The person behind the list.

Meet Jaquan

I live in Hopewell, a rural town in central New Jersey, with my wife Mikaela and our three daughters. I grew up in a military family, moving across the United States and the Caribbean before my family settled in the Adirondacks, where we still hold 80 acres. Mikaela and I met at Princeton, and when it was time to put down roots we chose a place close enough to community and far enough to ride.

By training I am a chemical engineer (Princeton, 2003). By trade I have spent more than twenty years in pharmaceutical research and development, helping carry medicines from the lab to patients. Today I lead digital strategy and data platforms as a scientific director at one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies. Building things that work, at scale, with real accountability, is the day job.

The rest of the time I run a couple of small businesses of my own: two short-term rentals in the Adirondacks, Blue Bear Cottage and Hiker Delight Cabin, on that family land, and a children's book, Pedal Pedal, that puts a Black girl at the center of her own adventure. Running them is how I learned what owners around here are up against, and how much one good referral can matter.

Why I started this

Out here the Black community is small and close-knit, and more of us run businesses than most people realize: contractors, caterers, farms, studios, shops, rentals. We are also living through a moment when the country feels less sure about whether communities like ours are welcome to thrive. I do not think the answer is to wait and see. I think it is to make sure our dollars, our attention, and our referrals land with each other first.

Generations ago, a guide told Black travelers where they could safely eat and sleep. That kind of safety still matters. But the question today is also economic: where can we spend so that the money stays in the community, funds a family, and comes back around? JaquansList is my answer for central Jersey, and for anywhere else it grows.

How a listing gets here

1. 1The owner submits it. Nobody gets listed without asking. Your name, your email, and a website or a social media page is enough to start.
2. 2A person reviews it. I read every submission before it appears. That is the "Vouched" mark on each card.
3. 3It is free to start. Listing is free during the launch period. Paid options like featured placement will come later, and every listing, paid or not, goes through the same review.

An invitation

If you own a business, list it. It takes your name, your email, and a website or social page, and I read every submission myself. If you live here, spend here first. Check the directory before you search anywhere else, leave a review, and tell a neighbor. That is how a list becomes a community.

Say hello

Corrections, a business I should know about, or just a note: email hello@jaquanslist.com.