July 18, 2025 • 20 mins
Reverend Dr. Adrian Booth Johnson
- Founder of the Woye Bra Initiative under the nonprofit Infinity Global Empowerment.
- Former executive at Coca-Cola and U.S. Department of Energy.
- A passionate advocate for women’s empowerment in Africa, especially in Ghana.
- Known affectionately as “Reverend Granny” in African villages.
🌍 Key Accomplishments
- Created over 325 women entrepreneurs in Ghana, West Africa.
- Launched a program to produce and distribute reusable sanitary pads to combat period poverty.
- Travels to Africa twice a year to train and support women in business, marketing, and financial literacy.
- Developed partnerships with organizations like Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and The Links, Inc. to support her mission.
🧭 Personal Journey
- Became a mother at 17, earned her GED, and later a business degree from the University of Louisville.
- Worked her way up from secretary to project manager in nuclear energy and later to corporate leadership at Coca-Cola.
- Inspired by a lifelong dream to go to Africa, which she fulfilled in 2001 and has continued annually since.
💡 Programs and Initiatives
- Woye Bra: A program that empowers women in Ghana to make and sell reusable sanitary pads, helping girls stay in school.
- Youth Engagement: Connects U.S. students (e.g., from Cass Tech in Detroit) with African youth through Zoom and cultural exchanges.
- HBCU Engagement: Took 21 HBCU students to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup as part of Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign.
🗣️ Inspirational Quotes
- “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
- “The question is not who is going to let you be successful, but who is going to stop you.”
- “Sometimes it’s just a bend in the road, not the end of the road.”
- “When I walk into a dark room, I don’t look for light. I know God is there.”
🌐 How to Support
- Website: www.woyebra.org
- Donations support training, materials, and expansion of the Woye Bra program.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host of weekly Money Making
Conversation master Class show. The interviews and information that this
show provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading
other people's success stories and start living your own. If
you want to be a guest on my show, please
visit our website, money Making Conversations dot com and click
to be a guest button Chris submit and information will
(00:22):
come directly to me. Now, let's get this show started.
My next guest is in studio. He's Reverend doctor Adrian
Booth Johnson. And one of the things we don't talk
about a lot of things. One of the things that
you're doing that's really noteworthy is that you've created over
three hundred and twenty five that's right, women entrepreneurs and Ghana,
West Africa and please welcome to the Money Making Conversation
(00:43):
Master Class. Reverend Doctor Adrian Booth Johnson.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I'm blessed. I'm blessed in how they failed?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Should I do? Doctor Johnson? Of Reverend Johnson?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
How about Reverend john Okay, we're gonna ride off that
Reverend Johns, which I'm comfortable with saying because of the
fact that you know a friend of mine at the
studio ul some information about you to me and said, Raean,
she'll be a great guest.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Good And.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Why are you doing something? And where are you from?
I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. My daddy was in
the Navy for twenty five years whatever, and he graduated
from Norfolk State University, and my mama went to Saint
Paul's College hbc US and we moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Daddy became an internal revenue agent.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I don't know what was he was there, people like you, no.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
No, no. If you're doing right, he did. But if
you're doing wrong, no, great. So I'm from Harris Creek, Kentucky.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Harris Creek, Kentucky's Yeah, I tried to drop it out
something And then so so so you you was in Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
What type of life did they leave for you? Did
you do education there or what happened?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So you know, if you want to make God laugh,
tell him what your plans are. So my plans I
was running track for Male High School. I was thought
I was gonna go to Tennessee and I run for
the Tiger Belle, But instead I got pregnant. Seventeen pregnant.
So my daddy was into education. He said, well, they
put you out of day school back in the day.
In nineteen sixty nine, they put you out of day school.
(02:11):
So I went to night school, Hearn's Trade School, got
a GED. But I always dreamed of going to Africa,
and so I said, God, I don't know how you're
gonna do this with a GED, but okay, but.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
You always dream of going to Africa.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Always dreamed of going to Africa.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
You know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
For some reason, I always dreamed of working offshore, and
that came true. I did work off shore eighty five
miles out in the Gulf, and because I was a
Jaques Cousteau fan, so I got that Jaques Coustave got
me off eighty five miles out in the go.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
What got you to Africa?
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I can't tell you that it was a TV show
or anything. Maybe it was daddy being in navy, traveling
coming home with all these great wonderful gifts from going
to these far away places. I just always wanted to
go to Africa. But I also I know the three p's.
You gotta know what your passion is so you'll know
what your purpose is and then persevere. My passion is
helping women, helping women in Africa, and so that's what
(03:06):
I do. That that was my passion and that is
my purpose in life. So I said, God, what do
you need to do? So God said, with that GED
and I'm married seventeen divorced at twenty two. Well that okay,
So it's just Bill and out. I'm a single mom.
