Janel Caminos is helping women find community.

Caminos has a background in HR, which she believes is a “happy medium” between her parents, who worked in corporate roles. Her father worked in finance and accounting, while her mother worked in marketing. Caminos started her career in oil and gas and healthcare, which she told AFROTECH™ allowed her to build on her interest in DEI, before pivoting to technology.

In August, Caminos joined the ranks of 318,000 Black women across the country who lost their jobs. She admitted she isn’t ready to say goodbye to the corporate world and hopes to find a new footing within the tech sector.

“I feel like that’s where I made the most impact in my career,” she told AFROTECH™.

Curly Crown Collective

Caminos has picked up a freelance role and is pouring her energy into Curly Crown Collective, a hub she founded in 2023 to empower natural hair among people from diverse backgrounds and foster connections between entrepreneurs, professionals, influencers, creatives, and brands.

PC: Kailye Nay Photography

Tracing back to her time as a child and leading up to her career, she recalled not fitting in with her dance team, classmates, and peers, because her hair was different. So, she wanted to build the community she never had.

“As a curly girl, I feel like it’s been hard to navigate — especially in a corporate setting — being your authentic self, wearing your hair natural. I’m a huge advocate for [the] Crown Act. I really want to end hair discrimination, and I just want to encourage other women to be their authentic, natural selves,” Caminos shared with AFROTECH™.

“You don’t have to straighten your hair, you don’t have to change your hair, you don’t have to dress a certain way, talk a certain way just to be accepted or be considered professional,” she continued.

“I think that’s why I loved working in the DEI space, because I felt empowered to lead by example, and it was my job to also empower others to be themselves at work. So with the Curly Crown Collective, my mission is just to make it a norm … just to be you, love yourself, and don’t conform to whatever beauty standards or what’s considered professional, especially when it comes to hair,” Caminos added.

How The Collective Fosters Community

The Curly Crown Collective hosts networking events and activations throughout the year, with chapters in New Orleans and Houston. Caminos is currently seeking more ambassadors to expand the collective into additional cities. She hopes to partner with brands on hair education and has created a WhatsApp group to foster community.

As for what’s on the horizon, she wants to develop a dedicated AI app for the collective.

“The goal is to do AI matching for curl friends in different cities and match them according to their curl type, hair porosity, and interests, as well as location,” she said.

Code, Curls & Cocktails

At this year’s 2025 AFROTECH™ Conference, The Curly Crown Collective will host the “Code, Curls & Cocktails” event for the second time.

Caminos told AFROTECH™ she received positive feedback from her sold-out event last year at the conference, and that it was seen as a safe space for Black women and women of color in technology.

“I remember we printed out Bingo networking cards, and we didn’t even need them because everybody was talking to each other. We didn’t have to help them start conversations, so I knew [the event] was needed,” Caminos mentioned.

Photo Credit: TMH Creative

The event, branded as a cocktail happy hour powered by Grey Goose, will take place Tuesday, Oct. 28, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Sunset Rooftop Lounge on the third floor of 2119 Dallas St. There will also be live music from DJ Caribbeats, beauty activations by Firstline Brands and Rizos Curls, and gift bags valued at more than $150 from The Doux, Firstline Brands, FENTY Beauty, Sienna Naturals, MYAVANA, tgin, RevAir, and more.

 

Photo Credit: Instagram/ Curly Crown Collective

“This year we’re going bigger. We’re going to double the ticket sales. And we have many beauty brands that are on board — like MYAVANA, Sienna Naturals, FENTY, RevAir — and we have so many community partners that want to work with us … I think our Beauty Tech is rising. And I think this is where Curly Crown Collective comes in. We can bridge that gap between tech and beauty and get really innovative with it and [offer] even more opportunities for women that want to get in that space,” she continued.

You can purchase your ticket today, ahead of the conference.