Today, we’d like to introduce you to Evolution of Leadership. The team shares their story below:
Please kick things off with some background on the Evolution of Leadership story.
Our Co-Founder/CEO, Angel Roman, was invited by the Male Success Alliance at CSUDH to attend the NLSDC Leadership Conference hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. At this event, Angel realized that there was not enough conversation regarding leadership and social justice taking place in underserved communities. Growing up in Compton, he understood that something needed to be done to level the playing field and grant more people of color access to leadership development.
In 2018, Evolution of Leadership (EOL) was born with the mission to develop leaders of color for a transformative future. In 2020, EOL was forced to shift into a series of pivots to stay relevant in the age of COVID-19. Angel brought on Emmanuel C. Okosisi to be his Co-Founder as both Emmanuel and Angel had a shared vision. EOL started as a leadership event-based company later evolving to a company focused on building memberships to form a huge community with leaders of color in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is done by providing cost-effective courses, virtual & live events, scholarships, and apparel.
In January 2021, EOL was officially established as a corporation and launched on January 19th, 2021. On launch day, something amazing happened. Our startup received a donation of $1000 from an AVID supporter of the mission. This donation served as a motivation to show the EOL team that people truly believed in the mission.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As first-time business owners, we have had to make many pivots to discern which business model fits EOL the best. Some of the biggest challenges we have faced are: acquiring new skill sets such as building and designing a website, learning sales and marketing strategies, learning how multiple social media platforms work in relation to the business, learning how to host virtual events, learning business laws, and many other things that require a great deal of time and effort.
We’ve been impressed with Evolution of Leadership, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We all know that there is a lack of people of color in leadership positions. The root of this problem is the lack of access to cost-effective leadership services for the underserved. As a solution, Evolution of Leadership was created to disrupt the leadership development industry by providing free and affordable leadership opportunities. We are developing collegiate chapters of Evolution of Leadership in the form of student organizations. Currently, we are working with CSUDH, CSULA, UCR, and El Camino. However, the ultimate goal is to have an Evolution of Leadership Chapter in all colleges and universities of the United States.
We are not your average leadership organization. We are a community that believes that the people are the movement. We focus on developing leadership skills based on our members’ personal and professional goals. All our members get FREE access to all our leadership courses, events, networking opportunities, volunteer, and scholarship opportunities.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to us is the impact of creating a reality where more leaders of color are in positions of influence across all industries. People of color have always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to leadership, amongst many other opportunities. Our goal is to change the narrative and make sure that we have equal representation in leadership.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.evolutionofleadership.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolutionofleadership/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionofleadership
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAMMHdLzkZpibaAveE63C4A?sub_confirmation=1
Image Credits:
Evolution of Leadership