I'm a single mom and I'm just grinding ANDed with
(03:28):
a GED divorce and divorce. So I started as a
secretary and I saw where my boss was always going
to lunch and I said, wait a minute, you going
to lunch. And the only reason why you going to
lunch and I'm sitting there typing up your papers is
because you got a college degree. And I got a GED.
I grabbed my purse. He said, where you going, Adrian.
I said, I'm going to college. And so that's when
I went to I went to community college first because
(03:49):
I didn't have the confidence in myself. So I went
to Jefferson Community College got my socials degree, and then
I went to University of Louis who graduated for the
School of Business. And I said, Bill, you stick with me.
We're gonna go to the moon. We just might land
on a star. Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So wow, that's right, there's inspiring, Okay, because we've got
to build a story. Okay, seventeen seventeen, Mom got married,
got married. You know back then people get married just
a reputation. It's a clean up of reputation. Yeah, it's
a pregnancy.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
They're gonna be a wedding, right, marriage over with ged
ged And then you sitting there her being a secretary
secretary and then you clerk typists, and you said, look,
I'm I'm gonna carve out some time to change my life.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, I'm going for it. I said, for me to
do what God wants me to do, and I for
me to get to Africa, for me to have my
son go to college and be somebody. I gotta set
the tone. I got to pave the way, and other
women have gone and paved the way ahead of me.
I got to go because I got to go help
the women in Africa.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So so now we we got our degree. Business, got business.
So I'm assuming you're not a clerk typist anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
No, I got clerk type for me.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
So where were you working at that time?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I went to work for Westinghouse Energy in Pittsburgh. Okay,
so Bill and I went to Pittsburgh. We left Pittsburgh,
a friend of mine, Darnell Johnson, told me about a
job with US Department of Energy. They were looking for
black women and energy. I was like, that's me. Right
at Western House, I was a project matter. I said,
(05:23):
that's me. I went to Washington, d C. US Department
of Energy. I was in solar energy. I said, come on, Bill,
We're going to Washington DC. Bill said, Mama, great, because
you know what. We got to Washington. It was all
single women. I found a village of professional women and
we all had children and so we just helped each other.
We helped raise our sons.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That's this is a beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
And I'm smiling because you you you exude that that
love that I can do it. And then your story
is so simple, but it's so honest, you know what
I'm saying. That's that's the See a lot of people
tell their story and I go, now, no, you missed something,
but I want to get to the next story with you. Okay,
So when did you your resumes? Said Coca Cola. Yes,
So when did you get to Coca Cola.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Well, I was working for the By then, I left
the Department of Energy federal government, went to local government.
I was at DC Public Schools, but I always wanted to,
you know, work in corporate America. So one of my
girlfriends told me about that Ed Washington was hiring somebody.
There was a group out of Boston called New Addition
was just starting and they were coming from Boston, and
she said they look for somebody to hire them. I said,
(06:26):
I'm the woman for the job. So by the daytime
I was working at DC Public Schools and in the
evening I was Adrian. I was a public relations firm.
ED Washington call said I need somebody to do a
promotion for this group New Addition. I said, okay, great,
I'm a woman for the job. He hired me. I
did the promotion. A year later, he called me, he said, Adrian,
(06:47):
He said, would you like to go to work at
Cocoa Cola? I said, if you're not joking, listen, it
take me about ten minutes to find my boss here
at the school system, about five minutes to tell me
where are you out in Silver Spring, Maryland? What about fifteen?
What about twenty minute drive? What is it one o'clock.
I can start at three this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You are so engaging, so so so that's you're the
job for me. That's when you look in the mirror
and you.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
What I I always talk about people who are fear changed.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yes, they fear, they are known, right, that is not part.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Of your mom because I have God in my life.
So when you have fear, then you don't have faith.
And if you got faith, then you don't have fear.
So I call it a dark room religion. When I
walk into a dark room, I don't look for a
light because I know God is there. So when God
tells me to go preach in Kenya, he said, I
got a message for the women people in Kenya. I
(07:40):
tell my husband. I said, look, I got to run
to Kenya this weekend. He said, well, we don't know
anybody in that roby. I said, I know, but don't
be called delta. I'm getting ready to go to Nieroba
this weekend. God gave me a message to give and
I go. I traveled Africa by myself.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Now, now, when you when you went to the whole process,
because we I wanted to see when you were because
you said early on Africa was the vision for Africa? Okay? Cool?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Now when did in the steps because of your life?
When did you first go to Africa?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I went to Africa in two thousand and one. My
niece Adria was doing some type of study of broad
program something. She was at Wellesley College and Pearline. My
sister call and said, let's go to South Africa. Adria
is there. I was like, Adria is named after me.
