Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Marlene Holmes, MSW. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Marlene , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

This is such a great question. The purpose behind my business mission was inspired by my experience, but recently I discovered that my late aunt paved the way for me.

Growing up I heard the stories of racism and challenges that my mother and her sisters experienced as Black tennis players in the 70s. My late aunt was the oldest like me, and the first to play a collegiate sport like me. She experienced so many challenges from teammates and coaches surrounding her talent and intelligence. It ultimately led her to discontinue her collegiate career prematurely.

Years later I experienced many of the same hurdles but competed all four years. I thought my experience was isolated therefore I internalized many micro aggressions throughout my career.

Years after competing I realized that many Black athletes and Black female
collegiate athletes shared my same journey. This ultimately led me to establish my business to minimize the internal trauma, address mental health, and provide resources to Black athletes in transition.

Like me, my aunt was an entrepreneur and had a business that empowered young women. My goal now is to keep her legacy alive which we’re doing through our scholarship that is names after her. This will be our second year awarding the scholarship to a Black female collegiate athlete. The scholarship applications will go live later this month!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m often asked “What do you do?” It’s honestly a tough question, but at the foundation I’m a sport social worker and instructional designer.

My company, The BFCA Experience LLC, focuses on educating, empowering, addressing mental health, and providing resources to athletes transitioning from sports into their next chapter.

We host/facilitate workshops, create curriculum for athlete focused organizations, provided individual services to athletes, and mentorship.

Since 2020 800 athletes and over 15 universities.

Our speciality is working with Black female collegiate athletes, but we serve all athletes.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m often asked how I arrived to the decision to not only start a business, but also why I pursued my doctorate.

The truth is after working in healthcare and being a therapist in the addiction space, I realized I had a different purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, being an administrator in healthcare established a strong foundation to work in any space. I realized that my perspective was often through the lens of an athlete and social worker. I was utilizing my leverage as an athlete to establish rapport with the patients (youth and adults), and constantly assessing behavior to determine the best approach with my social work training.

Leaving the field was terrifying, but I just knew there was more. I was forcing myself to remain in a space due to fear which would’ve ultimately caused me to remain stagnant.

It was the most terrifying pivot, but I decided to step out on faith and it paid off. I always tell young adults that your intuition (God) will never lead you astray.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I would say that completing my doctorate after the passing of my aunt, is by the far the hardest task I’ve ever completed.

As my aunt’s health was declining I was conducting interviews for my research and completing curriculum development projects for clients. I’m still not sure how I did it, but I know she is so proud of me. I’m committed to making a difference in many lives, because I understand my calling. All of my hurdles and challenges were necessary, because without them I wouldn’t be here doing what I love. It’s bigger than me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marleneholmes.com
• Instagram: @dr_marleyh
• Linkedin: Dr. Marlene Holmes, MSW