Categories: Articles,
By Pat Stevenson
Some amazing women business owners are based in Harlem and making history every day. Eugenia Foxworth is a scholar, fashionista, previous owner of a fine art gallery, previous flight attendant, and currently an international real estate business owner and organizational board member, scholarship committee executive, and podcast host!
Foxworth was the 2021-2022 President of FIABCI-USA (International Real Estate Federation). She was the first African-American to hold this position in the history of the FIABCI-USA Chapter. FIABCI-ORG was founded in 1951, and its headquarters is in Paris. They are an umbrella organization of professionals working in every real estate aspect. Foxworth has had her main office in Harlem for the past 16 years. She is known in the community for her generous support of nonprofit organizations. She has received numerous awards from various community and business organizations in Harlem. Although Harlem is her home base, she is known internationally.
Eugenia is an international ambassador for Harlem. She hosted more than 50 members of FIABCI from various countries at Red Rooster restaurant during her tenure as president. Eugenia can help with real estate purchases in Harlem, any borough in New York, anywhere in the United States, and she is the international podcast host for “The Foxworth Theory,” which streams live twice a week on the show’s website (www.thefoxworththeory.com). The series covers the areas Foxworth is most passionate about – art, fashion, business and culture.
Eugenia was born in Philadelphia and lived in London, where she said she was exposed to music, art, and fashion and attended boarding school. Up to the age of 12, she lived in London with her father, who loved art and was a collector. Then, she moved to Philadelphia to live with her mother, who had a great sense of fashion. Eugenia attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. She had various careers before becoming a realtor. For example, she was a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. She did commercial modeling and voiceovers, opened a Mexican Boutique, “Ugenia,” which featured Malakite and Mexican artifacts on East 70th St in NYC.
Eventually, she became one of the first Blacks in New York to open a fine arts gallery. The Foxworth Gallery, on East 65th St., showed original paintings and sculptures by Miro, Magritte, Picasso, Fini, Joseph Cornell, and artists from the S.W. Hayter atelier 17 and emerging artists nationally and internationally.
This entrepreneur also developed a skincare line, Dermcente Noir, which was distributed in such retailers as JC Penneys. (She sold the line to a major corporation.)
But it was after having a flood in her art gallery forcing her to move that led her into real estate. During her efforts to relocate, she identified to brokers potential locations where she wanted go, however, she noticed they would not show her those listings. She speculated that her skin color was at the root of the problem. Thus, she turned her sights on establishing a career in real estate, hoping to make a difference.
In 2000, Foxworth became a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy. She joined FIABCI-USA in 2003. FIABCI-USA is a worldwide business networking organization for all professionals associated with the real estate industry. Eugenia is currently on the World Board of Directors of FIABCI-ORG.
Foxworth is giving back to the community through her work as a FIABCI’s international Scholarship Foundation trustee. “I was invited to be on the scholarship foundation as a trustee, which I’m very happy to be a part of because this allows me to do exactly what my goal is, and that’s to give back and help the next generation through education.” She continued, “I want to help inspire and motivate our young people to achieve their goals. Young folks have always been a group I want to work with, and tell them they can achieve whatever they set their minds to do.”
Foxworth has previously held positions on boards of the NY Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Uptown Dance Academy. She is currently a member of the advisory board of Women In the Black and Senior Advisory Board for Common Works in Harlem, in addition to her position on the board of FIABCI-ORG.
For more information about Foxworth Realty, go to foxworthrealtyonline.com
