State of Youth Culture Symposium

Friday April 17, 2009
Harold Washington Cultural Center
4701 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
10am - 5pm

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Meet Ms. Kandias Conda - Someone You Should Know

There are many women who deserve to be highlighted and there is no better time than Woman’s History Month to introduce you to Ms. Kandias Conda. Ms. Conda is a United States Air Force Veteran, Director of Youth Conferences and Programs for the Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, author, single parent, and entrepreneur don’t even begin to describe one Ms. Kandis Conda. Among Conda’s many accomplishments, she was honored by the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1995 for being the first African American woman to manage a woman’s professional basketball team, the Chicago Twisters (WBA). She is also the author of four books: How to Get That Cutie in Commercials, Full Conference Pass, For Teens Who Think They Know Everything, and Make $1,000 in 35 Days. Conda is also currently writing two more books; Too Young to be Broke and The Turning Point of Success. The Turning Point of Success features success stories from intriguing people like, Will Downing, Teddy Reily, Jo Soto, Melissa Morgan, David Banner and many more. N’Digo had the opportunity to catch up with Kandias Conda to get a better idea of how she does it all.

N’Digo- What’s your motivation?
Conda – “My faith in God and helping others. I enjoy seeing others benefit from what I’ve done. For individuals having them read my books then seeing how it’s changed their lives. Having the chance to see how my books can change someone’s life. I look forward helping other fill in that gap in what they’re already exposed to.”

N’Digo – How important is youth entrepreneurship to you?
Conda – “It’s paramount. Youth entrepreneurship is growing, but it nowhere where it should be today. There are some teachers that teach entrepreneurship who could give a bit more to the students. Education financing is being cut and we need teachers that are willing to take the bulls by the hors and be ambassadors of entrepreneurship education and move this ship (entrepreneurship education) forward.”

Conda helps run an international non-profit organization; the Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education (www.iiee.org) offers workshops and exposure to guest speakers over two and a half days from April 30 to May 2, 2009 at the Westin Hotel in Itasca, Illinois. To date, more that 500 students have registered from around the world including Mexico City, Mexico and Quebec.

N’Digo – What have been some of your greatest accomplishments?

Conda – Working with the Women’s Basketball Association (WBA) was very exciting. I was the team manager for the Chicago Twisters at a time when players had to pay for their own transportation to and from games. I was in the process of using my own money to buy the Chicago Twisters before the WBA was dismantled. I helped to bring the status of the organization up. It was liberating after being in the military. During that same time, my team won the WBA championship. I had the pleasure of seeing some of my players like Stacey Carney (Purdue University) and Whitney Young High School legend E.C. Hill (current assistant coach of Northern Illinois University), go on to the WNBA.”

N’Digo – How does it feel to be a woman, today?
Conda – “In this day and time, I feel dynamic. There are a lot of women who are running businesses, households, going to school and this is our time this is a paramount time for us, especially with the installment of an African American first lady, it’s an amazing time for African American women. Many women are emulating Michelle Obama and many of women are getting recognized for that.”
N’Digo – What do you want people to remember about you? What is your intended legacy?
Conda – “I want to help young people. I want to bring families together. I want to inform young people on simple things as enhancing their life skills. I’d like to raise the bar as far as educating people, especially on subjects that parents don’t like to discuss with young people. Some things we take for granted like having the ability to talk to our children.

Conda is a self published author who owns two businesses; GSW – a publication company, and Young Millionaires, LLC – an organization that establishes partnerships with colleges and universities to deliver financial literacy and entrepreneurship workshops to young people. Conda has a Bachelor in Workforce Development from Southern Illinois University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts from Chicago State University. For more information about the two and a half day youth conference, visit www.iiee.org.

This article was written by Scott L. Steward for N'Digo Magazine.