“Root Hog or Die.”
FAMILY
I was born and raised in Brooklyn and I am damn proud of it. Growing up in NYCHA was different at that time.
My family was one of the first African American families to move into NYCHA at Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York.
My mother was raised in the South where she adopted “Root Hog or Die” as a dogma, always working hard to barely survive. She grew up in poverty in South Carolina, and migrated to NYC as a teenager to seek a better life for herself.
Toughness
I grew up in a working-class family. My father was an MTA bus driver, and my mom was a homemaker and worked part-time. The youngest girl in a family of 9, my parents raised me to be self-sufficient, tough and independent. Simply put, there was no silver spoon.
Hardship
I come from a close-knit family. When my sister became ill, it was only natural that I tried to help her manage her healthcare issues, and her children. When my sister passed away, I stepped in again to take care of my nieces and nephews. When I was a single mother with my own son, I went to night school to obtain my Master’s degree in Business Administration. While attending LIU, I worked at AIG, a Fortune 500 company as the Operations Manager in their Corporate Legal department. I worked hard at AIG, and while I faced many challenges, I was never deterred. Eventually, after years of hard work and dedication to others, I decided to open a general contracting firm, TaylorMade Contracting.
Diversity
Being a woman in a male-dominated field was never easy, but I was never deterred. I continued to work to grow my firm, and when I started pursuing opportunities on the city level, I realized that many minority and women owned businesses were not obtaining access to opportunities and capital. In response, I formed a non-profit organization called the NYC MWBE Alliance. The goal of the Alliance is to assist minority and women owned businesses with access to opportunities and also work with city, state agencies, and elected officials to remove the barriers to entry.
PUBLIC SERVICE
I have always worked to help my fellow New Yorkers behind the scenes.
It’s about treating people the way you would want to be treated and helping people to be able to live to their fullest. I volunteered at various entities during Hurricane Sandy, buying products and putting together care packages for those affected. I have advocated on behalf of minority and women owned businesses. I have opened my home to countless artists who are working in NYC but cannot afford a place to stay.
NEW LEADERSHIP
I have overcome prejudice, tragedy, and sexism. I am running as a common sense candidate that has
experienced the challenges of everyday people and knows the solutions. I bring business acumen, my experience living in public housing, and my experience as a woman of color to the table. I am running against the establishment because it is time to put solutions over issues and to create the change we need to see!
