VIP Meet & Greet Special Guest Speaker – Erika James, John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School
Erika James became the John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School in July 2014. A published researcher and award-winning educator with a passion for consulting and speaking, she places an emphasis on what higher education can do to be of service to industry.
Under James’ leadership Goizueta remains one of the top business schools in the nation with an upward trajectory in student career success and faculty thought leadership. James initiated a new strategic plan in 2016 calling for a renewed focus as the school approaches its 100th anniversary (2019). Her approach includes a consistent call for faculty, staff and students to effectively collaborate, raise the school’s influence and act as good stewards of resources.
Before arriving at Goizueta, James served as the Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education at the Darden Graduate School of Business. She also served as an assistant professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, and a visiting professor at Harvard Business School. Her academic career includes involvement in diversity initiatives and membership on multiple university councils and committees.
As an educator, James has been instrumental in starting various Executive Education programs, including the Women’s Leadership program at Darden. She previously served on the board of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the foremost accrediting body in business education. James speaks at numerous conferences in the areas of leadership, organizational effectiveness, change management and diversity. She currently sits on the boards of the Graduate Management Council (GMAC) and Survey Monkey. Her expertise in workplace diversity and crisis leadership has led to recognition in scholarly journals and mainstream media.
James is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2016 and, shortly after becoming dean, was named to the “Power 100” list of Ebony Magazine. She is committed to establishing an equal playing field across gender and race and, in 2014, was honored by the National Diversity Council.
James holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. She received a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.
Gabby and Rozalynn Goodwin
Twelve-year-old Gabby is the CEO of Confidence. She and her mom Rozalynn invented GaBBY Bows, the first and patented Double-Face Double-Snap Barrette to save families time, money and frustration. Solving the age-old problem of disappearing hair barrettes, GaBBY Bows are engineered to prevent hair slippage.
The company launched and began selling barrettes through its online store at gabbybows.com in February 2014. The mother-daughter duo has since filled online orders to all 50 states in the U.S. and in ten countries. GaBBY Bows are also carried in retail and beauty supply stores in the US, Canada and South Africa.
The children’s book Gabby Invents the Perfect Hair Bow by Entrepreneur Kid chronicles Gabby’s entrepreneurial journey, and their just released girls’ styling products help moms detangle in no time without tears and maintain moisture in until the next wash day.
Gabby and Rozalynn launched the Mommy and Me Entrepreneurship Academy in November 2018. More than 60 Girl Bosses and their mothers from 23 states have enrolled and started their own businesses under the Confidence brand.
Their story has been featured on The Real, The Harry Connick, Jr. Show, The Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Today Show, and in Kiplinger Magazine, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Free Enterprise Magazine, JET.com, Essence.com, Madamnoire, AOL and Now This.
Gabby was named a 2015 South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the youngest to ever receive this award. The company was named a 2016 SCORE and Sam’s Club American Small Business Champion and the 2016 SCORE Foundation Outstanding Diverse Business of the Year. Gabby was also named the 2018 Black Enterprise Teenpreneur of the Year.
Gabby is engaged in all aspects of the business, from inventory to speaking at schools and business conferences and helping with sales taxes to writing thank you notes to every customer who orders products online. She hosts the GaBBY Play Date to teach girls in children’s shelters about entrepreneurship. Rozalynn also serves as Vice President for Engagement and a lobbyist for the SC Hospital Association and manages the career of her husband Comedian Mike Goodwin.
Gabby, Rozalynn, Mike and their little brother/son Michael live in Columbia, SC.
