Meet the Board

Katrina Brooks is the founder and president of Put It In A Book and the owner of Black Pearl Books, a Black woman-owned independent Austin-based bookstore dedicated to promoting diversity, inclusion, and representation through literature. She launched Black Pearl Books in 2019 as a pop-up and quickly grew it into a thriving brick-and-mortar business, co-run with her husband.

​

Driven by faith, creativity, and a deep belief in the power of books to transform lives, Katrina brings years of business, marketing, and public relations experience to her work. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Clark Atlanta University and an MBA in marketing from the University of Texas at Dallas.

​

Prior to launching Black Pearl Books, Katrina worked in corporate communications, ran her own PR consultancy, and owned both an interior design firm and a vintage retail shop. Her entrepreneurial journey is fueled by a passion for education, equity, and service. A lifelong volunteer, Katrina now extends her bookstore’s mission through her nonprofit, Put It In A Book.

​

Originally from Chicago, Katrina lives in Austin with her husband and two teenagers.

Experienced leader with background experiences in golf, education, diversity and inclusion, advocacy, board development, sales, fundraising, volunteerism, nonprofit org and youth development. Primary interests are creating economic opportunities for all in non-traditional business markets, with an emphasis on increasing minority and female participation.

Find a Way or Make One. This isn’t just the motto of Eric’s alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, but it is also the sentiment that drives his professional life. His latest endeavor is as co-owner of Black Pearl Books, an Austin based independent bookstore promoting – diversity, inclusion, and representation – through literature.

Black Pearl Books began in November 2019 as a popup shop, taking selections of diverse books out to the community. In just over two years, the business grew from an out-of-the garage operation to a sustainable brick-and-mortar retail store, co-owned with his wife Katrina.

​

Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance. He worked in several corporate finance and commercial real estate roles for over two decades before branching out to manage the operations at Black Pearl Books.​

​

Eric believes in giving back and has volunteered with and served on several nonprofit Boards focused on building community and promoting literacy.

COMING SOON

COMING SOON