Shawn M. Cumberbatch-Graham is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning global and national corporations, including Fortune 500 companies. She currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE) — the nation’s largest business incubator dedicated to accelerating the growth and scalability of entrepreneurs and small businesses. In this role, she oversees operations, technology, and financial infrastructure; while also serving as Principal Investigator for the Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Project 3 Mobile Studio, a Build Back Better grant initiative advancing innovation.
Previously, Shawn was Chief Financial Officer of the National Black MBA Association, Inc. (NBMBAA), where she also served as Interim CEO from 2022–2023. Under her leadership, the organization secured new corporate partners and donors, strengthened legislative relationships on Capitol Hill, and achieved a historic milestone — the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Commerce/Minority Business Development Agency to foster the global competitiveness of minority-owned businesses. She also earned credit as Producer of NBMBAA’s documentary, The Race Continues.
A native New Yorker, Shawn earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lehman College, her CPA designation from the Georgia State Board of Accountancy, a Business & Executive Coaching Certification from FocalPoint (San Diego, CA), and a Nonprofit Leadership Certification from the Arthur Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College. She is a Fellow of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
Her leadership has been widely recognized: named one of the Atlanta Business League’s “100 Women of Influence” (2021–2025), recipient of the League Leadership Award (2022), Honored Listee in Marquis Who’s Who in America (2023), and honoree of the BPM Global 100 (2024).
Deeply committed to advancing opportunities for systemically excluded communities, Shawn serves on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Business League and is a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter. She previously served a two-year appointment on the City of Atlanta’s Small Business Advisory Council and was an Advisory Board member for Georgia Piedmont Technical College School of Business