Kristen Moss, Supervising Casting Producer / Contestant Producer
Kristen, originally from Bergen County, NJ, graduated from West Virginia University where she developed a TV network, “Sea TV”, during her Semester at Sea in 2005. She was working her way up the ranks in hospitality at the W Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ when she discovered casting, her true passion. She landed her first Casting Recruiter position in 2011 and shortly after, moved to Los Angeles to work her way into Reality TV Casting. She quickly developed her skills and came up through the ranks from Casting Recruiter to Casting Associate, Casting Producer and then Supervising Casting Producer. Kristen worked briefly as the Head of Casting for Development at Barracuda Entertainment / Electus Media where she developed a show that was picked up for a pilot by CMT. She also is the the co-founder of the networking group “We Work In Reality TV” as well as the creator and Executive Producer of the Reality TV Awards, which is in it’s 6th year. www.RTVAs.com
Michelle Jackson, i.Invest Competition, Founder & CEO
Michelle Jackson is the Founder and Executive Director of the i.Invest National Youth Business Competition, President of PR Solutions LLC, a strategic marketing consulting firm, and Executive Director of LifeSkills Foundation, a 501 c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for youth and youth entrepreneurship. Jackson’s passion for entrepreneurship ignited during her time working for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). She led the policy development effort to create the InvestMaryland program, a first-of-its-kind legislative initiative that raised $84 million for seed and early-stage companies. In addition, Jackson led the Agency’s first division focused on innovation and entrepreneurship and created the InvestMaryland Challenge, the state’s first international business competition. From 2012 to 2015, Jackson helped the state award close to $2 million in cash and in-kind prizes to high-tech start-up companies from across the U.S. and abroad.
In 2016, Jackson created i.Invest, a six-month web-based competition and mentoring program designed to showcase the innovative ideas of aspiring entrepreneurs, 13-19 years-old; to reward top teams with a share of $10K in cash and in-kind prizes; and to provide mentoring from industry professionals from organizations like, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and USDA. Since its’ inception, i.Invest has trained 13 teams from across the country and awarded $30K in prizes. Participants have gone on to raise over $250K in pre-seed funding, hire staff, enroll in the best business schools in the nation, and receive ongoing media coverage for their ventures. i.Invest is one of the few business competitions in the U.S. that allow students from across the country to compete regardless of their location, school affiliation or GPA.
Jackson is a military wife and published author. She has a Bachelor’s degree in communications from The University of Alabama and Masters of Public Administration from Central Michigan University.
Justina Olatunde Davis, Founder & CEO, Omodé
Justina Olatunde Davis is the founder and CEO of the award winning tech startup, Omodé, a website and mobile app curating activities for families and children to engage in fun and educational activities that take place off of smart phones and tablets –unplug play! Activities include second language, cooking, improv, coding and more! Originally from Brooklyn, NY she moved to metro Atlanta after graduating from Boston College to start her first business. Years after growing her company to managing over 40 million in residential real estate assets, Justina refocused her entrepreneurial spirit towards her passion—children and families. After having her first child, Justina decided to pursue an idea that was more purposeful for her and could make a difference in the lives of this next generation of children—generation Alpha. She launched Omodé, (uh-muh-day,) as Atlanta’s 2017 winner of the SBA Innovateher award. She is a recent member of the 2018/2019 cohort of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, the country’s only city funded incubator for women created and supported by the of the city of Atlanta. Justina is currently working on a beta launch of Omodé, in a few other cities around the country. As a member of the 3rd cohort of Atlanta Tech Villages Pre -Accelerator program (4th largest tech hub nationwide) she is excited for the opportunity to represent diversity in the tech space as she looks to grow and scale her business. Justina and her team celebrate connecting children, families and organizations to curated kid’s activities that encourage creativity and curiosity.Justina lives in metro Atlanta with her husband and two children.
Toria Frederick, Hatch Venture Group, Founder and Managing Partner
With over 15 years experience in brand building and new ventures with Fortune 50 companies including GE, Pepsico, and Samsung, Toria has proven success record in driving growth for iconic brands. She has been instrumental in launching over $500 million in new products and solutions as well as crafting compelling brand stories that uniquely connects with consumers and audiences. As the Chief Strategist of Hatch Venture Group, she helps Fortune 100 companies and top organization “hatch” ideas, products and solutions that unlock new growth opportunities.
Toria is a progressive thinker and authentic leader that has built a reputation as a savvy and passionate communicator. She delights at the opportunity where she can share her contagious passion and help others unleash their personal and professional potential. Toria is also the mom of kidpreneur, Julian Frederick, who is the CEO of The Step Stool Chef.
Vonna Matthews, For Her Media, Founder/Creative Director
Vonna Matthews is a marketing and branding expert who has over 10 years experience working with non-profit organizations and small businesses. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Radio/Television/Film from the University of Texas at Austin and her MBA in Marketing from Dallas Baptist University. As a wife, mother of 2 and entrepreneur, Vonna understands the challenges of work/life balance. Her lifestyle brand, Bottles, Bibs & Pumps helps “mompreneurs” to grow their businesses. In April 2016, Vonna launched CEOMOM Magazine to celebrate women who are creating their own rules as it relates to balancing career and family. Two years later she launched CEOKID Magazine to spotlight kids who are reshaping the world through entrepeurship, philanthropy and community activism.
