Andre’ first knew he was going to be an advocate for worker rights at the age of 5 when his mother (Rosey) was faced with caring for him or keeping a roof over their heads.   When Rosey was an aspiring cosmetologist, she would arrive early at her place of employment to get the beauty salon set up for her coworkers, after which she would take Andre’ to school and then finish up her day.  On one particular morning Rosey told her employer that she would be taking Andre’ to school to which her boss responded, “do not worry about coming back”. Her boss went on to say that Rosey had more interest in taking care of Andre’ than she did with having a job. At  5 years old Andre’ squeezed his mothers hands and said, “Mommy, I can take myself to school.”  Rosey cried, fretted and second guessed herself  as Andre walked into manhood to get himself to school in the heart of Kingston Jamaica

In 2015 Andre’ settled with the VA over his personal EEO case and donated the settlement (10k) to the employee engagement council at the VA.  Andre’s purpose for making the donation was to provide training to VA employees to highlight that how we treat each other impacts the quality of care provided to veterans and their dependents. 

 

It doesn’t take much to see that Andre’s experiences coupled with his selfless nature are attributes incumbent of a servant leader.  In 2019 Andre ran for the President of the NVAC council, but upon getting to the convention the delegates shared their concerns with his lack of experience.  Listening to the delegates, Andre ran for one of the VP positions and finished fourth in voting.  Admiring his courage to run, the delegates and Andre made a promise to each other. The promise was that if Andre’ stuck around and gained more knowledge, they would support him at the upcoming NVAC convention.  Running for council positions can be very intimidating but instead of running away from the roar Andre’ ran towards it.  Without a vision we shall peril and Andre painted a picture that gave others hope that it is ok to believe in yourself without feeling guilty..

 

Andre’ desires to build a table big enough for everyone to bring their chair, have a seat and speak openly without the fear of reprisal. We cannot be who we ought to be until our Brothers and Sisters become who they need to be.  To transcend mankind we must have a stake in the outcome of one another’s purpose and ensure it manifests uninterrupted.