Solving the complex, simply.
| Our Brand |
We started as a branding and marketing firm, and we were our own first client.
Building C&B Group taught us what our clients would later confirm: the path to sustainable business is rarely neutral. The obstacles are structural, the oversight is uneven, and the margin for error is thinner for some than for others. We learned this firsthand.
We responded not with complaint, but with radical honesty and architecture. Our mission is to give businesses the infrastructure, strategy, and institutional credibility to compete — and win — on any field.
| Our Story |
Founded in Glen Allen, Virginia in 2017, Conteh & Brown Group was built on a truth the market has been slow to reward: women don't just belong in business — they are its most formidable architects. As a women-owned, family-operated firm, our team spans clinical psychology, law, HR, social work, and business analysis — unified by a shared understanding of what it costs to build while the system works against you.
Women have not been overlooked in industry. They have been deliberately excluded — because the competitive edge they carry is structural, not incidental. C&B Group exists in direct response to that reality, creating pathways to capital, growth, and meaningful global change. Not by asking for a seat at the table. By building new ones.
| Our Name |
We proudly bear the surnames Conteh & Brown to honor the remarkable women who came before us.
Conteh
The Mankaprr Conteh defied norms by ensuring her daughter received an education past the customary age of 12 — a decision that led to a PhD in nursing and a legacy of achievement.
&
Brown
The Mrs. Margaret Brown was a force, raising six children through love and entrepreneurship, building a nurturing home and leaving a profound mark on her community.
Both women understood something that data now confirms: access to education, stable homes, and strong networks are not luxuries — they are the infrastructure of generational mobility. They invested in social capital before the term existed. We are their continuation.
| FAQs |
What makes your team qualified and innovative?
Who is on the core team?
A clinical research psychologist, a medical doctor, a military business analyst, a registered nurse, a program manager, an LCSW, an education specialist, an HR executive, an accountant, and a lawyer.
What are your innovations?
Our PEARLS Program uses business principles to provide high-impact solutions to current social & economic challenges while also providing goods & services on the local Virginia market.
What problems do you solve?
Conteh & Brown Group turns complex challenges into scalable, compliant programs—solving human service problems such as homelessness & socioeconomic problems like local underemployment.
| Our Team |
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Zainab Kamarah
FOUNDER
As a founding architect of C&B Group, Ms. Kamarah drives contract acquisition and fortifies the firm's strategic planning capacity through precise documentation and rigorous process management. -
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Shahedah Fornah
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
As C&B Group's Lean Six Sigma lead and Co-Founder, Dr. Fornah ensures all operations and projects are executed with discipline and continuously evaluated for excellence. -
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Nicole Welds
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ms. Welds blends clinical social work expertise with operational acumen to guide complex, people-centered projects — ensuring seamless interface between project teams, clients, and stakeholders. -
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Christina Rios
CLINICAL NURSING DIRECTOR
With 20 years of nursing experience, Ms. Rios oversees all healthcare-related contracts, ensuring clinical compliance and excellence across C&B Group's medical service engagements. -
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Elizabeth Fraser
QUALITY ASSURANCE DIRECTOR
Ms. Fraser enforces operational and documentation standards across all projects, ensuring consistent compliance with client, audit, and insurance requirements.
| Our Boards |
Operations Trust
The Operations Trust safeguards Conteh & Brown’s reputation and integrity by monitoring operational, legal, and reputational risks — coordinating swift mitigation and responsibly disengaging from engagements that exceed acceptable risk thresholds.
Formerly Risk Management
Human Service Board
The Human Service Board keeps Conteh & Brown Group anchored to its core mission: applying business principles to solve social problems. Human-service professionals and clinicians guide our program design and practice, informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In the Service of Humans
A select council of ten professionals — each with 20+ years of leadership — the Board of Advisors provides high-caliber counsel across operational, legal, financial, and programmatic matters. The Board conducts due-diligence reviews, validates risk-mitigation strategies, vets major partnerships, and mentors senior leadership, strengthening our decision-making and enabling responsible growth.
Board of Subject Matter ExpertsBoard of Advisors
The Public Health & Social Impact Board ensures that Conteh & Brown Group's construction and development work creates measurable community returns. This board oversees the integration of workforce development into our project pipeline — with a deliberate focus on gender equity. Through trade training, subsidized childcare, and targeted economic support, we build micro-economies where women gain access to industries that have historically excluded them. When C&B wins a contract, the community wins too.
Board of Building in EquityPublic Health & Social Impact
| Our Values |
INTEGRITYThe personal integrity of each individual at the firm gives stock to the integrity of the work done at Conteh & Brown. We live this value at the intersection of transparency and good faith.
INNOVATIONOur work at Conteh & Brown is about problem solving. The most complex problems require a simple solution and innovation. Innovation is a type of genius in which we are well versed.
PARTNERSHIPTrue partnership is predicated on mutual respect, integrity, and a common goal. We are in partnership to create the best outcome for your business and exceptional income through its development.