I'm out, We're going. We went to South Africa, fell
in love with it.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
From too far to South Africa.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
We went to a durban South Africa.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Been there now, I'm gonna tell you something. You know,
because you have to go through Johannesburg and then connecting
you drive down and so. And when I was doing
the Steve Hard Morning Show, they asked us to come
and broadcast in Durban, Okay.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And for the life of me.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I could not wrap my head around that there was
the technology there in Durban to broadcasts.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
That's how simple My mind had been dumbed down to
the stereotypes of technology in Africa period, let alone South
Africa and also South Africa apartheid. So I was dealing
with a lot of confusion and so and finally when
I went over there, I was ashamed because it was
like I landed into Atlanta. Yes road, smooth car, new
(09:13):
car dealerships, everything was beautiful, black people running things. I
was really taken aback. But of course you've been to Africa,
You've dealt with these stereo types that I'm supposed to
be a person, a learned person, educated person, a liberal person.
But still I was saddled with the stereotypes. That's a problem, correct.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It's a problem for people that don't go. See I
started in two thousand and one. I've been going to
Africa every year since two thousand and one. I go.
So I've created women empowerment programs in Durban and South Africa,
Liberia and Monroevio, Liberia. So, yeah, you can't watch what
TV says. So you got to go for yourself. So
(09:53):
you have to. I say, you have to inspect what
you expect, right.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And so you can.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I say, you're unique, You're an inspiration you because you're
not afraid. Now know, if an opportunity to comes your way,
you're gonna raise your hand. You told your son Bill,
let's go, and your son had to be one of
the most motivated individuals because he's seen motivation. Motivation is
his mama. That's right, his mama, you know, you know,
(10:22):
walk through a brick wall is his mama.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's Bill Green knows that Bill went to Howard University's Alpha.
So I had my son. You're I'm an Aka. Bill
was seventeen. And then I prayed to God. I said, God,
look I'm getting old. I want to get married again.
I want to have another baby. Twenty five years later,
see because God does answer your prayers. I met him
in the airport. Joe Johnson, attorney Joe Johnson out of Detroit, Michigan.
(10:46):
And at forty three, I had another baby, Jli Johnson.
And in Africa, when I go, they say, here comes
granned reverend Granny.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Now women entrepreneurs. That's right, and gone on West Africa.
What is that all about?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So it started. Joe and I bought a thousand reusable
sanitary paths because we know the period poverty is a issue.
So we bought a thousand reusable sanitary pads. We took
them to London to give them a jalo. While she
was at the London School of Economics. Say Jaale go
do a feasibility to study in Gonda. See if that
really is a need. Jala's my daughter, Okay, So Jalas
came back. She said, Mama, they really need the pads.
(11:21):
So we decided instead of giving them fish, let's teach
them how to fish. So instead of giving them fish,
we created women entrepreneurs who make and sell reusable sanitary pads.
Because what we found is that ninety five percent of
the girls and living in villages in Ghana miss twenty
percent of the school of being out of school due
to lack of access to sanitary pads. So now they
(11:42):
don't have to because now my three hundred and twenty
five women are making pads so girls can go to school.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So now to get to that point, you had to
create structure. Yes, okay, and you in the country. Okay,
how did that get set up?
Speaker 1 (11:55):
So I set it up by creating. You know, God
sends people. Is you the vision, He will give you
the provision. So I have a team over there. I
have a team on the ground, team who does things,
and I do the fundraising. So I'm gonna raise the funds.
Here in America, we go through the churches. So we'll
go to. They'll go to a village and say, pick
ten women who've done one of two things. Either they're
(12:15):
asking God for a miracle or they're asking God for
a second chance. If they're doing one of those, they
can be in my Woe You Bra program and Woe
You Bra in America. When you say I'm on my period,
in Africa, they say I'm on my woey Bra. So
that's how we started.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
The name of the business.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
That's the name of the whoa nonprofit.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Woe Ye Bra, w o ye b r R.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, now you're not from the country, so I probably
ain't staying it right.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
But I want everybody here because of the fact that
you're doing something, and you're doing something you know, you
know whatever. Say your walkie talk you know you walk,
you fly because you're flying over there, and make it
every year when we come back, we're gonna continue this
conversation with Granny.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Reverend doctor Granny who Adrian Booth justin making a difference.
Will your broad Foundation.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations master Class hosted by Rashaan MacDonald.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Speaking of Reverend doctor Adrian Booth Johnson aka Granny, where
she goes over to Africa. Over here, she's just my
friend because she's making a difference. And when you make
a difference some police else, that means you're making a
difference where you are. That's right, on a regular basis.
In this case, three hundred and twenty five women have
become entrepreneurs in Gona, West Africa.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Now, when you was.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
At Coca Cola, that's right, what any programs, any relationships
you created and when you exited that you took back
over to Africa, talk about your exit plan.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, Coca Cola was a great company to work for,
and a lot of the marketing skills I learned, I
now teach them to my three hundred and twenty five women.
