Personal Background: Erna Blackman was born in Queens and attended Grace Lutheran Elementary School in Malvern, NY. In 1984, she graduated from Jamaica High School and subsequently received a BA in journalism from Delaware State University. Blackman is married and the mother of two children.
Professional Background and Career: Blackman had a 20-year career with New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. In 2012, she founded Butterflies BBI, which is a nonprofit organization that provides free hair replacements and solutions to children with medical hair loss. At Butterflies BBI, a special interest is given to inner-city children as they are a group that is often overlooked.
Motivation To Contribute To The Community: Blackman has seen the devastating effects of low self-esteem in underserved communities during her 20-year career in law enforcement. She has also volunteered at the American Cancer Society as a stylist in their wig program and was inspired by the smiles she would bring to the faces of her clients as she assisted them while they dealt with their personal illnesses. This inspiration was the motivation to bring her services to children in need, hoping to raise their self-esteem to help them become successful members of society.
Biggest Challenge: Blackman’s biggest challenge was transitioning from a daily 9-to-5 job, which she could no longer do due to an injury, into the nonprofit world.
“When you’re used to getting up every morning to work for someone, it’s hard to stop that learned behavior. No matter how much you say you’d like to stop working, when you’re faced with an unplanned event, it’s tough. And it’s difficult to accept that you no longer have a scheduled salary to rely on. But on the other hand, fulfilling your dream by providing the services to children in need seems to lighten the load and balance things out.”
Greatest Achievements: Providing a stable home and comfortable lifestyle for her family is one of her greatest personal achievements. And professionally, her greatest achievement is founding Butterflies BBI.
“There’s nothing like creating something from nothing. Building an organization from the ground up with only your own ideas and passion is an achievement in and of itself. But when you see the faces of those you’ve helped and you know that you’ve made a positive difference in their lives, that alone makes it a great achievement.”
