Valencia College

As Manager of Learning Support Services, I lead a dynamic team of full-time and part-time employees, overseeing the daily operations of the campus Tutoring Center while providing leadership support to the Testing Center and Library. My role is rooted in fostering student success by creating a supportive and resourceful learning environment.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

• Supervise staff recruitment, hiring, training, and timesheet management, while strategically managing a $100K budget to allocate funds for instructional technology and learning materials that support diverse learning modalities.

• Partner with faculty and academic departments to align services with course curricula, develop standardized operating procedures, and ensure the effective utilization of course materials.

• Collaborate with high schools to organize events and programs, promoting dual enrollment, degree attainment, and accelerated training opportunities for prospective students.

• Played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic by leading a work placement initiative, and securing employment opportunities for over 20 Federal Work Study students on the Online Tutoring platform.

Learning Center Manager

Brown Joy

As the founder and owner of Brown Joy, I am on a mission to bring positivity to the world through our unique affirmation stickers. Designed in the likeness of children of color, our stickers promote positive self-esteem and help children feel seen and valued.

I oversee all aspects of the business, from product design and development to marketing and community partnerships. My goal is to collaborate with organizations and businesses that want to uplift the children they serve by offering products that reflect diversity and inclusivity.

Through Brown Joy, I strive to spread joy one sticker at a time, creating lasting impacts for children and the communities we touch.

Founder & Owner 

BrandResumes

I empowered clients to achieve their career goals by equipping them with the tools, skills, and confidence needed for successful job searches and career advancement. My work focused on enhancing clients’ marketability, improving their job readiness, and positioning them for long-term success.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

• Guided clients through the development and refinement of resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles, while providing resources and strategies for effective interviewing, salary negotiation, and overall career confidence.

• Designed and delivered professional development courses, including engaging presentations, articles, videos, and interactive activities, to prepare clients with practical job readiness skills and techniques.

• Conducted in-depth assessments via face-to-face, telephone, and virtual interviews to identify client needs and provided ongoing support through personalized email correspondence during the job search process.

•Advocated for clients seeking promotions and new opportunities by addressing barriers to success and offering actionable solutions.

• Collaborated with teams across four departments to create career coaching and interview preparation content, driving awareness and increasing monthly service sales.

Career & Lead Interview Coach

Florida International University

Lead cross-functional teams to review data and implement effective changes around workforce development, college success, and equitable learning solutions for minoritized users that increased program retention rates 67%

• Designed multiphase learning advising models that encompassed key principles of adult learning theories and learning development solutions for Student Success and Development Programs that enhanced the user experience 93% based on evaluation surveys

• Facilitated the strategic recruitment and onboarding 130+ professional staff to drive academic success and holistic development of program participants with a 98% completion rate

• Supported strategic organizational planning and goal implementation by analyzing quarterly issued program evaluation yielded from participant surveys

• Monitored, evaluated, and leveraged standard training processes and staff resources to track department performance and determine improvement opportunities to enhance onboarding procedures and workplace efficiencies by 54 % as documented in staff survey

Program Manager

•Led department collaboration with faculty chairs and key stakeholders to maintain advising materials such as curricula flow charts and program information sheets for both advising & recruiting of select majors

• Spearheaded student success campaigns to targeted student populations to support progression, leveraging data-driven and holistic interventions to increase program retention rates 56%

• Optimize the student experience, using data to drive improvements across internal and external collaborators to improve outcomes throughout the student journey enhancing participant experience 30%

• Managed a high touch point caseload of 600 advisees utilizing a suite of electronic advising tools in order to support students’ identification of an appropriate major and their retention and on-time graduation sequence

• Taught major exploration courses to help students through the process of self-exploration and career planning, and help students match their interests and skills to an appropriate major and career

• Assisted students in evaluating their abilities, interests, and personality characteristics using tests, records, interviews, and professional sources

• Provide holistic academic advising services to assigned students regarding departmental, collegiate, and University policies and procedures; programs of study; and the development of appropriate academic plans

Program Advisor II

• Developed an assessment strategy to evaluate the success of Career Services Office and programs and to gauge the learning outcomes of a diverse population of 9,000+ students documented in utilizing the center’s resources

• Oversaw strategies for a strong presence for students and employers, leveraging technology and other resources to expanding FIU’s reach in the global marketplace

• Supervised a team of 5+ student career coaches through use the implementation of lesson plans, experiential learning, peer mentorship, and exit interviews

• Oversaw Executive Protégé Initiative (EPI), a professional development program for students and alumni which focuses on networking and career development, obtaining 80% completion rate.

• Facilitated presentations regarding core career developmental competencies such as online job boards, resume writing, interviewing, and negotiating salaries

Research Assistant, Career Services 

✨ My life’s purpose is to help people see the abundance and greatness within themselves. I carry out this purpose through several roles:

🧡 Founder, Brown Joy, LLC
As the founder of Brown Joy, our mission is to uplift the world through affirmation stickers designed in the likeness of children of color. We promote inclusivity and positivity, spreading joy one Brown Joy sticker at a time.

📚 Higher Education Leader
With over 10 years of experience in higher education, I have led teams of over 50 employees. My leadership style focuses on empowering my team to not only excel in their current roles but also prepare for future opportunities. I am deeply committed to the holistic success of students, ensuring they thrive academically, socially, and professionally.

📝 Interview and Career Coach
I am passionate about helping people articulate their strengths and build confidence to achieve their career goals.

🌟 Community Leader
I am an active community leader in Central Florida, serving as a board member and volunteering for initiatives empowering and uplifting positive change in the region.

😊 I truly believe that everything I touch turns to gold because of the power of love and positivity I carry within me. I love connecting with people and organizations to learn about and celebrate the greatness within everyone. I look forward to connecting with you!