So I teach them marketing, sales, customer service. I teach
them financial literacy because most of my women are uneducated, right,
and so I teach them. And that's why I go
twice a year. I go once just to teach them.
(14:13):
I go the next time to go and train more women.
So I gather more money, collect more money, and I
go back and forth. Because like I said, if you
want to do. You don't ever want to send money
to a country that you haven't gone. You have to
inspect what you expect, right, and that's what I do.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And so by going there, there's a physical presence which
means creates accountability. That's right, accountability. And so when you
go there, so have you taken people or taking students
or taking individuals from HBCUs over there with you just
to see this experience this culture.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Well, the last promotion I was able to help execute
for the Coca Cola company was called the Open Happiness
Store and we took twenty one HBCUs students to South
Africa for the World Cup in twenty ten, and we
took it just elbow. Also, it just went just.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Do that, right, you can say, mcdot, anybody gonna blink
it s you gotta slow it down.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
It was a blessing.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
And so when you went over there with him being
over there, right and uh, I'm mistaken.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
He has African roots.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Right he does. So he went and a lot of
the twenty one students I still stay in touch with
him now because I teach them business etiquette, right, because
it was It's one thing like when you go for
a job. And if you're there now doctors, lawyers. But
when you go for a job, and if you when
you go and try to, you know, work in corporate America,
there's certain things you discussions you shouldn't have. Knowing about dining,
(15:34):
how to order, what to eat, where to sit at
a corporate table, teach them about woll yeebra. They cut
out the sanitary pads and when I go back, I
take them to Africa, so they have a connection. And
I did a zoom call thanks to the Detroit Rotary Club.
They sponsored it, and I did a zoom call so
that the girls that cut out the pads get to
see the girls in Ghana. So they are now friends.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Wow, maybe they will make that journey, that travel and
that connection.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's right now.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
You know, let everybody know Cast Tech. I'm very familiar.
While when we did the Hoodie Awards, they want best
high school every year in the country for sixteen years.
I believe they won fourteen times. And so Casts take
very prominent high school in the city of Detroit. And
now when you talk about what you're doing entrepreneurship, leadership,
(16:23):
let's go back to you. What's that flight journey what's
the flight journey.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
From Atlanta to let's say, across you. Sometimes you have
to fly through Amsterdam and stop switch planes, or you
go through New York. It's about ten hours, twelve hour
or something like that. Fourteen hours. I don't know something,
and you just do it. You just do it. You
just see when God gives you something to do, you
have to do it. See people sometimes they hesitate and
they pull back. But if he gives you something to do,
(16:48):
so it's just like an Isaiah six eight when he says,
I heard the voice of the Lord. I said, who
will go for us? Whom shall I send it? Who
will go for us? I raised my head, I said
send me, send me Lord. I go by myself. I
don't care.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
But you raise your hand enough for these jobs. Okay,
you need a nuclear woman that you've gotten me.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I've got and so, and you know, the blessing is
like people like the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. I was
able to bring one hundred and twenty of my women,
and they trained them right. They taught them one hundred
and seventy zetas the aka's alpha kapal alphas. They helped
sponsor me. I mean it's just the Lynx. Oh my god,
the Lynx Incorporated. They help. So there are a lot
of people here. But what I need everybody now to
(17:28):
do is go right, you gotta go. You got to
step out of the boat, just like when Peter when
the disciples within the water and Jesus told them go
way out, and they saw Jesus coming out of water,
and only Peter said, Jesus, that's you. Let me come
out of the boat. I'm Peter led me out of
the boat. I'm going to be with him.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Right now now.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Oh yeah, hey, I'm ready to walk. I'm ready to walk.
We got two minutes. It's the finger of two minutes figure.
And is the Woe you Bra?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yes? What's the foundation? That's right? Is there a foundation website?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yes? Well, our nonprofit is Infinity Global Empowerment. Well, Yeebra
is just one of our programs. So Wollyebra. Our website
is www dot Woe Yebra w O y e b
r a dot org. Because of the organizations, that's our website.
So you can go make donations there, right and.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So and so, as we leave one note of inspiration.
You know, first of all, we're trying to kill stereotypes. Yes,
we letting people know that by effort and passion, yes
and love. Yes, that you can take people quote unquote
uneducated and turn them into entrepreneurs. That's correct, and you
use your lessons to do that correct.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Well, I want people, especially single moms, I want them
to know that sometimes you go to run in and stuff.
It's just the bend in the road. It's not the
end of the road. You gotta stay positive. And I
want you to know this too, that the question is
not who is going to let you be success, but
who is going to stop you?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
M m mmmmm. And you're a reverend, the right reverend.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Because I say that because of the fact that I've
just been inspired with that, because y'all didn't know what.
