2020 Speakers
Sabrina Madison
Sabrina “Heymiss Progress” is an award-winning entrepreneur in the Madison community and founder of The Progress Center for Black Women. She is known as an inspirational leader and connector who brings people together and makes big things happen.
Sabrina is also a community organizer, poet, master collaborator and a proud mother of SaVance, a brilliant young man.
Sabrina grew up in Milwaukee amid a dysfunctional family and became a teen mother at age 15. Despite her struggles and circumstances, she was determined to make a better life for herself and her son. She moved to Madison with the hope of creating better opportunities for herself and her son.
She honed her leadership, public speaking and outreach skills as both a student and employee at Madison Area Technical College, where she worked for 10 years. She was quickly immersed in the community of Madison, and her speaking events took her to the national stage.
As she attended conferences and events in places like Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, one thing she quickly became aware of–and could not get over–was that Black people in Madison (particularly Black women) did not have the same access and opportunities as white people did. She saw a disturbing racial divide in businesses and the community at large despite the fact that many people in Madison were acting like everything was fine.
So she set to work to make the change she wanted to see. Under the Heymiss Progress brand she’s created the Black Women’s Leadership Conference, the Conversation Mixtape, the Black Business Expo, and the Black Excellence Youth Conference.
Sabrina Madison is affectionately known as “Heymiss Progress,” a nickname that comes from her father, who said she represented the progress of his personal struggle (a reference to a famous Frederick Douglas quote). And progress – one of her core values – is at the heart of all of her work.
Her vision for The Progress Center for Black Women is to create a Madison community where Black women proliferate as powerful CEOs, owners of local shops and leaders in their own right.
Sabrina is also a community organizer, poet, master collaborator and a proud mother of SaVance, a brilliant young man.
Sabrina grew up in Milwaukee amid a dysfunctional family and became a teen mother at age 15. Despite her struggles and circumstances, she was determined to make a better life for herself and her son. She moved to Madison with the hope of creating better opportunities for herself and her son.
She honed her leadership, public speaking and outreach skills as both a student and employee at Madison Area Technical College, where she worked for 10 years. She was quickly immersed in the community of Madison, and her speaking events took her to the national stage.
As she attended conferences and events in places like Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, one thing she quickly became aware of–and could not get over–was that Black people in Madison (particularly Black women) did not have the same access and opportunities as white people did. She saw a disturbing racial divide in businesses and the community at large despite the fact that many people in Madison were acting like everything was fine.
So she set to work to make the change she wanted to see. Under the Heymiss Progress brand she’s created the Black Women’s Leadership Conference, the Conversation Mixtape, the Black Business Expo, and the Black Excellence Youth Conference.
Sabrina Madison is affectionately known as “Heymiss Progress,” a nickname that comes from her father, who said she represented the progress of his personal struggle (a reference to a famous Frederick Douglas quote). And progress – one of her core values – is at the heart of all of her work.
Her vision for The Progress Center for Black Women is to create a Madison community where Black women proliferate as powerful CEOs, owners of local shops and leaders in their own right.
Harvie Herrington
Lea Hortman
Lea Hortman born and raised on the Northside of Milwaukee, WI where the themes of poverty, violence, and low self-esteem greet the doorsteps of young black|brown women each day. Lea has literally allowed the challenges in her life to evolve her into the creative she has become as she birthed the name Lea V. Poetry, writing since six years old. Fatherless at an early age, left her single-mother to raise three kids through adversity teaching values of love, faith, and hope.
Pulling from the grassroots of faith, her mother planted Lea persevered through trauma, abuse, and rejection to be translated through her writing, spoken word, and mentoring. Realizing the value in writing and how it became necessary to her growth and healing she began to share it with others in 2009. Growing to learn her gifts Lea and cultivating her passion Lea had a desire to expand her educational experiences completing her Associates in Human Services at a Local Technical College ( MATC) 2015, Bachelor of Science in Social Work 2018, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was through that time of transition, self-discovery, and development she began to immensely working with at-risk youth in the Greater Milwaukee Area.
