Marcus “Dr. Respect” Gentry

is the founder and President of Marcus Gentry & Associates a Business service that develops and delivers programs that enhance wellness, personal and professional growth, empowerment and leadership; builds habits of success, improves organizational performance and increases workplace awareness through educational training programs. He has worked in the field of training, consulting and social services for over 25 years.

Dr. Respect is able to use his experience as a playwright and recording artist/entertainer to refine and refresh his methods of delivery. He is the writer, director, and producer of several theatrical productions that are educational in focus and historical in content. He is also the host of an Internet television program called, “Above and Beyond with Marcus Gentry” where he interviews educators, entrepreneurs, entertainers and everyday people who seek to live their life above and beyond mediocrity.

Mr. Gentry lends his talent and expertise to a variety of professional organizations, including the National At-Risk Education Network as a member of their advisory council and columnist for their newsletter, Silhouettes. He is also the vice-president of the Alliance of Chicago Trainers as one of their lead presenters. He has also served on the consulting team for the Social Service Department of Public Schools for Gary, Indiana.

Dr. Respect is a nationally and internationally acclaimed speaker, having presented on a variety Of topics such as Stress management, Team Building, Diversity, How to deal with Difficult people and R.E.S.P.E.C.T. as a Global initiative. He has traveled along the east coast of Australia and Africa, from cities to small villages where he has provided lectures and workshops to teachers, students, religious leaders and various businesses. He was recently a presenter at the Hawaii conference for Diversity in front of an audience of military and civilian participants with rave reviews. He is currently one of the top requested speakers for the Department of Defense and their nationally recognized Yellow Ribbon Events.

Lamont "The Motivator" Brown

is the Global Director of Training for A Mastermind Creation. Challenges and adversity are no stranger to this Chicago native. Raised in Harvey, IL, Lamont Brown experienced a lot of success athletically. However, while attending Brooks Jr. High School, he had difficulty dealing with his mother being on drugs, his stepfather leaving and his biological father in and out of jail.

While at Thornton High School, he began to give in to the pressures of street life, where he found himself in handcuffs over 20 times. Although he was a convicted felon twice, he was fortunate to escape the penitentiary by successfully completing sixty months of strict probation. Unfortunately, he had several close friends that received jail terms ranging from 3 to 30 years.

In addition to having a second chance, Lamont was fortunate to witness his mother delivered from drugs and to reunite with both fathers. In the midst of negativity, Lamont decided to change his life and become an example of hope to many. He wanted to become successful so that he can reach back into the communities of the world and say, “If I can do it, you can too”.

Lamont’s accomplishments are astounding. Over the past few years, he has spoken to thousands of individuals across the world on entrepreneurship, team building, overcoming cultural diversities, motivating the motivator and much more. He has empowered students and staff in the Chicagoland area on every level, ranging from elementary schools to universities. Lamont has dedicated his life to helping people reach success in every aspect of their lives.

Lamont is a graduate of Cains Barber College and Co-Owner of SuperNatural Cuts Barber & Beauty Salons. In 2004, he was the recipient of a very distinguished award given by his alma mater, Thornton Township High School (21st Century). In March of 2006, Lamont also received an award from Toastmasters International for advancement in an International Speech Contest. In that same year, within a four-month span, he also received over 20 awards recognizing his speaking ability. He is the Global Director of Training for A Mastermind Creation, a company known for the “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” program. As a member of Tabernacle of Life in Holiness Church, Lamont has also received several awards for his hard work and dedication.

Andrea Deese " Woman of Respect" Shepard.
Crisis Intervention Specialist

An HIV/AIDS Prevention Program Manager for Aunt Martha’s’ Youth Service Center, Inc, Andrea, for the past six years, has provided HIV education, training and testing in the Southern Suburbs of Cook County. She is a presenter/speaker who is candid and very passionate about her work. She has 15 years experience in the health service field, she in an HIV case manager for HIV+ people. In addition to providing HIV/AIDS and STD awareness and prevention to the professional staff and volunteers at Aunt Martha’s, Andrea has extensive experience working with young people. She is very dedicated to the people she serves and takes an aggressive position in educating and advocating for people who are plagued with HIV.

