Mr. Jamerus Payton, a native of Eastern North Carolina (ENC), has a diverse portfolio of unique experiences across various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. He has over 15 years of experience in Operations and is a nationally and internationally recognized HBCU Advocate, Entrepreneur, Author and Speaker.
Mr. Payton is an MBA candidate at East Carolina University (College of Business), a two-time graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (School of Technology) and a graduate of Southern Methodist University (Cox School of Business).
He is the Owner of Carolina Chicken & Waffles (CCW), a family-owned and operated food and beverage company. He is a major advocate for higher education, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the creation and sustainability of the next generation of leaders, business owners and investors. His love for higher education, STEM, community and combating poverty led him to co-found HBCU Wall Street and The Jamerus & Amber the Payton Family Foundation, Inc.
He has served on various nonprofit boards, committees and advisory boards including East Carolina University Graduate and Professional Student Senate, Net Impact Black Professionals Chapter (NIBPC), United Way of Cumberland County, My Brother’s Keeper of Wake County, and the Department of Applied Engineering Technology in the College of Science and Technology at North Carolina A&T State University and Stillman College School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Computational & Information Sciences (SBECIS) and the Jean Mills Health Symposium.
He is a 2017 Washington, DC The Made Man (TMM) Honoree and also a graduate of United Way’s Leadership Development Program. In 2018 he was a George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) Dream Tulsa Cohort, a Black Enterprise Modern Man 100 Men of Distinction Honoree, a Black Enterprise Tech Fellow and a Young Alumni Influencer Honoree for The Black Varsity. He is a 2019 North Carolina New Leaders Council Alumni and a 2019 Order of the Living Waters Award recipient from African Diaspora Nation with the endorsement of the African Union. In 2022, he became a Senior HBCUvc Fellow and the first place winner for the fifth annual Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge (PEC).
He has been featured in media outlets such as SiriusXM, AspireTV, Black Enterprise, NBCBlk, The Motley Fool and BestColleges. Mr. Payton is the author of the book, “HBCUNomics: A Story Of The Power Of Black College Students, Economic Self-Sufficiency and Financial Freedom”.