As an African American business owner based in Southern California for over 20 years, Gerry Foster has dedicated his life to sharing the lessons of self-determination, empowerment, and branding strategies to help people of color attain their highest potential and value in their business or career. www.dare2bdifferent.net

Highlights of His Illustrious Branding and Marketing Career Include:

• Working in brand management as a brand strategist on leading brands Era liquid laundry detergent and Cascade automatic dishwasher detergent for The Procter and Gamble Company (they wrote the book on branding and marketing)
• Being featured on the popular PBS business mini-series entitled, Something Ventured
• Serving for over ten years as an adjunct professor of marketing and advertising at Pepperdine University, University of California – Irvine, California State University – Long Beach, and California State University – Fullerton
• Co-founding the Marketing Communications Certificate Program at the University of California – Irvine, and serving on its Advisory Board for several years
• BrainShare: An Auction of Intellectual Capital. The auction is Foster’s revolutionary idea that has raised thousands of dollars to benefit black college students. In the last several years, some of the celebrities Gerry has auctioned off "one-on-one time with" include Queen Latifah, Spike Lee, Tom Joyner, Les Brown, Susan Taylor, Magic Johnson, Don Barden, Cathy Hughes, Oprah Winfrey, Stedman Graham, Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson, Professor Cornel West, and others.
• Writing numerous articles for publications ranging from Home Office Computing Magazine to Financial Planning magazine
• Authoring and self-publishing, Marketing A Service Business for Maximum Impact, regarded as one of the most comprehensive books ever written on service marketing
• Being quoted in various newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and featured numerous times in Jan Norman’s It’s Your Business column of The Register (a major metropolitan newspaper in Orange County, CA)
• Earning cum laude degrees (bachelor and master’s) in Business Marketing from the University of Southern California
• Founding the Entrepreneur Development Ministry in 2001 at Faithful Central Bible Church (new owners of the Forum in Inglewood, CA where the Lakers use to play). He also serves as Director of Entrepreneur Development for the church (a volunteer position).
Currently, Foster sits on two boards: The University of Southern California Black Alumni Association and George Fraser's PowerNetworking National Advisory Board. Foster also is a charter and permanent member of Mr. Fraser's PowerNetworking Faculty – an elite group of the top 30 African American trainers in America.