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COURTNEY DeOREO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RITE / SENIOR DIRECTOR, TECH TALENT, GREATER CLEVELAND PARTNERSHIP

Dr. RACHEL ANGEL PRESIDENT, ANEXSIS AND FOUNDER, PEERRO

Beletu (Belé) Wondwossen Founder / Publisher

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Shelley M. Shockley Managing Editor Writers Shelley M. Shockley Marsha Walker Eastwood Brittany Garrett Rhonda Crowder

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Creative Belé Wondwossen Jason Garrett

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Cover Story: Shelley Shockley Photo: Chèrie Arvae Contributing Writers Rhonda Crowder Michelle Phillips Fay Marianna Marron Letitia Nall Stephanie Phelps Kimberly Smith-Woodford

TOOLS AND SHE CAN STEM 2 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

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From the Editor: Shelley M. Shockley

ONE STEP FORWARD, SIX STEPS BACK As the days grow shorter and the trees take on the beautiful hues of burnt orange, vibrant red and golden yellow, our steps become slower and we begin to think of long nights in front of fires. That's the beauty of Fall and her shift to Winter, seasons many dread but I love.

It's a time for reflection, contemplation and planning for the future. You're reflecting on where you are as the fourth quarter of 2021 rolls around, have you met all of your goals or do you still have a few you can complete before the clock strikes twelve and 2022 storms in with new goals? What have you learned over the last 9-10 months?

Has it been an “out with the old” type of year or have you embraced new hobbies, while eliminating things that aren't working? I'll bet after the quarantine of 2020, you swore off a lot of habits, but picked up some new ones to bide your time. Something like binging on Netflix. I'll admit to the Netflix bug, and I am slowly trying to backtrack that move. I find TV or any version of it must be placed in a special box if I am to have any level of productivity.

That, to me, is an example of taking a step forward and then six steps back. As I listen to and read the headlines, this is something that we are seeing a lot of particularly as it affects women. We have had the #metoo movement, and after several men were brought to “justice” we still find some of the biggest culprits walking free. These little victories are supposed to be acceptable.

The latest attack on women is the passage of Texas's S.B 6 which bans abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy—before many women know they're pregnant.

This is more like a thousand miles back when you look at Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case which ruled a woman's right to an abortion was a constitutional right.

The original case also originated in the “great” state of Texas. The new law also gives Joe Citizen authority to become law enforcement without training and badges.

The law shifts enforcement from state officials to private individuals, incentivizing individuals—including antiabortion activists—to seek monetary penalties by suing anyone who provides abortion care or assists someone in obtaining care in the state.

As Ohioans you might think it has no impact on you, and at the moment it doesn't, but in 2019 our esteemed legislature passed SB 23, which was coined as the 4 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

“heartbeat bill,” and Governor DeWine signed the bill.

However, a lawsuit and request for preliminary injunction filed by Preterm Cleveland, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, and other groups was victorious, and the bill has yet to become law. This bill is very similar to Texas's latest attempt.

While these examples have widespread impact on women across the country, because once one conservative state is successful others follow suit and it is happening today.

Similar acts of aggression are taken against women regularly in the workplace from being denied promotions to never getting interviews. It is very pervasive in STEM careers and is key to our desire to regularly feature women who have made it inside this world and are working to open the door for their sisters.

Our Cover feature on Rachel Angel describes many of the challenges she has had as an entrepreneur in the tech industry. Angel had the double jeopardy of not only being a woman, but an African-American woman. In addition to biases because of her sex and race, age has hindered her progress. Many believe she is much younger than she is and discount her knowledge. As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman, “Big Mistake.” Angel is a woman with a passion to help the overlooked in society and she will not let anyone or anything keep her from succeeding. Be sure to read about this young woman on the move.

Courtney DeOreo, Executive Director, RITE/Senior Director, Tech Talent, at Greater Cleveland Partnership, (GCP) works to ensure a diverse pool of talent is available to meet the needs of many occupational sectors. Another driven and determined woman recognizes the need for inclusion and believes in collaborating with other organizations to achieve this goal. Read more about her journey inside.

As always, columnist Marsha Eastwood seeks to help you get your financial life in order. In this edition she breaks down the role of a Power of Attorney and how you should use it when planning for end of life or medical emergencies. To learn more about this tool that will help you and family members ensure your wishes are met, check out this column.

My hope is that we will all continue to make strides and no matter how many steps we are pushed back, we brace ourselves and push through to the other side.

