Dr. Angela D. Reddix is the architect of ARDX, a multi-million dollar healthcare management and IT consulting firm. The firm employs over 100 employees and has been awarded well over $100 million in contracts from federal agencies, all in just over 10 years. All of that is impressive but Angela’s greatest legacy is still growing: literally. Through her nonprofit Envision Lead Grow (ELG), Angela is determined to transform thousands of our girls into entrepreneurs.
ELG’s mission is to increase the rate of entrepreneurship and break the cycle of poverty for middle school girls in underserved communities throughout the United States. The organization is committed to helping girls build their future through entrepreneurship by creating a community to support their success. ELG’s distinction is its “4-pronged approach to entrepreneurship” catered to the organization’s “Girl Bosses.” It begins with immersion camps in the summer, then 9 months of mentoring, webinars and membership into an Entrepreneur Institute, which provides ongoing training and adult mentors. Program mentors are women entrepreneurs who provide consistent support to mentees. ELG also provides information on how to obtain funding.
Girls who join ELG in middle school receive mentoring and support through high school and beyond. ELG assists them in reaching college, including help with test prep and accessing scholarship funding. In year one ELG worked with over 400 girls. In 2019, the organization set a goal to visit 35 cities and develop over 600 girl bosses nationwide. In 2020, ELG will reach 48 cities and develop 1,000 girl bosses. ELG is doing radical work, based on the radical notion that our girls can do anything. While difficult for some to grasp, Angela Reddix is firmly convinced of this: based on her life experience, it all makes sense.
Angela wasn’t born with a sliver spoon, nor was her hometown of Norfolk known for producing Black women bosses. She has even had to confront tremendous obstacles, like when her company was forced to wrestle with a huge cut to its largest contract, a few years ago. Angela has persisted and thrived, all lessons she is passing on to the next generation of girl bosses.
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