In honor of Black History Month, HD highlights Black voices elevating the hospitality industry and beyond

In honor of Black History Month, HD celebrates some of the many Black creators leaving their mark on the hospitality industry and beyond. These 25 individuals—who have been featured in our magazine, website, and spoken at our in-person events—span multiple creative realms, including design, architecture, art, entrepreneurship, and more.

While EDSA principal Kona Gray says he stumbled upon landscape architecture, he has been a crucial voice in creating immersive environments for the past 25 years. One of Gray’s initiatives is to bring more people of color into the field (less than 10 percent of graduating landscape architects are BIPOC). He believes that everyone is meant to have good landscape architecture no matter the cost. It’s a view that fits into his definition of success: being a good, kind person who gives back.