Until we meet again, be blessed and be safe!

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ONE STEP FORWARD, SIX STEPS BACK Shelley M. Shockley

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UNDERSTANDING THE POWER-OF ATTORNEY AND OTHER ASSET MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Marsha Walker Eastwood

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CLEVELAND HTS. NATIVE AIRMAN APPRENTICE ASIA DAVIS SERVES WITH U.S. NAVY IN HAWAII

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FEATURE COURTNEY DeOREO serves as Executive Director, RITE/Senior Director, Tech Talent, at Greater Cleveland Partnership, (GCP).

The leading industrydriven IT workforce alliance in Northeast Ohio, RITE is the technology arm of GCP and dedicated to building a diverse, highly skilled talent pipeline needed by regional employers.

Dr. RACHEL ANGEL Many see problems and ponder how to make a difference but Dr. Rachel Angel, President and CEO of Anexsis and the founder of Peerro, a technology platform with the sole purpose of connecting young people and opportunity seekers of all ages to the tools needed to build a career, acts on what she sees as disparities in the world.

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Understanding The Power-Of Attorney and Other Asset Management Tools One of my favorite financial planning quotes comes from American author Alan Lakein who said, “Planning is bringing By: Marsha Walker Eastwood, B.S.Ed, MSHSVC the future into the PWM Contributing Writer present so that you can do something about it now.”For procrastinators this is an excellent wake-up call.

Nothing is worse than depending on others to assume what you wanted when it comes to the disposition of an estate, whether it be little or much. By planning ahead this helps to alleviate the financial burden on a relative who must step up and bear the burden – not to mention the cost – of settling an estate. Sadly, that last sentence will have the average person thinking about a will, however that document is only one part of creating asset protection and distribution, so let us start with the basics.

The purpose of a will is to ensure that a person's assets are distributed and/or disposed of in the manner they wish them to be. In other words, who gets what part of the pie and under what conditions if any. As important as a will is, there are other avenues one can pursue that can profoundlyaffect the future disposition of assets while the owner is still alive. These avenues can and do play a significant role in a financial planning agenda.

Financial planning is all about being proactive when it comes to asset protection. If you recall, the first line of a will begins with, I, John Doe being of sound mind which means that John Doe understood his actions, a reasonable knowledge of where they are, who their family members or persons of trust are, and what and where their possessions are when the will was drafted. The reasoning being if there is a competency issue after John Doe's death, the contents of the will and other documents of asset protection can be disputed, creating financial chaos for the beneficiaries. In addition to drafting a will there are other designations of financial authority that should be created to protect your assets. Depending on individual needs these may include some type of Power-ofAttorney,and a Transfer Upon Death Deed or Transfer Upon Death Affidavit, which simply transfers ownership of your home to a designated beneficiary upon your death.

A Power-Of Attorney (POA) is a document that can authorize your designee (someone you have the utmost trust in) to make legally binding decisions on your behalf.

There are three types of Power-Of-Attorneys – Durable, Special (which includes Limited), and Contingent.

However, there is a caveat regarding any Power-Of Attorney which provides that you can revoke it at any time and create a new one, and the assignment of responsibilities only applies during your lifetime. Upon your death the Power-Of-Attorney would terminate. At 6 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

that point, your assets would be managed subject to the terms of your will or trust, provided you have either one.

In situations where someone dies without a will, assets are distributed according to the inheritance laws of the state where that person resided.

In order to comprehensively manage and protect assets, one needs to manage and protect their health and wellness if they cannot speak for themselves, so first consideration should be given to creating a Healthcare Power of Attorney. Life is so unpredictable and since none of us knows what fate may befall us – a car accident, a fire, a sudden medical emergency, elective and/or lifesaving surgical procedure or a heretofore manageable medical condition that suddenly requires hospitalization. Most doctors and healthcare facilities will ask for the document that details your wishes for medical treatment and/or the withholding of medical treatment which may result in the end of life, often designated as a DNR – Do Not Resuscitate order. In a signed set of statements detailing those wishes, you will appoint a person you trust to carry out your wishes for healthcare management in the case of a medical emergency where you cannot speak for yourself. In most cases the healthcare facility will make a copy to be included in your medical record, and your designee should also have a copy, as well as any secondary designee who would make the decisions if your primary one was unavailable. Any adult over the age of consent and of sound mind can create this document. In most states the forms are online and just need to be printed and signed.

