Dr. Velma Trayham, a native of Houston, Texas, has become one of few Black female entrepreneurs to be awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award by President Joe Biden. The award was presented to the founder of and CEO of Thinkzilla Consulting during the Gathering of Queens Economic Empowerment event.
The event was hosted by the Millionaire Mastermind Academy in Houston to share new strategies and dynamic leadership principles for success, according to a statement. Recipients of the award must have completed a minimum of 4,000 hours of volunteer service.
The annual event honors people who have exhibited “outstanding character, work ethic and dedication to their communities,” the statement added.
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“Dr. Velma received The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for all of the hard work she does to help so many people change their lives, by ending poverty through entrepreneurship,” according to presenter Dr. Verna Caddie.
Trayham is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, speaker, and economic empowerment specialist who believes that inclusive, equitable businesses and communities are what drive prosperity.
Like several entrepreneurs, Trayham had a difficult upbringing. She was born into extreme poverty in Houston, Texas but emerged amidst the difficulties to become a successful entrepreneur and transformational thinker, Black News reports. Owing to the challenges she faced growing up, the entrepreneur wants to uplift people in poverty and impact them with skills. To this end, she recently founded a $500,000 scholarship fund to support Black women entrepreneurs in the United States.
Trayham’s scholarship fund is part of her Millionaire Mastermind Entrepreneur Accelerator Program and is also supported by her Millionaire Mastermind Academy and Thinkzilla Consulting Group, one of her companies.
“You can’t fix a problem if you don’t understand the culture, and I’m here to embrace leaders who are passionate about change,” she told ABC15’s Kaley O’Kelley last year after expanding her agency to Arizona. “It’s definitely time for a change, and I believe Arizona is a state that is embracing that change.”
Black News reports that the accelerator program has supported more than 7,000 women nationwide to gain education on business operations. The accelerator program essentially provides extensive mentoring, business training, and access to funding growth opportunities for minority business owners, according to Trayham.
Her Millionaire Mastermind Academy has already awarded $60,000 in scholarships and more than $30,000 in seed funding to help women entrepreneurs succeed in business.
Trayham, according to her website, has created winning strategies for influential companies, boasting millions in monthly traffic visitors, and reaching multi-millions in revenue. As an entrepreneur, she has started, built, and sold several successful businesses.
