Our Story
Chi-attle
Ayers-Stewart Group emerged out of a household rooted in
"Chi-attle"—a merge of Chicago and Seattle as a new, created space that truly is home. Princess Ayers from Chicago and Barnett Joseph (BJ) Stewart from Seattle as life partners and now a business team serving both Chicago and Seattle out of a shared commitment to thriving people and places. Their children, Britt, age 29, and Andre, age 22, reside in Los Angeles and Chicago respectively.
Ayers-Stewart Group builds and supports brands that inspire similar commitments in individuals, families and community in Chi-attle and beyond.
About Princess Ayers-Stewart
Princess can't get enough of work that has visible impact in the lives of people. A lawyer by training, she has spent her career working toward spaces that are inclusive of ideas and experiences from people of diverse ethnic and racial identities.
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Princess worked in Equal Opportunity compliance and diversity and a labor and employment law firm and Walgreens corporation. She served as Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion for Starbucks Coffee Company, and Seattle Childrens' first-ever Chief of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion. Princess has formal education in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, studied Law with the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and earned a Master of Laws degree in employee benefits from The John Marshall Law School. In addition to her full-time and consulting work, she has served as a board member for the Washington State Business Leadership Network, Village Leadership Academy, Twenty Pearls Foundation, Northwest Industry Liaison Group, and Team Read. She currently serves on the Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County and the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce.
About Barnett Joseph (BJ) Stewart
BJ thrives in spaces with complex opportunities for strategic relationship-building and collaboration. He has a wealth of experience in business acquisitions, nonprofits, start-ups, enterprise turnarounds, and franchise management. BJ currently serves as Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Urban Impact, also leading their economic development efforts supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses. Before assuming the COO role, he directed Urban Impact's strategic planning, human resources, financial management, and administration functions. For 10 years prior, he owned and operated Arby's Restaurants and owned a staffing agency. Additionally, BJ spent 10 years in consulting/public accounting with PriceWaterhouseCoopers also serving as a CPA. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado, and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance from Michigan State University.
50 years of
COMBINED EXPERIENCE
Partnerships and Brands for a Better World Together