My father is a pastor, and during my childhood he was also a counselor for at-risk youth in the inner city. My mother is an anesthesiologist. My parents' hard work and partnership has afforded me a top-notch education and a beautiful home. Yet, as I walked through the halls of inner city schools and drove through the beaten streets of Detroit, I noticed that these kids did not have the same resources as I did.

 

Why is their school library so small, and mine was so big? Can't they just come to my school? Why are so many houses boarded up? Where are the grocery stores? 

 

While I could get in my car and drive twenty minutes outside of the city to my big, comfortable home, I knew that there were other kids who could not just "drive away." This was their reality.

 

That's where I first gained interest in social inequality. I wondered how things got to be the way they are. So when I went to college, I majored in Sociology with a sub-concentration in Social Inequality. The more I knew, the more determined I became to make a difference, even if it's just for one family. I went to law school under a dual-degree program where I also earned a Master of Public Health degree with a focus in public health management and policy. I interned for the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (a not-for-profit legal aid organization for the low-income) and for Ujamma Community Development Corporation and Black Family Land Trust, Inc. 

 

From there, I worked as an IT consultant for Colorado and Hawaii's health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. That was a phenomenal experience; I monitored compliance with project management best practices, prepared instructional materials, facilitated train the trainer courses, and developed service center procedure documentation. To keep my legal experience alive, I also worked for a small immigration firm where I helped prepare O Visa petitions for extraordinary entertainers and artists, developed guidance materials for complex immigration procedures, and drafted requests for prosecutorial discretion. Regardless of the public's perception of the Affordable Care Act, I am extremely proud of the progress that we've made as a nation who cares about the health and welfare of others. I'm even more proud to say that I played a role in implementing a historic change in our public health system.

 

Now, I am using my profesional experience and education for the advancement of world peace, health and welfare. This was not an easy choice to make, nor was it met with unanimous support. Sometimes we have to make a very unpopular decision to bring unprecidented results. The precident may be purely internal and the results miniscule, but I refuse to allow fear to hold me back. The goal, however, is to gain invalable professional and life experience that I can use both abroad and at home (wherever my next "home" will be). 

 

That's me in a ginormous nutshell. I imagine that over the next few years the story will be even more interesting. More importantly, I hope that my story inspires others.

 

Nameste.