ABOUT ME
Yolonda D. Coleman was born, reared, and educated in Washington, D.C. Upon graduating from Benjamin Banneker High School, she attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia to pursue a mass media degree. Coleman's ambition was to be the next Oprah Winfrey as an on-air personality. Yet, she set out for a new stage. Still, with an Oprah-like spirit, Coleman has devoted over a decade of her career to educating students in grades six through twelve as an English and communications teacher in Washington, D.C. It was, however, in 2004 that two students who she affectionately calls CIA and FBI said, "Quit teaching and write your book." It was on November 19, 2004 that Coleman stepped out of the classroom. By July 2005, the Sugar Rush series was born.
Sugar Rush: Love's Liberation is the first installation in the Sugar Rush series. The sequel, Sugar Rush: Love's Elevation (includes poetry by Dane B. Jackson and Nichole R. Lewis) became an amazon.com best seller in three categories just seven days after its release. Coleman is currently working on the third book in the series, Caramel's Sunday to be released in 2014.
Since 2005, Coleman has been published in several publications including Ideal, Within Our Reach, a feature through Insight Education Group, The Afro, The Informer, and The District Chronicles. Coleman has also collaborated and edited projects by self-development coach, Dr. Janice Armstrong, motivational author K. Renee Hairston, HBO actor Tray Chaney, children's book publisher Heddrick McBride, NBA player Metta World Peace (in conjunction with Tilea Coleman), and celebrity dermatologist Dr. Melanye Maclin (from Chris Rock's Good Hair and The Steve Harvey Morning Show). Authors Janine L. Coaxum and Jesse L. Bradford are both published under Coleman's publishing company Coffeedreamz Ink, LLC (est. 2001).
While Coleman's Oprah dreams no longer exclusively include a career in television, she pursues passions that inspire others to dream beyond their wildest imaginations, coaches and mentors both students and adults in writing, and continues innovating new pathways to her own success.