A Durable Power-Of-Attorney can allow the appointed Attorney-In-Fact the ability to buy, sell, manage, and borrow against any kind of property – real, personal, tangible and intangible – in any way they deem to be in your best interest. Your designee will be able to manage various financial assets including bank accounts, credit cards issued in your name, to receive money, cash checks, open and close bank and security accounts and make deposits, sign contracts and s variety of other commitments as if it were you making these choices. Your Attorney-In-Fact may also be able to operate any business venture you own including hiring and firing of employees, make investment decisions relative to any investments, stocks, bonds options as well as the right to execute proxies and exercise voting rights. They can also enter into real estate transactions including the sale and rental of any properties owned by you as well.

Depending on the circumstances some of the more important responsibilities may include initiating, defending, and settling legal claims and lawsuits and to give releases and indemnities from liability; to hire persons for assistance in legal, tax, bookkeeping, financial, medical, and housekeeping services. The Attorney-In-Fact may also apply for any government, insurance, or Social Security benefit, as well as receive

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personal, confidential, and medical information on your behalf, and prepare your tax filings for you as if you were filing them yourself.

While all of this may sound overwhelming, think of what could happen to a business or personal portfolio if you became incapacitated for even a brief period of time and there was no one to look out for your best interest. The tasks assigned may seem daunting but remember there are other types of Power-Of-Attorneysthat can be assigned as well. You can have more than one special power of attorney, depending on your financial situation.

For example, you might set one up for your spouse to allow them authority when managing day to day financial affairs, such as bank accounts. But you might have a separate limited power of attorney for your financial advisor or investment manager to handle your portfolio when you’re unable to. You may also have a limited or event Power-Of-Attorney that covers one life event such as a hot air balloon ride, skydiving, and other perilous adventures that are one-time-only events.

At this point the burning question may be can a Power-OfAttorney change a will and the answer is yes and no except for a Healthcare Power-Of -Attorney. A will is a distribution of assets upon your death and while the distribution cannot be changed, unless there is a reason to challenge the competency of the deceased when the document was created, the value of the assets can be changed by the Attorney-In-Fact through the purchase and/or sale of real estate purchases or sales, the purchase or sale of stocks and other negotiable items that may have decreased in value over the years and prior to the death of the grantee

of the various authorities. Also, at some point tangible items of value such as vintage furniture or jewelry may have been sold to raise money to purchase stock options.

These actions could have a significant impact on the overall value of assets.

There is no doubt that employing the services of a financial planner is a key factor in asset management. It is a wise choice to consider talking to your financial advisor about whether you should have a special or limited power of attorney. You should inform him/her of any appointments regarding Power-Of-Attorney you have made.

It is important to remember that even though a Power-OfAttorney only applies during your lifetime, you do not have to be ill to execute one. This document goes into effect the minute it is signed and notarized and may be used whenever you are unavailable to make key decisions about your personal or business affairs. Also remember the same rules do not apply in all states so you will want to do due diligence in making certain what your state allows.

Regarding financial institutions, you should always seek out the branch manager and inform him/her of your Power-Of-Attorney. Inquire as to whether the institution has any additional requirements of which you and your financial planner should be aware. Many banks have four days to accept or reject it. Additionally, the bank may not require that their own power-of-attorney form be used if the one presented to them is valid and contains proper authority for the agent to conduct banking transactions.

Nothing could be worse than your agent being denied access to your accounts. n

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Courtney DeOreo

Works to Ensure a Diverse Pool of Talent is Available to Meet the Needs of Many Occupational Sectors Courtney DeOreo serves as Executive Director, RITE / Senior Director, Tech Talent, at Greater Cleveland Partnership, (GCP). The leading industry-driven IT workforce alliance in Northeast Ohio, RITE is the technology arm of GCP and dedicated to building a diverse, highly skilled talent pipeline needed by regional employers.

True to its' mission of “accelerating growth and prosperity,” Greater Cleveland Partnership is the region's leading economic development organization and with over 12,000 members stands tall as the largest metropolitan chamber of commerce in the nation.

In her role, Courtney helps GCP advance its strategy to build abundant talent for the region's employers. Implicit in this work , she said is “to drive more diverse talent into the pipeline across many occupational sectors not just IT (my focus) through targeted efforts with regional high schools and postsecondary institutions, expanded experiential learning through internships and apprenticeships and broad high school career awareness efforts.”

