B.E. Bios

Renita Burns is the editorial assistant at BlackEnterprise.com. She is responsible for penning the weekly blog "The Cutting Edge," where she discusses a broad range of topics, including personal finance for young adults, consumer issues, and resources for entrepreneurs. Burns’ personal interest in investing has spawned several projects, including a multiplatform package on young investors that included May 2009 cover story "The Young and the Restless." She also co-wrote, co-edited, and co-produced an online video about the ING/Girls Inc. $50,000 Investment Challenge, another piece featuring fearless GenY investors delving into the stock market despite a rough economy.

Along with her blogging and article assignments, Burns is responsible for covering breaking news and developing interactive content for BlackEnterprise.com, such as detailed slideshows and interactive timelines. Most recently she completed a green luxury autos slideshow featuring an inside look at the latest in eco-friendly luxury vehicles that debuted at the 2009 New York Auto Show.

With BlackEnterprise.com’s increasing political focus, Burns interviewed key White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee on credit card reform. The interview was part of a consumer awareness package and featured a checklist for credit card holders to help protect them against predatory card practices.

Throughout the 2008 presidential election, Burns played an integral part in both the Website’s and the magazine’s coverage. She blogged on voting fraud, campaign issues, and maintained online profiles of presidential candidates and top aides to President Barack Obama. She was also a featured guest on WOL 1450 AM discussing how the stimulus plan would affect women and black-owned businesses.

Burns joined BLACK ENTERPRISE as a summer intern in 2008. Prior to this, she did summer stints with the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund at The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She later covered Delphi contract negotiations and followed Rochester-based companies at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, as a Chips Quinn Scholar. In August 2008, Burns was hired as editorial assistant for BlackEnterprise.com.

A graduate of Temple University, Burns earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with an emphasis in political economies. While in college, she worked with Youth Radio Project, a North Philadelphia program geared toward teaching Latino youth about digital journalism.