Calvin Stovall Jr.

Calvin Stovall Jr.’s interest in Black history began early, sparked by a large book of historically influential African Americans that his mother gave him. While in elementary school, he was selected, along with two classmates, to participate in a Black History competition at the DuSable Black History Museum on Chicago’s South Side. From that point on, his passion for Black history only grew.

Calvin’s career in hospitality began informally as a front desk clerk at downtown Chicago’s Holiday Inn Chicago City Centre. After earning a business administration degree from Chicago State University, he went on to receive a Master of Professional Studies from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Over the course of a nearly thirty-year career in hospitality, Calvin served as vice president of brand marketing with Hilton Worldwide. He has also worked in the nonprofit sector as a brand marketing strategist with ALSAC, the fundraising and brand awareness arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and as CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, a nonprofit based in Memphis, Tennessee.

In addition to running his own business, ICONIC Presentations, LLC, which delivers high-energy keynotes and workshops for organizations nationwide, Calvin also serves as the Director of Executive Programs for The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

During his time at Cornell University, Calvin was asked by the chair and cofounder of the first chapter of the National Society of Minority Hoteliers (NSMH) to research the historical contributions of African American hoteliers for one of the organization’s early conferences. It was there that his journey with Hidden Hospitality began.