Courtney has lived in various parts of Ohio for the better part of her life. Her Irish Catholic parents instilled in her tremendous work ethic and values of integrity, service, and a make-do attitude. Thanks to her athletic background, she learned the power of teams and coaches which in turn played a major role in her ensuing career and life. She firmly believes in the positive results derived from a team work and stressed, “It is essential that individual members, agencies, and/or programs work together to make more of a collective impact.”

After graduating high school, Courtney joined Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she earned a bachelor's degree in Organizational Communication. She then

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worked in several organizations in careers spanning from health and human services, arts and culture, community, and economic development to her current work in the education and workforce arena. While she gained extensive experience in each of these responsibilities, she said “honestly, I believe my current work is what I have been called to do and where I am to truly make my lasting mark on the world.”

Her employer, GCP, working in close coordination with many partners, is not only driving towards more Abundant Talent in our region, but also four other priority pillars to achieve a vision of a thriving region. Other pillars include; Dynamic Businesses, Inclusive Opportunity, Appealing Community, and Business Confidence.

RITE was launched in 2009, “as a regional workforce alliance to provide a sustainable structure for industry, education, workforce and economic development to advance IT employer-driven education and workforce strategies.” In 2019, it became “a part of GCP to leverage current programming and gain synergies toward a shared vision of addressing Northeast Ohio's IT workforce challenges as an economic imperative.”

In this tech-driven economy, demand for technology professionals is far outpacing supply. With the number of technology related jobs on the rise, the fundamental question is why aren't individuals joining this field in sufficient numbers? According to Courtney the reasons are related to quality and quantity issues.

“We have an insufficient number of people in the pipeline generally, and those in the pipeline don't fully understand the opportunities and how to make the right choices to prepare for these careers which exacerbates the existing shortage,” said Courtney. “On the quality side, we are working hard with educators and candidates to be sure they are focusing on the right roles and skills which are dynamic.”

Expanding on the challenges, she said, “there are antiquated policies and practices and in some cases those that keep the aperture for prospective candidates are quite small. By that I mean the college degree as the proxy for skills continues to dominate job postings which often can eliminate qualified candidates who are skilled but lack that credential.”

She continued, “To make matters worse, there are significant inequities that exacerbate these challenges. From lack of access to quality IT and computer science type programming, lack of educators to teach these skills, to lack of role-models and mentors, unwelcoming campuses, stereotype threat; the underrepresentation of brown and black girls and boys persists. These are the kind of underlying issues we are all trying to double down on to close the gaps.”

RITE is not only striving to tackle these challenges but is making a difference in the region. It has thus far engaged more than 130 companies to build demand-driven solutions and more than 200 IT professionals have participated in various programs. Thanks to its' high school programs and amazing teachers, it reaches more than 1200 students each year. With a firm belief that strong partnership with regional higher education institutions is critical to its' work, it organizes well-thought programs such as Tech Week where hiring employers are connected with colleges, universities as well as students and graduates looking for internships and jobs.

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GCP RITE's positive contribution to the region has not been left unnoticed. The Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group, a publicprivate partnership, that unveiled a $2.5 million commitment in 2018 to support workforce system realignment, has selected it to lead the Workforce Connect Information Technology (IT) Sector Partnership.

Through this partnership, GCP RITE will work together with employers and job seekers in Cuyahoga County to build a diverse, highly skilled IT talent pipeline for an industry critical to our region and employers in need of talent.

Courtney explained that The employer led mission of the Workforce Connect IT Sector Partnership is to develop a coordinated workforce ecosystem in Cuyahoga County that contributes to an equitable, inclusive, growing, and vibrant economy with thriving businesses, workers, families, and communities.

RITE's work has also evolved over the years to address the current and future needs of the region and beyond. “When RITE was formed in 2009, our employers – many of them tech leaders – realized that we needed to “demystify” opportunities in IT. At the time they felt that there were myths to bust, e.g. all jobs offshore or all jobs coding, anti-social, sitting in an office with no people interaction. The reality is that the field is vast and broad so what we did is work with employers to get the story straight.” Courtney said. “We also knew that we needed to help teachers understand the roles and bring these careers to life for teachers and students which meant RITE programs.”

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diverse, highly skilled tech talent pipeline, RITE collaborates with a number of entities cross sector to meet its objectives. It also offers real-time feedback on matters of importance to educators and other service providers in the IT workforce domain. “We work hard to build connective tissue between individual employers, individual educators and between employers and educators as well as less traditional workforce development organizations. Our Regional Leadership Board provides a platform for sustained engagement that enables these constituents work together as do some of our committees. “Courtney said. “We also span geographic regions and work to build partnership across Greater Cleveland including out to Lorain and south to Akron/Summit County. Employers operate with the labor market as region, so we try to blur the county lines wherever possible. The impact we want to have is not just to fill open jobs but to help more and more individuals navigate to these opportunities.

