Emerging Leaders Class of 2017

Shantelle L. Patton is a Buffalo native with a passion for the arts and culture scene that is distinctive to the city that she loves. She currently works as a Patient Care Coordinator for a private dental practice. Outside of her 9-to-5, Patton also owns and runs an artist development company known as The Dopeness Project with her partner in business and life, Mr. Jay P. Hawkins Sr. Working with all mediums, styles and genres, Patton gives independent artists the administrative tools they need for success, such as electronic press kits, digital music distribution setup, publishing rights registration, and more. Patton is also an active member of the Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals, the Western New York Urban Artists Collective, and a partner of the Partnership for the Public Good.

Patton considers herself a transformational leader. Her goal is to create more leaders from the example she sets. Entering into and graduating from the Open Buffalo Emerging Leaders program, her goals have remained the same: to become a stronger motivating force in the arts and culture community in the city of Buffalo, to use the voice of the artists in the correct social tone, and to reassign the public, social responsibility of the artists to a more positive, uplifting role. “The Open Buffalo EL program has given me tools and skills to assist in this growth,” Patton said.