Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302805
of fields and backgrounds. She provides group counseling and coaching sessions rooted in identity development, professional development, goal setting and execution. Serving as a consultant to small businesses and nonprofit organizations as well, Glover interacts with educational leaders and groups, policymakers and political front-runners. "I facilitate courageous conversations and create community classrooms that educate the world on how to live life, abundantly," she said. Glover and a friend, Michelle Allen, founded I AM Developing Company several years ago as an educational consulting company devoted to educating African-Americans and serving the needs of African-American students in public schools. "African-American students make up 57 percent of the public- school population nationwide, but 73 percent of educators are white women," Glover explained. is gap provided an opportunity for these two black women to utilize a unique approach to discuss one of the most taboo topics in education: racial disparity. For two years, while still in college, Glover and Allen presented courses about assimilation, negotiation, creating safe spaces, privilege, personal bias, policy disenfranchisement, internalized racism and more. "We utilized this framework along with psychological and counseling theory to engage in courageous conversations about these topics and how they impact our education of students," she said. After graduation, the business partners took separate paths. Glover returned to Macon where she saw a need for female students to be mentored and for young adults to find purpose. Growing up in Macon, Glover's own mentors, camp leaders, principals and coaches all inspired her to be an educated woman: "I've been taught to be proud of who I am and where I come from." With four sisters and two brothers, Glover has worked hard to position most of her identity to be affiliated with her family ties. "I'm the first in my family to attend and graduate from college," she said. "For the first two years of college, my major was undeclared. I had the opportunity to explore and decided health and mental education were going to be part of my purposeful path." Speaking purpose into others' lives is her life's goal, but as a child, Glover was bullied because of the way she spoke. In middle school, she transitioned from a predominantly black school to one that was predominantly white. "e African-American vernacular English did not register with my classmates and I felt so much shame," she said. "I FACILITATE COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS AND CREATE COMMUNITY CLASSROOMS THAT EDUCATE THE WORLD ON HOW TO LIVE LIFE, ABUNDANTLY." -ANDREA GLOVER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | maconmagazine.com 69