Her Story
About Eddie
I have spent my life caring for disabled individuals, starting with my older son who had sickle cell anemia, whom I cared for at home with IV poles and medical equipment. After my mother passed away in 2003, and when my other sisters could no longer manage, I took in my mentally and physically disabled younger sister in 2018 and have been her caregiver ever since. Throughout my career, I have worked as a property manager specializing in HUD, Section 8, and low-income housing. I also served as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in Lawton, Oklahoma for about 3 years, taking on difficult cases including one involving an infant who had passed away and another with two teenagers, successfully placing children with safe family members. Now, I am pursuing my lifelong dream of real estate development. I recently obtained my Bachelor's degree in business management and have gotten my EIN for Texas as I work to build housing developments in both Texas and Oklahoma. Growing up in poverty in a house without proper windows, with rats, roaches, and a wood stove, I learned from my mother that we don't have to look like we're in poverty even when we are. This experience drives my passion to create quality, dignified housing for people in the communities that raised me, particularly in Texas where I grew up and Oklahoma where I now live.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Eddie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being of service to others. Even as a little girl, growing up in substandard housing, I would crawl under my bed and draw an entire scenario of myself, as a stick figure super hero, saving people, beautifying thier homes and punishing evil doers. I would have dreams that I had super powers and could save people.
When I was in the third grade, my class had to write one to two page essay on "What I wanted to be when I grow up." Well, for me, I wanted to be so many things, even though Super Hero was at the top of my list, I knew that this wasn't doable. The others included were; a boxer, a ballerina, the president of the United States, a judge, social worker, etc., I couldn't seem to make up my mind. My teacher, Mrs. Lewis saw that I was having a hard time, so she walked up to me and knelt down and I told her my perdicament. She stated "Just write down whatever you feel will make this world a better place." So I wrote my two page essay: "I just want to be a good person."
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mama used to make us get down on our knees scrubbing the walls, doors, baseboards even though we lived in poverty with rats, roaches, and snakes around, she would say "Just 'cause we poor, we ain't got to look like we're in poverty." We were always clean, our clothers weren't the best, but we stayed bathed in a washtub, or with the hose hanging over a tree, our hair was always combed and our house clean. That lesson taught me that no matter your circumstances, you can maintain your dignity and standards. When we were able to get a big, nice house, people would come through and be surprised that my parents had 12 kids because of how clean and well-kept everything was. This advice from my mother has shaped how I approach everything in my life and work. My father, who was a strict disciplinarian, taught even the girls hard labor, we worked with him, digging gunk out of those clay sewer lines, tearing down houses, working in the cotton field at age 5 to 8. I am no stranger to hard work and dedication.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
On those days when the light of hope starts to fad, when your mind gets heavy with the weight this world forces us to carry, and you just want to push it all away, I say to you, keep pushin'....I don't know and can't say what works for you, but for me...I had to call on my God, in Jesus' name. When I thought I had to go this journey alone, even at the age of 67, when I thought all was lost because I had left my dream many years ago, but I asked God for one last chance, to make it happen.
Last week, I was feeling tired, a mess of papers on my desk, around my desk, in the midst of sending emails, taking phone calls, to help others, I let my dream wallow in tiredness, until I looked at my vision board: the first thing that hit me was the "Inspirational Note": "I can do all things through Christ who strengthns me." - Philippians 4:13. And then I received a call from Influential Woman...and that call was that little bit of gas that I needed in my tank to help me get motivated again!
So, I've said all of that, to say this: DO NOT GIVE UP! Amen
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My biggest challenges of course is finanacial. But I found out that there is funding through grants and loans. All I have to do is have the dedication to get my devloper's binders for Texas and Oklahoma in order, to do my research, I've accomplished so much in less than a month, already. And as I like to say "Keep pushin" (In my Texan voice).
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
When I'm taking care of my sister, I always think, what if this was me? Who would love me? Who would take care of me? This empathy drives everything I do. I believe that people deserve to be treated with dignity, no matter their circumstances. I saw my sister living in a slum house with nothing but dirt to sit in and play in.
I told my friend, "I'm gonna show these folks how to treat people, because I've been there. I grew up in a house that didn't have windows, with rats and roaches, and I know what it's like to live in poverty. But my mama taught us that we might be in poverty but we don't have to look like we're in poverty, and we don't have to accept living in those conditions.
I feel like I need to do something for this community that I live in, and for Texas, because Texas housed me and was good to me. I want to give back to the communities that raised me by creating quality housing where people can live with dignity.
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