White House Author

Monica Haslip has become a compelling voice on behalf of children and the arts. Monica is one of the Nation’s youngest founders of a community based arts organization to build a multi-million dollar Art and Design Center, making her a respected leader in the fields of Youth Advocacy, Community Arts and Cultural Development. Monica is the Founder and Executive Director of the Little Black Pearl (LBP) and Options Laboratory School. Little Black Pearl was founded in 1994, as an innovative neighborhood arts and community development program designed to expose youth and adults to the vast contributions of the arts to American culture. The primary vision of the organization is to create an avenue for exposure to art and culture while teaching the connection between art, education and community. In addition, Monica led Little Black Pearl to open the doors of Options Laboratory School in September 2011, a Charter School offering an arts and technology based curriculum to at-risk high school youth.