In this episode, I speak with Elexia Coleman-Moss. Coleman-Moss is the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, Empowerment Resources, which was founded in 2002 and incorporated in 2003. Empowerment Resources, Inc. (ERI) is a private 501c3 nonprofit organization located in Jacksonville, Florida.

Upon moving to the community in 2001, Coleman-Moss recognized the need for gender relevant programming for at-risk girls in the city. After learning about the issue’s girls face locally and enlisting community support, Coleman-Moss started a pilot “rites-of-passage” program called Journey Into Womanhood. In 2014, Journey Into Womanhood (JIW) celebrated its 10th anniversary and it is ERI’s flagship program.

In 2006, ERI expanded its programs to include Life Skills Workshops and Parenting Education Seminars that are offered in schools, churches, recreational facilities, and other spaces where community members meet. These services allow ERI to “meet people where they are.”

Coleman-Moss walks us through the process of building a nonprofit organization from the ground up. More importantly, she guides us through leading a community-based organization through COVID and social unrest that has continued throughout the United States.