Young girls of color 'ROCK' for one Renaissance woman (Q&A)

Published on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Last updated on 10:02AM, Sunday, November 13, 2011

G.U.R.L.S. Rock Summit

The difference between an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur depends on the word, "success."

Whether having financial or academic success, holding a powerful position in today's economy is not only important, but it also reveals a person's character.

For Raye Mitchell, a renowned attorney, author, speaker and businesswoman who graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and Harvard Law School, the love for her profession recently took a back seat to her newfound calling.

In 2010, Mitchell received the 2010 Jefferson Award for Public Service. As the founder of I C Hope: The Making a New Reality Foundation, she started a social impact program known as G.U.R.L.S. Rock – a global leadership, training initiative that guides girls and young women of color ages 8-18 to be entrepreneurs by teaching them business skills and training them to combat social problems and challenges that limit their vision and ability to achieve greatness.

Recently, Mitchell was one of 600 women entrepreneurs from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area nominated - and one of 42 women to be selected for and honored - with the 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The award was given to her by Women's Initiative for Self Employment, which for 22 years has provided low-income, high potential women with the business training, funding and ongoing support to start their own business.

I had the chance this week to speak with Mitchell about her community projects and foundations.

Q: You consider yourself a social entrepreneur, what does that mean to you?

A: As a social entrepreneur, I take all of my skills to create change in my community. I’m always an entrepreneur. But I’m also able to use my four P’s formula, ‘Purpose, Passion, Profits, and Power,’ to bring profits and social change to my community.

Q: What do you enjoy doing the most and which talent best represents or identifies you?

A: I enjoy everything I get to do. From a child, God has given me a basket of talents. As a speaker, I talk about what I write and as a writer, I write what I talk about. I love public speaking and writing is fun. Writing gets me outside my comfort zone. It all stems from creativity and curiosity. I’m from the old school; you do what it takes to make a difference.

Q: Which of your accolades are you most proud of?

A: The accolades are nice. It shows my hard work and personally I’m proud that I’ve been able to do something good for other people. Graduating from Harvard Law School is an unbelievable accomplishment. The 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award was so humbling because it says that we believe in our future and in women.

Q: How did if feel to win the 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award?

A: I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is slamming hot!’ It’s an awesome moment to get an email saying, ‘Congratulations you won.’ I was excited because this award reflects on the journey and the lifetime of work I’ve done. It is a message saying that I have done good work, and that now I have more work to do.

Q: What drives you or motivates you?

A: I love to fix things. I’m the type of person that when you have a problem, my mind starts working on how to fix the problem. I love innovation and I’m driven by the words, ‘You can’t do it.’ As an African-American, as a woman, we hear that often. I love having fun and I enjoy the challenges that I take on.

Q: What law firm did you belong to in the past and, which law firm do you work for now?

A: I’ve run my own law firm for about 15 to 16 years. At the Mitchell Law Group, I practice social entrepreneur law and provide service and support for social impact. I spend most of my energy being a writer, speaker, and a producer for G.U.R.L.S Rock Power TV. I appreciated my work and my clients, but it was clear that I move to a new arena and begin investing in our girls. I started growing this new role and I want to help solve problems. It was a natural evolution to take those skills of being a lawyer, and transfer them over to being a social entrepreneur. I know I can do a lot of things, but I can’t do them all.

Q: Why did you decide to leave the Mitchell Law Group to help train these girls in leadership skills and to be global leaders?

A: It’s a decision that evolved from what I was doing. I was always involved in doing work in the community. Another reason why had to do with the Don Imus incident that happened in 2007. He made a controversial and inappropriate comment about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. This mindset exists, and I was concerned with the media’s focus. Most of the focus was not devoted to the notion that this is demeaning to women. We as women of color, hear this all the time. I want our girls to know that they don’t have to adopt the image that the media has of them. We want a new reality. Also, leadership models for women of color aren’t out there. There are no opportunities for them to get training and exposure. A lot of models focus on motivation, which is needed, but women of color also need to learn the skills early to succeed in life.

Q: What does 'G.U.R.L.S.' stand for and how long has it this program been in existence?

A: The name consists of our values. G.U.R.L.S. stands for Growth, Unity, Respect, Leadership and Success. They are action words. Action speaks above chatter. G.U.R.L.S Rock started in 2010. I love helping my clients and litigating, but one day I woke up and the girls drew more of me than the law. G.U.R.L.S. Rock is awesome. It is a social program. It’s exciting and has made me a better citizen. The excitement from one of those little girls’ faces that looks at you saying, ‘Thank you for helping me,’ is unbelievable.

Q: Do you see the gap between men and women in the workforce closing through your work or from personal experience?

A: A fundamental goal at G.U.R.L.S. Rock is to have our young girls be prepared and take their share at the business table. We want to redefine the terrain and have the best compete with the best. We need to eliminate artificial barriers. This will lead to the best CEO’s chosen, whether they are men or women.