Imani is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a major in communications and a double minor in German and film. Originally from Atlanta, is a Communications Manager at Bravo and Oxygen Media where she oversees press strategy for various series, including “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” and Emmy-nominated “Million Dollar Listing New York” amongst others. 

Prior to Bravo and Oxygen, Imani held a role in the NBCUniversal Page Program working on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Dr. Oz Show” and has also held positions with Creative Artists Agency, Nickelodeon, Def Jam and ESPN.

Imani is the founder of The Creative Collective NYC, a carefully curated community consisting of thousands of millennial creatives of color seeking to connect, collaborate and create with individuals across a variety of industries. The Creative Collective NYC hosts carefully curated events and encourages collaboration. 

WHAT WAS GROWING UP LIKE FOR YOU?

Imani: Both of my parents are pastors so i’m a “PK (Pastor’s Kid) squared.” I tell people that and they’re like “Oh my gosh, growing up must have been crazy strict!” It was actually the opposite. My parents really raised on the foundation of love and respect and that being the foundation was my accountability to them. It wasn’t like, “You couldn’t be out the house past 8pm.” I actually got a car when I was 16. I had this accountability to them and I didn’t want to disappoint them. One day I hope to raise my kids the same way because it was wonderful. We moved around a lot because my dad is more missionary based. I have three siblings- two sisters- one is a farmer and one is in vet school- and my little brother Emmanuel is 16.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?

Imani: I didn’t want to be anything when I grew up. As a kid, I wasn’t like, “I want to be an astronaut.”  Whatever I wanted to do, I just did it. When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballerina so I did ballet for 14 years. We would do six hours days and my toes would be falling off. Second to my parents, I think that’s where a lot of my discipline comes from. When I quit ballet, I was like, “I’m going to run track!” It wasn’t until college when I thought to myself, “I want to work in entertainment,” and I ran towards that. I don’t know if that’s weird lol. My parents were really supportive. My mom would come right after school and pick me up in a big blue Suburban and me, my sisters, and my brother would drive an hour to Atlanta for ballet and they would just sit in the parking lot doing homework and I was upstairs dancing for six hours.