Chicago-born Zennie Abraham has emerged as one of the premier media entrepreneurs in Oakland, California and the nation. Also known as Zenophon Abraham,

Zennie, and, by extension, his Zennie62Media company, has established a platform of 100 blogs and hundreds of social media outlets that is among the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area, if not the largest.

Zennie Abraham has a long history of work in and service to his beloved Oakland, California. While at Skyline High School, Zennie entered a design contest for the then-proposed reformation of what is now Frank Qgawa Plaza. The zig-zag step pattern that’s part of the lawn today came directly from his plans, even though, at the time, he finished as runner-up (something that haunts him to this day). Zennie thanks Frank Qgawa Plaza architect Yui Hay Lee for not forgetting his idea.

After earning his BA in urban planning and economics at Texas-Arlington, Zennie returned to Oakland and became a student at the number-one-ranked Master of City Planning Program at the University of California at Berkeley. Zennie’s focus at Berkeley is Oakland's economic development.

That formed the foundation for his internship with the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, his establishment of an economic consulting company, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson’s placement of Zennie on the Alameda Base Reuse Committee, Chris Treadway hiring him as a columnist for The Montclarion, then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris hiring him as his economic advisor (and asking him to work with everyone from the Oakland Raiders to real estate developers), and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and City Adminstrator Robert Bobb tapping him to run the effort to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland.

Out of Zennie’s Oakland Alameda County Sports Commission and Super Bowl 39 Bidding Committee, Oakland, given zero chance by the national media, emerged to become one of three finalists for the right to host the 2005 Super Bowl. While Oakland lost to Jacksonville, the NFL’s then “Mr. Super Bowl," Jim Steeg, observed that “Zennie showed Oakland what it means to bid for a large sports event.”

That experience, the NFL’s help, an investment from Oakland businessman Mark Anthony Jones, and cheerleading from his mom encouraged Zennie to start Sports Business Simulations, an Oakland company based around two online sports games he made for the classroom: the Oakland Baseball Simworld and the XFL Simworld. Anxious to draw people to the site, Zennie discovered the then-new field of blogging. In 2004, he established Oakland’s first true blog, Oakland Focus. In 2006, he discovered the then-new field of video-blogging, started the Zennie62 YouTube channel and a Blip.tv channel, was on the iReport before CNN later bought it, and had “his eyes opened” at Vloggercon San Francisco in 2007. In 2008, YouTube made Zennie62 a YouTube Partner Channel—a distinction that remains today.

That started the media tech period of Zennie’s life: he learned a number of programming languages, formed expertise in online reputation management, and became a friend of many who are regarded as tech media pioneers today. He was at the launch parties for Twitter and Reddit, was on the CNN and YouTube Democratic Debates, and was featured on CNN several times during the network’s fascination with what was called new media. He was also CNN’s featured iReporter at the historic 2008 Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama became America’s first black president.

Zennie62Media’s Zennie62 YouTube channel is now the largest in Oakland, with over 13,000 videos, 40,000 subscribers and 72 million video views. He has three Oakland blogs: Oakland Focus, Oakland News Online, and the brand new Oakland News Now. Zennie62Media is on the White House Press List, has covered the NFL since 2005, and has made more YouTube-based videos from the NFL Draft, San Diego Comic Con, and the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party in Beverly Hills than any other media outlet or person.

Zennie is most proud of the number of Oaklanders he has interviewed, from politicians to business owners to just people on the street, and of people who have taken up video-blogging to tell their stories just because they were influenced by him.

Zennie Abraham Official Resume And Career History Story

While my current experience is in content management and digital marketing, the foundation for it was laid back when I was a kid, then transformed from economic development and business to a online content platform development. That's because my path was altered by the advent of the Internet.

Since I was a kid at 8 years old, I’ve had an interest in economic development. Then, I had the wild chance to meet the head of the Chicago 21 Project. That stimulated my interest in downtown and business district development that developed through high school at Skyline High School in Oakland, and into college first at The University of Texas at Arlington.

At UTA I designed my own city planning major, and focused my research on federal government programs for economic development. By the time I was accepted at the Masters Of City and Regional Planning Program at The University of California at Berkeley, I had a keen interest in high tech economic development.

All of that prepared me for a wide-ranging experience that started with my first job out of grad school as Intern to the Oakland Redevelopment Agency. Under Assistant City Manager Ezra Rapport, I did land development opportunity analysis, learned tax increment financing and TIF revenue stream modeling, and applied that to several projects. Most notably, my 1987 TIF revenue memo to The East Bay Municipal Utility District caused the creation of a mixed use development with a theater complex that remains a go-to destination in Emeryville, California, today.

From there, I have done the following:

Created a computer model that could be used for tax increment financing projects in Oakland that could be used anywhere in California or the United States.

Served as TIF revenue consultant to the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency
Built an economic model of UC Berkeley’s impact on the City of Berkeley for the East Bay Express News
Wrote a market study for a local developer’s planned produce market and restaurant in the Adams Pont District of Oakland.
Served on the Alameda Base Reuse Committee at the behest of Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson,
Had a Montclarion Newspaper Column called “Oakland’s Economy” from 1993 to 1996, and where I interviewed many local business owners.
Was appointed Economic Advisor to Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris in 1995, where I got The Oakland Rotunda approved for redevelopment by California Capital Investment Group, cold-called and eventually got Cirque duSoleil to move from San Francisco to Oakland in 1996. Worked with the Oakland Raiders to re-established the 49ers / Raiders Preseason Game. Formed The Oakland Downtown Coalition business group in 1997, Brought Forest City and Robert AM Stern Architects to Oakland in 1998.
In 1999 I created the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission, still the only sports commission in Oakland’s history.. Oakland City Administrator Robert Bobb tapped me to run the effort to form Oakland’s bid to host the 2005 Super Bowl. Out of 11 cities, Oakland was a finalist with Jacksonville and Miami; we lost to Jacksonville on the 3rd ballot.
I created a sports simulations game company around two online games I created: one of the XFL and the other of the Oakland Athletics. Sports Business Simulations was in 40 high schools and colleges by 2010.
From scratch, I created a media company based on starting Oakland’s first blog and then Oaklands first YouTube Partner Channel Zennie62. I promoted Oakland restaurant businesses and also conducted online reputation management for a number of business clients in Oakland and San Francisco. And I have covered the NFL Draft onsite since 2005 and gotten to know a number of NFL Owners. Now, that firm is called Zennie62Media, Inc .
Under the Zennie62Media, Inc. brand I have covered the Academy Awards and the famous Night of 100 Stars Oscars Party to 2017.
Currently, my company alters the online news for business and personal clients who are the targets of fake news attacks.

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