We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Pojah recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The initial idea for Queen Academy, Inc. stemmed from my work as an educator. I taught middle school for several years, and during that time I noticed that many of my female students were unprepared to face all the challenges and social pressures that come with transitioning to high school. Based on that experience, I started Queen Academy in 2013 as an after-school mentoring club. When I became born again in 2014, the Lord Jesus Christ really shifted my focus and helped me to understand that a genuine relationship with Him was the only solution to the rejection, trauma, and mental health issues that many of my female students were battling every day. Over the years, I continued facilitating Queen Academy as a mentoring program in schools and churches I attended. In 2020, I became a licensed foster parent and began to understand firsthand some of the struggles that teens in foster care face, especially as they prepare to age out of the system. In 2022, we officially launched Queen Academy, Incorporated, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving young women in foster care, alternative schools, and kinship care through Christian mentoring and discipleship. My experience as a foster parent, coupled with my professional experience working with alternative schools, helped me to narrow the focus on this particular segment of the youth population because they are chronically underserved and most often forgotten about.

Danielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As mentioned, I have been an educator for the past 16 years, serving as a classroom teacher, school principal, and school district leadership coach and consultant. Developing an organization based on Christian mentoring has allowed me to fuse my love of teaching and mentoring young people with a desire to see them grow in their relationship with God, and be maximized to fulfill His destiny for their lives. Specifically, our mission at Queen Academy, Inc. is to offer support to girls in foster care and alternative schools in metro Atlanta and Central Georgia by connecting them with Christian mentors so that they do not get lost within the complexities of the social services system. We fulfill this mission through our two primary programs, the REGAL Mentoring Program and the REGAL Summer Camp Program. The REGAL Mentoring Program is based on a small group model, with 8-12 student participants per group. Queen Academy, Inc. partners with alternative school programs, and foster care agencies in metro Atlanta and Central Georgia to facilitate weekly small groups during the school day or after school using the REGAL Mentoring curriculum. In addition to weekly small-group mentoring sessions, participants also engage in free monthly field trips. The REGAL Summer Camp is a 4-week summer camp program, exclusively for middle and high school girls currently in foster care through Georgia’s Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS).

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

While there are many youth mentoring programs in the area, I believe that one thing that has set Queen Academy, Inc. apart and helped us to build our reputation in the market is our laser focus on our target demographic, girls in foster care, alternative schools, and kinship care. Additionally, our results have helped us to establish a positive reputation in the nonprofit youth services sector. Queen Academy participants consistently demonstrate significant improvements in their academic grades, school attendance, and behavior. This has allowed us to expand our school partnerships, as well as expand our impact by mentoring more young women in the community who meet our target demographic.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I’ve found the Bible to be the ultimate source in shaping my thinking and philosophy on all aspects of life, including how I manage my business. Aside from that, as a new nonprofit founder, one resource that significantly helped me is a YouTube channel called “Boss on a Budget,” specifically aimed at new and startup nonprofits. I learned all the technical aspects of launching and structuring my nonprofit, such as approaches to fundraising, recruiting board members, navigating legal paperwork, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.QueenAcademy.org
• Instagram: @QueenAcademyMentoring
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueenAcademyMentoring
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/queen-academy-inc/