Tia Young

Background

About Tia Young

Dr. Tia Young is a renowned entrepreneurship specialist, marketing strategist, motivational speaker, and award-winning educator with nearly 20 years of experience driving innovation, strategic growth, and sustainable impact across industries. As a trusted advisor, she has guided hundreds of entrepreneurs and executives—supporting business growth, brand transformation, and operational expansion—often resulting in revenue increases of 25% to 50%. Among her proudest outcomes: helping one client grow from to $2.5 million in just 12 months, and another acquire the company where they were once employed. A respected thought leader, Dr. Young has published peer-reviewed research on entrepreneurship and marketing in international journals and has delivered conference presentations for Bloomberg L.P, Hampton University, Bowie State University, and several MBAA International Conferences. She is a sought-after motivational speaker and panelist on entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, and business strategy. Dr. Young began her career in the entertainment industry. She earned scholarships to both the Alvin Ailey School and The Juilliard School, where she majored in Dance. She toured internationally as a performer and choreographer, with appearances at the Essence Awards, Billboard Live Music Awards, and World Music Awards. Drawn to the business side of the arts, she transitioned into corporate roles at Warner Bros, DreamWorks, and Merv Griffin Productions. Pursuing greater executive opportunities, she pivoted into commercial real estate development, contributing to iconic Los Angeles projects including The Grove, Hollywood & Highland, and the Dolby Theatre (home of the Academy Awards). She later served as Vice President at a boutique firm, overseeing multimillion-dollar developments and enterprise growth. Dr. Young was later tapped by the Chicago Urban League, where she served as Director and Interim VP of Entrepreneurship Programs. She secured $10M in funding, helped entrepreneurs win nearly $15M in contracts, and was part of the team that transformed the League’s brand into a multiple Emmy Award-winning reality television show on the FOX network. She spent nine years teaching at Bowie State University, where she taught Entrepreneurship and Marketing and earned the 2024 Pillars of Success Award for Teaching and Student Impact. She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Management, and is a proud Juilliard alumna. AVAILABLE for keynote addresses, panels, media interviews, workshops, leadership intensives.