2021 LIVING LEGEND
Thelma Scott, affectionately known as “Mama Scott,” is the founder and CEO of the Barbara Jordan Endeavors Corporation (BJEC), an organization discovering students with “unique abilities” throughout school districts in Houston and the Gulf Coast. She is a dedicated and passionate advocate for people with disabilities. Scott’s first appointment as an advocate for people with disabilities was in 2004 by the Honorable Mayor Lee P. Brown to the Mayor Committee for People with Disabilities and she was reappointed in 2006 by the Honorable Mayor Bill White, which was the voice to create the Mayor Youth Advocate Award, awarded to a youth with a disability each year.
Always the activist, in 1997, Mama Scott headed the project for the renaming of a street in Diboll in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In May 2012, Mama Scott and BJEC were nominated for the Washington D.C. White House Champion of Change STEM Award for People with Disabilities Winning Futures Across America! The Honorable Mayor Annise D. Parker presented Mama Scott with the Mayor’s Community Disability Advocate of the Year Award in 2012. Mama Scott is a recipient of the d-mars.com 2014 Top Woman Award.
Mama Scott currently serves on The Governor’s RCT Advisory Council in Austin and serves on various committees, including the Planning and Review Committee and Advocacy and Education Committee. She serves on the Spring ISD Business and Community Advisory Committee, the Texas RehabAction Network Advocate Advisory Committee and travels to Washington D.C. to advocate for bills that affect people with disabilities. She serves on the Mayor’s Office K-12 Advisory Committee and Marketing Advisory Committee. Mama Scott has served on the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce Education Committee for 10 years. She now serves on the Gulf Coast Diversity Council Advisory Committee and the Black Data Processing Association Advisory Committee.
Mama Scott is unstoppable when it comes to reaping the benefits of her labor. She has received numerous awards at national, state, and local levels, having been featured on numerous television stations and in several publications. Recently, Mama Scott was appointed as associate producer for the film, “Pound of Flesh” by Street Corner Films. She was also featured in the film, “Temp to Fire” with Davito Family Films.
Most importantly, Mama Scott has overcome her own health scares and endured the most devastating incident to ever happen to her: the death of her beloved husband, partner, and best friend for 41 years, Otis Scott, Sr., in 2008. He was the person who influenced her most in life and all that she is today
is because her husband loved her unconditionally, never letting her fail in anything as a woman with a unique ability. Rosemary McGowen, the sister of the late Barbara Jordan, has also been an inspiration in her life as a close friend, and she continues to be the number one supporter for the BJEC program.
Mama Scott is the proud mother of five beautiful children and nine wonderful grandchildren. She began her career in law enforcement, working for the Diboll Police Dept. for 10 1/2 years as a communication officer supervisor. She attended Kilgore College, Stephen F. Austin State University, Lamar University, and Angelina College in Law Enforcement. Mama Scott also attended North Harris Lone Star College studying marketing and became a news article success story at North Harris College as a 52-year-old woman with a disability receiving a 4.0 GPA.
Other Accomplishments Include:
•Texas Diversity First Leadership Award, the first African-American woman to receive this award as a founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization
•Wealthy Sisters Net (WSN) Community Outreach Advocate of the Year Award 2015
•Texas Rehabilitation Association (TRA) Justin Dart (American with Disability Act) Advocate of the Year Award 2015 (She is the only person in Texas honored with this award.)
•Texas GFSC Self-Advocate of the Year Award 2015 (She is the only person in Texas honored with this award.) •2015 appointed to the Spring Education Foundation Board
•Founded her own consulting company, ADE Consulting
•First African American woman to be appointed by the Governor’s Office to the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) (2008-2015)
Mama Scott is branded as a “giver” and always quotes Barbara Jordan, “It is clear to me. We as human beings must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.” Mama Scott’s magnetic personality and unbridled determination has allowed her to impact more lives than can be counted. She fervently believes that a disability is the opportunity to demonstrate extraordinary unique abilities.
Thelma Scott
Founder/CEO
SAFE Diversity Communities
15331 Kuykendahl Rd. # 1201
Houston, Texas 77090
scotttm@att.net
346-298-8819
www.safediversity.org
