My path into where the “rubber meets the road” rose out of a journey of self-reflection, a desire to give back, and a passion to combine business with social impact to create better health outcomes for future generations. 

I grew up in an entrepreneurial home where giving back to your community was part of your obligation as a person.  My mother ran a drug and alcohol detox in Jamaica Plains, MA. As I got older, my mother would take my siblings and I there to expose, teach and show us the importance of community work and the real impact of drugs and alcohol on the Black community. When the crack epidemic ravaged Black communities across the US, we were literally on the front lines.  As the only detox at the time run and operated by a primarily Black staff, the community turned to my mother to provide leadership, direction and solutions to counteract its impact in greater Boston. Her calm hand, kind heart and firm leadership helped save hundreds, if not thousands of lives during those years.

As I grew older, I followed a traditional route. I attended college, went onto law school, and eventually got one of those coveted “dream jobs” at the big firms.  However, whenever I went to work, I felt something was missing.  I felt that my purpose was greater than the life I was living.  One day, I was speaking with my mother and we were discussing the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Black community, and the coded language consistently used to talk about the disproportionate impact that teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS were having on our community.  As we spoke, I asked her why there wasn’t a Black-owned condom company?  It immediately struck me deeply that though Black people are disproportionately impacted, in terms of condoms, we never had a seat at the table to include our own perspectives into the solution.  I imagined a world where we could manufacture the best product on the market, incorporate our culture into the marketing, and join forces with everyone working in the community to move us forward as a community.  It was at this point, the decision to create b condoms was born.