This Labor Day weekend, I had visions of spending time on the beach, reading a book and generally relaxing…however, those plans didn’t exactly happen – instead, an even better plan unfolded!  I was recently asked to be featured in a book about “40 women leaders under 40″ by an amazing young leader, Ardre Orie, CEO and Executive Director of the Pink Wish Foundation!

The Pink Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization with one goal – “to empower women and girls to dream, believe and achieve,” and after talking with Ardre, I discovered she was hosting the NEXT Generation Leadership Summit the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend and she invited me to come.  I have a passion for the empowerment of women and girls, so it was a pretty easy decision.  My mom and I got up early on Saturday morning to begin the drive up to Gainesville.  Immediately upon walking into the location, I was greeted with pink and green Pink Wish Foundation signs and so happy to see a room full of young girls who were excited and ready for an afternoon of learning about leadership and goal-setting!

Ardre was in full educator mode and had the full attention of the young ladies who learned how to stand when presenting (press your shoulder blades together and clasp your hands behind your back), how to see their dreams come true (set goals and verbalize them) and how to speak before a group (make eye contact and speak loudly & clearly).   These may seem like simple steps, but they make all the difference when you’re a 9 year old explaining to an audience why your goal of becoming a doctor is important to you (which the girls did, one by one!)!

I enjoyed participating in a community “think-tank,” charged with understanding how to bridge the gap in our children’s modern day experience, and identifying what success factors caused our group of panelists to succeed in life.  This was such a great event – just watching the young ladies break through shyness and be assured of the support of their community through rounds of applause for each – this is what left me feeling so fulfilled at the end of the day!

Each girl expressed their Pink Wish, and my Pink Wish is for more opportunities to spread the message of empowerment on every level!  Great job & kudos to Ardre, as well as Leadership Rockstar Chris Chestnut, Esq. (Pink Wish Board Member featured in my book), high school classmates Erica Thomas-Reed and Sherrick Orie and my fellow business school classmates Carlarta Baskin & Aswad Hodges!  Keep inspiring young ladies to make their “pink wish” come true!

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