Vonna discovered her love for philanthropy right after undergraduate. Her first job was program director for Joni and Friends Disability Outreach. In 2002, as a part of her role, Vonna spearheaded 2 mission trips to Cuba to provide wheelchairs for citizens living with physical disabilities. From her mission work in Cuba, Vonna knew that every project, position and opportunity she was afforded was for the purpose of changing lives through faith and service. In 2017, Vonna started For Her Media to use her love for entrepreneurship to raise funds and awareness for causes that impact women.
Lily Born
When Lily Born was 7, she noticed that her grandpa, who had Parkinson’s Disease, was knocking over his cup a lot, creating spills that Grandma needed to clean up. Inspired, she came up with the idea for the Kangaroo Cup: a three-legged cup that won’t tip over. After prototyping for several years, first with hand-moldable plastic and then with clay at a pottery studio, she had a cup ready for production. Now a seasoned 16-year-old, she has sold tens of thousands of cups all over the world.
Listed as Business Insider’s top 11 year old in tech, and Mochi’s “25 game changers under 25,” She has exhibited her invention at the White House Science Fair, White House Woman’s Expo, Smithsonian Museum of American History, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and has been honored as a CNN Heroes “young wonder” in addition to appearing on CNN headline news, NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Fast Company, Business Insider, American Girl Magazine A Mighty Girl and Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and CBS’s Chicken Soup for the Soul as well as locally in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, on WGN’s morning news, and on CBS 2 news. And Internationally from the Daily Mail (UK) and The Telegraph (UK) to Brazil and Japan.
She has spoken to auditoriums of young girls, social entrepreneurs and student bodies from middle schools to GE’s Stem Stars and Taiwan’s Social Entrepreneurship Expo.
Joe Born
Joe Born is the CEO of Aiwa Corporation, a global consumer electronics audio brand. He has successfully brought to market $400M in consumer electronics inventions and has 25 years of experience with all aspects of business from Asian supply chains to US distribution and sales and marketing of new products.
In 1995, after receiving a patent for a CD repair device, later named the SkipDoctor, Joe Born founded Digital Innovations, LLC. With an original investment of $15,000, the company was created to commercialize the skipdoctor invention. Joined in 1996 by Collin Anderson, they brought the invention to market in 1999, and, as of December 2013, had sold 10 million units of the SkipDoctor globally.
Subsequently as the head of Neuros Technology, LLC. Joe become a pioneer in the field of open source hardware, helping to influence many of its partners to become more open and developed a line of open source multi-media devices.
After helping to bring his then 10-year-old daughter, Lily Born’s Kangaroo Cup invention to market in October 2012,Joe has become an advocate for young inventors including advising the SEE/Dig-8 program at Nettlehorst Elementary School a program created to teach product development and entrepreneurship to middle school students. As a mentor at Techstars and Chicago’s mHub manufacturing incubator, he has mentored dozens of other entrepreneurs and startups.
In addition to consumer electronics, Born has also received patents in areas ranging from internal combustion engine components to cosmetic accessories.
Jasmine Stewart
Jasmine Stewart is the proud winner of MasterChef Junior, Season 5. When she took home the title at age 12, she became the first African American winner of MasterChef Junior and the only contestant in the show’s history to win the show after having been eliminated. She is a perfect example of the result of hard work and sheer determination. Jasmine was honored to work with both Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi, the judges of this FOX television show, as well as with Martha Stewart and Wolfgang Puck among others. Since the show, Jasmine has stayed busy with Camp MasterChef appearances, launched her own online cooking class via BluPrint called “Jasmine’s Delightful Desserts”, was selected to be a part of the Junior Chef Council for Great Wolf’s Lodge where they redesigned the national kid’s menu for the theme park, and frequently serves as a keynote speaker across the country. She is currently an 8th grader at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, GA and lives in Milton, GA with her parents and older brother, Justin. A self-proclaimed “foodie”, Jasmine enjoys trying and creating new recipes whenever she has an opportunity. She is also an entrepreneur who has started her own company focused on girl empowerment and motivational speaking. As a part of that effort, she created the hashtag, theme, and slogan of “Let Your Inner Girl Slay” which is designed to encourage young girls to stay true to themselves and not fear pursuing their inner dreams and hopes. This is a message Jasmine promotes daily. At school, Jasmine is co-captain of her cheer squad, is a student ambassador, and created and teaches her own afterschool program focused on entrepreneurship and leadership. She is a member of the acting company at the Renaissance International School of Performing Arts (RISPA), where she trains and competes on a regional level. In her spare time, Jasmine is a typical teen who enjoys shopping, fashion, dancing, reading, sports, and hanging with her friends.
