Jimmy founded Build 2 Lead during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools and community programs closed, setting back access to education for BIPOC students even further. He saw the need to create pipelines for non-traditional access to networks and learning opportunities. Jimmy founded Build 2 Lead which now serves BIPOC youth in schools, youth spaces, and communities across Washington state.

“I’m driven to change the narrative of my family. No one in my family had gone to college. No one had owned a business. I started my online degree when I was 25 and graduated four-years later. At the same time, I was working with youth. I was starting my own business. I started to understand the importance of getting others to see it: the importance of school, that there are other pathways like being an entrepreneur. You have to see someone modeling it to know that it’s possible.”

In King County, only 20% of small business are owned by Black and Brown people. Only 33% of Black and Brown families own their home. Build 2 Lead programs such as Financial Literacy and Academic Advocacy are designed to educate and empower young people, their families, and their communities to change the narrative, to change systems, to shift power.

“ I learned so many lessons as a first-generation business owner; I had to break down a lot of barriers. Many other people are doing the same hard work. At Build 2 Lead, we’re using these collective experiences to create step by step guidance – to teach young people of color and communities of color to be entrepreneurs, to navigate systems, and to be advocates for their community as local business owners.”