Motivational speaker Lucinda Cross, whose stint in a federal prison led to a career as a professional development “activator,” will speak at the Westchester-Putnam Youth Summit on Wednesday, March 23.
Cross will be the keynote speaker at the free, all-day event for young adults ages 16 to 21 who want to learn employment skills and get career advice. The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza, White Plains, from 9 a.m. to 3:45.
Cross was 18 and a college freshman when she was sentenced to five years in prison for laundering contraband for a Nigerian drug cartel. She put her time behind bars to good use. She listened to motivational speakers and she cut out magazine pictures that depicted the life to which she aspired.
She was released from prison in 2000 and began working on the dreams represented by the magazine pictures. She graduated from college. She got a good job. And she refined her goal-setting techniques.
The prison collage led to the “vision board.” She urges people to post images and words about their goals, and she teaches them how to focus on the details that will make the goals happen.
Cross, who lives in New Rochelle, puts on workshops for professional women, millennials and at risk youth. She has published several books, appeared on radio and TV programs and been featured in newspapers and magazines.
She describes her work as “helping women live a life of fire, fun and freedom.”
The youth summit will also feature a session on how to dress for success, a Legoland team-building exercise, a team competition and workshops.
The program is sponsored by the Business Council of Westchester, the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, and Westchester and Putnam counties.
