes this next challenge with a competitive spirit and a ready rod.