Emmanuel Glaze is the founder and CEO of Optimize the Vizion, a nonprofit organization that helps kids gain exposure to events in Atlanta.
What led you to become a CEO?
The ability to help and create. I think that’s what CEOs want, they want their product to get out there. They want to create opportunities. And when it came to Optimize the Vizion, it was part of not only affecting lives, but being able to create and give them opportunities, and that’s what all CEOs look to do. They look to create things that will not only benefit the now, but will also benefit the youth and the people in the future through what you’re building. That was one of the main reasons I decided to do that.
What is Optimize the Vizion?
Optimize the Vizion is a nonprofit that was built to help kids from Atlanta. We help young teenagers in the city of Atlanta, and outside of the metro Atlanta, anywhere from sixth through twelfth grade, with the goal of exposing them to different opportunities and possibilities through the world of sports, but we’ve also included business and all kinds of things, and entertainment as well. The goal is to show the opportunities that are out there and take you away from your home, the things you see on TV, and what you hear about it on social media. I can not only show you face to face, but I can show you what’s on the field. I can also show you the people who make it run, and that will only expand your horizons and expand your vision.
Why is it important to uplift the younger generation?
Because contrary to everybody’s belief, they still are our future. There are still a lot of great children out there, especially African American children. If you look at everything on social media, you hear all the bad things. We have 16 students in our program, and if you can get 16 people to believe in themselves and look forward to a bright future, you hope that each one of them can affect 16 more, and you keep branching out. I got tired of hearing, “You can’t do that with these kids today.” Well, if you keep them in the house, living on a phone or a computer, or playing a video game, you’re not going to be able to do anything with them. But if you put them out there and show them people like us, you show them something like rolling out, you show them what they can be doing, and tell them what they can do [they believe in themselves]. But if you only tell them that they can’t and show them the bad part of our community, that’s what they’re going to try to emulate.
