Annmarie is an inspiration to many and a mother to many. Not only is Annmarie an academic, currently doing her doctorate in Anthroplogy, Youth Crime and Entrepreneurship, she has 2 masters under her belt One in Youth, Community Work and Applied Anthropology and an Mres Anthropology to accompany her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Criminal Justice Specialist.
She is a strong Christian woman who is able to apply and activate her faith in all that she does. Annmarie runs an award winning social enterprise which was initially set up to support young people who had offended or been previously incarcerated to have access to work and business and help get their life back on track. Through Rainmakers Worldwide, Annmarie has helped a plethora of young people, on a shoestring budget often to set up their own successful businesses, leave behind a life of crime and gang warfare and become young people in their own right who society are able to identify the true giftings of. Rainmakers, with Annmarie at the helm has expanded and further supports women from diverse backgrounds, in starting up their own businesses and being an around the clock support to all of the clients on their roster.
Annmarie provides consulting to business schools such as the London Business School and School for Social Entrepreneurs on many subjects including social impact, change management and diversification. She is sought after as a voice of influence and a point of reference in her fields. She has worked with top UK universities, FTSE 100 organisations, Buckingham Palace, Local and Central Government, given evidence to the Home affairs select committee, been invited to the House of Commons and Lords to name a few to advise them on enterprise, crime, culture, diversity and the inclusion of young people. She is recognised and acknowledged by the media and is a force to be reckoned with when she stands for what she believes in.
Annmarie’s heart is with young people / young adults and the disservice and injustices they face and seeks to highlight the lack of humanism when dealing with our young people, particularly those of certain ethnicities and from marginalised and challenging backgrounds.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of the organising team for the official launch for Rainmakers which took place at PWC 2013 who are avid supporters of Annmarie and Rainmakers. It was overwhelming to hear of the things Annmarie and Rainmakers had achieved with such limited resources, and the difference made to people’s lives, including hearing from speakers such as the acclaimed Heidi Alexander MP, who could only speak highly of Annmarie, having met her because Annmarie refused to allow the system to fail two notorious gang leaders at a time when both were trying to exit the life of crime and had been shot and stabbed severely as a result, and accessed Heidi’s help to get them out the gang, out the game and who are now flourishing in their new lives!
Annmarie is also contributor to a recent book entitled Letters to a young generation 2 where she further highlights the struggles she faced in life and the labels which she herself had to overcome to be the successful, black, Christian woman she is today.