Leon Abdullah El-Alamin Leon Abdullah El-Alamin, CEO of The MADE Institute Name: Leon Abdullah El-Alamin Company Name: The M.A.D.E Institute Designation: Founder & Executive Director of MADE  Have you ever made a mistake or completed a task after which you thought to yourself, ‘Maybe I could have done better?’ or ‘I should have done this instead of that?’ We all wish for second chances in our lives and those who get them are the lucky ones. When you do have the chance to redo something, you always make sure to do it perfectly. Leon Abdullah El-Alamin, the CEO of The MADE Institute, is an entrepreneur who is guided by these ideals and is transforming the lives of those who become victims of violence and who have been impacted by mass incarceration by providing them with an invaluable second chance! Turning His Passion Into His Profession We all face many challenging choices along the way, there is no denying that. You can either come to the conclusion that where you originate from doesn’t really matter in the end; what matters is the destination that you land upon, or you can blame your situation and the circumstances that you were born and raised in as the cause of your poor judgments and downfall. Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Abdullah had humble beginnings early on in his life. It was not easy for him as his grandmother was responsible for most of his upbringing. His mother influenced his life later on in his teenage years. Leon was born and raised in a hostile environment, so it’s not unexpected that he chose the same path. During his adolescence, his surroundings influenced his choices, and for a while, he adopted that culture. Soon enough, he realized that his environment was a mess. He saw first-hand the damage that drugs, mass incarcerations, and structural racism in the institutions caused not only to the people actively involved in them but also to their families. It destroyed people and drove families apart. It was after observing all of this that Abdullah made up his mind, he was not going to be just another bystander, he was going to sit there and wait for change to come but he would lead the change himself. From that day onwards, he has made it his life’s mission to end mass incarceration and help rebuild marginalized communities and those who get caught in the cycle of violence! Education: The Most Powerful Weapon Leon Abdullah shifted his focus from the violence-ridden streets and all other negative aspects of his environment to positive things that would benefit him in the long run. The passion that drives him today is spirituality. It has had a profound impact on his life and helped him think deeper and develop a solid mindset. His love for the community, his family, and those riddled with violence guides him on a daily basis. He now addresses structural issues such as racial profiling, police brutality, mass incarceration, miseducation, and the economic exploitation of marginalized communities. He aims to hit these issues at their core and come up with solutions that will help eradicate them. Today, his organization The MADE Institute which stands for Money, Attitude, Direction, and Education is dedicated to serving the community. He is attempting to give a second chance to those who became negative products of their environment. A Community Development ReEntry Corporation, M.A.D.E offers comprehensive trauma-informed programming for juveniles and adults who have a history of crime but have the potential to recover and contribute to society. In addition to this, M.A.D.E also helps at-risk youth who are born and brought up in environments similar to that Abdullah was raised in. The institution attempts to do everything in its power to change the lives of these individuals around. M.A.D.E is committed to making people’s lives better than ever! From Convict to Clean Chit You can’t save anyone who wouldn’t save themselves if you weren’t there! We all know the extreme environment Leon was brought up in. He got caught up in it, and as a result of some poor choices and terrible timing, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 to 20 years in prison for drugs and gun charges. He served 7 years of his sentence after a drug law had changed in the state of Michigan. Abdullah’s focus shifted toward making a name for himself and working for the betterment of his community. After he was freed from prison, the first thing he did was visit North Flint, his old neighborhood. He made many investments in properties that he believed had strong financial potential and at the same time, held special significance for him. From here, The MADE Institute’s unofficial history began. Leon trained folks who had just been released from prison how to rehabilitate their houses, live better lives, and become productive members of society. What the MADE Institute Has in Store? The Government established community development centers do not offer as many facilities and programming that particularly focus on those who have been impacted by the war on drugs and the school-to-prison pipeline as M.A.D.E does. From offering workforce development and helping individuals learn new skills to providing transitional housing, the organization is fighting to better the lives of individuals. In addition to these skills, urban farming, financial literacy, required mentoring, job readiness with opportunities, health and wellness, research, technology, and advocacy are all undertaken by them. They aim at the holistic development of an individual to ensure that they are ready to stay away from a life of crime. The most popular course offered by M.A.D.E is their Life Skills program, a 10-phase program that lasts for 12-14 weeks. It aims to aid an individual to grow in all aspects of life. The course can be undertaken by people from all walks of life as there is no age restriction in place. It teaches students how to dress for work, how to construct a cover letter and resume, and how

