From a young age, Faatimah Gamble knew she had talent in business development. Early in her career, she took a job as an administrator of a health and welfare plan for a local union; she helped to grow that plan from start-up to $1 million. In 1993, Gamble co-founded Universal Companies with her husband, Grammy-winning producer and songwriter, Kenneth Gamble. Their mission was to revitalize South Philadelphia by providing a holistic approach to community development in an area that had faced a great deal of crime and poverty.
Since the company’s inception, they have built over 1,500 property units. Each time they build a space, they meet with community residents and develop neighborhood master plans that guide their construction. The company also manages eight charter schools in Philadelphia.
Wanting to fulfill her passion for health education, in 1996 Gamble founded the Wellness of You, a non-profit that aimed to introduce healthy lifestyle practices to communities that are medically underserved. Wellness of You has served over 25,000 individuals. Gamble plans to focus her next endeavors on youth programs and health advocacy, specifically concentrating on preventative medicine and obesity reduction.
What is the defining moment for your life and career?
The defining moment in my life was that I had an affinity for knowledge and for business. At a young age, I knew what I wanted to do. I took a business course and I studied and interacted with professionals in business and individuals in my life. You know I was like a sponge and I took in everything that I thought that could propel my career and benefit me in some way. Having been in a profession which was dominated by males, I had pull on that which I learned from my brothers and my father and be one that could hold my own in any conversation even in the board.
So that defining moment was that I knew I had the potential of creating and leading a successful organization. Not to mention the fact that my mother always taught me that nothing you cannot do if you would put your mind to it and to be the best at whatever it is that want to do
What challenges have you faced as an African American woman in your field and how did you overcome them?
As a woman of color in my field, I have had many careers. And let’s take for instance when I was the administrator of a health and welfare plan with local union and it was a male-dominated industry, I had to pull on what I learned from my brothers and father and was able to communicate and to sit with the predominately Caucasian males.
I first conducted myself like a lady and then like a business woman and was respected in that regard. As the only female on the board of the company I co-founded with my husband, I made sure my voice was heard but often my presence was dismissed. And what woman inspires you and why. You know I can’t say that there’s any particular woman that inspired me. There are so many of them. The woman that inspired me would be that woman that’s out of step, out of the box and that woman will speak out against injustice. The woman is not afraid to go out there and compete in a male dominating society and particularly White male dominated society and do whatever is necessary to hold their own and to work towards a better humanity and a better community.
Those advocates are the women who inspire me.
What is your advice to the younger generation of women coming after you?
That’s a good question because so many young women who are striving for success just starting their own businesses and are entrepreneurs. They are eager and determined and have a lot to offer. I would advise them to find a mentor who has excelled in the field they want to aspire to.
Take note, ingest and digest whatever advice you can pull from that individual; step back and do not just jump in too fast. There’s so much to learn about whatever it is that you can do. There’re lots of heartaches, stumbling blocks and obstacles. But the woman who is successful and has broken through that glass ceiling as gone through it and I would suggest that the young women coming up should learn from the woman who is their predecessor.
What does being a part of the African Diaspora mean to you?
It means that I’m part of two continents. We are here in the United States of America but in our heart, our souls, our ancestors and DNA are parts of the continent of Africa. And I just wish we could have learned more growing up and going through the educational system here in the United States.
So it’s just unfortunate that the transatlantic slave trade was spoken of in a manner so degrading and not of pride and joy. Our ancestors survived in order for us to be here on this continent to fight for the betterment of the people while making the ones who’ve made the journey early proud of what we have accomplished.
