Carlisa Jenkins: showing the importance of women lifting each other up

Since 2016, 23-year-old Carlisa Jenkins has worked to empower other women.

As the founder of Power of Women Expecting Results, Girl Boss Network, Project Fab and several other brands and organizations, she always shows her peers that helping is better than competing.

“In 2016 I founded P.O.W.E.R., and that really started my journey into woman empowerment,” Jenkins said. “I hear females say, ‘I don’t do other women,’ all the time, and I just think that’s horrible because why wouldn’t you deal with something that you are?

“So, transitioning from high school to college was very difficult for me. I struggled a lot, failed a class, and I was dealing with relationship issues. I thought to myself that I cannot be the only one dealing with these kinds of issues. Thus P.O.W.E.R. was born to help females in that same predicament. “

After becoming a certified dance fitness instructor, Jenkins took on a position at Shape Up Sisters, an all-female gym, where she helps women become comfortable in their own skin by just having fun.

“I do that because I love dance, and it’s fun,” she said. “It’s not like going to the gym. You get to shed a few pounds and have fun. I love the classes, and I love the community surrounding it.”

Jenkins also organizes an event that many look forward to each year: Glam Night Out.

“I’m planning for Glam Night Out 2020 right now, and I remember at one point when I only had 10 people come out,” she said. “It’s grown over the years to 200 to 300 people coming out.”

Jenkins has plans to obtain her master’s degree in mental health counseling from Mississippi College, and she is in the process of becoming a certified women’s empowerment life coach, a member of Mississippi’s top 50 Black Women in Business and launching her accessory boutique, All Things Fabulous. And always, she plans to continue showing women the importance of lifting each other up.

“Know your ‘why,’ and remember why you started,” she said. “It’s never going to be easy, and there are going to be days that you question yourself, but just know your why, keep God first, be genuine and love other women. It’s OK to love other women.”