Name: Rowana "Mama Ro" Chikwava
Gender: Female
Age: 51 years young.
Appearance:
[Enclosed within the application is a photograph of a heavyset woman of sub-Saharan African descent smiling, her clear white teeth on display. She is obviously sitting in an office of some kind, and above her shoulder, a glass screen with a clear view of Zeha's skyline. While there are clear signs of age on her face, with her wrinkles especially prominent around her hairline, her ebony skin seems quite well-cared for, with no noticeable eyebags or scarring; her high bun and black skirt and suit combination only serve to complete the image of a well put-together woman.]
Background/Previous Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in Economics and Childhood Education, University of Zeha - on full merit scholarship!
- Founder of famed cosmetics company R.O. Cosmetics, with products sold in over 60 different countries.
- Noted philanthropist and fundraiser, including organizations such as:
- Board Member of charity Akadzva Avenue, a non-profit focused on educating children from impoverished areas and constructing community centers in their neighborhoods.
- Board Member of Run Like A Girl - Organization focused on increasing female representation and equity in sports.
Growing up as a young girl in the slums of Zeha and helping manage the small convenience store that my parents owned, I have always grown up around businesses of some kind or another, and I was in fact inspired by the kindness and the courtesy with which my parents treated each and every one of their customers - like an old family friend, not someone who had just popped in to buy some millet.
From then, I worked hard to get into school, and then I started my business with little more than a couple of friends, a plan, and some prayers. Those first few years were tumultuous, I must admit, but they were also rewarding unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The first few customers that came in and walked out with bright smiles on their faces, those first tentatively positive reviews, they all made me stronger, made me better.
But, I didn't let that success make me soft and blind. From my corner office, I still could see the single mother working two jobs to feed her kids, the little girl fending for herself on the streets, the stories of the forgotten and the abused all playing out just a few steps from my door.
Soon, I joined Run Like A Girl because I had finally found an organization with a cause that I could believe in, that I could support with my resources and my talents. In order to build a world in which female athletes would be regarded on the basis of their skills rather than their gender or their looks, I realized, took working from the inside-out; that's exactly what they stood for, and so I signed on.
I'm in semi-retirement from business now, and trying to concentrate on being the best mom and grandma I can be, but still, I can't resist an opportunity when I see one - and the League is definitely an opportunity.
Why would you be a great TM?: Ever since the beginning of my life, I have been a fighter - not just for myself, but for my family, for my employees, and for women in sports. I have never not known a time in which I didn't strive to see things with my own two eyes, or when I didn't want to fight to be the best I could.
As the proud mother of two beautiful daughters - and a successful entrepreneur, I understand how hard it is to build something up from the ground up, the funds, the resources, but most of all, the people who are involved in making it a reality. I know how it is to work with people, how to deal with them even when they are being irrational, and I will bring the same prowess I did to the boardroom to the team that I manage.
My body may be starting to sag, but my mind is as supple as ever. Whichever team I manage, I will make sure to nurture them, and push them to the limits of their potential, because they deserve to have put in their all. The League is a fledgling business, but I know it can become so much - and, I know could be a great part of that.