Isaiah M. Jefferson is Co-founder of the Circles of Color Business Network International, LLC (COC) along with his wife, Co-founder Kayellen Dunston-Jefferson, through the blessings of God.  It was only seven years ago that they had a vision to lead a global generational networking movement, bringing together diverse entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders with the purpose of cultivating our next generation.

While Isaiah’s accomplishments are significant, his beginnings were very humble.  He was born in Vero Beach, Florida number seven of ten children.  Attending an elementary school that was diverse from the very beginning with Blacks, Latinos, Whites, and Asians helped to shape his outlook on life.  His mother Pearl was a single provider who worked as both a nurse and a government worker.  Her diligence in caring for her children left a deep impact and feeling of pride on Isaiah.  Isaiah’s father Willie Jefferson was a Pentecostal preacher in Englishtown, NJ and Lakewood, NJ, as well as a respected community leader.

And at the age of twelve Isaiah moved to Cliffwood Beach, NJ and became an only child in the house with his father and stepmother Lillian, and it was thereafter that he learned love of community.  Reverend Jefferson would go in different communities throughout South Jersey helping people with Isaiah in tow.  Deeply inspired by his father’s business savvy, Isaiah at an early age had a desire for attaining the same respect and involvement he witnessed.  Isaiah saw his father minister to people in multiple churches, not only counseling them but also helping them in important affairs like purchasing houses and cars.  And at the same time he observed his father’s hard work and sacrifice in supporting his family.  Isaiah remembers his father talking about his expectations of him as a Jefferson.  His father told him that his life could not only be about his desires, but must center on the good of his community.  He spoke into his son’s life, asking him to achieve more than what he had achieved in life, because he knew his son would be invaluable to the next generation.  Clearly his father’s dream for his son’s life was prophetic.

In his early twenties Isaiah relocated several times but prior to each move he thoroughly researched that area.  He was always curious about how a town was originally established, its history and the mixture of its people. Wherever he lived he became actively involved in its community and this practice served as a good training ground.  He met many people along the way who took the time to mentor him.  One particular couple were not only his landlords but also his “guardian angels”, Dr. Saxena and his wife Professor Saxena.  Through their mentorship Isaiah gained tremendous confidence and he will never forget the simple words, “We believe in you”, and how it affected his focus and outlook on life.  They encouraged Isaiah to read and educate himself about the civil rights movement, and there he learned of the sacrifices made by the many generations before him.  It was then that he understood his father’s expectation of his commitment to the next generation.  It was then that he understood that he was raised to create a blue print that would lend a hand to young people.  And that blue print is the Circles of Color Business Network International.

 Isaiah assumed management positions with retail stores and restaurants throughout New        York and New Jersey, building a clientele that follow him to this day.  During this time he was mentored by business professionals, educators and scholars, and continued to mentor young people in his community.  In 2004 he married Kayellen, and together they started a business that they knew would help change the world.  They were a professional business couple leading by example for the world to see.  He started Total Environmental & Safety, an environmental consulting company in Hackensack, NJ.  Isaiah attended UMDNJ at Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ obtaining an Environmental and Safety Technician Certification.  He also attended Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ in Marketing and Business (SBA).

As a community leader/activist and philanthropist, Isaiah has served as Community Chairperson for the Englewood Rotary Club, in Englewood NJ and is still an active participant.  He is the founder of the AVID/COC Community Lecture Series at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, NJ, which brings the corporate world to the high school classroom.  It also facilitates internships, mentors, guidance and exposure to the business world for high and middle school students.  He has been actively involved with the Urban League of Bergen County, and has also achieved the title of Ambassador of Peace (UPF). Isaiah has been featured in several periodicals, which include The Bergen News, Suburbanite, NJ Forum and Record, American Business Latino Magazine, and the Press Journal.  He has also had numerous interviews on local cable news stations NY 1 News and Cablevision News, It’s Just How It Is, and Time Warner Cable NY 35. He has also appeared live on “The New Yorkers” television program for an interview about Circles of Color activities.  Isaiah is an honorary member of the Tuskegee Airmen Claude B.Govan Tri-state Chapter.  He presently lives in Northern NJ with his wife Kayellen and their jet-black cat named Jazzy.