Theresa Randleman named Women's History Month Game Changers honoree

Theresa Randleman's work in programming and production opened her eyes to an unfortunate truth.
While helping coordinate live events, Randleman said many young women went inappropriate lengths to try advancing in the music and entertainment industry.

"Unfortunately, I began to see more and more young females that didn't seem to have value in themselves," Randleman said. "I saw a lot of things that took place with young females wanting to get in the business some type of way but using their bodies shouldn't be the way to do that."
Randleman's desire to strengthen women's self-esteem motivated her to establish the T. ROSE Foundation Inc./W.I.N.G.S. (Women Inspiring and Nurturing Girls' Self-Esteem), a non-profit that provides support to organizations with aspirations that build a positive future for youth.
"Theresa Randleman's story epitomizes everything we envisioned for the Game Changers initiative, and particularly for Women's History Month," said Kevin Brown, director of community impact for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. "Through her foundation, Theresa is inspiring girls and young women across metro Detroit to become their best selves every day."

As an honoree of the Red Wings and Tigers 2022 Women's History Month
Game Changers series
, presented by Comerica Bank, Randleman views her professional background as a strength to the foundation and for the individuals its impacts.
"A lot of these young ladies are drawn to me because I'm an entrepreneur," Randleman said. "What women take away from us is how you can rise or how you can fall. There were many times when I was the only female in what I did, but I maintained my level of self-respect, so I was able to work hard and advance."
Helping young women better themselves, both personally and professionally, is one of the driving factors for the foundation. Over the years, Randleman has supported initiatives like the Muskegon Heights Shoe Distribution, Flint Doll Distribution and Detroit Girls Can retreat to further her community outreach.
After interacting with hundreds of young Detroiters, Randleman noticed a common theme amongst young women who might be struggling.
"One of the biggest obstacles is the lack of communication these young women have with their parents," Randleman said. "But we work to help them build this communication, which ultimately helps them find their direction. Once we begin to communicate with them and work with them, they realize where the breakdowns happen."

Through her non-profit organization, Randleman wants young women to embrace their natural beauty.
"The world is changing, which is really good," she said. "But again, a lot of it is self-esteem. Often, that involves public appearance."
According to Randleman, it doesn't matter what you look like. What matters most is how you present yourself.
"That's super important because if you want to sell your product or brand, you need to know who you are, what you are," Randleman said. "You also need to know where you're headed."
As a result, the foundation's scope expanded to increase awareness surrounding the importance of entrepreneurship. T. ROSE Foundation Inc./W.I.N.G.S. has sponsored the Annual Girlpreneur Expo, a forum that gives young female entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their craft and attend workshops that teach the value of business plan development.
"We try to bring these girls out and give them a place to sell their brand and work with their peers," Randleman said. "Seeing how their peers network helps them network, develop their brand and sell their products. A lot of them start this just as something fun to do, but several of them aged out and are successfully doing business for themselves."
Randleman said she's excited to see her forums continue to grow.
"Bringing them forward is giving them a space amongst their peers where they can feel supported," she said. "The first forum I did had over 500 attendees and the second one had over 700. In fact, they've stopped counting after 700."
In her role, Randleman wears several different hats, serving as a volunteer, planner, programmer and regional director for numerous youth-oriented non-profit organizations.
It's an impressive list of involvements, and Randleman admitted it hasn't been easy to manage.
"I also worked for state government for 30 years and was doing my business kind of part-time," she said. "I struggled, for at least 15 of those 30 years, trying to do what I loved to do, which was working with the girls and developing my business."

After retiring from her government position last May, Randleman felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"It's so much easier to do what I want to do," Randleman said. "It feels like a whole different world because I have more time and I don't have to do that juggling. But again, learning how to balance those responsibilities helped me fulfill my passions."
Randleman knows the work she does may never be truly completed. Fortunately, that means she can continue doing what she cares about most, which is helping others.
"Everything that I do, it's all about serving," Randleman said. "In a sense, it's all what I love to do, and all rolled into multiple organizations that I am fortunate enough to be able to participate in and be part of."
To learn how to support T. ROSE Foundation Inc./W.I.N.G.S. or the initiatives it helps, please visit
T-Rose.com
.