Crystal Clark-Chatman is the founder and CEO of Beautiful Spirited Women (BSW), a nonprofit mentorship program that works to empower and uplift young girls. Crystal started BSW in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to help advocate for girls in her community who experience domestic violence, depression, low self-esteem, bullying, and so much more.
Since the start of BSW 12 years ago, the program has expanded and reached more than 100,000 girls worldwide. There have been no teen pregnancies and no high-school drop-outs among their participants.
Crystal says she never knew she would have the opportunity to serve girls who shared a similar life experience to her.
“I grew up in a housing project, single-parent home; I was the baby of six. And I was this shy young lady who failed through low self-esteem, depression, and bullying. I truly hated the color of my skin. It was just a rough time,” she says. “And now I’m helping girls and young women of today not to allow their story to dictate where they’re going to go in the future.”
After studying business finance and business administration, Crystal worked as a financial control officer. But this wasn’t what she wanted to do forever.
“I love serving people; I love giving back. I love making people smile, to be honest,” she shares.
She knew she wasn’t fulfilling her life’s mission in her finance career. But she didn’t know what path to take until she heard God’s calling.
“I need you to go back and be a restoration queen to girls who were once like you,” Crystal says God told her.
Although she felt like she was struggling in her career and personal life, Crystal decided to answer the call and start Beautiful Spirited Women – and she hasn’t looked back since.
Trusting God’s Call
After hearing God’s call, Crystal got to work even though she had no resources or experience with nonprofits.
“All I had was what He gave me – that assignment. And I just took off from there,” Crystal explains.
She built a team of passionate women who all believed in the mission of BSW. Together, they made BSW into the organization it is today.
“I want the world to know that there are women who are truly, truly, truly serving as foot soldiers and restoration queens in these hidden gem communities,” she shares.
And they’ve blown her away by the love they pour into the BSW girls. For example, Crystal says she once asked a few women to send letters to a young girl struggling with depression.
“It went from me asking four people to her receiving over 45 cards, gift cards, flowers, everything in her mailbox,” she explains. “Her whole life changed before her eyes because she felt like somebody cared about her outside her mother.”
Her Motivation and Advice
Crystal knows how important it is to surround yourself with people who support your goals.
“My motivation comes from my husband and my children. They are truly my biggest cheerleaders,” she says.
She also acknowledges the importance of mental health breaks and making sure to give her team and herself time to rest.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup,” she adds.
Crystal wants to encourage future change-makers to connect with the higher power they serve, find a mentor and always be themselves.
“God made us all unique. He made us creative. He made us innovative,” she says.
Ultimately, Crystal knows that you have to be true to yourself. By answering God’s call and following her passion for bringing happiness to others, she’s been able to build a supportive program to help thousands of girls in her community and nationwide. And she wants other women to remember that they don’t have to be like anyone else to make a difference.
“We need innovative people that can bring amazing and innovative things to the world to create more future generational leaders,” she says.