TEAM: Board & Staff

Coach Carmen is a social entrepreneur and the Chief Coach + Founder of Mission Accomplished Transition Services (Mission Accomplished). Growing up in the Capital Region, Coach Carmen experienced homelessness, violence, and a hunger to not be statistic. As a young woman she worked to circumvent these adverse circumstances with the help of family, friends, coaches, and mentors who believed in her vision. Her life experiences inspired her to “pay it forward” and launch a career education organization that provides coaches and mentors who recognize the power of all rising young professionals and entrepreneurs, no matter their socioeconomic background. Coach Carmen has a B.S in Psychology from Sage College of Albany and a Masters in Social Work from the University at Albany. After her first degree, she took a management position at Living Resources, a service provider and group home for adults with developmental disabilities. During her graduate degree, she began researching both home health models and youth in the foster care system. While Research Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the Northeast Parent and Child Society, Carmen researched how home health models typically applied in the healthcare field could instead be applied to support young people dealing with circumstances impacting their physical and mental health.

From there, Coach Carmen worked as a Research Assistant for Foster Youth in Action. The project, “A Multistate Evaluation of Positive Youth Development,” investigated the impacts of empowering foster care youth through a Positive Youth Development Framework. The foster youth were trained to advocate for their needs and rights, interact with their legislators, and tell their personal stories in compelling ways. The results show that the youth who received training benefited from increased sense of identity and community and were empowered to affect political change related to their experiences. 

Based on her experiences and clear scientific evidence, Carmen started designing a mentoring program that reflects the Positive Youth Development framework. After 6 years of providing coaching and mentoring for young professionals and entrepreneurs with a desire to pursue or advance their careers in any industry, in 2017 Coach Carmen and her team decided it best to focus their time on becoming subject matter experts in fashion, construction, event planning and the development of social enterprises.

Through her leadership, Mission Accomplished is able to challenge the status quo and break barriers with and for aspiring young professionals. As the organization grows she is committed to ensuring the business model is sustainable and scalable.