ABOUT OUR FOUNDER…

Entrepreneur, Corporate Event Planner, writer, wife, mother of two superstars. Hope was born in Brooklyn, New York to her parents who immigrated in the 1940’s from the carribean island of Jamaica. Educated at SUNY New Platz and Columbia University, School of Professional studies, Hope’s career as an Event Planner spans over the past two decades from being the Public Events Planner at Columbia University, School of Law to being a corporate events planner at AXA Financial Services. Hope attributes her love for event planning to some of her earliest memories of seeing her mother’s philanthropic work with organizations like the National Council of Negro Women and The Alpha Cosmetologists of Brooklyn. Hope sees her unique vantage point of growing up in her mother’s Brooklyn Beauty Salon as her first glimpse of witnessing the power of women uplifting each other. “I observed women coming to my mother’s salon sometimes broken & needing direction in addition to needing their hair cared for. I watched her lend a listening ear with a genuine open heart, giving advice, direction and sometimes even opening our doors to someone in need. I also watched in awe as my mother and the other women that were a part of the professional organization, The Alpha Cosmetologists of Brooklyn give back to the community.” Hope says those early examples serve as her own standard. Today, Hope is a patron of the arts, assisting her husband, Craig Derry with his vocal coaching business. She is lovingly referred to as “Ma” or “Mama Derry” to many of their clients/students. “I love that I have an opportunity to mentor emerging artists & to be there for them whether for advice, as a morale booster, a brainstorming session or for a Sunday dinner.”

In 2019, Hope founded the not for profit organization, A Song For Life, Inc.,with the mission of providing a platform for musical artists to combine their artistry with advocacy. Hope started the organization in response to the senseless rise of gun violence throughout the country. The organization’s two annual signature events, “A Sing Out” is a musical concert which brings awareness about a particular issue that impacts our community at large and the other event, “Using MY Influence” an award ceremony that pays tribute to individuals across sectors who are using their platform to make a difference.