The Author Events Series presents Karla Trotman & Cheryl McKissack Daniel | Dark, Dirty, Dangerous & The Black Family Who Built America 

In Conversation with Joann Bell

Dark, Dirty, Dangerous by Karla Trotman

From the brilliant mind of entrepreneur, business owner, and Black generational wealth advocate Karla Trotman, emerges a thought-leadership book unlike any other. As the owner of Electro Soft, a thriving Black-owned manufacturing company founded by her parents, Sheila and James Wallace, Trotman has developed her own lane in electronics manufacturing.

Manufacturing’s workforce for decades has been male-dominated, with specific demographics creating its majority. However, the future of this barrier industry is looking brighter because a new diversified workforce is emerging. At the forefront of this evolution are diverse change-makers like Karla, innovators who see the evolution from a different perspective, offering a fresh take.

From ground-breaking viewpoints on industry recruitment strategies, and a game plan for securing much-needed funding for obtaining business ownership, to successful succession planning for a family business, Trotman has filled the pages of this book with actionable steps to benefit professional readers.

The Black Family Who Built America by Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Captured in his native West Africa and enslaved on American shores by a North Carolina plantation owner, Moses McKissack I began to build his way to emancipation right from the start. Becoming an enslaved craftsman, he picked up the trade his family would become famous for in the earliest years of the 19th century, passing his learnings down to his children and seeing them off to freedom after the Civil War.

The family would settle in Tennessee, getting its bearings in the building trades despite rampant discrimination, establishing a foothold that now sees its latest generations working at the absolute peak of its industry.

The family’s fingerprints have been left all across the United States, spanning from Reconstruction to contemporary times, through projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

Here, Cheryl McKissack Daniel, CEO and president of McKissack & McKissack, reveals the full fascinating story of her family. So much more than an exploration of architectural achievements, The Black Family Who Built America is also a compelling illustration of how history rhymes and reverberates, and a celebration of the human spirit’s ability to overcome adversity and drive change. From Moses’s humble beginnings to Cheryl’s current role as a trailblazer and champion of diversity, the family’s journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and strategic vision in shaping a legacy that continues to inspire and impact the construction industry.

Karla Trotman is President and CEO of Electro Soft, Inc., a second-generation family business specializing in electronics contract manufacturing for defense, aviation, and transit markets. A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship as a path to building generational wealth and closing the Black wealth gap, Karla is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller Dark, Dirty, Dangerous: Building the Vibrant Future of Manufacturing. She was named 2024 EY Entrepreneur of Year for Greater Philadelphia and serves on the boards of the Museum of the American Revolution, the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, and the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Cooperative. A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Karla holds a B.S. in Business Logistics from Penn State and an MBA from Drexel University. Through her work and advocacy, she inspires the next generation to see manufacturing and entrepreneurship as vehicles for transforming communities and creating lasting economic impact.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel is Chair of the Board of McKissack & McKissack, the nation’s oldest minority- and woman-owned design and construction firm, and former President and CEO from 2000 to 2025. A fifth-generation builder, civil engineer, and author of The Black Family Who Built America (Simon & Schuster, August 2025), she leads the firm’s work across major infrastructure, healthcare, education, and transportation projects nationwide. A Howard University alumna, Cheryl is widely recognized for her leadership, board service, and commitment to equity, generational wealth, and inclusive growth.

Joann Bell is Director of the Philadelphia office of Long Nyquist, one of the Commonwealth’s top lobbying firms, bringing more than three decades of expertise in government affairs, strategic planning, labor relations, and crisis management to clients across Pennsylvania. She previously served as the first Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs under Robert P. Casey and as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Affirmative Action in Philadelphia, building a distinguished career in public service and advocacy. A widely recognized civic leader, Joann has been named one of Philadelphia’s 150 Most Influential Philadelphians by Philadelphia Magazine and one of the most Influential Black Pennsylvanians by City & State, and currently serves as President of WES Health System’s Board of Trustees and convener of the Black Women’s Leadership Council.

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