Such programs included, Passport to IT Careers and CoolTech Challenge, which helped high school students to learn more about the opportunities and assets available in the region. Students will also be connected with IT professionals who will share their experiences with them.

Since its' formulation, RITE has been conducting periodic evaluations to gauge the available workforce and training institutions against the needs of the IT industry. The results provided useful feedback to the development of a strategic plan. “What we learned was that the programs were doing a pretty good job on the technical side as best they could in terms of keeping up with changing technologies. We saw opportunities to advocate then for more experiential learning opportunities like internships and more of a need to fortify how they were preparing students with the soft skills to complement their technical competencies.” Courtney said. “we realized that to enable our college and university partners to continuously improve through their own processes – employer advisory committees, direct employer feedback, and regular program reviews they were already conducting – we would be best served to be a channel of continuous information about what employers need and are hiring.”

As NEO's Regional IT Workforce Alliance, and delivering useful programs needed to accelerate the development of 10 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

Women and minority groups continue to be underrepresented in the IT fields of study and careers. To reverse this trend, GCP RITE works to ensure that these groups are well represented. “Equity and inclusion crosscuts all of our work so we work to ensure that women and minority groups have equitable access to our programs. That said, the launch and implementation of the Workforce Connect IT Sector Partnership, led by my colleague Craig Platt who serves as Managing Director, is a supreme manifestation of our commitment to programming geared towards women and minorities.”

Courtney said. “Last thing I would mention is that we are going to bolster partnerships with girl-serving organizations where we can synergize and leverage our collective assets to make a difference. A good example is how a group of us are going to work to generate more participation among women in the cybersecurity field.”

Courtney appreciates the many positive effects of mentoring and encourages all to make use of such opportunities. From her early days at United Way to where she is now, she has benefited from numerous colleagues and mentors who have shaped her career and honed her skills, she is grateful to all of them.

Most passionate when it comes to family, Courtney is active with her daughter's school and sport. Her daughter, Emilie is a senior at Saint Joseph Academy and on the Crew team and going off to college next year.

Closing out the interview and sending messages to young girls, Courtney said, “Take advantage of as much as you can in your school, church, and your community so you can explore your interests early and thus make better choices throughout your education and career path. Be ok with change and ambiguity, this is part of life. Ask good questions, be courageous and take chances. Find people who can support you along the way and don't be afraid to ask for help.” <

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She Can STEM

Yamilée Age

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Yamilée Toussaint Beach is a dance technologist. As the Founder & CEO of STEM From Dance, she gives girls of color access to STEM education by using dance to empower, educate, and encourage. She helps girls create dance performances that use technology to make costumes that light up, props that are sensitive to motion, and projections that interact with the dancer’s motions.

Yamilée grew up in Long Island, NY, and started dancing as a young girl.

Her father is a mechanical engineer, and as she was growing up, she learned about circuits and how electricity worked. She was fascinated.

Age 18

Yamilée attended MIT and was one of two Black women in mechanical engineering at the time. She became interested in figuring out why she didn’t see many people like her in STEM.

Age 21

After graduating from MIT, Yamilée taught high school algebra in New York. This experience opened her eyes to the opportunities that her students didn’t have access to, and she set out to provide students with something greater than what the school system could offer.

Age25

Yamilée founded STEM From Dance with the goal of encouraging under-represented minority high school girls across the nation to pursue a STEM education.

Today SOURCE: SHECANSTEM.COM 12 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

Yamilée continues to lead STEM From Dance and inspires girls of color to use STEM as their toolbox. “We need more girls who are diverse and more girls of color to be in rooms where we are creating the next innovation…with the abilities that STEM gives you, you can make anything.”

Ritu Age

7

Age 16

Ritu Raman is a biomedical engineer. She creates bio-bots, robots that she hopes will one day be able to help us figure out how to make us better when we feel sick. Ritu wants her robots to be able to do things that humans can, like walk around or exercise to get stronger.

When Ritu was a kid, her mom, dad and grandfather were are all engineers and she thought it was really cool to watch them solve problems through engineering. As a kid, her grandfather taught Ritu about how machines work by doing things like taking apart a clock and asking her to help him fix it. Because of her parents' work, Ritu got to grow up all over the world, in places like India, Kenya, and the U.S.

