The Fosterpreneur Podcast is Live!

Happy New Year! We're thrilled about the possibilities that 2024 holds. Reflecting on the noteworthy events of 2023, we were honored to receive the Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab award. Our active participation in the Social Innovation Lab inspired the introduction of a new drop-in model for Fostepreneur, alongside the launch of The Fosterpreneur Podcast. This podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look into Fosterpreneur and the inspiring journeys of our students. Stay tuned for an engaging series of episodes in the months to come!

Take 6!

On Monday, March 6th, we welcomed our 6th virtual cohort. We have Baltimore, Minnesota and California represented. Per usual, I captured a screenshot of day one as a reminder of what we’ve created. Stay tuned for what’s to come from this group, they are full of amazing business ideas and excited about taking major steps!

Let me tell you about Dr. Eko

Let me tell you about Dr. Eko….

 It all started with a LinkedIn post. That’s how I met Dr. Hokehe Eko. She’s a wonderful physician based in Lawton, Oklahoma who uses her passion for the brain and uses her passion to serve foster care youth. From our first conversation, we immediately connected. She never shied away from her strong sense of faith and conviction to serve foster care youth. I left our first conversation knowing that it would only be the beginning of a wonderful partnership.

“ I want to help your Fosterpreneur students with investment capital to start their businesses”, Dr. Eko shared this with me at the end of the summer. Little did she know that this was a part of my wishlist/vision for Fosterpreneur nearly 5 years ago and Dr. Eko played a pivotal part in helping us. 

Fast forward to the end of the Fall cohort 2022, where I met a passionate and consistent student named Kiarra.

On Wednesday, November 30th, I called Kiarra to share that Dr. Eko was going to invest $500 into her business. Kiarra was overwhelmed with joy, she shared that she had been struggling a lot lately and that this unexpected blessing would help us complete her book. 

On December 6th, Dr. Eko called me to request that Kiarra receive the funds for her business today. Not only would she give $500 but was to designate the remaining funds that she set aside for Fosterpreneur, for her. This meant that Kiarra‘s investment would be multiplied by 5. I sprung into action, I figured out how to get to the bank and connect with Kiarra to get her the check.  I finally made it to Kiarra at 8:30pm Tuesday night and requested that she open the check immediately. She was in disbelief. The next day, I woke up to a beautiful thank you email from Kiarra expressing her gratitude for her investment. 

I cannot thank Dr. Eko enough for her commitment to our students. I’m so grateful for her mentorship and friendship. If you want to learn more about Dr. Eko’s powerful school about the power of the brain and her work. Check out the link here!

It’s Never Get Old

On Monday, September 19th, we launched our 5th virtual cohort. One the first day, I always capture a screenshot to remind me of our progress and it never gets old. I’ll never get tired of welcoming our next cohorts on Day One. I’ll never stop getting excited about everyone we serve.

Anthony & Ashley

A few months ago, I had a talk with our team about expanding our board. We had been a tight-knit group and we knew it was time to get intentional about expanding. As I was thinking through our needs, I thought about our students. We’ve worked with some phenomenal young people and they have such strong leadership skills. They were uniquely equipped to help steer our vision for Fosterpreneur.  I’m so pleased to announce our newest board members:

Anthony McCray

Anthony was a member of our Fall 2020 cohort. Anthony took advantage of every Fosterpreneur session. Not only did Anthony utilize our sessions to expand his photography business, he also leveraged his relationship to help him secure full-time employment. He went from barely being booked to booked and busy. His work landed him a recent feature in Voyager Atl (an Atlanta-based publication for creatives, entrepreneurs and more). Not only is he a talented photographer, Anthony can always be counted on to be there to speak to other Fosterpreneur students. He always answers my calls and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to watch him work.  His work ethic is inspiring and he’s truly going places! 

Ashley Tate

Ashley was a member of our first virtual cohort in summer of 2020. We can always count on Ashley and she has served as motivation and inspiration for other Fosterpreneur students. In 2 years, she’s dramatically changed her life by expanding her literacy business which has led to securing microlending. Her commitment to serving victims of human trafficking has landed her speaking gigs throughout the state of Maryland and contracting work with Baltimore City Schools. 

Join me in congratulating Anthony and Ashley!

I went back to where it all began for me…

On Wednesday, March 23rd, I went back to where it all began for me…

If someone told me in the spring of 2012 that a simple conversation would have changed my life forever, I wouldn’t have believed them. This is what I’m talking about. When I was a graduate student at the University of Miami, I was introduced to an organization called Casa Valentina (Casa Valentina provides subsidized housing and life skills training and development for foster care and homeless youth) through an evaluation class.  At the very end of this class, I casually walked up to the program director and shared that I was interested in being an intern if the opportunity arose. I didn’t think anything of it- maybe it would have materialized, maybe not. Less than 2 months later, Sharon Katz, the 1st Program Director at Casa Valentina, emailed me and shared that they had funding for an intern. I was super excited. It couldn’t have come at a better time and I desperately needed the money. I didn’t know how much Casa Valentina would change my life forever. I’ve never felt such a strong sense of purpose while I was working with the young moms, young men, and young women at Casa Valentina. I loved meeting during one-on-ones, I loved helping them set goals, helping with school enrollments, driving tests, and more.  I knew that this work was bigger than me but I didn’t know how.

During my time at Casa Valentina, I befriended Lynn. Lynn has been dedicated to Casa Valentina’s mission of supporting foster care alumni and homeless youth since day one. Lynn made a concerted effort to stay connected to me since I left Miami in 2014.  Lynn has been an avid supporter of Fosterpreneur. 

