Her Story
About Charlene
Charlene Newsome serves as president of Gym Youth Mentoring Community Outreach, a nonprofit organization she founded in 2019 from her home in Newport News, Virginia. With a background that includes a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in life coaching from Liberty University and an MBA with a concentration in accounting from Regent University, she is set to begin a doctorate program in strategic leadership at Regent University this fall. Newsome has helped over 23 individuals start their own tax preparation businesses and uses the financial freedom from her tax work to support her nonprofit initiatives. She is actively involved in community advocacy, including efforts related to the clean slate law and pardon processes for felons, and she hosts the annual Boss Women Brunch in Business event to foster networking among women. As chairwoman of WIN, Women in the NAACP, she leads a committee of women leaders, and she recently received a leadership award in Florida for her work building a team of tax professionals. Newsome attributes her success to her faith and family, including raising her own two children along with her late sister's three children, and she emphasizes values of integrity, respect, and authenticity in all her endeavors.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Charlene
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes from faith and family. I lost my mother and baby sister in the same year, and I've been raising her three children along with my own two, making six kids total. Faith gives me the strength to keep going and give back to the community despite the challenges.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Do not give up. What you see now is not what you're gonna see if you keep showing up. Keep going, showing up, and keep believing in yourself. If I would have gave up three years ago when things were hard, I would not have seen the blessings in my seventh year.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is getting funding through grants, sponsors, and donors to serve the community. As a faith-based organization, I'm asking God for a financial breakthrough. My tax work provides financial freedom that I can pour back into the nonprofit.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and respect mean so much to me. I also believe in being authentic. I was just interviewed for a magazine and emphasized that I am authentically me.
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