Black History Month Speaker Series: Will Toms

On February 2nd, Haverford’s Office of Race and Ethnicity Education kicked off their Black History Month speaker series with REC Philly co-founder, Will Toms. Toms’ journey as an entrepreneur began growing up in Germantown, PA. His strong desire for freedom and autonomy led to the path of entrepreneurship and ultimately, the creation of REC.

REC Philly is a 10,000 square foot co-working space located on Market St. REC Philly is a community centered environment where local creatives can access spaces such as recording studios, a visual lab, a design studio, a podcast studio, and more, or a “gym membership for creatives”, as Toms describes it. With these resources, Toms hopes to guide individuals to grow their own businesses and utilize their creative freedom.

Toms saw entrepreneurship as the only path that would allow him to live his fullest true self and embody freedom and power. According to Toms, “the only responsible thing I can do is encourage others to utilize their freedom and power”. When forming REC, he faced an uphill battle in trying to bridge the gap of black representation within the creative industry. He initially struggled to explain to white investors that black creators were worthy of their investment. He eventually found conviction when asking for support after fully believing in his creative vision and seeing the need that REC would fill in the Philadelphia community. Since then, REC has expanded its location from a warehouse in north Philadelphia to a state-of-the-art facility in Center City.

When asked about future plans, Toms is interested in coaching, speaking engagements, and growing REC in other cities, such as Miami. When designing the building for REC Miami, he found untapped potential and sees a future in exploring architecture. Wherever Toms' lands, he seeks to empower his clients to cultivate profitable businesses by pursuing their passions in art, music, and other mediums.

Join us on February 17th for our next Black History Month event titled, “Black and Educated - Experiences working in Higher Education at Predominantly White Institutions Across the US”. We will be joined by John Mcknight (Dean of the College), Danielle Lynch (Director of Athletics), Gabriel Angrand (Assistant Director of the Office of Academic Resources), Joi Dallas of Bryn Mawr College (Assistant Dean for Intercultural Engagement), and Sara Willie- LeBreton (Provost) of Swarthmore College to share their experiences working at predominately white institutions.

A full calendar of Black History Month events can be found here.