Advocate, Author, Leadership Training Consultant, Engineer; founder of PAID Professionals (workshop agency for youth career advancement)
Brooklyn, New York
A community advocate most of her adult life, Carmen M Colon organized and facilitated trainings on empowerment, advocacy and leadership during her years as a School Board President and a Brooklyn Borough President Appointee parent representative. She has written books and training manuals on self-empowerment and on how to team build, recognize skillsets, how to acquire them, use them and simply "get paid". Branding heself in 2002 she teaches classes on social networking and getting to your goal. Ms. Colon has been a Facilitator and Public Speaker for Women and Youth in Non-Tradional Roles for over 25 years, a Trainer and Lecturer for Women and Youth in Leadership and Career Training for 18 Years, and a Community Advocate and Organizer / Parent Leader Role in Public School Educational System for 12 years. She has been an engineer since 1983 when she graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. She worked as a draftsman for conveyor belt companies and has been an assistant engineer for 20 years at the local utility in Brooklyn.
Mother of three young Black/Latino men she co-founded with them the Brooklyn Children's Volunteers Club an afterschool program when they were six, 9 and 12 respectively. Carmen has always had her sons as partners in all of her community activities and now that they are all on their own they have continued to provided their civic duty most happily.