Jowan SmithJowan Smith is the CEO of Getting Our Babies to College 101 & 1,000 Ties, Author, Commercial Model, & a Motivational Speaker. Raised in Cleveland and a graduate of John Hay High School she has a big heart for the city. Starting her career as an EventAssistant for Creative Marketing Group at the age of 19 was the beginning of a twenty-year career in event planning. She used her amazing natural talent in event planning and marketing to work for Raycom Media Cleveland (Channels 19 & 43) & Chancellor Media (93.1FM & 92.3FM). She worked in many roles; Promotions, Sales, On Air Talent, & Voice Over Professional. Jowan went to college and obtained a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. This led her to a great career with the Cuyahoga County Department of Jobs & Family Services where she saw first-hand how the lack of post-secondary options impacts the community.After many years in this field, it was something in her personal life that led her down a different career path. While going through the college prep process with her daughter she noticed the lack of resources available to parents and decided to do something. She started Getting Our Babies to College 101 after winning the education category in the Cleveland Leadership Center Accelerate 2017. Jowan created curriculum to assist families with the post-secondary education process starting in middle school. She facilitates workshops in five local school districts and also in one prison. To date she has assisted over 2,500 students that were not on track to pursue postsecondary paths and many more that were.In 2019 Jowan created an event called 1,000 Ties for young men ages 6-21 to teach them skills that she felt were getting lost. The goal is to teach them skills they will have for a lifetime and connect them with men from the community that can become their mentors. She has hosted the event for three years with almost 1,000 participants. She has been awarded the Future History Maker 2019 Award and the NCNW Trailblazer Award 2019. She was featured in the Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland Celebrate those that give Black 2019 exhibit as an Emerging Philanthropist. In 2020 she was honored as a Drum Major of Change by the Cleveland Public Library & a Phenomenal Woman Award recipient. She was awarded the Unsung Hero Award in 2022 by Cleveland Public Library. Jowan went on to win the Cleveland Leadership Center Accelerate Competition in 2020 for her 1,000 Ties Etiquette Program. Her nonprofit 1,000 Ties won the Community Service Award in the 2021 Stiletto Boss Awards. She released her first children's book, Zakari Goes to College in August of 2020. Her second book Grandma Hattie's Ice Cream released April 1, 2021, and her new book Zakari's Carnival Adventure March of 2022. Read More Read Less