Through our work we have had the good fortune of seeing firsthand how success comes in every shape, size, color, faith, and orientation.  More importantly we’ve learned that success is often the result of people embracing their unique backgrounds and so we’ve asked the community to tell us about their background and how it has impacted where they are today.

Yvette Kinyon | Artist & Model

I’m from a small town in California called Clearlake. It’s considered Central California, but I always say Napa area, it’s close. My upbringing is still impacting me today. I had a rough childhood, in and out of foster homes, group homes, the hospital, my mom was in rehab a lot before she died when I was still a kid. It was a radicalizing experience to say the least and I feel like I’m still figuring out my own background. Read more>>

Fred Underwood | Sports & Tech Consultant

I’m a military brat. I was born in Georgia (stayed for 4 years), moved to Texas (stayed for 4 years), moved to Germany (stayed for 4 years) and finally my dad retired and I moved to Alabama where my family is originally from. Living in Europe was a very unique experience because I have memories of going to countries that many young black kids typically don’t have opportunities to visit. Read more>>

Ajia’Marie Leonard | CEO , Published Model , Public Figure/Speaker

I’m originally from Downtown Riverside, California. Growing up in California introduced me to many different things in life. I went to very diverse schools and had a diverse group of friends. I believe this impacted me the most because I was able to see life from different prospectives & it helped to mold my mind to always be open to learning. Life & people aren’t always the stereotypes we believe them to be. As a young entrepreneur that is critical to understand. Read more>>