A Life Devoted to Purpose and People

I never planned to create a national nonprofit. What I wanted was to live with purpose.

I spent more than twenty years in New York State law enforcement. That work taught me to read people, stay steady under pressure, and hold the line when it mattered. Then a serious knee injury, four surgeries, and a total knee replacement ended that career in 2015. I did not welcome losing my title or my income. But I stood tall, and I kept moving.

What I didn't know was that my next chapter had already begun. In 2012, while I was still working and still healing, a clue I had carried my whole life finally made sense. I loved doing hair. And there were children experiencing medical hair loss whose mothers could not find a solution anywhere. So I founded Butterflies By Blaq Inc., a 501(c)(3) that provides free hair replacements to children so they can look like themselves again.

One career ended. Another was already being built, grounded in softness, service, and soul.

I didn't come from wealth. I didn't have connections. But I had conviction. I had faith. I had a calling. And I said yes.

As a caregiver myself, I also learned the hard way that you cannot pour from an empty champagne flute. Today I help women recognize their clues, reclaim their wellness, and step into the purpose that has not passed them by.

"I didn't come from wealth. I didn't have connections. But I had conviction. I had faith. I had a calling. And I said yes."