The Poverty-to-Power Leadership Framework™

How Leadership Disrupts Generational Poverty
Dr. Tekemia Dorsey

​

The Poverty-to-Power Leadership Framework™ is a transformational leadership blueprint that redefines poverty not as a permanent economic condition, but as a crisis of denied access, restricted agency, and suppressed leadership development.

​

While traditional anti-poverty approaches focus on relief, services, or short-term stabilization, Dr. Tekemia Dorsey introduces a new paradigm: poverty becomes generational where leadership access is blocked—and poverty becomes disruptible where leadership access is restored. At the center of this model is a signature concept: Leadership Access, defined through four measurable pillars—Decision-Making, Agency,​

Accountability, and Opportunity. These pillars form the bridge between survival and stability, dependence and power, hardship and generational mobility.

​

Grounded in research, civic practice, and global applicability, the Poverty-to-Power Framework™ is built across five interconnected domains of leadership development:

​

• Identity & Mindset Leadership (Purpose, Self-Efficacy, Strategic Thinking)

• Educational & Skill Leadership (Academic Readiness, Workforce Skills, Lifelong Learning)

• Economic & Financial Leadership (Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Income Sustainability)

• Physical & Mental Discipline Leadership (Resilience, Performance, Sports-Based Leadership)

• Civic & Community Leadership (Advocacy, Engagement, Stewardship)

​​

Together, these domains create a complete leadership infrastructure capable of disrupting poverty at its roots—psychologically, structurally, economically, and civically.

​

Written in an iconic, accessible, and action-driven style, this book combines cinematic storytelling, rigorous scholarship, and trademark-ready tools—including leadership indices, challenges, implementation models, and institutional adoption strategies. Readers are not only inspired to rethink poverty—they are equipped to build leadership capacity within themselves, their families, their organizations, and their communities.

​

As a civic leader, NAACP Branch President, and architect of leadership pipelines for youth, workforce development, and disability transition systems, Dr. Dorsey offers more than a book. She offers a globally scalable framework for governments, schools, nonprofits, and communities committed to sustainable mobility and generational transformation.

 

The Poverty-to-Power Leadership Framework™ positions leadership not as privilege, but as justice—and presents a bold truth for our time:

 

Poverty is not a life sentence. Leadership access is the pathway to power. And power, once generational, becomes unstoppable.