We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Quiana Malone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Quiana below.

Alright, Quiana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

It is my Greatest hope that if after I’ve fulfilled this life and one was to ask about me, one word would come to mind for most and that would be SUCCESSFUL! We hear the words success and successful so much, as its what many strive to be, however for me it wont be equated to how much I have obtained or acquired but more so how EFFECTIVE. There are many who do what I do but I know that I was given the heart to do it, and have been ordained to certain people’s lives. I want to have been able to touched the lives of many people rather through a simple hug, conversation, my coaching, or by me just being a listening ear.

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 am the Founder of 1 StepUp Inc and Dear Black Girl. Where both were created to be the Steppingstone to make all Milestones Achievable. 1StepUpInc was founded during one of the biggest struggles f my life, I had been on the run from the law for about 5 years, and during that time decided that I was ready to conquer my biggest hurdle which was ME! Unbeknownst to me that was my 1st step in shifting my mindset, just recognizing it was me! It wasn’t until I finally went to turn myself in that I knew this was a thing I wanted to gift to other people who were ready to shift but didn’t know how, or where to start, 1StepUp started out as a space for returning citizens, to get referrals, and help with their basic ADLs, but quickly turned into a space where mostly Black Women formerly incarcerated or not, came to find solace, peace, and a way through, this is where Dear Black Girl was birthed, it became our premiere program that provided quarterly cohorts for women who were ready to PIVOT! Dear Black Girl provides a space for you to be not only heard but grow, learn and create. We offer a cohort that operates off of these 4 elements 1.Loving yourself Better 2. Forgiveness 360 3. Stages of Change 4.Finishing Strong. We are an Organization that is rapidly growing and adding, we are now in the process of getting our 2 brand new Transitional Houses built, up and running.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest stories I had to learn was “Everyone is Not against You”. Growing up the way I did added to a lot of my insecurities and struggles i possessed over the years. Oftentimes I would project how I felt about myself on other people, which caused me to think that everyone was against me, when really it was Me against Me. Because I was used to disappointment, abandonment, and rejection, I felt like that’s what i’d always face, so why even try and when I did try I was so quick to sabotage it, out of fear that It might work. I was so used to the negative i chose to operate in it, because that’s what I knew how to control.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My biggest PIVOT in life was when I found myself homeless and sleeping on a bus stop, I had friends houses to stay at but it kept me and my son separated and apart, in my mind if i could let him stay with family and not drag him from pillar to post he would be better off, I also had a job but didn’t have a car, so i would have to sleep at the bus stop overnight until the 1st bus came only to get on it and go to another job. it was at that time that I knew enough was enough. I knew my life held more than what i was displaying, and I was also reminded that tough times don’t last but strong people do. It was at that time that I decided to get out of my own way, cut the pity arty and do what I knew how to do which was make a way, even when I couldn’t see one. My resilience is what made me and I was sleeping on it. Find out more about this story in my 2nd published book entitled PIVOT

Contact Info:

• Website: www.officialdearblackgirl.com/ www.1stepjax.org
• Instagram: dearblackgirl_1 / 1stepupjax1
• Facebook: Dear Black Girl
• Linkedin: Quiana Malone
• Twitter: 1StepUpJax
• Youtube: Dear Black Girl

Image Credits
Durkeeville Media/Devin D. Coleman