Dr. Rolanda Schmidt, formerly Rolanda Delamartinez, was born and raised in Florida and moved to the  Midwest more than two decades ago. She was raised by her father and step  mom in a very religious home. Trouble in what seemed like a childhood  paradise occurred when she was  kidnapped and abused at the tender age  of 12 (read the full kidnapping story here). After surviving that tumultuous ordeal; being reunited with her father  and stabilizing her life. Rolanda married at 18, became a first-time mom  shortly after and went through a series of changes over a decade (including making multiple mistakes personally and financially) that would shape the woman she is today and teach her the importance of  living in truth. She learned first hand the consequences of living far beyond ones means. During speaking engagements, she often reminds the audience to walk in humility as we've all  experienced trials and tribulations. Dr. Rolanda reminds her audience no matter the issue at hand, to have faith, embrace God first, and be divinely empowered to get to a better place.
 

Thanks to the self-sacrificing  efforts of her husband, children/bonus children, friends, family, and  mentors: Dr. Rolanda Schmidt has established herself as an entrepreneur,  author, scholar, motivational speaker, and  humble community servant. Her greatest joy is derived from being a Christ follower, wife, mother/bonus mom (the word step-mom correlates to being stepped on and is a reminder of Dr Ro's cringeworthy childhood), and helping those in need. In addition, Rolanda takes pride in being the first African  American endorsed candidate for MN State Representative in District 52A (2008).

Dr. Rolanda Schmidt gained a  wealth of corporate and nonprofit experience working as the Director of  Marketing and Development at Prevent Child Abuse MN; and as founder and  CEO of a tax accounting firm for 17 years while consulting as a member of the accounting staff at numerous corporations. Dr. Rolanda embraced all of these experiences and transitioned into academia. She enjoyed her role as a visiting  professor at St. Catherine University teaching management and serving ten years as an adjunct professor at Cardinal Stritch University  teaching undergraduate and graduate courses such as management, marketing, project management, accounting, financial management, and organizational behavior. In the summer of 2017, she accepted a full time faculty position at the University of  Northwestern-St. Paul as an assistant professor of business and program  manager of CGOAL (College of Graduate Online & Adult Learning). Dr. Rolanda is currently the CEO of Truth with Grace Consulting specializing in management consulting for individuals and companies. 

An internationally  sought after speaker, Dr. Rolanda Schmidt has also been featured in many media outlets for her  commitment to love her firstborn transgender adult child regardless of religious disagreement; her dedication to advocating against child abuse and kidnapping; and solid work of educating youths on financial literacy, and empowering leaders with business (management, marketing, public policy) and personal consulting. 

Dr. Rolanda is a Certified  Professional Project Manager (CPPM) University of St. Thomas and holds a  Bachelors of Science in Management and Masters in Management from  Cardinal Stritch University. She also earned a Ph.D. in International  Finance and continues to broaden her scholarly expertise by seeking an  additional PhD in Public Policy (2019). Dr. Schmidt humbly uses these  abundance of skills to continue being a global servant leader.