She pointed the finger at me, I went, you know,
I mean pushing about my pocket and I could be
to open the Bible.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Because you're preaching to me.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Because because you know, when I do this show, Money
Making Conversation master Class, you know I'll tell you I
get it before thirty in the morning. This is the
last thing I do on Tuesday. And I am exhausted.
But and I'm exhausted when I say goodbye, because then
when I'm talking to individuals like it, lets me know
(19:42):
you can.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
See the God in me, and that's what you have
to understand. Sometimes when I'm in the village and villages
in Africa, the only God they see is the God
in me.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Wow. Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation Masteric clas.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Bless you, Thank you for allowing me to be here.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation master
Class posted by me Rashawan McDonald. Thank you to our
guests on the show today and thank you for listening
to audience now. If you want to listen to any
episode I want to be a guest on the show,
visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
your gifts.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Keep winning.
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host of weekly Money Making
Conversation master Class show. The interviews and information that this
show provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading
other people's success stories and start living your own. If
you want to be a guest on my show, please
visit our website, money Making Conversations dot com and click
to be a guest button Chris submit and information will
(00:22):
come directly to me. Now, let's get this show started.
My next guest is in studio. He's Reverend doctor Adrian
Booth Johnson. And one of the things we don't talk
about a lot of things. One of the things that
you're doing that's really noteworthy is that you've created over
three hundred and twenty five that's right, women entrepreneurs and Ghana,
West Africa and please welcome to the Money Making Conversation
(00:43):
Master Class. Reverend Doctor Adrian Booth Johnson.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I'm blessed. I'm blessed in how they failed?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Should I do? Doctor Johnson? Of Reverend Johnson?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
How about Reverend john Okay, we're gonna ride off that
Reverend Johns, which I'm comfortable with saying because of the
fact that you know a friend of mine at the
studio ul some information about you to me and said, Raean,
she'll be a great guest.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Good And.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Why are you doing something? And where are you from?
I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. My daddy was in
the Navy for twenty five years whatever, and he graduated
from Norfolk State University, and my mama went to Saint
Paul's College hbc US and we moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Daddy became an internal revenue agent.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I don't know what was he was there, people like you, no.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
No, no. If you're doing right, he did. But if
you're doing wrong, no, great. So I'm from Harris Creek, Kentucky.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Harris Creek, Kentucky's Yeah, I tried to drop it out
something And then so so so you you was in Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
What type of life did they leave for you? Did
you do education there or what happened?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So you know, if you want to make God laugh,
tell him what your plans are. So my plans I
was running track for Male High School. I was thought
I was gonna go to Tennessee and I run for
the Tiger Belle, But instead I got pregnant. Seventeen pregnant.
So my daddy was into education. He said, well, they
put you out of day school back in the day.
In nineteen sixty nine, they put you out of day school.
(02:11):
So I went to night school, Hearn's Trade School, got
a GED. But I always dreamed of going to Africa,
and so I said, God, I don't know how you're
gonna do this with a GED, but okay, but.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
You always dream of going to Africa.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Always dreamed of going to Africa.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
You know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
For some reason, I always dreamed of working offshore, and
that came true. I did work off shore eighty five
miles out in the Gulf, and because I was a
Jaques Cousteau fan, so I got that Jaques Coustave got
me off eighty five miles out in the go.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
What got you to Africa?
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I can't tell you that it was a TV show
or anything. Maybe it was daddy being in navy, traveling
coming home with all these great wonderful gifts from going
to these far away places. I just always wanted to
go to Africa. But I also I know the three p's.
You gotta know what your passion is so you'll know
what your purpose is and then persevere. My passion is
helping women, helping women in Africa, and so that's what
(03:06):
I do. That that was my passion and that is
my purpose in life. So I said, God, what do
you need to do? So God said, with that GED
and I'm married seventeen divorced at twenty two. Well that okay,
So it's just Bill and out. I'm a single mom.
I'm a single mom and I'm just grinding ANDed with
(03:28):
a GED divorce and divorce. So I started as a
secretary and I saw where my boss was always going
to lunch and I said, wait a minute, you going
to lunch. And the only reason why you going to
lunch and I'm sitting there typing up your papers is
because you got a college degree. And I got a GED.
I grabbed my purse. He said, where you going, Adrian.
I said, I'm going to college. And so that's when
I went to I went to community college first because
(03:49):
I didn't have the confidence in myself. So I went
to Jefferson Community College got my socials degree, and then
I went to University of Louis who graduated for the
School of Business. And I said, Bill, you stick with me.
