Ellington

Johnnie Hawkins wants to help young people in the Jackson area with the same entrepreneurial desires that drive her. Hawkins, 48, is executive director of the Perico Institute for Youth Development and Entrepreneurship (PRIYDE), which collaborates with a number of area organizations on a citywide strategy for educating aspiring business owners.

A Ridgeland native, Hawkins graduated from Tougaloo College with a bachelor's degree in sociology. A stint as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the West Jackson Community Development Corporation Corp. sparked Hawkins' interest in non-profit management.

"I knew I wanted to be my own leader, my own boss," she says.

In 1997, Hawkins began working as an independent business consultant, providing advice on management and information technology to small businesses. Soon after that, she met Charles Perry, who ran his own management consulting company, Perico. The couple married in 2005. Hawkins returned to the non-profit world in 2007, taking over for Perry as executive director of PRIYDE.

PRIYDE has begun a cooperative effort to promote business training for young people in Jackson, called BET4YA, or Business and Entrepreneurship Collaborative Training for Young Adults. Hawkins' organization is referring young adults to the Jackson Business Accelerator for workshops in writing and refining a business plan. Hawkins says that she also plans to host business fair workshops, modeled on career fairs, that would offer young entrepreneurs the chance to meet a wide array of potential resources in one place.

For more information about PRIYDE or BET4YA, call 601-987-0031.