Douglas Franklin and Woodrow Scott met as first year students during their MBA program. Although they almost instantly became great friends, they also found they shared the need to help the Black community and other underrepresented populations. This led to their involvement with the Black Business Students Association (BBSA), where they would collaborate with the MBA diversity preview weekends and recruiting.
In their second year, the two would become the BBSA president and vice president. Together with the other Black Students, they served as part of the host committee for Management Leaders of Tomorrow, prepped student elevator pitches for diversity conferences, and started an annual banquet that honors Black MBA Alumni from their program.
The foundation for The Obodo Project came from volunteering at the Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce (GHBC) in the spring of 2011. During the term of GHBC president Eric Lyons, the two engaged in consulting projects with member businesses of the chamber, finding it rewarding to utilize their business knowledge in their community.
The mission of Obodo was born when Woodrow and Douglas helped create a summer internship program at the GHBC for HBCU MBA students. As the students were “career changers” with limited practical business experience, the founders developed a program that allowed for the students to apply their classroom knowledge into practice, and provide member businesses with actionable solutions.
Five years later, the two reunited, seeking the opportunity to develop an organization that allowed them to both affect minorities in business and the communities they live and serve in. Now, they hope to encourage you and others to join in their aim to work with today’s community for tomorrow’s success.
The Obodo Project 