Ritu was interested in medicine. In college, she took a class where they talked about biomedical engineering, the first time she had heard that term. She decided to focus on this type of science because she could work on projects that would help sick people feel better.

Age 20

After college, Ritu started her PhD, where she got to start doing her own independent research in bio-bots, or robots that she hopes will one day be able to help humans when we are sick.

Age

28 Today

Ritu has lots of hobbies outside of her job, because she thinks it's important to be creative outside of science in order to be creative in science. She loves to write, go running, and she recently bought an ice cream maker and has been trying to make different kinds of dairy-full and dairy-free treats—using her science skills, of course.

Ritu wants girls to know that there are so many possibilities for careers in science. She tried a bunch of different specialties before she found something she was really interested in, and wants girls to explore, too.

SOURCE: SHECANSTEM.COM

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She Can STEM

Tiera Age 6 Age 11

Tiera Fletcher is an engineer. Her job is to design rockets that explore outer space. Tiera focuses on the top of the rocket, which helps it go up into space. One day, these rockets might take people to Mars!

Tiera grew up near Atlanta, Georgia and discovered her love for math when she was 6. Her parents encouraged her interests by giving her tasks like clipping coupons or totaling grocery receipts. As a girl, she wanted to be a scientist, architect, inventor and mathematician.

While attending a STEM program at her elementary school, Tiera learned about aerospace engineering and decided to become an aerospace engineer. She combined all of her interests to discover her future career.

Age

17 Age

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When Tiera was a senior in high school, she completed an internship where she learned how to help rockets land safely. She loved her internship so much that she decided she wanted to study aerospace engineering in college.

Tiera's favorite college class in college was Unified Engineering because she learned about the fundamentals of aerospace engineering for structures, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and systems. In college, she also got to work on building an actual rocket that would go up into space.

SOURCE: SHECANSTEM.COM 14 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

Today

Tiera works as a Structural Engineer at Boeing. This means she is in charge of the parts of the rocket. The goal of this rocket is to one day transport people to Mars.

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Photos: Chèrie Arvae 16 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

Dr. RACHEL ANGEL Using Technology To Connect Young People And Employers

By Shelley Shockley PWM Managing Editor “The Function of good software is to make the complex appear to be simple”……….Grady Booch Many see problems and ponder how to make a difference but Dr. Rachel Angel, President and CEO of Anexsis and the founder of Peerro, a technology platform with the sole purpose of connecting young people and opportunity seekers of all ages to the tools needed to build a career, acts on what she sees as disparities in the world.

Phenomenal Woman recently met up with Angel and the young woman dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers was relaxed and transparent as she discussed her path to success in tech, and what led her to this space in time.

Born in Newark, New Jersey she says she has no memory of her birthplace, because she left the area when she was five to come to Ohio. Raised in Cleveland, she attended Euclid schools before transferring to Richmond Heights City schools and graduating from Richmond Heights High School.

While Cleveland was home, she also spent time at her Dad's home in Buffalo as a child. Angel has been on her own since the age of 16 as she chose to remain in Richmond Heights when her mom moved to North Carolina. During this period of her life, she began to contemplate the differences she saw with life for those living in the inner-city. She said, “I have always been socially conscious so I knew in my heart regardless of what I was blessed with that I had a responsibility to have an impact on other people.”

Living on her own as a teen, she had to work full-time while attending school full-time. She says the experience was interesting, but she also found the contrast interesting. She recalled, “The contrast of it all was very interesting. Living in Richmond Bluffs but not having any furniture in the house. It was an interesting contrast of having a perception of doing well, but on the inside it's not.”

Adding to that sense of contrast, Angel thought about inner-city teens that might be experiencing the same thing yet the visual representation they saw was starkly different, “they're not walking outside and seeing black couples functioning and living in beautiful homes.” She further recalled feeling that, “Having a bit of poverty, and seeing what you could have always influenced my understanding that you don't have this now but you have the power to change it.”

Her experience living on her own was not as stark as it seems, she said that when she was tired of being by herself she sought refuge with her grandparents who lived in Warrensville Heights.

“

I have always been socially conscious so I knew in my heart regardless of what I was blessed with that I had a responsibility to have an impact on other people.

“

The biggest challenge during this time she said was working and going to school full time, as well as missing out on having a social life. To remain connected with friends, she would stop by gatherings during her breaks but she mostly went to school and work and returned home to sleep.

