BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Carlene Pearson grew up in East Tampa, and although she lived in Atlanta, Georgia for 11 years, she returned to her roots to share the valuable resources she gained.

Ms. Pearson noticed that teenagers in East Tampa weren’t doing anything with themselves.

On Saturday, October 8th, the Stepping Stone Youth Center will present “Hear2Listen: Teen Summit.” It will be held at the Middleton High School auditorium from 2 p. m. until 5 p. m.

After developing a partnership with the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department and the East Tampa Business and Civic Association, Ms. Pearson started three months ago putting this summit together.

“My goal is to create dialogue between the teens and an all-star panel.”

The panel that was arranged by Ms. Pearson consists of Carlysia and LeMicah Levert (children of the late Gerald Levert), Kae Morae (actress Lisa Raye’s daughter), Aaron Reid (son of L.A. Reid and Pebbles), Elite Noel (singer Keisha Cole’s sister), Corey MeKell, IROCC Williams, and A. J. Linton.

“I selected this panel because of their push in life and they’re not using their celebrity status,” said Ms. Pearson.

The summit will feature Alex Jordan as the facilitator, and Darrell Daniels as the special speaker.

Ms. Pearson said the summit is not just for teenagers from East Tampa, and she expects to see Middleton’s 600-seat auditorium filled to capacity.

Teen Summit Panelists