Michael Coleman, co-founder of Crowned Scholars, is a man of action who is committed to changing that narrative. Michael and his co-founder, Rickey Townsend, Jr., are committed to holistically building our young, black men - one king at a time.

In his best-selling book SOAR, TD Jakes said “God basically told Moses to stop waiting and start walking! If you let it, your hesitation will only become a limitation.” After my first conversation with Chloe about LIT, I quickly learned the seemingly exponential transition from a small at-home bible study to a staple, highly-anticipated community session of over 100 individuals was sparked by faith and overcomming fear and hesitation. The growth of this organization exemplifies a quote I often say, “In order to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.”

No one truly knows the ups and the downs that come with balancing a specific nonprofit and a full-time job like the specific individual – but from the outside looking in rameika gibson balances here 9-to-5 as an it consultant and her 5-to-9 as the founder and ceo of still that girl, very well

Creating a community driven initiative takes passion and action. First, let’s talk about passion – I’d argue that we all have something we have a deep-rooted passion for. Once you can create an actionable output behind your passion a community starts to form.

I think there are a few personal attributes that form as the foundation of disruptors and true change-makers. Empathy and as my dad would say, “stick-to-it-ness.” Kiara Frazier has both.

Countless people have asked me how to create a brand, how to build a personal platform and an audience – though I don’t have it all figured out, the best answer I can give is to build with empathy and create a feeling that focuses on something greater than yourself. Once you truly understand the power in collaboration, understanding the desires of others, what makes them human, and how, together, our impact is more powerful together than they are apart.