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Allison James-Frison
Allison is an overcomer and reflects the true persevering spirit of the city of Newark, NJ. Like many Newark residents, Allison was not a child born of means, privilege, or access. She was raised in subsidized housing in the city of Newark, NJ Stella Wright Projects; an environment that presented its own unique set of life challenges. At a young age, Allison lost both of her parents, experienced and survived domestic violence, sexual abuse, and homelessness. Although she survived an incident of gun violence, she would the go on to lose her fiancée tragically to that same fate. Despite life's hard knocks, she used these adversities as fuel for her fire to be and do more!
Each traumatic experience served as a unique catalyst for her aspiration to create something larger than herself. Allison felt that during her childhood she was deprived of opportunities to live, love, and laugh; she vowed to one day create an organization that would fill the void for girls in the community who may have had similar experiences. Allison is a woman of action and true to her word. In 2009, she founded Girls; Live, Love, Laugh, Inc. (GLLL). Allison has built a foundation from the same Newark soil that once deprived her of her childhood she found her deepest passion to give girls an opportunity to develop in a healthy environment, after she rose from the ashes of personal struggles to date.
Allison's organization has mentored over two-thousand girls with an 89% track record of girls attending college. Allison has received plenty of community, city, and state acknowledgements, which consist of a humanitarian award and two Proclamation from the city of Newark Mayor Ras. J Baraka declaring September 14th Allison James Day and September 15th Girls; Live, Love, Laugh Inc. Day in the city of Newark, NJ. Allison and her organization Girls; Live, Love, Laugh Inc. are the first to receive esteem recognition in Newark, NJ. However, what Allison is most proud of is obtaining a degree at forty-nine years old, making her a first generation graduate.