Without that adult supervision or guiding force in her life, Angel fended for herself, but was astute enough to ask questions. One of these questions led to her career path.

She explained that one day she asked the valedictorian of her class what she wanted to be and she said a chef. “A chef was not what I expected, so Angel asked her why.”

Although she didn't get a response to the question, she learned that her classmate's mother wanted her to become a pharmacist because 'they were in high demand and made a lot of money. So, with that knowledge Rachel decided, “Okay, that's what I will do.”

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While working at an Assisted Living facility, she discussed pharmacy as a career and the pharmacist told her it would take six years. She began to search for pharmacy programs and her naivete was again on display because when she stumbled upon a six-year program at Hampton University, she had no idea what an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) was, but that is where she landed to study pharmacy. After graduating with a doctor of pharmacy degree, Angel returned home to Cleveland, and as she explains it “spent the next 10 years being a pharmacist.”

The path to pharmacist was not direct; instead she said, “I was a pharmacy technician, then an intern and eventually a pharmacist. I was 24-years-old and making six figures and it was nice, but it was not fulfilling because I felt I had more to do than make money and go to the mall on the weekend.” Typical of Angel, when she felt unfulfilled she sought out something to provide fulfillment. Her desire to give back kicked in and she set out to try and figure out what was going on with our youth. Driving her interest were young people in innercity Cleveland. She said, “Especially in the inner-cities where you are 5 miles from Case Western but you are so isolated somehow, almost psychologically isolated and why are our young people in those places not flourishing, why are they not progressing?”

Thinking back to 16-year-old Rachel, who recognized how her situation which was not lavish was far removed from young people in the same situation but living surrounded by poverty, she knew she needed to find a way to change the outcome.

Armed with an idea that would allow her to make an impact, Angel left her job for six months, moving in with her grandparents and began volunteering at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School and studying. This studying led to the establishment of I-Reach, which incentivized young people with things they wanted or needed in exchange for improving their grades. Even with the progress she made, Rachel ran into obstacles in her efforts to scale the project. She explained, “I found that I couldn't control the bureaucracies within the institutions I was in, and I no longer wanted to go down that path. I didn't think I would be able to have the impact and time that I wanted to have.” Armed with this realization, she went back to the drawing board to determine the better way to have an impact. This led to the creation of a forprofit company, Peerro, to leverage technology to access young people without going through the different avenues.

She said finding the right idea didn't come immediately because she realized that she couldn't use money to incentivize as a for-profit company because they were no longer receiving donations. As she pondered their next move, she thought about employment. In explanation 18 ▒ SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

she said, “I found that there was this big gap with employment and with what employers needed and the fact that young people wanted to access the work but didn't know how to access it.” While investigating she found there was a three tier approach - what the young people wanted, giving employers what they needed, and giving educators what they needed. She said the educators “want to see that young people have a path to something more than going into entry level employment opportunities and staying there the rest of their lives struggling paycheck to paycheck just to get to the next thing.”

Angel further explained, “We want them to be productive.

We do want them to make sure they stay out of trouble so, why not put them in entry-level positions? To the employer we say that can't be the only thing you care about. You also have to be concerned with what the progressive pathway looks like.” The progressive pathway she says is what's most important, because the goal is for these young people to ultimately have careers that will allow them to advance in the community.

Now that she had an idea of what she wanted to do, Angel used her earnings to develop the opportunities she felt youth deserved. Rachel would work for a few months, then concentrate on developing the company and repeat to keep growing her business. She eventually attracted some

investors including JumpStart to fully develop the platform.

How the App works When you come on the platform, there are two questions: do you want immediate employment or do you want to take our career quiz? The directness of the app Angel said is, “We understood that our users are younger. They have a very short attention span, we have to give them information as soon as possible without consuming too much of their time.”

If you decide you want a career path, the first thing users do on our system is to pick from three cars, a practical car, a luxury car and a sports car. By picking a car, the user is given an overview of what they will need to earn in order to afford that car. They are also offered guidance on how to budget by learning that the car should only represent 20 percent of your income.

Angel describes the function as being similar to a dating app, because the user is asked about their likes and dislikes to hone in on a proper pathway suitable to their goal. Many career paths are included like Business, Engineering, Technology, Legal, Service and Retail.

Peerro doesn't stop there, it also offers ways to get the user on the chosen path.

