NC entrepreneur, Elizabeth City mayor named to Forbes 50 over 50 list next to major names
It’s not everyday you see your name mentioned in the same list as Vice President Kamala Harris or Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
But two North Carolina women can boast that: Raleigh-based haircare entrepreneur Melisse Shaban and Elizabeth City Mayor Bettie Parker.
Both were named on Thursday to Forbes Magazine’s first 50 over 50 List, a compilation of significant female business leaders and politicians over the age of 50. The list includes other business leaders, like television executive Shonda Rhimes, media mogul Ariana Huffington and Jane Fraser, the CEO of Citigroup bank.
Shaban, 60, made the list for co-founding the haircare startup Virtue Labs.
Parker, 72, is recognized for growing up in Elizabeth City when it was segregated to eventually becoming its first woman mayor.
Virtue Labs
The company has gained attention in recent years for its hair, skin and nail treatments — notably enlisting actress Jennifer Garner to promote its products.
Founded by Melisse Shaban in 2013, Virtue Labs repurposed a keratin protein-based technology that was initially designed to heal battlefield wounds.
But after experimentation in the lab, the product proved to be beneficial to hair and caught the attention of Shaban. The company now offers a fleet of hair-healing treatments using the technology.
Virtue Labs maintains an office in downtown Raleigh, and most of its manufacturing is done in Winston-Salem.
The company has been a prolific fundraiser since it was founded. The startup has raised more than $70 million from investors, including a round last year worth $28.6 million.
The company’s revenue apparently doubled to $30 million last year during the pandemic, according to Forbes, and its products can now be found in major retailers like Sephora and Bluemercury.
Elizabeth City mayor
Forbes notes that when Parker was born, she wasn’t allowed to use public services like the swimming pool, as segregation was still prominent in the South.
She became a high school math teacher, and after 33 years in education, she was elected mayor in 2017.
Forbes doesn’t mention that Elizabeth City, and Parker to an extent, have been in the national spotlight following the death of Andrew Brown Jr. Brown was fatally shot by Pasquotank Sheriff’s deputies who were serving arrest and search warrants as part of a drug investigations.
Elizabeth City has been the site of nightly protests since the April 21 shooting.
Parker and the City Council have called for transparency and demanded the release of police body camera footage of the shooting. The council repeatedly said that the Elizabeth City police department did not play a role in the shooting. But the department’s officers have been part of the law enforcement who have patrolled during demonstrations.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 6:44 PM with the headline "NC entrepreneur, Elizabeth City mayor named to Forbes 50 over 50 list next to major names."