Volunteering and working for organizations such as Boys & Girls Club, Hope House Milwaukee, World Outreach Center, Milwaukee Christian Center, New Hope Youth and Family Services, Kingsway Community Center, Owens Place, Be You, Inc., Open Door Center, and Milwaukee Public Schools and more. Through it all Founding Under My Wing, Incorporated in 2015 Lea knew the value of providing safe space for young girls to build character, leadership, and mentorship to express themselves creating a Nonprofit well-connected to her story and the girls she was connected to. Now focusing on addressing the stigma of girls being unprepared socially and emotionally for adulthood, Lea desires to build a culture of young women to be the future mentors of tomorrow.
Organically growing an audience since Lea was a teenager she has now had the opportunity to create spaces for individuals to self-reflect, challenge perspectives impacting them to live a life of healing and empowerment. Not only serving her community Lea has completed over 20 workshops, serving thousands of youth and millennials through partnerships, and published a book that serves as a healing tool for women with broken hearts. (No Edits, Journey of Healing)
Recently recognized as a Milwaukee Treasure (2018), A Launch MKE Graduate ( 2019), Lea seeks to propel the mission forward to the globe to inspire, empower and impact individuals to live a life of healing, confidence, and transformation. Moving forward in purpose allowing her gifts to connect her with people, places and things to develop the life she always dreamed of.
Pulling from the grassroots of faith, her mother planted Lea persevered through trauma, abuse, and rejection to be translated through her writing, spoken word, and mentoring. Realizing the value in writing and how it became necessary to her growth and healing she began to share it with others in 2009. Growing to learn her gifts Lea and cultivating her passion Lea had a desire to expand her educational experiences completing her Associates in Human Services at a Local Technical College ( MATC) 2015, Bachelor of Science in Social Work 2018, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was through that time of transition, self-discovery, and development she began to immensely working with at-risk youth in the Greater Milwaukee Area.
Volunteering and working for organizations such as Boys & Girls Club, Hope House Milwaukee, World Outreach Center, Milwaukee Christian Center, New Hope Youth and Family Services, Kingsway Community Center, Owens Place, Be You, Inc., Open Door Center, and Milwaukee Public Schools and more. Through it all Founding Under My Wing, Incorporated in 2015 Lea knew the value of providing safe space for young girls to build character, leadership, and mentorship to express themselves creating a Nonprofit well-connected to her story and the girls she was connected to. Now focusing on addressing the stigma of girls being unprepared socially and emotionally for adulthood, Lea desires to build a culture of young women to be the future mentors of tomorrow.
Organically growing an audience since Lea was a teenager she has now had the opportunity to create spaces for individuals to self-reflect, challenge perspectives impacting them to live a life of healing and empowerment. Not only serving her community Lea has completed over 20 workshops, serving thousands of youth and millennials through partnerships, and published a book that serves as a healing tool for women with broken hearts. (No Edits, Journey of Healing)
Recently recognized as a Milwaukee Treasure (2018), A Launch MKE Graduate ( 2019), Lea seeks to propel the mission forward to the globe to inspire, empower and impact individuals to live a life of healing, confidence, and transformation. Moving forward in purpose allowing her gifts to connect her with people, places and things to develop the life she always dreamed of.
Ajamou Butler
Born and raised on Milwaukee's Northside, Brother Butler has always been one to progress from his pain. Growing up in Milwaukee's notorious 53206 zip code, Butler was exposed to the uglier sides of poverty. His experiences with poverty up-close as a child have shaped his outlook on life as an adult. In May 2012, Butler launched his Non-Profit organization, Heal the Hood MKE. Heal the Hood MKE has grown to be an example of pushing against social injustice and rewriting the narrative of inner-city MKE. Heal the Hood MKE has 2 Major arms. 1) Our Annual Block Parties/Outreach Fairs and 2) Our in-school curriculum called "We are Not Poets, We Are Messengers!" Butler is known to use his experiences in Milwaukee and his spirituality mixed together to come up with his own style of spoken word ministry. Mr. Butler is an educator, a brother, a father, a child of God and a community activist who lives by the motto "Heal the Hearts, Heal the Hoods, Heal the Hoods"!