Corey Minor Smith is the recipient of the 2024 Secretary’s Mission Support Excellence Award and certificate of completion from the Harvard Business School 2023 Women of Color Executive Leadership Program who moved 21 times and attended 14 different schools before graduating high school. She became a mother was a senior in college.

Additionally, she has a loved one living with schizophrenia. All that, and she still emerged to become an accomplished attorney and mental health advocate–and author of the book #Driven, a motivational memoir and resource for families and friends that have relatives or people close to them suffering from severe mental illness.

Corey’s book is a compelling story that shows how, with supportive family and friends, she propelled forward in the face of significant challenges. From a childhood filled with instability, heartbreaking divorce, a broken relationship with a mentally ill parent, and countless other demoralizing life situations, Corey’s posture is that of a fighter. She was unyielding in her determination to make her dreams of becoming a lawyer and serving others a reality.

She was abandoned, abused, and discounted. But Corey Minor Smith exists as an attorney, author, and advocate. She shares a heartwarming account that serves as a source of inspiration to hold fast to your hopes and dreams and push forward until they come to fruition. #Driven is an empowering presentation of how faith in addition to being motivated, determined, prepared, and taking action can propel anyone to reach their desired goals.

Learn more about Corey, a Featured Author at the 2025 NBCC, and her work by clicking here.