Black History Month Career Panel Inspires Youth to Dream Big

February 23, 2026

The young people at our girls home enjoyed a Black History Month career panel organized by our Youth Advisory Board.

The event, coordinated with support from coworkers Tokeisha Everett and Naomi Penny, brought together four accomplished women of color from diverse professional backgrounds to share their journeys, their successes, setbacks, and the lessons they learned along the way.

This year’s Black History Month theme at Mercy Home is “Honoring Our Past and Celebrating our Future,” program manager Gewanda Monroe said. The panel was designed to help girls envision their own next steps.

“We were looking for panelists who were women of color in various fields,” Monroe said. “We wanted to make sure that we had people that encompass different pathways and show the youth that you can have different paths to get to where you want to be.”

The panel featured Dr. Tiara Harris, founder of The Well and a Doctor of Physical Therapy and certified personal trainer; Karissa Brooks Johnson, a cake artist and founder of Karissa’s Cakes and Sweets LLC; Jennifer Gillespie, an educator with Thornton Fractional District 215; and Brigette Norwood, CPA, an accountant with Comprehensive Rehab Consultants.

Each woman spoke about what inspired their career paths, the challenges they faced, and what helped them succeed. One of the panelists shared how a setback became motivation.  

“That showed our youth that things may not start off the way you want,” Monroe said.  

For Brigette Norwood, participating in the event was about giving back.

“I’m a native of Chicago and so many kids need inspiration and somebody to look up to,” Norwood said. “I loved that the kids had an interest in what I do and asking me questions. I like being able to have that dialogue with younger people.”

Throughout the evening, the girls asked questions that included: What inspired you to choose this career? What is the most challenging part of your job? What advice do you have for youth who don’t know what they want to do yet? Who is a Black role model who impacted your life?

Youth Advisory Board member Simone helped lead the discussion alongside fellow board member Dania, reading questions and assisting with the build-your-own ice cream sundae bar that the young people enjoyed during the panel.

“I am proud to be on the board,” Simone said. “We try to make Mercy Home a lot more fun for everyone. … Since it’s Black History Month, I’m hoping that this will give not only me, but everyone else a chance to see how other women of color can make it in the world and do great things.”

For Youth Advisory Board member Charla, the advice shared during the panel will stick with her long after Black History Month ends.

“I’m definitely going to use it in college and in my future,” she said. “She told me to limit the distractions when I take notes so I’m going to start doing that.”

Many young people shared their fears and uncertainties regarding their future. In return, they received reassurance from the panelists, women who had dealt with similar struggles.

“It showed them that if they were able to do it, they can do it too,” Monroe said. “A lot of our girls opened up about their fears and struggles … and were able to be vulnerable and get reassurance.”

One of the panelists left the girls with a powerful reminder.

“My shirt says to take up space,” Gillespie said in her closing comments. “Don’t shrink yourself based on somebody else’s standards or views. Take up all the space in the room.” 

Thank you to our panelists and our coworkers for organizing this inspirational evening.