Dyshawna Collins is the founder and sole operator of the Juneteenth Block Collective, Jean’s Barbecue LLC, and the 619 Anchor Program. A formally trained culinary arts graduate, Dyshawna holds an active NYC Food Protection Certificate issued by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and is a completing participant in the NYC Small Business Services (SBS) FastTrac GrowthVenture program (graduating June 18, 2026).
Dyshawna has self-invested $2,000 of her own capital into equipment and marketing materials for Jean’s Barbecue, and has completed a full institutional business plan, vending compliance layout drawn to scale, 20-vendor master roster, and licensing agreement framework for the Juneteenth Block Collective. She holds an active Square business account with an auditable transaction history and owns the domain JeansBarbecue.com.
As the project lead for the Juneteenth Block Collective, Dyshawna brings culinary arts expertise, a deep personal commitment to African American heritage, and a clear vision for building lasting community infrastructure in Harlem. Her long-term goal is to establish the Juneteenth Block Collective as a permanent annual institution in Harlem — a street-based arts festival that grows in scale, cultural impact, and artist participation each year.
Dyshawna is also pursuing the 619 Anchor Program’s community mission: providing hot meals Monday through Friday, a monthly food pantry, job placement services, and neighborhood beautification programming for Manhattan and Bronx communities — all anchored at the future Jean’s Barbecue headquarters at 23 St James Place, New York.