Vickie Milazzo Institute is a 100% woman-owned educational business located in Houston, Texas. An Inc. Top 10 Entrepreneur, Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is a hands-on CEO who actively manages her own $16-million business. She is a powerful advocate for women in business, for nurses and for teenage girls. In all her work, Vickie openly shares her practical and proven strategies as she coaches and mentors women to take charge of their professional destiny.

Her vision statement for the Institute is to Revolutionize Nursing Careers One RN at a Time. Her audiences are transformed and inspired to action by her extensive business expertise, irresistible drive and vibrant energy. The most common refrain from nurses attending her Certified Legal Nurse Consultant^CM educational seminars is, "She changed my life."

Vickie is dedicated to teaching, mentoring and changing lives, especially the careers and lives of women and girls. Vickie believes that education is power and that the sooner you start educating young women, the stronger they will be to create a better future. Vickie supports the following programs – personally and financially.

EDUCATION AND MENTORING

1. SMART Girls of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. SMART (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) Girls is a health, fitness, education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 13-18 who come from disadvantaged homes.

   Vickie shares her time and talents to help these young women realize their boldest visions. She developed a curriculum for SMART Girls entitled SMART Girls Know It’s Your Genius, Not Your Jeans That Matters that challenges young girls to begin working towards their future today. In February 2008, Vickie was invited to present her educational program to the SMART Girls at Oprah Winfrey’s Boys and Girls Club in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She has also presented to the SMART Girls in Houston, Texas.

2. Scholarships. One of Vickie’s most important philanthropic initiatives for 2008 is The Vickie Milazzo Scholarship established to benefit a deserving female high school student affiliated with The Oprah Winfrey Boys & Girls Club chapter in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Qualifying students will receive a full four-year education at a state accredited university in Mississippi.

   Vickie’s dedication to teaching, mentoring and changing lives coincides with Oprah’s commitment to the education and leadership development of young women, so the Boys & Girls Club of Kosciusko was a natural fit for the scholarship. Vickie will maintain a long-term mentoring relationship with the scholarship recipients and the goal is that this scholarship will help many deserving young women to fulfill their goals in life.

3. Girls Inc. Vickie’s donations support the Houston branch of Girls Incorporated^® which is a nonprofit organization reaching more than 800,000 girls in efforts to inspire them to be strong, smart, and bold^SM. With roots dating to 1864 and national status since 1945, Girls Inc. has responded to the changing needs of girls through research-based programs and public education efforts that empower girls to understand, value and assert their rights.

4. Be the Star You Are^®. Vickie provides copies of her Wall Street Journal bestseller, Inside Every Woman as well as positive motivation through her radio interviews to help this organization. The vision of Be the Star You Are!^® is to help all women, families and youth-at-risk, regardless of ethnicity, religion, sex, vocation and avocation. The organization works with these groups to help them to overcome obstacles, increase self-esteem and give them a head start through improved literacy and positive media so they can beat the odds.

5. Women’s Studies at University of Houston – Women’s Archive and Research Center (WARC). Vickie is a corporate sponsor of the Table Talk event which raises funds for the WARC. The WARC collects, archives and makes available for research a unique collection of documents from active and historical Houston area women’s organizations and individuals associated with these organizations, as well as local women’s oral histories.

HELPING THE KATRINA SURVIVORS with a $100,000.00 donation.

BREAST CANCER OUTREACH

1. Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure^®. Each year the Vickie Milazzo Institute staff members and Vickie spend a rewarding Saturday morning participating in the 5K Komen Houston Race for the Cure^®. In honor of Vickie Milazzo’s mother who died from breast cancer, Vickie has sponsored the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure^® since 1998. It is the Institute’s privilege to serve as a gold-level sponsor donating more than $30,000 every year to help eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease and the leading cause of death among women between the ages of 40 and 59. In addition, Vickie and the Institute support the cure for breast cancer all year long through its extensive online list of recommended authoritative nursing and medical textbooks. The Institute donates all commissions from the sale of these books through its online NACLNC^® Community to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure^®.

2. PIA – "Play It Again" for PA Breast Cancer Coalition. Vickie annually supports a hockey team event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that donates all proceeds from one of its official hockey games each year to support the fight against breast cancer.

CULTURE / ARTS

1. Society for Performing Arts (SPA). Society for the Performing Arts is the largest nonprofit presenting organization of its kind in the entire Southwest. Vickie’s annual donations support the SPA’s desire to create opportunities for the discovery, development and celebration of creative abilities in whatever form they may take.

2. Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS). As Houston’s major not-for-profit producer of musical theatre, TUTS is committed to giving back to the Houston community through a variety of innovative educational and community outreach initiatives. Every year Vickie donates to support TUTS' efforts to enrich the lives of more than 250,000 people who are annually impacted by TUTS’ productions and education and community outreach programming.

3. Alley Theatre. The Alley was founded over sixty years ago as Houston’s theatre company. Vickie’s yearly financial support helps the Alley to provide audiences with the highest quality theatre, to provide the inspirational and the provocative – to make its audiences think, feel, dream and be entertained.

OTHER

1. Houston Woman Magazine HER Awards. This new program honors women who might not otherwise receive recognition for their achievements with awards such as: Broad Shoulders, Maximum Mom, Community Angel, Savvy Sister, Evolving Eve, Tomorrow’s Woman, Gutsy Gal and Wise Woman. Vickie continues as the sole sponsor of the Evolving Eve award – given to a woman who has accomplished a significant, positive change in her life, improving not only her status in life but also the lives of those around her.

2. Healthcare Advocacy. Vickie makes an annual donation to this non-profit organization that educates individuals about their healthcare options.

3. Spiritual Tithing.