A P.O. Box, a Logo & the Power behind the name

Today marks day one. The official beginning.

I filed the Articles of Incorporation. Secured my FEIN. Locked in the domains. Set up the email. Opened the business bank accounts. The essentials, yes, but more than that, a declaration that this thing I’ve been dreaming about for years is now real.

This moment didn’t happen overnight. It’s been forming slowly and quietly in between projects and seasons of motherhood. After turning 40 this May and returning from a birthday trip to Jamaica, I spoke at a women’s conference. I was asked what I wish I had done differently. Without hesitation, I said: I wish I had started my passion project sooner.

I met a new friend that day who was another woman of color, a fellow professional in the industry, someone who’d been in my orbit but whom I had never connected with until then. A few weeks later, she shared that my words inspired her to start her own business. Her spark reignited mine. I realized: Why not me, too? Why not now?

So I got to work and two months to the day of conference…Empower Moves Collective™ officially launched on July 14, 2025.

But truthfully, the seeds were planted long before that.

I’ve always loved to speak. As a little girl, I delivered Easter and Christmas speeches, and it never left me.

I have spoken at hundreds of events, conferences, meetings, webinars, podcast, etc. If there is a mic in the room…you will find me on it.

When my best friend asked me back in 2022 to speak at her UnMatched event, I said yes immediately. I told her I’d be honored to talk to the women entrepreneurs in the room about communication, presence and the art of selling. That day, I reminded myself and everyone listening that no one should ever put this woman in an insurance or risk management box. The lessons I shared that day resonated deeply, and let’s just say…I took them to church. That moment was confirmation: I had more to offer, and people were ready to receive it.

In my EMBA program, I poured my soul into my storytelling elective, broke through vulnerability, and found power in my pen during my leadership capital class. It moved me and it moved others.

I’ve advocated for myself and, more importantly, for others. I’ve used my voice to lead change and to create belonging. In the last year, I’ve leaned into this chapter. I began formally mentoring two professionals (and many others unofficially), connected with people through LinkedIn, elevated voices through DEIB at my job and in association, and made space to be a resource. The culmination of my work led to me receiving a visionary award in 2024. But…I don’t do this for accolades…I do it because I know what it means to be seen and heard. Representation matters.

I knew I was onto something when I facilitated a lunch keynote for a conference this June on the power of self-advocacy, how we move from seat to say. I felt it again launching Claim the Mic, a speaker for us, by us for professionals of color that was inspired by Toastmasters but grounded in cultural connection and confidence-building.

Empower Moves Collective™ was born out of my passion and skillset, but more deeply out of a desire to serve. To uplift voices that go unheard. To guide bold moves and create brave spaces where strategy, self-advocacy, and storytelling collide.

That is how we make empowered moves.

This is what lights me up.

This is what I was meant to build.

So here’s to day one. And here’s to every courageous move that led me here.

Courtney…on the move