Empowering the Next Generation of Girl Entrepreneurs at The Curls Girls Luncheon #CurlsGirlsRule

To live our best life, honestly isn't that what we are all striving for? It's funny how life comes full circle and you realize that many of the interests you had as a child and teenager are possibly the very same ones that would fuel your passions into adulthood. I've always loved to express myself creatively whether through my lyrically poetic writings, collages and vision boards plastered over every wall and door or while hanging film in my college's dark room after an afternoon of people watching and snapping pics in Central Park. And although I'm proud of my accomplishments, my degree in Forensic Psychology, my experience as a pre-school teacher while working on my Master's Degree,  I get the goosies just thinking about bringing my passion projects {like Sisterhued.com} to fruition and encourage other women often on stepping out of the box or rather taking leaps out of the box to foster their true callings.

CURLS, one of the best recognized natural hair care brands in North America, launches CURLS Girls Rule the World, a signature program dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurship. Picture a room filled with women who join together to uplift their younger counterparts with powerful and inspiringing testimonies in order to encourage dreaming big.To kick-off this national campaign, CURLS will host over 100 girls of color from New York City and Westchester County, New York, ages 12-24, at its CURLS Girls Rule the World: Empowering Entrepreneurs Luncheon on April 1, 2016 at Mist-Harlem in New York City (46 W. 116th Street, New York, NY 10026). 

African American beauty pioneer and billionaire, Madame C.J. Walker, once declared, "I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!" This definitive sentiment characterizes CURLS CEO and Founder, Mahisha Dellinger, who is truly a "Modern Day Madame C.J. Walker." In 2002, after reaching a glass ceiling in Corporate America, Ms. Dellinger invested in herself and used her savings to start CURLS, LLC. Today, CURLS is a multi-million dollar company that manufactures over 35 products sold internationally and domestically in Target, Wal-Mart, Sally Beauty Supply, CVS/Pharmacy, Rite-Aid and Duane Reade, to name a few.

CURLS Girls Rule the World embodies Ms. Dellinger's "can do" spirit and works to empower women and girls of color to take control of their destinies as well as exposes them to business resources that can assist them in doing so. In 2015, CURLS organically created a burgeoning online community for CURLS Girls Rule the World where young women were being empowered by each other through the sharing of their personal stories of triumph. In 2016, CURLS is bringing to life this online community by hosting a series of events where CURLS Girls can meet face to face and be more empowered to live the life they desire.

This month, the "I Am a CURLS Girl Who Rules the World" meme will launch on social media highlighting successful women of color in a variety of industries. Next month, Madamenoire.com will join CURLS in promoting dynamic women of today who are making history. Everything will culminate on April 1, 2016 with the CURLS Girls Rule the World: Empowering Entrepreneurs Luncheon. The event will expose CURLS Girls to accomplished Mentors in various industries so they can begin to learn how they can make their dreams come true. Over the summer and fall of 2016, CURLS Mentors will host seminars and workshops for the girls on a broad range of topics, from business writing to event production.

"We are so proud of our CURLS Girls Rule the World program and our upcoming 'Empowering Entrepreneurs Luncheon' in New York City," stated CURLS CEO and Founder, Mahisha Dellinger. "Having a mentor and being exposed to business resources to help me accomplish my dreams was something I did not have when I was a young girl. Being able to provide girls with the opportunity to meet successful women, who will stay in touch with them, is truly giving the girls a leg up in realizing that whatever they dream is possible."

CURLS Girls Rule the World: Empowering Entrepreneurs Luncheon is an intimate and elegant event that will feature keynote speakers who will discuss how to succeed in business as well as share life lessons. A main component of the luncheon will be its "Mentor Match Up," where girls will be paired with the program's "Celebrity Expert Mentors," who will have lunch with the girls and share their personal lessons in business and life. Confirmed "Celebrity Expert Mentors" include:

BUSINESS

• Mahisha Dellinger, CURLS CEO & Founder
• T. Hudson Jordan, TD Ameritrade Senior Executive
• Trina Terrell, Project Management Executive for Sports, Non-Profits & Live Events 
• Carmen Sepulveda, Chief Communications Officer/Advertising Executive
• Vivian Scott Chew, Owner, TimeZone International
• Tyrha M. Lindsey-Warren, MBA, ABD, Managing Director, L.A.I. Communications
• Marva Allen, Entrepreneur
• Tyesha Vidal, Ethnic Hair Care Buyer, Ultra Standard Distributors 
• Karonda Cook, Director of Merchandising, Sally Beauty Supply
• Germaine Bolds-Leftridge, CEO, GBL Sales, Inc.

MEDIA

• Corynne Corbett, Beauty Editor and Entrepreneur
• Tasha Turner, Co-Founder and CEO, Beauty Beat NYC
• Neki Mohan, TV Anchor, WPLG-TV (ABC affiliate in Miami, FL)
• Andrea Fairweather, Owner and CEO, Fairweather Faces, Inc.
• Brande Victorian, Managing Editor, Madamenoire.com

ENTERTAINMENT/PERFORMING ARTS

• Zane, Award-Winning Novelist
• Vivian Green, Acclaimed R&B Singer
• Camille A. Brown, Choreographer, Teacher, and Dancer
• Adriane Hopper Williams, Emmy Award-Winning Reality/TV Talk Show Producer, T.D. Jakes Show

GOVERNMENT/SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

• The Honorable Alicia Reece, Ohio State Representative and President of the Ohio Black Caucus
• Erica Douglas, Sista Chemist

NON-PROFIT

• Tracy Wilson Mourning, Founder, Honey Shine, Inc.
• Brandi Harvey, Executive Director, Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation

Founding Partners for CURLS Girls Rule the World: Empowering Entrepreneurs Luncheon include ULTRA Standard Distributors, Sally Beauty Supply, GBL Sales, and First Choice. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go towards the education programs at the Nepperhan Community Center in Yonkers, New York and Iris House in Harlem, New York.