HOTELIER | CONSULTANT | FRANCHISE BROKER

Dr. Amina James is a hotelier, organization development consultant, franchise broker, and managing partner of commercial real estate firm Duke Ventures LLC.

 

Duke Ventures LLC. Founded in 2019, Duke Ventures is a socially responsible real estate investment company. Amina and her husband own a Quality Inn in Memphis, TN which they acquired in 2022. In 2020 and 2021 they also became investors in two Hilton-branded hotel properties. Their hotel ownership journey has been featured in several digital publications' and local news reports including Black Enterprise, Yahoo! Finance, Afrotech, Hotel Business, Hertelier, and Fox 13 News. Dr. Amina is also a member of the Franchise Brokers Association which represents hundreds of franchises.

 

As a franchise Broker, Amina consults clients on the benefits of franchising and guides them through the journey of becoming a franchisee. Additionally, in 2019, Dr. Amina published her first book—Power 31: A working guide to goal setting and progressing with purpose. Notably, Amina has been recognized by the Leadership Center for Excellence as a 40 under 40 honoree (Arlington, VA) and served as Miss Black District of Columbia USA from 2011-2012. Dr. Amina is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

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As an organization development strategist, Dr. Amina has a passion for helping individuals and organizations transform. She has extensive experience working in public sector, higher education, and non-profit organizations and was previously an adjunct professor in Organizational Leadership & Learning at the George Washington University.

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In 2019, Dr. Amina published her first book—Power 31: A working guide to goal setting and progressing with purpose. She also penned a chapter titled The Leadership Challenge: Success Strategies for Black Millennials in the book Reaching Senior Leadership: 10 Growth Strategies Every Government Leader Should Know.

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In addition, Dr. Amina is an experienced speaker having presented at various conferences and engagements; including the Positive Organizational Scholarship Conference, University of Maryland Race & Ethnic Politics Conference, Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference in the Americas, and the 15th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research & Practice across Europe. She has also been published by the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship and the American Psychosocial Oncology Society.

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Dr. Amina earned a doctorate in Human & Organizational Learning from the George Washington University. Her dissertation focused on the professional identity construction of Black women Government executives at the intersection of race and gender. She also earned a master's degree in Health Education from the Pennsylvania State University and a post master's certificate in Grief, Loss, & Life Transitions Counseling from the George Washington University. In addition, Dr. Amina holds a Certificate of Mastery in Diversity & Inclusion from Georgetown University and the Office of Personnel Management. She is also a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), and bronze-level certified in Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation.

 

Dr. Amina is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. In addition, she has been recognized by the Washington Wizards as an Outstanding Community Leader in Health & Wellness and the Leadership Center for Excellence as a 40 under 40 honoree. Dr. Amina also served as Miss Black District of Columbia USA from 2011-2012 for which she was featured in the Washington Post  and Afro News.