We're gonna go to the moon. We just might land
on a star. Now.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So wow, that's right, there's inspiring, Okay, because we've got
to build a story. Okay, seventeen seventeen, Mom got married,
got married. You know back then people get married just
a reputation. It's a clean up of reputation. Yeah, it's
a pregnancy.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
They're gonna be a wedding, right, marriage over with ged
ged And then you sitting there her being a secretary
secretary and then you clerk typists, and you said, look,
I'm I'm gonna carve out some time to change my life.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, I'm going for it. I said, for me to
do what God wants me to do, and I for
me to get to Africa, for me to have my
son go to college and be somebody. I gotta set
the tone. I got to pave the way, and other
women have gone and paved the way ahead of me.
I got to go because I got to go help
the women in Africa.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So so now we we got our degree. Business, got business.
So I'm assuming you're not a clerk typist anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
No, I got clerk type for me.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
So where were you working at that time?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I went to work for Westinghouse Energy in Pittsburgh. Okay,
so Bill and I went to Pittsburgh. We left Pittsburgh,
a friend of mine, Darnell Johnson, told me about a
job with US Department of Energy. They were looking for
black women and energy. I was like, that's me. Right
at Western House, I was a project matter. I said,
(05:23):
that's me. I went to Washington, d C. US Department
of Energy. I was in solar energy. I said, come on, Bill,
We're going to Washington DC. Bill said, Mama, great, because
you know what. We got to Washington. It was all
single women. I found a village of professional women and
we all had children and so we just helped each other.
We helped raise our sons.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That's this is a beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
And I'm smiling because you you you exude that that
love that I can do it. And then your story
is so simple, but it's so honest, you know what
I'm saying. That's that's the See a lot of people
tell their story and I go, now, no, you missed something,
but I want to get to the next story with you. Okay,
So when did you your resumes? Said Coca Cola. Yes,
So when did you get to Coca Cola.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Well, I was working for the By then, I left
the Department of Energy federal government, went to local government.
I was at DC Public Schools, but I always wanted to,
you know, work in corporate America. So one of my
girlfriends told me about that Ed Washington was hiring somebody.
There was a group out of Boston called New Addition
was just starting and they were coming from Boston, and
she said they look for somebody to hire them. I said,
(06:26):
I'm the woman for the job. So by the daytime
I was working at DC Public Schools and in the
evening I was Adrian. I was a public relations firm.
ED Washington call said I need somebody to do a
promotion for this group New Addition. I said, okay, great,
I'm a woman for the job. He hired me. I
did the promotion. A year later, he called me, he said, Adrian,
(06:47):
He said, would you like to go to work at
Cocoa Cola? I said, if you're not joking, listen, it
take me about ten minutes to find my boss here
at the school system, about five minutes to tell me
where are you out in Silver Spring, Maryland? What about fifteen?
What about twenty minute drive? What is it one o'clock.
I can start at three this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You are so engaging, so so so that's you're the
job for me. That's when you look in the mirror
and you.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
What I I always talk about people who are fear changed.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Yes, they fear, they are known, right, that is not part.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Of your mom because I have God in my life.
So when you have fear, then you don't have faith.
And if you got faith, then you don't have fear.
So I call it a dark room religion. When I
walk into a dark room, I don't look for a
light because I know God is there. So when God
tells me to go preach in Kenya, he said, I
got a message for the women people in Kenya. I
(07:40):
tell my husband. I said, look, I got to run
to Kenya this weekend. He said, well, we don't know
anybody in that roby. I said, I know, but don't
be called delta. I'm getting ready to go to Nieroba
this weekend. God gave me a message to give and
I go. I traveled Africa by myself.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Now, now, when you when you went to the whole process,
because we I wanted to see when you were because
you said early on Africa was the vision for Africa? Okay? Cool?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Now when did in the steps because of your life?
When did you first go to Africa?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
I went to Africa in two thousand and one. My
niece Adria was doing some type of study of broad
program something. She was at Wellesley College and Pearline. My
sister call and said, let's go to South Africa. Adria
is there. I was like, Adria is named after me.
I'm out, We're going. We went to South Africa, fell
in love with it.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
From too far to South Africa.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
We went to a durban South Africa.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Been there now, I'm gonna tell you something. You know,
because you have to go through Johannesburg and then connecting
you drive down and so. And when I was doing
the Steve Hard Morning Show, they asked us to come
and broadcast in Durban, Okay.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
And for the life of me.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
I could not wrap my head around that there was
the technology there in Durban to broadcasts.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
That's how simple My mind had been dumbed down to
the stereotypes of technology in Africa period, let alone South
Africa and also South Africa apartheid. So I was dealing
with a lot of confusion and so and finally when
I went over there, I was ashamed because it was
like I landed into Atlanta. Yes road, smooth car, new
(09:13):
car dealerships, everything was beautiful, black people running things. I
was really taken aback. But of course you've been to Africa,
You've dealt with these stereo types that I'm supposed to
be a person, a learned person, educated person, a liberal person.
But still I was saddled with the stereotypes. That's a problem, correct.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It's a problem for people that don't go. See I
started in two thousand and one. I've been going to
Africa every year since two thousand and one. I go.
