Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Tiffany Bussey.  She is the founding Director of the Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center.  They assist in the development of minority entrepreneurship.  

The Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (MIEC) is a global model for higher education and industry collaborations to foster innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. Established in 2004 as a unit of Morehouse College, the Center has continually operated with an internal and external focus to promote innovation and entrepreneurship with people of color.

Since its inception the Center has secured grants and contracts in excess of $50M and impacted over 2100 students.  Through the Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé Program we partnered with over 17 large mentoring corporations and assisted over 100 technology protégé growth companies nationwide. Our efforts of providing developmental assistance to these protege companies resulted in an increase in $20M in revenue and created over 150 new technology jobs.

● MIEC will unveil the findings from the “Building Black Business Report 2024” at 9 a.m. at
the Shirley A. Massey Executive Conference Center at Morehouse College.
● The Building Black Business Report 2024 summarizes an 18-month community research
initiative involving Atlanta-based Black business-serving organizations.
● MIEC is hosting a 20th Legacy Impact Luncheon Celebration, highlighting the significant
impact of transforming Black entrepreneurship and bold plans for the future.
● Since 2004, MIEC has developed lifechanging opportunities for more than 400 small
businesses resulting in more than $255 million in revenue growth and $35 million in
capital access.

NEW INITIATIVES
● Boost Your Business is an exclusive online event for alum network members .The members will learn about resources to support
revenue growth for their small businesses, including:
○ Structuring the Capabilities Statement
○ Certification preparation and filing
○ Social media account setup and optimization
○ General account support
○ Financial modeling and forecasting
○ Proposal writing assistance
○ E-commerce setup and support

● Construction Cohort is a six-month Small Business Executive Program initiative that provides strategies for Georgia-based Black-owned businesses with an annual revenue of $650,000 or more to successfully do business with prime contractors. 

○ Program Benefits
■ Bi-weekly executive development sessions
■ In-person and online meetings
■ Individualized coaching
■ Capital readiness
■ Contract readiness
● Retail Cohort: MIEC is recruiting 20 small businesses to focus on the retail industry,
including consumer packaged goods, clothing, and merchandising

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Jennifer Ledwith.  

She has a business degree from the University of Oklahoma.   She is the owner of Scholar Ready, an educational services company. She meets with clients online and her company Scholar Ready tutors Math, conducts personal essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams.

Houston native, entrepreneur, and educator, Jennifer Ledwith understood from a young age that education and literacy were crucial to success. Again and again, people told her that her mother — a single parent with serious debt and no child support — made too much money for her to get any free money for college.

She didn't finish in the top 10% of her high school class (which is academic poison in her home state of Texas).

Thankfully, her PSAT scores were high, and she could write the essays to get the money.

She knew how to beg for money tactfully in 100 words. She knew why she wanted to get a business degree from the University of Oklahoma. From her junior year of high school to her junior year of college, she wrote essays for over 30 scholarships. She won enough money to pay for tuition and fees.

She had the most scholarships when she walked across the stage at graduation. The announcer was still reading them after she had crossed the stage.

Even then, she didn't have enough money for school. She worked and worked and continued to apply for scholarships. She graduated from an out-of-state university (University of Oklahoma) with no credit card debt and only $1,000 in student loans. Hey, a girl needs plane tickets.

Jennifer Ledwith is the owner of Scholar Ready, an educational services company. She meets with clients online. She also studied Personal Financial Planning at Rice University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.

Company Description *
Scholar Ready tutors Math, conducts personal essay writing workshops, and prepares students for PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams.

Many of Scholar Ready's students have earned academic scholarships, including full rides to Mississippi Valley State University, Fordham University, Texas A & M University, and the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

We strive to instill our students with confidence that is earned and true. We teach them how to learn, how to advocate for what they need in the classroom, how to study, and how to set goals and expectations. We do not allow our students to be limited by experiences of the world they currently inhabit. We want them to have the confidence and work ethic to reach a better life and achieve any goal they set for themselves.

#BEST

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dominique Leonard.

 The founder of Jus' Free Parole Package Services. Once classified as an inmate a few short years ago, he wrote my own parole plan and was granted the privilege of freedom. Since his release, He has been dedicated to humanizing inmates with favorable representation in their quest to obtain parole.
Jus' Free is a parole package provider that goes above and beyond to bring forth and present the best potential of our clients. Due to a lack of knowledge, inmates are unaware of what is given to the Board of Pardons and Parole. Our company works with offenders and their loved ones to ensure the Board hears YOUR story. Together, we humanize and purposely create a narrative for the Parole Board that deems those requesting the privilege of parole worthy of the transition to freedom.

