Kenya F. Sullivan-Crumbley

I've been working in my field for the past 15 years as the founder and visionary of BRIDGE, a youth and young adults organization that I started in August 2010. My background comes from when I was a little girl - my mother and father were named on an influential lawsuit concerning civil rights and voter rights, and our house was burned down, so we moved to the projects. Growing up there, I saw my mother always feeding and helping people, and my sister and I turned that into what we do now with BRIDGE. We're always in the community, and now it has turned into not just here in our local area, but it's across the state, and we have even helped someone internationally as well. I describe myself as a 'Bridge Connector' because what I do is leadership - connecting the community with government officials, connecting the community with leaders and other leaders, and those next to the community, the constituents, the citizens. They trust my voice, so when they come to me and ask questions about leaders, and the constituents trust my voice as well. I'm a minister too, so everything ties in together. I might be working at my full-time job, but I'll get a call from my state representative or my county commissioner if there's an issue or concern. For example, when they were talking about moving our local circuit courts from one county to another, the state representative called me and asked what I thought about it, and because they trust my voice, they went with the decision to not move forward with moving the circuit court. Parents also call me when they need help or have issues with their children. My day is always about BRIDGE - I work it all day, and my job supports me in what I do. I'm always thinking BRIDGE from the time I wake up in the morning because it's just a phone call away, someone calling because they need some type of help.