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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 M AY 1 3 , 2 0 2 4 S M A L L B U S I N E S S talking about Upward, the gesture — and the word — evolved into a mantra for the group. "One time I did the two thumbs up to show we're moving upwards, and for everybody it just became a thing," she says. From the program's first cohort in 2023, Florence Edwards is an entrepreneur partly shaped by the military, having served as a captain in the Army. A graduate of Lake Forest College in Illinois and Howard University in Washington, D.C., she practices nonprofit dentistry at a Catholic Charities Maine clinic in Bath, hosts a podcast for Portland nonprofit Indigo Arts Alliance, and is a budding oyster farmer. For Edwards, the most valuable part of the CEI program "was knowing that you really need to think about who your customer is, and that's something I continue to think about a year later." She also found it refreshing to be one of only two native English speakers in her group. "Most of the time when I go to things in Maine," she says, "I'm usually the only person like me in the room — the only female, the only Black person or openly queer person." is time, most of her classmates hailed from other countries. which she found fascinating. As she and her business partner get ready to launch the Indigo Oyster Co. in Yarmouth, Edwards hosts a monthly BIPOC happy hour. And starting later this month at Mo-Phillips' suggestion, she will lead a new women's network- ing group. "I like to explore humanity one human at a time and share that beauty with other people," she says. "If I'm half as good as Grace was in leading our cohort, I'll be pleased." 'Better to empower others' Defying stereotypes about immigrants work- ing mainly in the food industry, women who have graduated from the program are active in a range of professions from accounting to travel. Khadija El Barkaoui, an Indigenous Moroccan of the Amazigh peoples, started Coelle Travel in 2023 to provide authentic travel and cultural experi- ences for travelers while creating opportunities for women in tourism and women cooperatives in her northern African homeland. "I like to describe it as a travel company with both local and global social impact, also known as a social enterprise," she says. She took part in this year's naviga- tor program, just after Coelle Travel took four Mainers — women and men — from Maine to Marrakesh on a seven-day journey from the Atlas Mountains to the Draa Valley oasis, sharing meals and conversation with locals along the way and visiting with women in coop- eratives making rugs and Argan oil. "ese experiences have a lasting impact, foster- ing learning for both visitors and locals," says El Barkaoui, for whom the CEI program also had a lasting impact. "It's great to be among people doing the same thing, and feeling that you're not alone," she says. She nevertheless is finding it challenging to secure funds to build and sustain her business. Among program alumni who have not yet started businesses, Mensure Jashari says it remains a long-term dream. FREE DELIVERY WITHIN STOREWIDE DELIVERY AREA FOR EVERY WATERFRONT 22 LOCATIONS ACROSS MAINE & NEW HAMPSHIRE LARGEST SHOREMASTER DISTRIBUTOR IN THE COUNTRY WWW.HAMMONDLUMBER.COM/SHOREMASTER 2021 2022 2023 Although I see myself as a businesswoman, I really see myself as someone who has a vision. I believe that community, and its power, can propel social change. — Kayla Lewis Upward Consulting LLC F O C U S C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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