So I've created women empowerment programs in Durban and South Africa,
Liberia and Monroevio, Liberia. So, yeah, you can't watch what
TV says. So you got to go for yourself. So
(09:53):
you have to. I say, you have to inspect what
you expect, right.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And so you can.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I say, you're unique, You're an inspiration you because you're
not afraid. Now know, if an opportunity to comes your way,
you're gonna raise your hand. You told your son Bill,
let's go, and your son had to be one of
the most motivated individuals because he's seen motivation. Motivation is
his mama. That's right, his mama, you know, you know,
(10:22):
walk through a brick wall is his mama.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's Bill Green knows that Bill went to Howard University's Alpha.
So I had my son. You're I'm an Aka. Bill
was seventeen. And then I prayed to God. I said, God,
look I'm getting old. I want to get married again.
I want to have another baby. Twenty five years later,
see because God does answer your prayers. I met him
in the airport. Joe Johnson, attorney Joe Johnson out of Detroit, Michigan.
(10:46):
And at forty three, I had another baby, Jli Johnson.
And in Africa, when I go, they say, here comes
granned reverend Granny.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Now women entrepreneurs. That's right, and gone on West Africa.
What is that all about?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So it started. Joe and I bought a thousand reusable
sanitary paths because we know the period poverty is a issue.
So we bought a thousand reusable sanitary pads. We took
them to London to give them a jalo. While she
was at the London School of Economics. Say Jaale go
do a feasibility to study in Gonda. See if that
really is a need. Jala's my daughter, Okay, So Jalas
came back. She said, Mama, they really need the pads.
(11:21):
So we decided instead of giving them fish, let's teach
them how to fish. So instead of giving them fish,
we created women entrepreneurs who make and sell reusable sanitary pads.
Because what we found is that ninety five percent of
the girls and living in villages in Ghana miss twenty
percent of the school of being out of school due
to lack of access to sanitary pads. So now they
(11:42):
don't have to because now my three hundred and twenty
five women are making pads so girls can go to school.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So now to get to that point, you had to
create structure. Yes, okay, and you in the country. Okay,
how did that get set up?
Speaker 1 (11:55):
So I set it up by creating. You know, God
sends people. Is you the vision, He will give you
the provision. So I have a team over there. I
have a team on the ground, team who does things,
and I do the fundraising. So I'm gonna raise the funds.
Here in America, we go through the churches. So we'll
go to. They'll go to a village and say, pick
ten women who've done one of two things. Either they're
(12:15):
asking God for a miracle or they're asking God for
a second chance. If they're doing one of those, they
can be in my Woe You Bra program and Woe
You Bra in America. When you say I'm on my period,
in Africa, they say I'm on my woey Bra. So
that's how we started.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
The name of the business.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
That's the name of the whoa nonprofit.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Woe Ye Bra, w o ye b r R.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, now you're not from the country, so I probably
ain't staying it right.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
But I want everybody here because of the fact that
you're doing something, and you're doing something you know, you
know whatever. Say your walkie talk you know you walk,
you fly because you're flying over there, and make it
every year when we come back, we're gonna continue this
conversation with Granny.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Reverend doctor Granny who Adrian Booth justin making a difference.
Will your broad Foundation.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations master Class hosted by Rashaan MacDonald.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Speaking of Reverend doctor Adrian Booth Johnson aka Granny, where
she goes over to Africa. Over here, she's just my
friend because she's making a difference. And when you make
a difference some police else, that means you're making a
difference where you are. That's right, on a regular basis.
In this case, three hundred and twenty five women have
become entrepreneurs in Gona, West Africa.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Now, when you was.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
At Coca Cola, that's right, what any programs, any relationships
you created and when you exited that you took back
over to Africa, talk about your exit plan.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, Coca Cola was a great company to work for,
and a lot of the marketing skills I learned, I
now teach them to my three hundred and twenty five women.
So I teach them marketing, sales, customer service. I teach
them financial literacy because most of my women are uneducated, right,
and so I teach them. And that's why I go
twice a year. I go once just to teach them.
(14:13):
I go the next time to go and train more women.
