About
BENT
Building Entrepreneurs Now & Tomorrow
Building Entrepreneurs Now & Tomorrow is about just that. We want to provide the today's Christian youth with basic entrepreneurial knowledge. Those youth and young adults that say I have an idea & I want to start my own business are whom we are reaching out to. We want to give them not just the opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurship but also the basic skills and tools required to run a successful business.
To be able to do so, we want to meet the youth where they are, in their local church. We want each participant's main focus to be completing their education, first. To encourage education first, students must maintain their GPAs at or above 2.0 to be eligible for participation. We will provide local weekend workshops for students who have a passion for becoming business owners.
To bring everything full circle with the community, we want to build partnerships with local business owners to mentor & instruct the students on what they have learned from the process of being an entrepreneur.
Morgan Stroud
Simplified VA, Professional Business Services | Executive Director
With a passion & gift for helping others succeed in business, Morgan used her computer savvy skills to start Simplified VA off of the advice of a colleague/mentor in 2013. Along with becoming a certified Constant Contact solutions provider & certified Hootsuite Professional, Morgan is an adjunct instructor at Anne Arundel Community College. Through Simplified VA, Morgan offers inbound digital media marketing and training to other small business owners, nationwide. Located in Severna Park, Maryland, she can do 3 things: show you how to do it, collaborate with you to get it done, or simply do it for you.
Simplified VA was founded in 2013 with the intention of assisting clients to bring their small business dreams to life by performing administrative duties. Thus freeing up the clients’ time and allowing them to concentrate on their product. In 2015, Morgan left administrative duties in the dust and we became an all-inclusive professional marketing agency for small to medium-sized businesses, offering top of the line services. Morgan's specialty is collaborating with business/business owners & simplifying the digital marketing process.
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BENT Foundation has been a dream for 3 years that is finally in motion
Catrice Downs
CD Professional Services | Director of Compliance
Chief Operating Officer of CD Professional Services; a virtual administrative and nonprofit and consulting agency. Catrice has over 18 years of managing and consulting for thriving businesses in and throughout the nonprofit, behavioral health and healthcare sectors. With an extensive background in the nonprofit sector, Catrice works with new and upcoming nonprofit agencies to build from the ground up. Catrice has the ability to connect with professionals from various industries sectors while maintaining an active presence in the industry that she represents.
CD Professional Services was established on December 1, 2015, to assist the busy professional manage their day to day operations for a fraction of the cost. Since it’s inceptions, CD Professional Services has expanded their focus to encompass working with agencies for recruiting and serving as a consulting agency to thriving businesses (with the focus on assisting grassroots nonprofit agencies). CDPS works with nonprofits in managing their organizational and board management. CDPS is a leader in consulting for nonprofits and is looking to expand their efforts in 2018 and beyond
Kiisha Jennings
K. Jennings & Associates, LLC | Director of Operations
Dynamic and goal-oriented business operations/management professional with 18+ years of progressive experience working in a top tier, international law firm and management consulting. Demonstrates ability in operations management, project management, budget development, contract and event management. Ability to plan, implement and monitor multiple projects in fast-paced, team-oriented environments. Possesses solid leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to establish rapport with internal and external stakeholders and clients.
Established in 2015, consultant to management and leaders for operational effectiveness in the provision of recommendations on business process improvements and best practices. Strategic advisor to leadership team on business operations and problem-solving skills to ensure the quality of client deliverables with an approach to understanding business challenges and translation into process solutions.
