The Black Girl Magic Conference was founded by Rosa Thompson in 2017. At the time, Rosa Thompson and Maria Loy, an ally and co-conspirator, were running the affinity group, the Oya Sisters through a partnership with Natural Circles of Support for Black and Multiracial girls at Hawthorne Elementary School. They came up with the idea to have a space for Black girls across the school district to be celebrated and learn from one another.

 

A proud graduate of the Madison Metropolitan School District, Rosa attended college at Clark Atlanta University and completed her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Rosa always knew that she wanted to teach in the same school district where she was educated. In addition to the annual Black Girl Magic Conference, Rosa is also the Executive Director of Black Girl Magic Educational Services, a community dedicated to providing safe and affirming spaces for Black girls, rich and engaging programs centered around identity,

social-emotional development, STEAM, and the arts with opportunities to network and be mentored by Black women entrepreneurs and professionals in the Madison community.

 

"We're bringing strong, intelligent and dynamic women together with smart, ambitious girls - showing them that they can be lawyers, entrepreneurs, educators and CEO's. That's what Black Girl Magic Educational Services does, we uplift the magic in Black girls, revealing their confidence and creativity!"