Fast forward to February 2022, I immediately called Lynn once I booked my flight to Miami because I had to see her and I wanted to meet the team at Casa Valentina. Lynn scheduled a meeting with Janice, executive director of Casa Valentina. Because of flight changes, I almost missed this meeting but it was destined to happen. As we pulled up, I realized that I hadn’t been to Casa Valentina in nearly 10 years. When I stepped out of the car, I was immediately greeted by Janice. Have you ever felt like you already knew a person before you even met them? That’s how it felt when I met Janice. After a brief tour and program updates, I met the team virtually for their team meeting. I was so touched by their enthusiasm and desire to learn more about my story and how we could truly collaborate. It all came full circle for me, in those moments.

I’m incredibly grateful to Sharon Katz who saw my passion before I even could identify it. Grateful for Lynn and her friendship, and the Casa Valentina team for enrolling in the Fosterpreneur vision. 

Stay tuned for what’s to come for us.

Thank you!

“Success is in the eye of the beholder”- Antonio Grate( our commencement speaker)

On Saturday, December 4th- they did it! We celebrated 4 of our students who entered a new level of their business. I love celebrating our students’ accomplishments. Hearing what each of our students gained during the experience always moves me. It reminds me of why Fosterpreneur is necessary. 

I want to thank each and every Fosterpreneur supporter. Without you, we won’t exist. As we start the new year, I want to invite you to share Fosterpreneur with your network. Our application opened today! Our Spring cohort starts on February 7th.

And another one!

On Monday, September 13th,we launched our 4th virtual cohort.  I love capturing screenshots of Day One and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished! We had 5 young people representing 4 different cities. This fall, we enhanced our programming to better serve our students and this work wouldn’t be possible without our supporters! Cheers to another year of Fosterpreneur! 

Our final session was on Thursday, November 11th and we ended with 4 incredible young people from Philly, Miami, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. We’re inviting you to celebrate their accomplishments on Saturday, December 4th at 2pm est.  Click here to rsvp for the party!

We’re back!!!

I’m excited to announce that Fosterpreneur is back!! Our application is live for the Fall 2021 Cohort! Since we started our virtual cohort model, we’ve served 16 youth in 8 different cities and 3 of our Fosterpreneur alum’s received various levels of funding to expand their businesses.

If you know young people who’ve been impacted by the foster care system and they’re curious about Entrepreneurship, send them to Fosterpreneur

Ashlee

I had the pleasure of meeting Ashlee in the summer of 2018. She is a precocious young woman with big dreams and a great entrepreneurial spirit. Upon meeting Ashlee, I was amazed by her work ethic and maturity.Based on her experience in foster care, she sought to provide affordable housing solutions for young people aging out of the foster care system through her foundation - Home Sweet Home.Ashlee was a part of our Winter Cohort and she has taken her business to the next level.  I’m so incredibly proud of Ashlee. Learn more about Ashlee on April 9th at 5pm!

It’s a party 2.0

Approximately 8 weeks ago, we started our Fosterpreneur cohort with a group of young people from 8 different cities. During the past 2 months, they’ve learned about how to identify their target markets and how to create proper business systems.  At this point, they’re just starting their entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial journeys. I’m so proud of them! On Friday, April 9th, we’re coming together to celebrate their milestones.  It’s a virtual party and you’re invited. 

Click here to join the virtual party.

I hope to see you there! 

Make Your Competition Your Friend- Kisha

In December 2020, I entered Fosterpreneur into a micro grant competition. During this process, I asked EVERYONE to vote for us from my family, friends, colleagues, my schools alumni groups, and social media friends.This competition pushed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to get more comfortable in the spotlight. My fiercest competitor was Kisha Brown of Justis Connection. Kisha created a large referral network of Black attorneys within the Baltimore, DC, and Virginia area. On the final day of competition, we were neck and neck and we ended up placing second( after being ousted by 41 votes).I was convinced that I had to build a relationship with Kisha and immediately after speaking, we decided to collaborate. I’m so grateful that Kisha pushed me beyond my comfort zone in order to secure more funds for Fosterpreneur. On Thursday, February 18th, Kisha facilitated an amazing session for our students entitled “When You Need to Hire an Attorney”. Now our students have immediate access to a Black attorney who can help them with whatever their needs are. Soooo I encourage you whenever possible, make your competition your friend.

‘Angela

Have you ever just met someone and felt like you’ve known them forever? That’s how I feel about Angela Quijada Banks! What’s funny is that I don’t even remember how Angela and I became antiquated. All I know is that it started with a Facebook message and share from one of my dear college friends back in October 2020. We both were huge advocates and fans of each other’s work and she’s been extremely supportive since our first interaction. Fast forward to February 2021, Angela spoke to our Fosterpreneur students about advocacy. I was so touched by our students’ engagement in the chat and how much they felt seen and could relate to Angela’s story. After our conversation, nearly every student wanted a copy of Angela’s book. Angela is unapologetic in her advocacy for Black foster care youth and alumni and ensuring that their voices are heard. I’m so grateful for her. Because of her work, our youth feel seen. 

Day One. Part II

“Do you remember when you wished for what you have right now?”

-Robin, Lead Instructor at Peloton

On January 25, 2021, something magical happened; we officially launched our Winter 2021 Cohort. We have 10 young people representing 6 different cities.It was so great to see their eager faces and learn more about their stories. It’s such a blessing to provide the gift of entrepreneurship to foster care alumni.

Since Decemeber 2020, we’ve created new partnerships and refined our processes. I’m so thankful for each of you! Thank for supporting us and being a part of our journey.