Robin S. Thorne’s fearlessness to not only redefine what a woman 50+ should do but also what a women traditionally does is admirable. From her success, there are many lessons to be learned. As a single mother, she was determined to make a better life for her and her son. She put herself through college majoring in Engineering at the Community College of Philadelphia. She went on to earn a Chemical Engineering degree from Drexel University College of Engineering. After beginning her career in chemical engineering in Pennsylvania, she took a leap of faith moving to California to embark upon a career in the environmental, health and safety industry. She spent the next 10 years increasing her knowledge base and advancing in her career. In 2009, Robin established CTI Environmental, Inc. (CTI), an engineering and specialized construction firm. CTI has grown into an industry leading corporation with no signs of slowing down.

Robin has a passion for people and giving back. During her studies at Drexel University, she led her peers in conducting science experiments for her son’s class. For many students, this was their first time seeing a woman of color so connected to science. She established a scholarship in her son’s name at the Community College of Philadelphia to aide graduating students that majored in technology and who are transferring to four-year universities. Her passion is helping women understand that they can do and be whatever they choose. She’s a global philanthropist facilitating workshops and seminars for women from America to South Africa. In 2019, Robin founded DemoChicks, a non-profit organization that empowers young women to become involved in nontraditional careers such as, construction, engineering, and demolition.

Robin has received numerous accolades over the years and is most proud of her induction into the Drexel University College of Engineering’s Circle of Distinction. Robin feels truly blessed that she has been able to accomplish so many things in her life and plans to continue looking for opportunities to grow, improve and serve others in her community.

robin thorne

ACTIVIST & ORGANIZER

A native of Africatown in Mobile, Alabama, she had experienced segregation as a child, and chose to take the five day march from Selma to Montgomery to fight for voting rights. Pushing past fear into something bigger, she joined the crowd, kneeling to pray at the beckoning of Dr. King. Miss Knight took her activism from coast, to coast, from Baltimore, Maryland to Richmond, California, where she worked with organizations like the Black Panthers and their free breakfast program for children, senior escort service, and busing programs to take families to visit relatives in prison.

Believing the best and most sustainable path out of poverty and inequality is education, Miss Knight helped integrate an all-white school district in the Florissant suburb of St. Louis in the 1950s as a teacher and later taught Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Having faced Anti-Blackness and discrimination head-on in Long Beach in the 1960’s, she has taken the lessons from the past to continue to build for the future of community.

Miss Knight Helped found the Long Beach Community Improvement League, the oldest anti-poverty program in Long Beach, where she supported its first program, Project Tutor, laying the groundwork for the organization to provide the first Head Start early learning program in the western states region. She retired as the Executive Director of People Coordinated Services in Los Angeles in 1997. As a community organizer, she held discussion groups in her home, stood up against polluters in West Long Beach, advocated for environmental justice, supported the local Filipino Migrant Center, trained future generations of organizers, and continues to teach and speak out about housing discrimination, racism, inequality, and the power of community solidarity.

evelyn knight

Virginia visionary Marcia “Pooch” Paige founded www.melanin-rx.com to address a common request: we all want to be treated by medical professionals who look like us, and understand where we’re coming from culturally. Given the inexcusable disparities in American medical care with which Black people must contend, Miss Marcia’s groundbreaking gambit is right on time. Providing cultural intelligence as part of medical care is the first essential step to closing the racial gap. And not only does the site facilitate access to medical professionals of color and their services-- there’s also the helpful Daily Dose Blog which answers so many of our health questions! 
We caught recently up with “Pooch,” born under the sign of Libra, and she set us straight on several things. She describes her passion this way: “To connect people to someone they need to know or experience. That is my zone of genius.” Her message to Black women everywhere: “You are absolutely enough in whatever space you are presently in. OWN IT AND TAKE UP SPACE!”
What she values most today, she says, are time and relationships. The last time she had a falling out with a friend was because… “We didn’t value our friendship enough to be totally honest and transparent about what the real issues were. I no longer have time/patience/space/energy for convincing others who I am. I no longer babysit others’ insecurities they have to work out within themselves. Something I've given up, because of my age, are people who no longer serve or feed me emotionally or spiritually. Peace has a bigger price tag than I realize.” The most important human quality in her world: “Grace, it encourages non-judgment, strength to forgive but not forget, compassion when love is not enough.”
  She says the best part about being her age is… “I don’t look like what I have been through.” Still on her bucket-list: “To marry my best friend, my platform to become a household name, and doing a cooking/wine tasting through Italy and Napa Valley.” To which we raise a glass and say, Cheers, Miss Marcia! See you in Tuscany!

Marcia paige