About the AASEG
AASEG Oakland
African American Sports & Entertainment Group
The AASEG (African American Sports & Entertainment Group) was founded in 2020 with the primary purpose of using the vehicle of sports and entertainment to create a path for enhanced economic equity for the Black community.
We were founded in Oakland CA, a city that is world renowned for having a large, innovative and forward thinking African American community that for decades has been at the forefront of issues pertinent to Black people across the country.
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One of our most anticipated ventures is the formation of the first majority Black owned NFL franchise here in Oakland, CA accompanied by a thriving sports, entertainment, educational and business district in East Oakland at the Coliseum Site. The development will serve as the catalyst for the implementation of the Coliseum Site Specific Plan.
Some Key Members
Ray Bobbitt
Ray Bobbitt is the Founder and Managing Member of the AASEG. He also serves as the President and sole shareholder of the Nacirfa Corporation, a Facility Management and Urban Consulting company founded 22 years ago in Oakland CA.
As a community leader, Mr. Bobbitt has served as Founder, Co-Founder, or Advisory Board member of multiple Community Boards and Committees including:
The Arroyo Park Community Advisory Council in East Oakland, the Webster Elementary Tutoring and Mentoring program East Oakland, Yerba Buena Community Benefits District in San Francisco, Yerba Buena Entertainment Coalition San Francisco, SFPD Southern Station Community Police Advisory Board, FPD Chief's African American Advisory Committee, Cal PAC-Northern California, Oakland The Parks and Recreation Commission, Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation, Father Figure Mentoring Project in Oakland, East Bay Youth Football Cheer League, the Oakland Coliseum Economic Impact and Legal Action Committee ( which was formed to keep Professional Sports in Oakland)
In addition, Mr. Bobbitt is a Decorated Veteran of Desert Storm as a US Marine (United Stated Marine Corps 4th LAAM Battalion)
Shonda Scott
Shonda Scott, CEO and Founder of 360 Total Concept, a management and consulting firm, is an Oakland native who has received global and national recognition. She is a 2nd generation business owner in Oakland and her family owns one of top black-owned businesses in US.
Most recently, in 2018 Ms. Scott was inducted into Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame. Prior to becoming a Hall of Fame Inductee, Ms. Scott was recognized by Enterprising Women Magazine as 2017 Enterprising Woman of Year. She was recognized in 2016 with the Stevie Award’s Female Entrepreneur of the Year. As part of her civic contributions to our Nation, Shonda served as President Obama’s 2012 Platform Committee Appointee.
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Ms. Scott has committed to managing all community engagement to support the stadium development and the placement of a new NFL Club in Oakland, as well as leading the efforts to secure the first Black woman, Majority owned WNBA team in the city of Oakland.
Loop Capital, LLC
Loop Capital is the largest African American owned, full services investment banking brokerage, financial advisory and investment management organization in the United States. Loop Capital boasts a 23-year history of developing financial solutions for America’s largest public sector institutions and private sector firms.
In addition to its global capital markets, Loop Capital is an experienced advisor on Public-Private-Partnership and infrastructure transactions. As well, Loop Capital is part of a team developing a 100+ acre parcel owned by the City of Chicago and the Metropolitan Pier Authority. Finally, Loop Capital’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Reynolds is a partner in JLC Infrastructure, a private asset manager with over $800 billion under management targeting investments in various publicly owned assets.
Loop Capital has agreed to raise the capital needed to purchase the Coliseum site. Loop Capital is the capital partner for the Project. This purchase will secure the location for the required stadium development and it will serve as a critical placeholder for the qualified owner candidate to build a stadium.
Relevant to the currently contemplated effort, Loop Capital has underwritten offerings for the cities of Oakland and San Francisco as well as Alameda County. In addition, Loop Capital has experience as an advisor on Public-Private-Partnership and infrastructure transactions. Loop Capital currently participates in the development of a combined 100+ acre parcel owned by the City of Chicago and the Metropolitan Pier Authority.
Bill Duffy
Bill Duffy is one of the country’s most successful sports agents. Mr. Duffy is based in the East Bay and played an important role with the Lott/Fortress Group in its previous efforts to build a stadium at the Coliseum Site. Mr. Duffy has committed to being the Chief Strategist for our team.
