Meet Anike Sakariyawo - A NPEP Palm Beach Graduate

Anike Sakariyawo knew from an early age she wanted to make a significant change in the world of education – specifically in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, otherwise known as STEM.

As a young girl, her inspiration and main reason for pursuing her degree in education was based on her relationship with her older sister Patricia, who passed away in 2017. Patricia, who suffered from autism, was a tremendous light in Sakariyawo’s life, not only personally, but professionally.

“She was exceptional, clever and taught me from an early age that I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives who are very much capable of learning despite their physical differences,” Sakariyawo said.

According to Sakariyawo, she also credits her early childhood experiences of growing up and moving to and from both her parent’s houses experiencing education through multiple Title 1 school districts as a pivotal reason of why she chose to become an educator.

With more than 15 years of experience under belt as a science, special education and general education teacher, Sakariyawo established Seeking Education Empowers Knowledge (S.E.E.K.) Foundation, Inc., in 2012. Based in South Florida, the foundation is a mobile nonprofit aimed to teach STEM/STEAM (science, technology, education, arts, mathematics) activities to children all over the nation.

Since launching, S.E.E.K. Foundation, Inc., has impacted more than 10,000 students, teachers, parents, volunteers and more. The nonprofit began in Miami, Florida, and now serves communities in Tampa, Florida; Broward County, Georgia, New York, Texas and Washington, D.C.

Sakariyawo formally left her role as a teacher in 2018 to focus solely on S.E.E.K. Foundation, Inc. “At some point, I knew I needed to resign as a teacher if I wanted the foundation to grow to its fullest potential,” she said. “I believed in what I was doing and I knew I could make a significant change in children’s lives and in the STEM field if I started to focus on building partnerships in the community that had the same mission and overall goal I had.”

From this point, Sakariyawo began to look for business development opportunities in the Palm Beach County community that she hoped would align with the overall mission of the foundation. Sakariyawo came across the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship’s Palm Beach County 2018 Nonprofit Executive Program (NPEP) and knew instantly that the program was going to help her grow her business.

“The speakers were phenomenal,” Sakariyawo said. “These were people that have been in business for a while who had tangible, real-situation advice.”

The Jim Moran Institute’s Palm Beach County NPEP program focuses on growth, leadership expertise, and financial success. The program is designed for CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners, presidents and executive directors of nonprofit organizations looking to grow and sustain their company’s current business model. “Completing the Business Model Canvas was grueling and hard work, but ultimately it helped me to better understand my business.” she said. “Identifying our customers, how our customers understand us, managing finances, and more - these steps were extremely beneficial for me and helped me to see my business in a bigger picture that I ever had before.”

Offered at no cost to its participants, the NPEP program graduates emerge with the skills and training needed to capitalize on business opportunities, implement best practice management and turn challenges into strategic advantage.

For more information about the Palm Beach County SBEP program, please contact Jim Moran Institute’s Associate Director of Palm Beach County Courtney Mickens at cmickens@jimmoraninstitute.fsu.edu.

About the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship
The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship cultivates, trains and inspires entrepreneurial leaders through world-class executive education, applied training, public recognition and leading-edge research. Jim Moran was an automotive pioneer and an entrepreneur at heart, who at the age of 7, sold soda pop at sandlot baseball games in Chicago. With a career that spanned more than six decades, he built an amazing chronicle of achievements in the automobile industry. His vision for the Jim Moran Institute was to provide opportunities that would help others become more successful business owners. A 1995 contribution from Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises established the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the Florida State University College of Business. Since 2011, further enhancements to the Jim Moran Institute and its outreach have been made possible by Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation.

About the South Florida Operations
The Jim Moran Institute's South Florida Operations serves established entrepreneurs, business owners and nonprofit leaders in the South Florida community through multiple programs designed to take advantage of local resources. Providing executive education and leveraging the resources of the Jim Moran Institute, the South Florida Operations helps its clients' businesses - and the region's economy - grow and prosper. Based in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, the South Florida Operations services are provided to for-profit and nonprofit businesses and are geared toward CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners and presidents of small businesses whose companies have been established for at least three years and have five or more employees. Services are provided for little to no cost.