So I gather more money, collect more money, and I
go back and forth. Because like I said, if you
want to do. You don't ever want to send money
to a country that you haven't gone. You have to
inspect what you expect, right, and that's what I do.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And so by going there, there's a physical presence which
means creates accountability. That's right, accountability. And so when you
go there, so have you taken people or taking students
or taking individuals from HBCUs over there with you just
to see this experience this culture.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Well, the last promotion I was able to help execute
for the Coca Cola company was called the Open Happiness
Store and we took twenty one HBCUs students to South
Africa for the World Cup in twenty ten, and we
took it just elbow. Also, it just went just.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Do that, right, you can say, mcdot, anybody gonna blink
it s you gotta slow it down.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
It was a blessing.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
And so when you went over there with him being
over there, right and uh, I'm mistaken.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
He has African roots.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Right he does. So he went and a lot of
the twenty one students I still stay in touch with
him now because I teach them business etiquette, right, because
it was It's one thing like when you go for
a job. And if you're there now doctors, lawyers. But
when you go for a job, and if you when
you go and try to, you know, work in corporate America,
there's certain things you discussions you shouldn't have. Knowing about dining,
(15:34):
how to order, what to eat, where to sit at
a corporate table, teach them about woll yeebra. They cut
out the sanitary pads and when I go back, I
take them to Africa, so they have a connection. And
I did a zoom call thanks to the Detroit Rotary Club.
They sponsored it, and I did a zoom call so
that the girls that cut out the pads get to
see the girls in Ghana. So they are now friends.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Wow, maybe they will make that journey, that travel and
that connection.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's right now.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
You know, let everybody know Cast Tech. I'm very familiar.
While when we did the Hoodie Awards, they want best
high school every year in the country for sixteen years.
I believe they won fourteen times. And so Casts take
very prominent high school in the city of Detroit. And
now when you talk about what you're doing entrepreneurship, leadership,
(16:23):
let's go back to you. What's that flight journey what's
the flight journey.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
From Atlanta to let's say, across you. Sometimes you have
to fly through Amsterdam and stop switch planes, or you
go through New York. It's about ten hours, twelve hour
or something like that. Fourteen hours. I don't know something,
and you just do it. You just do it. You
just see when God gives you something to do, you
have to do it. See people sometimes they hesitate and
they pull back. But if he gives you something to do,
(16:48):
so it's just like an Isaiah six eight when he says,
I heard the voice of the Lord. I said, who
will go for us? Whom shall I send it? Who
will go for us? I raised my head, I said
send me, send me Lord. I go by myself. I
don't care.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
But you raise your hand enough for these jobs. Okay,
you need a nuclear woman that you've gotten me.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I've got and so, and you know, the blessing is
like people like the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. I was
able to bring one hundred and twenty of my women,
and they trained them right. They taught them one hundred
and seventy zetas the aka's alpha kapal alphas. They helped
sponsor me. I mean it's just the Lynx. Oh my god,
the Lynx Incorporated. They help. So there are a lot
of people here. But what I need everybody now to
(17:28):
do is go right, you gotta go. You got to
step out of the boat, just like when Peter when
the disciples within the water and Jesus told them go
way out, and they saw Jesus coming out of water,
and only Peter said, Jesus, that's you. Let me come
out of the boat. I'm Peter led me out of
the boat. I'm going to be with him.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Right now now.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Oh yeah, hey, I'm ready to walk. I'm ready to walk.
We got two minutes. It's the finger of two minutes figure.
And is the Woe you Bra?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yes? What's the foundation? That's right? Is there a foundation website?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yes? Well, our nonprofit is Infinity Global Empowerment. Well, Yeebra
is just one of our programs. So Wollyebra. Our website
is www dot Woe Yebra w O y e b
r a dot org. Because of the organizations, that's our website.
So you can go make donations there, right and.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So and so, as we leave one note of inspiration.
You know, first of all, we're trying to kill stereotypes. Yes,
we letting people know that by effort and passion, yes
and love. Yes, that you can take people quote unquote
uneducated and turn them into entrepreneurs. That's correct, and you
use your lessons to do that correct.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Well, I want people, especially single moms, I want them
to know that sometimes you go to run in and stuff.
It's just the bend in the road. It's not the
end of the road. You gotta stay positive. And I
want you to know this too, that the question is
not who is going to let you be success, but
who is going to stop you?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
M m mmmmm. And you're a reverend, the right reverend.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Because I say that because of the fact that I've
just been inspired with that, because y'all didn't know what.
She pointed the finger at me, I went, you know,
I mean pushing about my pocket and I could be
to open the Bible.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Because you're preaching to me.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Because because you know, when I do this show, Money
Making Conversation master Class, you know I'll tell you I
get it before thirty in the morning. This is the
last thing I do on Tuesday. And I am exhausted.
But and I'm exhausted when I say goodbye, because then
when I'm talking to individuals like it, lets me know
(19:42):
you can.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
See the God in me, and that's what you have
to understand. Sometimes when I'm in the village and villages
in Africa, the only God they see is the God
in me.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Wow. Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation Masteric clas.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Bless you, Thank you for allowing me to be here.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation master
Class posted by me Rashawan McDonald. Thank you to our
guests on the show today and thank you for listening
to audience now. If you want to listen to any
episode I want to be a guest on the show,
visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
your gifts.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Keep winning.
Hosts And Creators
Steve Harvey
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Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles
Carla Ferrell
Kier "Junior" Spates
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