Charminta Brown, M.Ed.

The Toy Coach

Founder & CEO

American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)

Board Member

People of Play

Consultant

Costumize Me

Founded Costumize Me® LLC a convertible event wear & fashion line for Women.  The brand offers pieces that are convertible independently by a unique snap system, or interchangeable between holidays and every day. Built a small US based team to handle production and social media presence.
Product & Brand Development: Creates fashion illustrations, and digital renderings to represent new collections. Sources fabric and accessories both globally and locally for each season. Established relationships with small US based factories and seamstresses for inventory production. Manages and monitors inventory production for proper fit. Designed the brand logo, packaging, and ad materials.
E-Commerce & Social Media: Designed and implemented the brand’s functional e-commerce store via the Wix platform. Runs social media ad campaigns to build brand awareness and increase site traffic. Creates email ad campaigns to maintain customer relationships. Designs all graphics and copy for the website and social pages. 
Photoshoots: Leads all areas of photo and video production planning, including but not limited to; creative direction, talent hiring and management, sample management, shoot scheduling, budget management, creative direction, shot approvals, and styling.

Founder | CEO | Creative Director

Creative Kids

VP of Brand & Product

Senior Brand Manager

Amscan

Freelance Designer

Toys"R"Us

Product Development & Design Manager for 500+ SKU’s in the baby category. Will be leading the re-design of select sub-brands to express a higher quality product to our customers while maintaining or increasing value. Responsible for the introduction of new electronic items that will lead to incremental sales.

Global Product Development & Design Manager, Babies R Us

Categories Managed: Totally Me! (arts and crafts), Journey Girls (fashion dolls), You & Me and Baby So Sweet (baby dolls), Just Like Home (role play toys), Happy Together (doll-houses & playsets), and Babies R Us, (infant care & safety products).
Product Development of Totally Me! Arts & Crafts: Initiated and managed all global product design and development for the $20MM arts and craft line, Totally Me.  

Analyzed past sales for KPI’s and utilized this data to re-focus product assortment on top performing categories.  Changes resulted in an immediate increase of US sales by 4.8% and global sales by 3%. Managed the brand’s package refresh and re-segmentation for 45+ SKNs. 

In one-year, lowered price points, improved craft kit quality, replaced black and white instruction manuals with full color image heavy manuals, and also increased profit margins by 1%. 

Design Management of Journey Girls, You & Me, Baby So Sweet, Just Like Home, Happy Together, and Totally Me: Provided creative direction and design for all Girls World private brands. Provided concept sketches, product design mechanicals, stickers and deco design, style guides, storyboards, fabric patterns, and doll fashions, as needed by project. Maintained design project schedule and improved project turnaround time.

Leadership: Mentored the Assistant Design Manager through challenging projects. Established a collaborative environment between the cross functional team members with a monthly creative brainstorm session. 

Awards: Designed the Journey Girls Pet Vet Care Set which was awarded 2016 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal.

Global Product Development and Design Manager, Girls World

Blumenthal Lansing Co.

Packaging & Display Design: Designed and mocked packaging solutions to convey a higher perceived value and increase profit margins. Designed dozens of brand identities, packaging concepts, and POG’s. Designed graphics for blade and panel signage, how to sheets, and order fulfillment for 790 Jo-Ann’s stores quarterly and 266 Hancock stores.

Market Research: Performed quarterly industry reviews highlighting market gaps and analyzing competitor offerings. Arranged focus groups and product review questionnaires to measure consumer interest in new ideas.

Business Expansion: Designed the packaging and promotional brochure for “The Button Artist”, an 18-SKU product line which generated over $140,000 in 17 weeks on shelves and over $9,000 in weekly sales. Improved catalog quality and availability to wholesale customers.  Responsible for all 2014-2015 product catalogs featuring over 1100 SKU’s.

Product Development Manager

Lernell Company

Designed the product and brand identity of Click-eez, a tween line of stackable friendship bracelets. Work included designing the brand logo, packaging options, POP displays, look book, website interface, app, and the look of the finished product.

Freelance Toy Designer

Horizon Group USA

Product Development: Worked with the EVP & CMO of merchandising throughout the NPD process, this included: 1) idea generation and validation 2) concept testing 3) product sampling and approval 4) monitoring and support for NPD items.

Market Research & Analysis: Routinely performed market research – created reports, conducted focus groups, and market comparison – to deduce market needs and analyzed findings to determine product requirements.

Company Expansion: Lead new product line conceptualization across all categories. Formulated market driven creative strategies and presentations for Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Michaels, and A.C. Moore. Presentations included market research &, logo, product and packaging design, plan-o-gram renderings, and sample creation.

Leadership: Published the “Idea Room”, a monthly newsletter of new product ideas, market research and trends to inspire and generate buyer interest.

New Product Development Designer

Azhelle Wade is a 3x patented toy inventor and the award-winning host of Making It in the Toy Industry, a podcast honored with the Game Changer TAGIE Award for its impact on innovation and education. Since 2010, she has worked with top toy companies like Toys“R”Us, Party City, Madame Alexander, and Creative Kids—rising from designer to Vice President of Brand and Product.

Over her career, Azhelle has led multi-million dollar toy lines, launched award-winning products, and earned accolades including the Wonder Woman Award from Women in Toys. She’s known for blending creative vision with strategic execution, helping brands develop meaningful, playful products that stand out at retail.

Driven by a mission to make the world more playful, Azhelle founded The Toy Coach to guide emerging inventors and entrepreneurs through the industry. Through her signature program, Toy Creators Academy, she empowers the next generation of toy innovators to turn big ideas into shelf-ready success.

⭐ 1:1 Consultations available at thetoycoach.com/work-with-me

taplio

The Battle

Charminta Brown, M.Ed.

Azhelle W.

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