Brand Building: She learned high-level cleaning skills in prison & founded Renew Construction Services & STEM Exposure.
Strawberry Letter
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Robyn Donaldson.
Entrepreneur, Mentor, and Founder of Renew Construction Services & STEM Exposure
🔑 Episode Highlights 🔄 From Incarceration to Inspiration
- Robyn shares her journey from a strict religious upbringing to incarceration due to drug-related activities.
- Served 5 years in prison, where she earned two associate degrees and developed a passion for learning and leadership.
🧹 Building a Business from the Ground Up
- Learned high-level cleaning skills in prison and at Hilton during work release.
- Founded Renew Construction Services, which grew from cleaning trailers to major contracts like:
- Tampa Convention Center
- NFL Super Bowl & Kickoff
- City of Tampa, Moffitt Cancer Center, USF
🏗️ Strategic Growth & Collaboration
- Became a Home Depot distributor.
- Uses collaboration to uplift smaller contractors and scale projects.
- Emphasizes relationship-building and proactive planning over reactive bidding.
👩🏽🔬 STEM Exposure Nonprofit
- Founded STEM Exposure to introduce Black girls to underrepresented STEM careers.
- Offers local and global architecture and construction camps.
- Operates in 10 countries and 4 time zones with a focus on AI, engineering, and design.
🏆 Recognition & Legacy
- Honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Embraces her past as part of her story, using it to inspire others.
- Celebrates milestones like putting bills on autopay as symbols of stability and peace.
🌐 Websites
- STEM Exposure: stemxposure.org (drop the “e” in “exposure”)
- Renew Construction Services: renewconstructionservices.com
#SHMS #BEST #STRAW
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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