BDA Sports Management – Led by respected sports agent Bill Duffy, BDA is one of the world’s top ranked sports agencies focused, specifically on basketball. Bill has agreed to apply his extensive network and decades of experience toward execution of the Project, including assembling some of the leading names in sports and entertainment in support and endorsement of the Project.
Mr. Duffy has been involved in professional sports representation for over 30 years. As Chairman & CEO, he has become one of the most successful and respected sports agents in the industry, recently named to ‘World’s Most Powerful Sports Agents’ 2019 list by Forbes Magazine.
LaNiece Jones
In 1991, Laniece Jones founded LA Jones & Associates, a marketing public relations and events firm. The Oakland native currently serves as the Executive Director of Peralta Colleges Foundation where she is charged with raising student scholarship funds for deserving students of Laney College, Merritt College, College of Alameda and Berkeley City College.
Since 1995, Ms. Jones has served in the volunteer capacity as BWOPA/TILE's Executive Director and is the BWOPA President of Oakland/Berkeley Chapter. She aslo serves as co-chair presiding over Congresswoman Barbara Lee's political advisory committee and Congresswoman Lee appointed her as one of California’s 55 members to cast the electoral college vote in December 2020. In 2021, CA Assembly member Rob Bonta appointed Ms. Jones as an Assembly District delegate.
Robert Bobb
Robert C. Bobb leverages more than 40 years of executive management experience in both the private and public sectors. He is the owner, President and CEO of The Robert Bobb Group, LLC (RBG), a multi-faceted private/public sector consulting firm specializing in: Public and Private Sector Turnaround Consulting and Advisory Services; Financial and Organizational Restructuring; Budget Management Services; Labor Relations; Economic Development Advisory Services; Emergency Planning, Public Safety and Policing, Real Estate and Asset Management Services, Education, Local/State/Federal Government turnaround and contract negotiations.
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Mr. Bobb is the former City Administrator and Deputy Mayor for Washington, D.C. and served as the District of Columbia’s Homeland Security Advisor. Prior to this, Mr. Bobb served as the City Manager of Oakland California and Executive Director of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency; City Manager of Richmond, Virginia; City Manager of Santa Ana, California; and City Manager of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mr. Bobb is also the Founding President of the City of Oakland, California African American Chamber of Commerce.
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In 2005, while serving as the former City Administrator and Deputy Mayor for Washington D.C., Mr. Bobb was primarily responsible for that city acquiring the 2019 World Series Champions, Washington Nationals.
Samantha Wise
A third-generation Oaklander, Samantha Wise has dedicated herself to becoming deeply involved in her community and improving the lives of those around her. She is a trailblazing entrepreneur, mentor, and community activist, with a tireless and undaunting commitment to the Oakland community.
Years ago, she saw people in need and took action, "adopting" other families and providing a variety of help and services that bloomed into the creation of C.E.O. (Community Enrichment Organization), a nonprofit organization she now leads.
She is also the Founder and CEO of Tip Top Shape, which uses health and fitness as a vehicle for women empowerment, healthy lifestyles, as well as community advocacy and service.
Her primary reason in becoming a part of the AASEG was to ensure that the community "was not left out when development came to the Coliseum."
Alan Dones
SUDA is one of Oakland’s most successful African American and developers. CEO Alan Dones, is the Managing Partner, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of SUDA, LLC, specializing in large-scale, innovative, public agency projects and mixed-use development. Alan has committed to creating a master development strategy, and he has also done extensive planning work on the Coliseum site.
Mr. Dones, has led development projects both in the United States and Africa. He will provide development consulting to the Project. He is also the son of [the late] Ray Dones, who co-founded Trans-Bay Engineers and Builders. Trans-Bay made history in 1970 when they partnered with Turner Construction to create the first joint venture between a majority firm and a minority builder.
SUDA has completed several landmark projects in Oakland, CA, and is currently pioneering several national and international development projects.
John Jones III
John Jones III is currently on staff for Just Cities as the Director of Community and Political Engagement. As a father of three and third generation East Oakland resident, Mr. Jones is also a formerly incarcerated advocate seeking to transform his community.