In November 2002 she was nominated to receive the Red Ribbon Award for Illinois for her work in the community; and in 2003 she received the Martin Luther King Award for services she provides.

Andrea strongly believes that she has been blessed by God to have a passion for her work and that He has blessed her with the knowledge that she has. She strives daily to touch someone’s life in a positive way and to give words of blessings and encouragement.

In her spare time, she loves spending it with her sons, and is a mother and friend to many youth and young adults in her community. She also enjoys going to church and is involved in bowling.

Andrea also works with the team of Mastermind Productions, founded by Marcus Gentry. Her ability to communicate encouraging words, assist youth and young adults in making positive decisions and change humbles her that much more. “As a nurturer, it is my responsibility to educate, uplift and demonstrate what most adults will not take time to teach our children.” “It does take a village and it is my responsibility to motivate, teach, and love our children.” “I always felt and exemplified this, but being a part of Mastermind Productions allows me to do this with powerful men that I respect to the fullest. The team from MMP are ONE in presence, a family. She also performs in the Next Generation as Emmett Till’s mother, a female slave, and Angela Davis.

Kim "The Coach" Olver
Expert Relationship Coach

Kim Olver has been involved in the helping profession for over 20 years. Actually, she knew in the fifth grade that she would become a helper to others when many schoolmates would seek her out for advice, typically regarding budding “romantic” relationships. Her empathic understanding, supportive manner and practical solutions to problems made her the coach of choice even then.

Kim is the author of Leveraging Diversity at Work and the author of the in print books, Empowerment Parenting and Relationship Empowerment. She is a member of the American Counseling Association and a certified reality therapy instructor with the William Glasser Institute. She has provided training to thousands of people in Glasser’s ideas that gave birth to the concepts she teaches now: “Inside Out Empowerment.” She helps others make positive changes and triumph through difficult periods of their lives. She was a resident counselor in college, worked on a crisis hotline, worked in a residential program for adult mental health consumers, worked in a residential program for teens in out-of-home placement, counseled survivors of child sexual abuse, and for the past 10 years, taught other helpers to do what she does using the principles of Choice Theory (CT).

n 1987, Kim had her first exposure to Dr. William Glasser’s CT and it has been making all the difference in her life. It was CT that gave Kim the inner strength she would need to manage the events that life had in store for her. While committed to very rewarding work in the field of child welfare, it was necessary to practice CT principles to prevent stress and burnout. At the age of 34, she learned her husband had a terminal illness and by age 38, she was raising two teenage boys alone. CT helped through that period. Then, some time after that, she reentered the dating world after a 16-year marriage. This may have been the biggest challenge of all---to stay the person she wanted to be and manage the disappointments and heartaches involved in attempting to find the right person to share her life. Currently, CT is assisting her to accept her youngest son’s deployment to Iraq.

Kim is an expert in relationship, parenting and personal empowerment. She works with individuals who want to gain more effective control of their lives and relationships, and who would like to achieve greater satisfaction and heightened contentment. What makes her services different from other relationship experts is that she helps her clients tap into their internal power source by focusing only on those things they can change, and as a result, her clients become empowered so they can deliberately create the life and relationships they deserve.

Ernest Nyingi Irungu
Ambassodor of Respect In Africa

I am a realistic journalist who wants to tell of the good things that are happening in Africa, in the lives of people and create a great loving community.

I hope to, and purpose to sensitize the society on areas of need and how to find solutions through empowering them and connecting them to people who can help them. I am communicating the value that man has been created by God, and how they should live without fear or doubt that they were made good enough black, blue, green and white.

I have written especially for men in magazines and shared with men both personally and in meetings about becoming the men they were made to be. I am working on stories on video about what men can offer in this father-son deficient era.

I have written for the reason of communicating truth and will continue to do so.

Ernest Nyingi Irungu
+254 0724377455
Email: ernestlovesyouth@yahoo.com
Box 4332 (01002) Thika, Kenya

David " The Historian" Giles
Master Collector of Historical Data

In Honorable Memory