Barbara Harris Curtis is passionately committed to equipping and inspiring individuals to experience purpose and victory in every area of their lives. This commitment and the belief that we are “blessed to be a blessing” are the impetus behind her mission to serve.
Curtis’s diverse gifts and roles include minister, author, motivational speaker, mentor, and community leader. Her professional and ministry experiences include over 30 years in education, leadership development, teambuilding, and public relations with corporations and organizations, including Houston Independent School District, Windsor Village United Methodist Church, and J.P. Morgan Chase. She currently serves in full-time ministry at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.
Deeply disturbed by evidence of a steady decline in the confidence, self-respect, values, and positive aspirations of young girls, Curtis founded RARE Pearls, Inc. in 2014. The vision for the RARE Pearls high school mentoring program personifies the charge of the late Dr. Maya Angelou, “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.” Through RARE Pearls, Curtis is committed to working with other dedicated women to equip and empower under-served girls to navigate and overcome the hardships, negative media images, and other risk factors impacting their futures. With her visionary leadership, RARE Pearls provides life skills and college readiness training, an annual girls’ conference, college scholarships, and a first-year college mentoring program.
“I recognize the value of positive role models and guides in the lives of girls,” states Curtis. “My life is an example of the difference this makes. While growing up, I was blessed to have people who encouraged, directed, and redirected me. My mother, grandmother, caring teachers, and others invested immeasurably in who I have become, and I am committed to doing likewise.”
Though young in its existence, with Curtis’s visionary leadership, RARE Pearls, Inc. has had tremendous impact. To date, through its two-year mentoring program, the organization has graduated two classes; awarded over $60,000 in college scholarships; and provided laptop computers, luggage, and dorm room necessities to each of the program graduates. The tangible success of the program was recently evidenced in the poised and heart rendering speech of a 2018 graduate who stated, “My words used to be I can’t…I don’t…and I won’t, but today, thanks to RARE Pearls, my words are I CAN…I DO…and I WILL!”
Curtis has received numerous awards and recognitions for her service to the Houston community and beyond, including the inaugural “Mayor’s History Makers Award” presented by Mayor Sylvester Turner and Comcast.
Though her personal and professional accomplishments are many, nothing drives Curtis more than her desire to live out God’s purpose and plan for her life.
Founder and President
RARE Pearls, Inc.
1302 Waugh Dr. Houston, TX
713-256-2586
www.rarepearls.org/
barbara@rarepearls.org