Varetta Huggins “Get a seat at the table or create your own table and lead it.”  Varetta Huggins – Most Powerful Women in Business Varetta Huggins life story is about setting goals and doing the work daily to achieve them. Her life began on the small guitar-shaped island of St. Kitts in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean.  A fertile sunny island blessed with fruit and vegetable trees, beautiful beaches with aquamarine oceans, and friendly people, makes St. Kitts one of the most beautiful islands all year round.  She grew up in a single-family home with her mom and her little sister and by island standards, they were poor, but the island provided the food and water they needed daily to survive. She remembers her mom’s constant voice telling them to “make something of yourselves…and do well in school” because her mom did not complete her schooling.  Her mom had her sister and her as a teenager and was forced to end her schooling early to raise them.  This fueled Varetta’s goals as a teenager which were to pass her end of grade exams annually and to graduate high school.  During her last two years in high school, she met a teacher who became her mentor and told her she could study Computer Science in college and her goals were expanded to go beyond high school.  After graduating high school, she started applying to colleges.  When she applied to Hampton University, she had to complete an essay which required her to describe her short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals and share how she would change the world with a degree from Hampton University.  Her long-term goal was to own a software consulting company and she knew that to be able to make this a reality she needed to have a degree in Computer Science and to understand how to manage information technology and people.  Her short-term goal was to graduate college with a degree in Computer Science and her mid-term goal was to graduate college with a master’s degree. She got married in 1995 but decided to continue pursuing her goals instead of starting a family immediately. She was accepted into the Computer Science program at Hampton University and in January 1997 she arrived in Hampton, Virginia where the cold immediately reminded her that she was far away from home.   The campus of Hampton University was surrounded by water, and the beautiful trees, flowers, and friendly people reminded her of home. She graduated Hampton University in three and a half years then landed her first job in 2000 at NASA’s Langley Research Center as a Computer Programmer and Analyst working as a Government Contracting Consultant for SAIC.  She had achieved her short-term goal then began working immediately to complete her mid-term goal.  She moved up to the DC Metropolitan area in 2002 and transferred within SAIC to work at NOAA’s National Weather Service as an Information Engineer.  She quickly enrolled in a master’s program at the George Washington University and attended classes during weeknights. She graduated in 2005 with a master’s degree in Information Systems Technology concentrating on Management Information Systems and a Certificate in CIO Federal Executive Competencies.  She also gave birth to her first child in 2005 while working on her degree. She had achieved her mid-term goal, did well in school, and started her family, all in the same year. She needed to gain more working experiences as a Government Contracting Consultant before she could complete her long-term goal. She left SAIC to work with another Government Contractor and became one of the first Consultants hired for a new government contract at NOAA’s National Weather Service. She transitioned engineers, managers, and other staff onto the contract then began managing numerous projects on the contract. She then obtained her Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification from PMI then moved to work with Government Contractors at the Federal Aviation Administration then back to NOAA’s National Weather Service.  In 2009, she found a business mentor then she decided to start a Government Contracting company based on her strength of IT Project Management.  In November 2009, V-Project Management Consulting LLC was born, and the logo included colors from the Caribbean Ocean. Her first Government client was the Federal Aviation Administration, and she became the first billable Government Contracting Consultant for V-Project Management Consulting LLC.  It was at this moment that she felt she had made something of herself and achieved her long-term goal.  Today, she is the President and Chief Executive Officer of V-Project Management Consulting LLC where they offer Enterprise Program Management Office services to their government clients.  Their contracts included working with FAA, ED, USDA, DOJ, and USAID and they have hired up to 20 employees and consultants since their inception.  In 2018 Varetta started the V-Government Contracting Success Program where she speaks across the U.S. to business owners about navigating Government Contracting and offer Executive Business Coaching services to business customers.  As she looks at the work they have done for their government and non-government clients, she can truly say that her knowledge and work has changed the world.  Live Every Day by Purpose To live every day by purpose by inspiring and empowering business owners to achieve personal, spiritual, professional, and financial growth, even more.  She understands that being a speaker, mentor, and executive coach means that she is given the voice to influence others who are looking for someone to fill the gap and inspire them.  Empowering others mean that I give them the knowledge they need by showing them how to fix the problems that arise in their businesses. Varetta’s says Client Centricity as her greatest strength One of her greatest strengths is that she listens to her customers and provide them with the solutions they currently need based on where they are at in their business journey. Their competitive advantage is that they show their customers how to solve their current needs not just provide to them what they need.  She calls this their how