The core of Karen Arrington’s being is service to others. She said,” We all need someone no matter how badass we are.” Growing up, Karen was surrounded by strong intelligent black women like her mother and many of her mother’s friends. Community Service flows through her veins. She has become a champion, in her own right, for African American women. Her goal is to change the perception of African American women, globally. Karen Arrington is the founder of Miss Black America USA Pageant, Goodwill Ambassador to Sierra Leone, NAACP Image Award winner, best-selling author, philanthropist, coach, and mentor. Since COVID-19 Karen’s life looks very different. Karen says, “I am fortunate to be able to determine when my day starts and ends. My day always starts with prayer. Every morning I start my day by asking God how He wants to use me that day. Pre-COVID, I spent most of the year living in hotels on business travel.” Post-COVID, Karen has turned her bedroom into a lux suite with everything except turndown service. Her days are generally full of conference calls with clients around the world, team meetings, working on projects, answering emails, checking in with family and friends, and my inner circle. Karen says, “I always find time in my day to hop on the phone and chat with a few of my mentees. Because my clients are in different time zones, some days my day does not end until midnight while other days it may end between 2 PM-7 PM. It varies along with whatever project I’m working on”. Karen has a six-digit number of hours invested in mentorship to date. When asked what was the reason for starting the first hour. Karen replied, “service is in my DNA. I am the daughter of a Civil Rights Activist. Her father was the Mayor of the small town I lived in. My mother was also involved in politics.” Karen recalls watching both of her parents give selflessly of their time to serve others, stand on the front lines of protesting for racial and social justice. Karen remembers standing next to her parents when Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have A Dream Speech. Karen says,” on some level, that moment stuck with me and whenever I see a way to help, give back or support someone else, it is a natural response”. There have been so many things in Karen’s career that have been inspiring but the one thing that has inspired her the most recently is winning a 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Works for her first book, YOUR NEXT LEVEL LIFE: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, And Opportunity for Black Women in America. Karen says, “the book has 7 rules of success that I have used in guiding over a thousand women in successful careers. The book has become a movement and represents my life work. The rules work and every day I receive inspirational notes and emails from women around the world who share how the book has transformed their lives in some way”. When asked who some of the role models were that challenged
and inspired her along her journey, she replied, “undoubtedly, the African American sheroes who I grew up reading their stories. They inspired me to use whatever talent I have to give back to others. Women like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Ruby Dee, Oprah Winfrey, and of course, my Mother, the
first queen I ever laid eyes on. Karen does not take no as an answer to anything that she believes is going to benefit the global community that she serves. Some of the impacts she made on her community includes: • Launched international campaigns to raise awareness for heart disease research • Negotiated a sponsorship deal with heads of foreign nations • Co-founded the first Diabetes Awareness Day in Gambia, West Africa • Created the nation’s first scholarship pageant for African American women • Secured over $300,000 in financial aid for young black scholars, artists, and emerging leaders • Received leadership and empowerment awards from The Lifetime Network, Jones New York • Was named a Goodwill Ambassador by the last living relative of Kunta Kinte And this is all in a day’s work for the Queen of Service, but Karen Arrington has many more to come. Website: https://karenarrington.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karen_arrington/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/karen_arrington Facebook: www.facebook.com/KarenArringtonEmpowers
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