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A Mentor of Love:
Latrice Ware

By Deborah Ingram Allen

Mentoring begins long before a person becomes an adult. Giving others a sense of empowerment does not limit itself to individuals in the workforce. Providing practical instructions in the steps necessary for building and creating networks is not useful only to adults looking for a job. Recently, I met a person who freely demonstrated these concepts with a very special group of individuals.

The summer of 2008, Latrice Ware, Executive Director of the Youth Business Initiative (YBI) Program, designed and implemented a very special program that connected young men and women who are in the foster care system with leaders in various fields. The YBI Program was a dream placed on Latrice's heart, which took almost two years to come to fruition but once it did the life-changing exposure to information she gave to 40 teens, between the ages of 16–18, has been immeasurably beneficial. The teens told stories of having to act as the adult in the family because of life circumstances, and of being removed from their home because of those same circumstances They told of battling with their love-hate feelings toward their parents, especially their mothers for abandoning them. And they told of having seen the best and the worse of foster homes and "the system." These same teens however, spoke with enthusiasm about their dreams to move forward with their lives and their aspirations, such as becoming a family court judge, working with children, being a correctional officer or a forensic scientist, majoring in international business or business administration, and owning their own businesses.

The three-week program was rich in activities that stimulated interaction around subjects of workforce, collegiate, and leadership development. The teens and Latrice traveled between New York and Washington, DC., where they participated in various activities such as speaking with journalist at the Georgetown University Law Center; viewing open heart surgery at INOVA Fairfax Hospital; touring the United Nations Headquarters, the New York University and the NBC Studios; being in the crowd of the Good Morning America set; interacting with a Washington Post Career panel; writing, producing, and taping a Public Service Announcement; and having an opportunity to meet former Secretary of State, Colin Powell and his wife Alma Powell, president of America's Promise. They received writing assignments, etiquette training, and impromptu speaking lessons. Most importantly, they had a chance to talk, bond, hug, and receive love from each other and Latrice.

They also had a chance to talk with others who could identify with their life experiences, including adults who came from diverse backgrounds. It was just as rewarding an experience for me as one of the presenters as it was for the participants. As presenters, we had the opportunity to talk about our life challenges that shaped who we are personally as well as professionally. We had a chance to tell these eager young minds how we overcame some of our personal and professional struggles. Answering their questions about education, faith, leadership, and family relationships gave me many opportunities for reflection and self-examination. Latrice provided ALL OF US—the teens and presenters—opportunities for mentoring, empowerment, networking and personal sharing.

What I learned about Latrice is that she sees herself as a representative and a member of the elite group of foster care alumnae. She is also a birth mother and evidence that one can break the cycle of the foster care system. She sees life as a series of crises—large and small, expected and unexpected. For Latrice this has included having heart surgery, dropping out of college, becoming a teen mother, being a welfare recipient, and overcoming being a rape victim. She endured homelessness, battles with breast tumors, and the loss of her oldest daughter to the very system she unexpectedly found herself within. However, the love, wisdom, patience, and strength of a wonderful foster mother, an unconditionally accepting foster home, prayers and strong faith were what she needed to turn her test into a testimony and to use her experiences to make a difference in the lives of others.

In addition to working for Booz Allen Hamilton, she has served as an advisor to Arlington County Child and Family Services on foster care issues, worked to train future foster parents, and mentored several youths "in care." She is a proud recipient of the First Annual Ruth Massinga Award, an honor named for a woman who left a legacy so great, that she "can only hope to follow and learn from." Latrice is the founder and Executive Director of Youth Business Initiative Program (YBI), an organization that works in partnership with non-profits, for-profits, and government organizations to promote growth and success of youth in foster care in the areas of post-secondary education, career exploration, cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and civic participation. Outside of reuniting with her oldest daughter, YBI is the accomplishment she is proudest of because YBI is a program designed and implemented by alumni of the foster care system who help provide a network of resources and opportunities to youth currently in care.

Latrice says this about herself and her accomplishments:
Through this and in all of this, I advocate for the youth that I once was and the half a million youth still out there looking for a chance to make it. My goals are to work to help better the system that serves in loco parentis and to build strategic relationships with community organizations and businesses in order to better lives and provide windows of opportunity for foster youth. My most important job, however, is being a good mother to my two daughters. They have taught me how to accept and move on from my past. I hope that in some way, I can make them proud and demonstrate a clear definition of what strength and character is.

In her own special way, Latrice has blessed so many individuals with her quiet spirit, loving heart, and her insight for giving to others what they did not know they lacked. For each of us, there was something different, but there was something, for everyone. My prayer for Latrice is that as she will allow the Lord to continue to pass blessings through her and that she will see the many blessings passed to her.