At Jus’Free, they recognize imperfection as part of the human experience. Our mission is to restore dignity to those who have been dehumanized and bring families back together. Through our programs and initiatives, we strive to empower individuals, promote understanding, and foster reconciliation. While we can't guarantee specific outcomes, we're committed to supporting each person's journey with compassion and empathy. Together, we work towards a more just and compassionate society.

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed T. Dallas Smith.

T. Dallas Smith began his commercial real estate career in 1982 at Atlanta Air Center Realty under the guidance of Thomas W. Tift, Jr. as leasing and management representative for the portfolio. In 1989, he became the first African American broker at Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia. His affiliation with the company opened doors for many minority brokers. In 1995, he pioneered the brokerage division for H.J. Russell & Company, an African-American-owned construction and management firm, where he served as VP of the Brokerage Division. In 2006, with the blessing of the late Herman J. Russell, Dallas opened T. Dallas Smith & Company (TDS&Co), specializing in tenant representation. Now, he leads the firm’s branding and strategy efforts, which includes creating and overseeing all new business verticals within TDS&Co that align with the company’s core business. Dallas is a proud Atlanta native who prioritizes industry exposure and active community engagement in his day-to-day life and as part of the company's culture.

Company Description *
T. Dallas Smith & Company (TDS&Co) is the country's largest African American-owned pure tenant rep commercial real estate firm. For more than 17 years, TDS&Co has taken pride in catering to the needs of clients requiring office space, industrial space, and land. As an exclusive tenant and buyer representation firm, TDS&Co eliminates any conflict of interest when negotiating leases and/or purchases for clients.

Based in Atlanta, GA, the TDS&Co team has more than 150 years of combined commercial real estate experience and has collectively worked on assignments in over 40 states exceeding $16 billion in aggregate value throughout their careers. The TDS&Co team has served in leadership roles at some of the largest, most reputable real estate services companies in the country including Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, CBRE, Newmark, Physicians Realty Trust, H.J. Russell & Company, Equitable Real Estate, Lend Lease Real Estate, Morgan Stanley, Colliers International and Bank of America. The TDS&Co team has also represented the commercial real estate interests of some of the most notable corporations in the country, including but not limited to, Airbnb, ALSAC/St. Jude, AT&T, The Athlete’s Foot, The Coca-Cola Company, FedEx, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Truist and Veritext.

#AMI

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Marcus Sonnier.

Founded the BOSS Network is an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through digital content, programs, and event-based networking. The mission of the BOSS Network, which stands for "Bringing Out Successful Sisters," is to promote and encourage the small business spirit and career development of women of color.

The BOSS Network has had a long-standing commitment to women entrepreneurs. The mission of The BOSS Network is to promote and encourage the small business spirit and career development of women of color. The BOSS Network Celebrated Its Milestone 15th Anniversary?:

This year, The BOSS Network announced two exciting initiatives during its yearlong celebration, highlighting its 15th anniversary milestone year.
“Invest in Progress” Grant and “The BOSS Impact Fund
The BOSS Network is changing how enterprising women are viewed among the masses and becoming a resource for companies seeking female minority influencers as their target market.  Through initiatives, it has supported the careers and small business developments of more than 200,000 women of color nationwide. One of them is BOSS Business University, a digital platform that provides comprehensive mentorship programming through industry business experts.

How Has The BOSS Network Celebrated Its Milestone 15th Anniversary?:

This year, The BOSS Network announced two exciting initiatives that took place during its yearlong celebration highlighting its 15th anniversary milestone year.
“Invest in Progress” Grant and “The BOSS Impact Fund”:
The single greatest barrier to success for new businesses and startups is access to capital, and minorities make up less than 1% of founders that get investment.
The BOSS Network and Sage (via the Sage Foundation)—the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), are partnering together to remove that barrier with the return of the BOSS Impact Fund and its three-year, $1.5 million commitment to support the Fund with the “Invest in Progress” grant investing in Black women led businesses.
In 2022, the BOSS Network announced the launch of its BOSS Impact Fund, which focuses on investing in Black women led businesses and preparing these entrepreneurs to build scalable, growth aggressive companies. Its goal is to raise investment funding for Black women entrepreneurs over a three year period.
Through the “Invest in Progress” Grant Program, 25 Black women entrepreneurs had the opportunity to receive a capital investment of $10,000 toward successfully starting and growing their business in addition to an entrepreneurial mentor program in support of Black women-owned small businesses.
The “Invest in Progress” Grant has also provided coaching, curriculum, and connections while removing capital barriers to help this group achieve success.
For more information, please visit: BOSSImpactFund.com.

Pathways to Success:
In addition, The BOSS Network partnered with both Sage and Swoop, a global fintech company specializing in funding solutions for businesses, on the launch of “Pathways to Success”–a new training and mentorship program designed to support Black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta.

