Today we’d like to introduce you to CJ Bland.
Hi CJ, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Today, I live an immensely blessed, enjoyable and fulfilling life with my amazing wife and soulmate and two very intelligent and awesome young children, and I have a host of supportive extended family members and friends. I am also the founder, visionary and CEO of Minority Professional Network (MPN), a proven DE&I job board, staffing and retention, digital marketing, and consulting integrated solutions provider.
My life story, however, also includes overcoming childhood poverty and enduring multiple hardships, obstacles and tragedies along my path to achieving academic, corporate, entrepreneurial and personal success and gratification.
My father left our family when I was five, so I was raised along with my five siblings by our single mother in a New Orleans housing project and grew up impoverished on public assistance surrounded by crime, despair and hopelessness. My oldest brother was murdered at age 21 while standing at a bus stop in a random hate crime killing, and my firstborn niece tragically lost her life due to an accidental fatal fall at age four.
The foundational path for my eventual success was rooted starting at a young age due to my mother’s guidance and inspiration, our family’s unfortunate trials and tragedies, and a strong desire to overcome the disadvantaged, underprivileged and crime-laden environment in which I was reared.
Undoubtedly, my humble beginnings and disadvantaged upbringing along with earning three college degrees (B.S. in Physics, B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Master of Business Administration) coupled with my robust corporate experience and accomplishments working in various leadership, consulting and contributor roles (at AT&T, NASA, Lucent Technologies, NCR and Johnson Controls) all collectively prepared me for eventual entrepreneurial and personal success.
I was also elected and honored to serve as Atlanta Chapter president of the National Black MBA Association. In addition, I was chosen for what resulted in a 9-year political appointment to the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Board of Directors, serving with the Mayor of Atlanta, County Chairs, other mayors and distinguished business and civic leaders.
With all that I’ve accomplished, the greatest joy and most fulfilling and gratifying aspect of my life happened in 2010, when I met and two years later married Shelley Robinson Bland, my incredibly beautiful, kind, smart, caring and supportive wife, partner and best friend. Two years after our marriage, Shelley and I were blessed to become first-time parents when our son was born, and two years after that our daughter was born. With a loving wife and children, my life now is totally complete, fulfilling and enjoyable beyond my wildest imagination.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My road has certainly not been a smooth ride, but rather has been plagued with numerous obstacles, challenges, trials and tragedies.
• At age five, I was struck by a car while crossing a street.
• Months later, my father abandoned our family, leaving my mother to rear 6 children on her own in a New Orleans public housing project by working 3 jobs and with the aid of public assistance.
• At age 12, my close first cousin and playmate lost his life at age 12 in a freak accident.
• At age 16, my oldest brother was murdered at age 21, the victim of a racially motivated random hate crime.
• In my early twenties, and on the same day I graduated from engineering school, my firstborn niece tragically lost her life at age four due to an accidental fall from a balcony.
Through it all and from very early in life, my mother was my role model, motivation and inspiration for what I ultimately was able to accomplish in my youth, 20s and 30s.
• She always emphasized the importance of a solid education, faith, patience, goals and being willing to pursue and work hard for what you want in life.
• She often worked 3 jobs without having a car to provide basic food, clothing and shelter for our family.
• She provided solid teachings, examples, inspiration, grace and strength in handling, overcoming or persevering through much adversity and the aforementioned devastating trials and tragedies.
• My mother, Olivia Walker Bland, an extraordinary woman of immense class, determination and unwavering faith, passed away in late 2021 after a years-long battle with Alzheimer’s dementia.
As an adult, I’ve endured and overcome numerous relational, employment and fiscal challenges.
We’ve been impressed with Minority Professional Network, Inc. (MPN), but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
About MPN:
1. Our network and services were initially launched in 1998 and we formally incorporated as Minority Professional Network, Inc. (MPN) in 2001
2. We are a NMSDC Certified NMSDC MBE and a majority-owned WBE.
3. We have more than 20 years of proven integrated DE&I/OFCCP/EEO and related solutions, best practices and results.
4. Our primary online web properties include:
o mpnDiversityJobs.com
o mpnDiversityRecruiters.com
5. Our proven CORE solutions have included our DE&I/EEO/OFCCP-focused job board, recruiting-as-a-service (RaaS), direct placement/staffing, digital marketing, and recruitment events.
6. Our consulting and professional services solutions, often delivered collaboratively with external consultants and partners, have included DE&I strategy/consulting, recruiting/retention, speaking/training, turnkey events, marketing and professional services (e-commerce, product management, program/project management, managed IT services).
7. We have attracted 2,500+ valued DE&I/EEO/OFCCP-focused corporate, education, government and nonprofit employer clients, recruitment agencies, staffing firms and other partners from 46 U.S. states and other countries, including:
o AAA, ACLU, Alachua Cty., Allied Universal, Allstate, Amsted, AT&T, Boston Scientific
o Brentwood School, CIA, City of Portland, Colgate, CUNY, Dollar General, Duke U., FADV
o FBI, FDIC, Feeding America, Gates Foundation, Getty Trust, Harvard, Honda, HP
o Hodes (Symphony Talent), Intel, JobElephant, JobTarget, JWT, NOAA, Novartis, Ohio St.
o Penn State, PetSmart, Pinkerton, Porsche Cars, PwC, SANDAG, Southern Company
o Stanford, Travelers, UCLA, United Way, USDA, U.S. DOS, U.S. SEC, Walmart, Yale
o and thousands of others …
8. We have reached millions of site users, social media connections, e-Subscribers, event attendees and candidates from all U.S. states and dozens of countries.
9. Our audience encompasses a broad spectrum of diversity, including racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, age, experience, functional, students, veterans, professionals, entrepreneurs and executives.
10. We possess decades of proven DE&I insight, thought leadership, training/facilitation and consulting experience, best practices and partnerships to drive actionable results.
11. Sample DE&I speaking/training clients, engagements or media interviews have included 3rd Door Media, 11alive TV, AJC, American Express, AT&T, CNN, El Observador, GADOL, Hispanic PR, Minority Business News USA (MBNUSA), NBMBAA, North Highland, NSBE, Philadelphia Tribune, PMI, Rolling Out, SMX Next (by Microsoft), VoyageATL, U.S. Department of State, Walmart and several others.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
It was tough enough growing up in a single-parent home living in a housing project surrounded every day by substantial crime, hopelessness and despair. It was very difficult watching my mother work multiple jobs to raise 5 sons and 1 daughter, and doing her best to teach us about striving for a good education, having faith, developing good work ethics, and having self-confidence, goals and big dreams.
Unfortunately, things were further complicated while growing up because my 2nd and 3rd oldest brothers often followed the wrong crowd, stayed in trouble and were repeatedly kicked out of school. I used my father’s absence, my environment and surroundings, and even my mother and brothers’ struggles as motivating factors to do better. Hence, I was extremely focused and driven from a very young age, including wanting to reduce my mother’s burdens, help out in any way I could, and setting a good example for my younger brother and sister. In doing so, I became an A-student throughout K-12, a multi-sport talented athlete, and started working odd jobs to earn money around the age of 10. I was not into the social aspects of life, never went to parties, proms or other social activities. Later in life, my personality changed and I became a major networker and hosted numerous social parties or events.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mpndiversityjobs.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mpnsite
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cjbland
- Other: https://www.mpndiversityrecruiters.com/