Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My community is my inspiration. In 2019 I drove to Baltimore for kitchen access because nothing existed in northern PG County. That commute became my mission. Every food entrepreneur who can’t afford the drive, can’t access a commercial kitchen, can’t find a GovCon roadmap — that’s who I build for. My mother showed me what it means to show up without resources and still create something. I build for her too.

How do you stay motivated?

I remember why I started. On the hardest days I think about the founder who is exactly where I was in 2019, talented, serious, and completely without infrastructure. Foodī Academy exists because I refused to let that be someone else’s permanent reality. I also stay in motion. Grants submitted, meetings booked, partnerships built. Action is my antidote to doubt. When I move, I remember I am capable. When I stop, I lose the thread. So I don’t stop.

What would you do with the $25,000?

This $25,000 goes directly into Foodī Academy’s 2026 launch. Specifically: kitchen equipment deposits, food safety certification fees for Cohort 1 members, curriculum development, and our Farm to Foodī local sourcing directory, connecting cohort members to verified Black-owned farms in PG County. Every dollar builds the infrastructure that didn’t exist when I needed it. This is the investment that turns one woman’s commute into a community’s foundation.