The Pathways to Success training and mentor program, developed and delivered through Sage Foundation, equipped 150 Atlanta-based Black women entrepreneurs with a structured series of training and roundtables, providing tactical advice to address and overcome financial and capital-raising challenges.

The program was developed as a direct result of Sage, The BOSS Network and Swoop’s report titled “Voices of Strength: Pathways to Success for Black Women Founders” launched in September 2023. The report identified the most prominent challenges Black women founders in Atlanta face, including a lack of access to funding through grants and government resources, mentorship, and the ability to digitally scale their businesses for growth. Participants will receive one year of training access and a three-year membership to The BOSS Network.

The BOSS Network Donating $250,000 to Divine Nine Sororities and the Chicago Urban League:

Earlier this year, The BOSS Network announced awarding $50,000 each in grants and scholarships ($250,000 in total) to the Divine Nine sororities—including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated—the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated, and the Chicago Urban League.

Four women from each organization received a $10,000 grant from the BOSS Impact Fund and a scholarship to BOSS Business University (valued at $2,500).
This investment exemplifies The BOSS Network’s longstanding legacy of supporting Black women in the arenas of business and community.
The Ladies That Lead Conference: This celebrated annual event honors extraordinary women who have made significant contributions to their fields. Past honorees include the Divine Nine Sorority Presidents, Michelle Williams, Tina Knowles, Beverly Johnson, and other luminaries.

“Invest in Progress” Grant and “The BOSS Impact Fund
The BOSS Network has had a long-standing commitment to women entrepreneurs. The mission of The BOSS Network is to promote and encourage the small business spirit and career development of women of color. 

Speaker, investor, and award-winning entrepreneur - these are just a few words that describe Dr. Cameka Smith, Founder of The BOSS Network, a community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online engagement, and event-based networking. Working towards one simple goal, BOSS® is “Bringing Out Successful Sisters” to promote and encourage the small business spirit and professional development of women. Under Dr. Smith’s leadership, The BOSS Network has become one of the fastest-growing women communities, garnering several accolades such as a Top 50 Website for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine), 10 Best Career Sites for Women (Forbes.com) and a top Twitter Account to Enhance Your College Experience (BlackEnterprise.com). In recognition of her achievements, Dr. Smith was listed in Ebony Magazine as a 40 under 40 Entrepreneur, named one of the Top 40 Chicago Game Changers by Ariel Investments, The Network Journal listed her one of their, 40 under 40 Business Leaders, and she was presented with a Brand Star award by Adweek.

With a Doctor of Philosophy degree, Dr. Smith developed student academic programs for more than ten years. After being displaced from her job in 2009, she established The BOSS Network to support women in their journey to become independent and successful by utilizing the power of networking and technology. Since then, The BOSS Network has evolved into a go-to resource for companies seeking Black women as their target market. A one-stop-shop for career and entrepreneurial-minded women, The BOSS Network provides its members and partners with professional connections, resources, and marketing and promotional opportunities.

As the author of "7 Steps to Grow Your Professional Network," Dr. Smith frequently travels to college campuses with her non-profit, BOSS On Campus, and speaks on career development and leadership topics. She currently resides in Chicago, where she is actively involved in charity work and mentoring youth. In 2022, Dr. Smith launched the BOSS Impact Fund and invested in 35 Black women-owned businesses. JPMorgan Chase honored Dr. Smith during Juneteenth with a leadership award for her work uplifting entrepreneurs in the Black community.

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ashley-Lauren Elrod.

She is a true champion of diversity, safety, and inclusivity in all aspects of entertainment, media, marketing, and advocacy. At Visionary Woman Productions, they are the experts in bringing visions to life through powerful storytelling that connects with your audience and philanthropy that heals the world.

The mission and vision are to create partnerships and content that make a lasting impact on the world for the better. 

Talking Points/Questions *
1. Social impact in entertainment and media.
 
2. How we are propelling change in and out of the industry to help give back to communities.
 
3. My inspiration for this company and how we transitioned into this space today.
 
4. The importance of true and accurate representation in media, marketing, and entertainment.
 
5. The work we are doing to change lives, such as with our upcoming project Verge of Remembrance in support of survivors and Project CAN HOPE with the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center. A project to raise awareness and funding for SA, DV, and sex trafficking survivors in America.
 
6. The importance of utilizing one's story in leadership positions to create change.
 
7. Our plans to make the entertainment industry and world a safer and more healed place to be.
 
8. The people and orgs we are partners with and supporting.
 
9. The importance of mental health in the work field.
 
10. How to have a greater impact in your business that not only aids in profitability but world sustainability.

#STRAW

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