Earl Robbins earned a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Hampton Institute. He worked in the manufacturing industry for over forty years as an accountant, a production supervisor and a manager. He retired as the Director of State and Local Government Affairs from Alcoa, Inc. During this time, he was very active in business and community organizations. He served as president and board member of the Frederick County Board of Education, the United Way of Frederick County, the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce and the Hood College Board of Associates. In September, 1995, he partnered with his fraternity, the Frederick (MD) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. to start the Necktie Club at Frederick High School. The purpose of the club is to teach young men how to tie a necktie, how to dress for success, how to run a meeting using Robert’s Rules to Order and how to be a leader, especially young Black men. The Necktie Club expanded to five high schools. Later, he was one of the founding board members of Eliminating the Achievement Gaps, Inc. (EAG). EAG was a community organization that worked with the Frederick County Public System to identify problems and develop solutions to help all students be successful. Today, he is still involved in the community recently serving on the Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation of Frederick County and the Board of Directors of I Believe In Me. Earl believes that all students can learn and should have equal opportunity to be successful in school. Earl and Olivia have been married for 55 years. They have three children and five grandchildren. Earl is a member of the 2025 Class of African Americans of Excellence.

Entrepreneur/Author/Speaker Theresa Harrison has established herself as a successful entrepreneur who has successfully founded, led, and nurtured over five highly competitive businesses with many focused on leading edge technology and national security. Her multi-million-dollar companies were composed of multiple verticals and employed scores of personnel with an emphasis on opening doors for young techies. In December, 2024, Theresa founded Fayette Central, her venture studio company. Fayette Central is a company that actively creates and launches multiple startups in Frederick County Maryland by generating its own business ideas, assembling founding teams, providing initial funding, and actively guiding the startups through development to reach product-market fit, essentially acting as a "startup factory" that builds new companies from the ground up. The first Fayette Central company will be launched in February, 2025. Theresa’s goal is to grow a $1B enterprise. Theresa is a founding member of The BOW Collective, an organization and sisterhood of the Nation's top 1% of small business owners. As "Business Philanthropists" BOW work together to bring awareness, business opportunities, and capital resources to entrepreneurs. Theresa is the Founder and President of GEORGE STREET Services, Inc. (GEORGE STREET) which is a leading IT and technology company that provides digital services, software engineering, IT and management services. Prior to GEORGE STREET, from 1996 – 2008, Theresa was co-owner and president of Athenyx, LLC, #7 on the Greater Washington Technology Fast50 list which was acquired in 2008. As a motivational speaker, Amazon bestselling author, mentor and active community servant, Theresa is a servant leader. Some of the organizations she serves are: Frederick County Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Just A Kind Note, Founder, Hood College, Board of Trustees, Truist Advisory Board, BOW Enterprises, CDO and Touch the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, Board Member. Theresa’s debut book, “Yes, You ARE Able,” brings the reader on a journey to reach their highest peaks and summits, achieving all their biggest goals and dreams. An accomplished wife, mother, business owner, cancer survivor, speaker and much, much, more, Theresa opens her heart and life to share the tips and tricks of reaching heights of which we’ve only ever dreamed. She guides us through the twists and turns the path might take, offers the perspective that led to her success, and pushes us to our limits, further than we knew we could go. No matter where you are or where you've gone, there's no limit on where you can go. Yes, you ARE able! Theresa and her husband Roosevelt have two daughters and one granddaughter, Koffi, Kolbi and Koen, who are their legacy of love and respect, God and faith, service and dedication and life and living. Theresa holds a B.S. and MBA in Business Administration with a focus on technical communications with numerous post graduate school courses and certifications.

K.C. Ryerson is the Owner of Owl Be There of Frederick and Loudoun, a senior placement agency, dedicated to offering free guidance on assisted living, memory Care, and respite stays. With over 25 years of healthcare experience, she has been inspired by her personal journey to help others. She holds a Certificate of Financial Planning through Georgetown University, BA in Business Marketing, MBA with a concentration of Health Care Management and Doctorate Classes for DHA. As a proud bi-racial single mom of three children and a strong advocate for education and the arts, she actively serves in leadership roles on several non-profit boards in the local Frederick community.