Dear Partners and Supporters,
The ELG team has been closely monitoring the latest updates from the CDC around the COVID-19 (commonly referred to as Coronavirus Disease 2019). In light of Governor Northam’s decision to call a State of Emergency, the City of Norfolk has taken extra precautions and has closed all venues to include the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center until March 30th; therefore, the date for 2020 Young Girls Rule™ will need to be adjusted.
Please know that we are working with the venue to secure a future date. At this time, we anticipate that it will be in the fall of the year. We intend on a date being finalized within the coming weeks and will notify you once it is solidified.
We truly apologize for any inconvenience as these are challenging times.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Warmly,
The ELG Team
2020 HONOREES
Opal Exhibitionist
KRISCILLAROBINSON
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Kriscilla is a dedicated eighth-grade Rancho Christian Academy honor student who has accomplished a considerable amount of achievements within 13 years. She is a kid entrepreneur of Klausy Prints & Events, speaker, and Girl Scouts. Kriscilla enjoys reading, watching YouTube, and hanging out with her friends and family. She has aspirations to attend Stanford University, majoring in Marketing and Photography. You can find Kriscilla on Facebook & Instagram: @
Topaz Nurturer - Platinum Legacy
NEDRACOMMODORE
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Nedra Commodore is the proud mother of Niko (sophomore at Norfolk State University) and Eamon (7th grader in Norfolk Public Schools). She has been an ELG mentor since program inception and currently serves mentees Corimah, Kayla, Gabriella, and Arriana from Portsmouth.
As Director of Quality Assurance at ARDX (Norfolk-based healthcare management and technology consulting firm), Nedra is responsible for defining and implementing organizational continual improvement strategies that distinguish the company from its competitors. One of Nedra’s proudest professional accomplishments was leading ARDX to a CMMI Level 5 Appraisal Rating which bestows the honor of being ranked in an elite 1% of businesses nationwide that demonstrate high performance. On one occasion Nedra was assigned to a struggling project and her boss instructed her to “Nedra-tize them” suggesting Nedra’s leadership style and approach would yield the desired results.
Nedra enjoys life lessons and inspiration from Brene’ Brown and Oprah Winfrey. When life is going really good, Nedra remembers the source of all her blessings. When life becomes difficult, Nedra still remembers that source along with knowing “trouble doesn’t last always.“ Nedra’s top principles by which she lives include:
- Trust God
- Love and Protect Family
- Practice Gratefulness
- Love Like God Has Loved Me
- Be Accountable
- Forgive Quickly
- Treat People Right
- Mind My Business
- Give Generously Without Expectation
- Remember, I Can Do All Things!
Nedra is a devoted, lifelong member of the United House of Prayer for All People where she was introduced to volunteerism and the responsibility to sew good into others. Nedra has been a leader and mentor of young people for over 30 years. Nedra counts it an honor and a duty to serve others in love.
Topaz Nurturer - 24k Service
KYMHOWARD
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Kym Howard is a proud native of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the youngest out of 5 siblings and the first to attend college. Kym graduated from Virginia State University and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. Upon graduation she moved to the Washington D.C. area to begin her professional career. Kym’s competitive nature, ability to build long lasting relationships for business impact, negotiation skills, and desire to solve problems is what has led her to a successful and rewarding career in sales. She is currently a Sr. Immunology Specialist at one of the most admired Healthcare companies, Johnson & Johnson. She has been with JNJ for 18 years and has introduced new treatment regimens to the Primary Care, Gastroenterology and Dermatology marketplaces. Throughout her professional career she has been recognized as a Ring of Honor recipient, Regional Representative of the Year, Immunology Pioneer of the Year, and received 2 President Circle Awards, which is one of the highest honors you can achieve in sales. Though she is proud of some of her professional accomplishments she feels there is nothing more rewarding than dedicating her time and talents to giving back to the community. Kym has been dedicated to community service starting with her volunteering as a mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization in Atlanta, GA and Jacksonville, FL. It is through her affiliation where she quickly learned that by investing the time, instilling confidence and showing compassion, you could potentially change the trajectory of a young person’s life. She has volunteered with the Girls Scouts of America through her church affiliation in which her primary responsibility was to instill Christian etiquette, build self-esteem and develop social skills to the Daisy group of 5-year-old young girls. Kym has spearheaded JNJ’s National Volunteer Day activity within her Region of which 16 JNJ colleagues mentored elementary school students to teach them about the importance of financial literacy. Lastly, Kym is a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Her desire is to assist in ensuring that the needs of the less fortunate, under privileged and our young people are met. She has and will continue to do her small part if fulfilling the mission of the organization which is to be of “Service to All Mankind”.
Onyx Inventor
SHE’NEILJOHNSON
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She’Neil Johnson has worn a number of hats, but they all address one goal. Creating a platform for people, things, and ideas’ stories to become memorable human interactions. In 2014 She’Neil Johnson graduated from Howard University’s School of Business with a degree in Management Information Systems. She believed New York was the perfect place for her to focus on building a strong career in business and making the right connections to follow the popular route of working two years corporate, going to business school, then climbing the company ladder of promotions. Little did she know this city would only become a daily dose of inspiration for the true creative she is. She’Neil spent the beginning of her career becoming well versed in consumer insights, design, and tech as a user experience designer at IBM for luxury retail clients. During her time at IBM she managed client relationships by acting as an onsite project manager, leading teams through development and launch, and gained upper level management’s financial support of $40K for an internal project. Within She’Neil’s UX role she was promoted to senior consultant, but quickly left the industry to follow her passion in marketing! She founded BASE BUTTER, a start-up skincare company, and five years defining and executing the optimal marketing strategy to aid BASE BUTTER in it’s growth and success. She helped build the brand identity and see through two re-launches. Since its inception BASE BUTTER has been seen in ESSENCE, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and the New York Times to name a few.
Marble Loyalist
CHERYLTAN
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Cheryl Tan believes everyone has a story to tell. Her mission is to help entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations and corporations more effectively tell those stories on video. She is a speaker, a media trainer and the host of the STANDOUT podcast. Prior to starting her company in 2014, Cheryl was a longtime broadcast journalist, working for TV stations in Georgia and Virginia. You may remember her during her time on WAVY TV 10’s morning show. She currently hosts Connect on WVEC-TV. In her 20-year career in television news, she had the honor of telling thousands of stories for a TV audience. Now she shares the skills she learned in the newsroom to help businesses and organizations around the country understand the media and create their own pieces of valuable content. Cheryl is the creator of the Video Bootcamp, a coaching and mentoring program specifically tailored to entrepreneurs and experts who want to create a greater impact in the world. Her system eliminates stress, saves time and helps students develop the skills to use video to reach a bigger audience.She and her husband have three sons and live in Virginia Beach.