Beau Shell
Agatha Achindu
Agatha Achindu is a wellness entrepreneur, speaker, and educator who specializes in helping American families thrive, by transforming the way they live and feed their children. As the founder and Vice President of Marketing of Yummy Spoonfuls, a line of fresh-frozen organic food for kids, she’s on an unrelenting mission to make healthy food convenient and accessible for busy parents and families. A Certified Integrative Nutrition Coach and yoga instructor, she extends her mission further by offering a brand perspective that amplifies her message of whole living for modern times.
For Agatha, eating healthy and nutritious food has never been a trend, but instead, a way of life. Growing up on her parent’s organic farm in Cameroon, West Africa, the kitchen was the hub of activity for their family. Meals were made from scratch with fresh ingredients grown from the earth and this approach would become the foundation of her life’s work as a wife, mom, food activist, and businesswoman.
A former IT executive at a Fortune 500 company, Agatha left corporate America and launched Yummy Spoonfuls in 2006. Her goal was to give parents a way to feed their children healthy foods in a convenient way that matched their busy lifestyles. For her efforts and expertise, she has become a voice of authority in her field. Agatha is a regular contributor to the Washington Post, and has appeared in notable media outlets such as the Today Show, CNN, CBS, Forbes, Fortune, and People Magazine.
As a highly sought after and international speaker, Agatha is known for delivering passionate talks on a variety of topics, including organic food and farming, children’s health and nutrition, business development, marketing, supply chain, and more. She has served as a guest lecturer at colleges and universities both stateside and abroad, and has spoken at high profile events such as SXSW, the W.E.L.L. Summit, BlogHer, AmericaPack Summit, BroccoliCon, and the HOPE Global Forum. She is also a dedicated champion for women in business and seeks to empower them with practical strategies to pursue their dreams without sacrificing their well-being.
Agatha’s platform represents what it means to live a whole, full, and vibrant life that nourishes the mind, body, and soul. Her burgeoning wellness empire offers something for everyone – from the curious toddler to the wisest elder – and she won’t rest until they all have what they need to live and be well.
Tracy Tanner
I have always had the entrepreneurial mindset, building home-based businesses over the years that allowed me to be there for my children when they were younger. Coming aboard in 2011 allowed me to use my skills as an entrepreneur and my experience as a mom to build a great organization allowing me to educate and lead students as well as make an impact on the instructors and staff.
Building the organization from the ground up wasn’t easy by any means, but the lessons I have learned along the way have made both the organization and myself better. I have learned to look at the why and not just see things for what they are. I look forward to growing the organization and learning ways to improve myself along the way.
The Jonathan D Rosen Family Foundation was established in 2009 with the aim of increasing financial literacy among children to make a positive difference in the next generation.
With its financial literacy project, Wealthy Habits, it has been changing the mindset of the students and empowering them to embrace the road to their own financial success since 2012.
To date, the Wealthy Habits programs have been facilitated to more than 5,000 students with its one and two-day programs, workshop and camps. These programs have made children more aware about the basics of finance, sparked interest in financial investments and created good financial habits that last a lifetime.
Ashley Miller
Starting as a 2018 intern instructor, I learned how important it is to present the information in a way the students would understand and relate to. I am thrilled to use that experience to continue to make improvements toward future programs that have such a positive impact on the students we teach.
As a member of the Wealthy Habits team, I see myself growing alongside the organization. We have an extremely collaborative environment that leaves so much room for growth. This collaboration allows us to learn from each other things we would otherwise not understand. Being a part of each decision along the way has allowed me to see the results of our hard work and dedication. I look forward to building my career with the organization.