After being un-sheltered and unemployed for eighteen month, he became involved in community organizing and advocacy to empower himself and others by utilizing his personal story of pain, trauma, faith and transformation to inspire young people, as well as fight for policy change.
Mr. Jones has worked on several local and state campaigns and ballot measures, and is a passionate and vocal advocate for affordable housing, jobs and employment, ending mass incarceration and racial equity. As a result, he has been recognized as a community leader and voice, receiving a number of awards and accolades for his work in the Community.
Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones, a native of Oakland and an accomplished entrepreneur is an Ambassador for the Post News Group as well as multiple community groups throughout the Bay Area. Jones is the creator of Breathing Aerobics® and is also known as The Guru of Breathing. Jonathan Jones has appeared on major TV and Radio Shows. With over 40 years experience of creating and repositioning major local and international brands, his role is to ensure the seamless transition of a brand strategy through brand creation and onto brand experience and engagement.
After many years in public service, having served in different appointments and responsibilities, Jonathan Jones also served in the entertainment sector and production companies. He was the former manager of Debonair Productions, Mario Bobino Award Winning Filmmaker with over 34 years in the Independent Film business. In addition, Jones works as the Executive Director of K-Lou Records. He also runs K-Lou Studios and K-Lou Productions with US hip-hop producer Ken Franklin.
Since then, with a business ethos ‘Local yet Global’, he established strategic partnerships conducted and consulted with businesses in the music, film, education, fitness, health, sports, hospitality, nonprofit, and government sectors. He currently consults in Mergers & Acquisitions and Investment. He also served both on global and local corporate and non-profit management boards as a senior member and advisor.
A firm believer in Corporate Social Responsibility, Jonathan Jones has a deep sense of cultivating Social IMPACT businesses as a “Greater Good” and served and led many initiatives here and overseas. He thrives on pursuing new frontiers and future trends.
Joan Tarika Lewis
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Joan Tarika Lewis is the Director, Project Leader, and Coordinator of the Art, History, and Cultural Education components of this project. This includes helping oversee the development of a cultural arts and history museum that will feature exhibits of the African diaspora as well as other BIPOC cultural exhibits.
Visual Artist, Jazz Violinist, Teacher, and Genealogy workshop facilitator, Ms. Lewis is dedicated to passing light to the next generations through a cultural and historical lens. An alumni of Merritt College’s original Black Studies Department, Black Arts Movement and Black Panther Party she lectures on their contributions to Ethnic Studies, infusion of African history, dance, Free Health Care, Sickle Cell Anemia, Lead Paint testing and Free Breakfast for Children programs which became fixtures within OUSD and State healthcare treatment.
​Important local histories are an integral part of her life where decades before, her father, John Henry Lewis, the Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, owned the Phoenix Boxing Gym during West Oakland’s glory days of Oakland’s Black Downtown. Ms Lewis fondly recalls the many thriving Black business districts in Oakland during the middle of the 20th Century, reminiscent of the infamous Black Wall St community of Tulsa Oklahoma a century ago.
Jade Smith-Williams
Jade Smith-Williams is an attorney with Bailey Glasser, LLP. She serves as the legal counsel for the AASEG. As an attorney with a passion for justice, along with her background as a former professional and Division I basketball player, Jade Smith-Williams brings unique energy and insight into her work for Bailey Glasser’s clients.
She handles complex civil litigation matters in the areas of product liability, consumer protection, and civil rights. Jade’s dedication to civil justice is rooted in her desire to expand access to legal services for marginalized communities. Her experience includes handling several multi-million-dollar settlements on behalf of plaintiffs injured in auto collisions, drug rehabilitation centers, by harmful and defective products, by dangerous conditions on public and private property, and more. She also represents victims of police brutality and officer misconduct against municipalities and prisons.
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With the NCAA’s rule change that now permits college athletes to commercialize their name, image, and likeness, Jade is thrilled to support student athletes navigate the complexities of NIL compliance while brokering endorsement and sponsorship deals with businesses. Additionally, she is part of the Bailey Glasser Title IX team which is successfully protecting student-athletes’ interests across the country.
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Jade’s practice also includes business and creative advising for local artists and culture creators. BG’s Oakland office is situated in the heart of downtown Oakland’s arts district – home to many artists and creatives whose work continues to push the boundaries of popular culture nationwide.