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From the employer the goal is to create nested pathways, Rachel used Panera Bread as an example, “I can go work at Panera, but what does it mean for me to go into management? What does it mean for me to go into administration, what does it look like for me to own a Panera?” These paths should be a part of the process. She explained, “One of the hardest things we have is to get employers to create those pathways, because what is probably most important is getting the entry-level employment opportunity, but to really attract talent today you have to communicate where is the ceiling, is it here or is this a real opportunity for me to progress in your organization?”

In three years, Rachel has achieved something many struggle to create in twice the amount of time due to her instincts, determination and belief in her dream. During this start-up phase she was confronted with a global pandemic that she lists as one of her biggest challenges.

She said, “It's hard to establish cadence in chaos.” To promote Peerro, the team relied on promotional events which were hindered due to Covid, but with their marketing avenues they have continued to connect with their audiences.

The other major challenge has been raising capital, she said, “something that may take my counterpart three months, takes me a year and a half. Because I have to continually stop and prove myself. The reasons range from an association with your gender or your skin and your inability to do something. It's always there and you have to work extra hard to overcome it.”

While the challenges have been many, she is proud of the accomplishments that include, “Raising more than one million dollars during Covid when less than one percent of African American women were doing that at that time and bringing on the largest county in Ohio (Franklin), and going from a staff of one to seven.”

As for what's next Rachel would like to take Peerro statewide, and will soon be able to add Euclid Schools as a partner in her efforts. Within the next year and a half she also hopes to grow regionally.

When she thinks of young people and the advice she would offer she said, “There is a recipe for success and that recipe involves foundational character more than it is about the activity. You have to be strong and humble enough to listen and find information because there is so much we are not given. You have to be hungry to get it and you have to be strong enough to take it, because your goal is to grow.”

Dr. Rachel Angel's work is already making a positive difference and she has gained recognition nationally. But for this young, Phenomenal Woman, true success is measured by how far she has impacted the society. Her work continues to shine and definitely there is more to come. Meantime, it's safe to assume that we need more Angels to make this world a better place.

To take advantage of the opportunities offered by Peerro including scheduling interviews and taking training courses, visit peerro.com. <

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Doctorate of Pharmacy, Hampton University

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Inaugural member of The 2046 Commission, The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce

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Recognized for developing PEERRO, an interactive software, engaging young adults seeking employment

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Founder of I-reach, a non-profit organization to address the needs of underserved youth

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Featured in Forbes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal

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Member, Association for Corporate Growth- ACG Cincinnati

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PHENOMENAL FACTS

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Cleveland Hts. native Airman Apprentice

Asia Davis

serves with U.S. Navy in Hawaii A Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native is serving at Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Airman Apprentice Asia Davis joined the Navy over two years ago. Today, Davis serves as an aerographer's mate.

Aerographer's mates are the Navy's expert in meteorology and oceanography. They use skills in science and math to calculate weather patterns, analyze data and distribute forecasts to ships and squadrons around the world, providing accurate measures of air pressure, temperature, wind speed and sea state.

"As a geophysical technician, I directly assist the Typhoon Duty Officer (TDO) in preparing, creating, distributing and providing quality control on all products," said Davis. “We produce hand-analyzed charts collect surface observations to assist the TDOs in the development of their tropical forecasts.”

Naval Oceanography encompasses a wide range of missions crucial to supporting today's Naval fleet. They include oceanography, hydrography, meteorology, climate science, geospatial information science, astrometry, Earth orientation and precise time.

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Whether operating in the air, at sea or underwater, Navy equipment, people and decision-making all rely on the technical and tactical advice of Navy Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) Officers.

The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography directs and oversees more than 2,500 globally-distributed military and civilian personnel who collect, process and exploit environmental information to assist Fleet and Joint Commanders in all warfare areas to make better decisions faster than the adversary.

As a member of the U.S. Navy, Davis, as well as other sailors, know they are a part of a service tradition providing unforgettable experiences through leadership development, world affairs and humanitarian assistance.

Their efforts will have a lasting effect around the globe and for generations of sailors who will follow.

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GOING THE DISTANCE

FOR OUR

COMMUNITIES. At Dominion East Ohio, going the distance for our customers means more than just delivering safe, affordable natural gas. It means being a positive force in the communities we serve. Our EnergyShare® program has raised $6.8 million and helped more than 70,000 people in Ohio alone. These resources, combined with more than 6,300 volunteer hours from our employees, have benefited organizations as diverse as the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition.