DORiS 8.33 | Jerrie Taylor | Alicia Keys | 9.20.21

Today on DORiS we sit down with Jerrie Taylor. Jerrie is the owner of Lionheart Insurance Group, an avid world-traveler and a proud #GirlMom We discussed life back home in Philadelphia, the criminal justice system and plans for 2022. She shared songs from Britney Spears and Alicia Keys.

I first met Jerrie Taylor in 2017 while interning at the Art Bar in Cambridge, MD. Fast forward to 2018 and I began selling life insurance under her Lionheart Insurance Group. Out on the field I got to witness first hand the way she'd bring to her clients that same bubbly, warmth that she'd bring to the Art Bar. I learned so much from her, not just about insurance, but about life. She is one of the most empowered and empowering people I've ever met. So, I wanted to rewind a bit to see where that strength and ambition comes from.

Born Jerrie Cooper, in Philadelphia, PA, she grew up with her older brothers and cousins, all of whom she says were "poor but, rich with love". Her house was where all the cousins came to stay and just always full of people. She and her brothers would play and fight to the sounds of her mother's records: Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye to name a few. Noticably missing was her father, Ronald, who was wrongly convicted and imprisoned when Jerrie was just seven years old. He was finally released and regained his innocence after thirty-six and half years behind bars and away from his family.

Jerrie says she got her sense of determination from seeing her now single mother provide for she and her siblings. She also maintained her relationship with her dad through frequent visits and letters in which he would have her learn and write about important histroical figures. At the age of nineteen she left Philly with her military husband during which time they lived in several different places including Maryland where she says they really put down roots; making life-long friends like Melvin and Lisa. Following their split she would later return to Maryland to start her new life with her two daughters.

"I had to be strong for my daughters."

While in Maryland she did her best to stay busy, focusing on finding new ways to provide for her daughters what she didn't have as a child. She sustained herslef with frequent visits to Philly to see her family to fill her cup. "I just needed to be surrounded by all that love.", she says. Back in Maryland she quickly made friends, finding her tribe and expanding her business from stoke broker, to home advisor, to insurance agent under her Lionheart Group.

"If I don't know, I'll go and find the answer."

During this time she met her now husband, Wayne Taylor, and they have been steadily growing their businesses together ever sense. They would eventually move to Cambridge, MD where they now reside. Jerrie now works throughout the Maryland-Delaware area hosting educational events about insurance benefits and advocating for those in the community who often go ignored. Her daughters, now 26 and 31 are her greatest successes. She managed to overcome the odds and create a life for them that she never had. And after nearly thirty-seven years she got to see her father regain his freedom and have the relationship with him she'd always dreamed of.

Jerrie's story is one of resilience and manifestation and ultimately triumph. I hope this interview will be as rewarding for you as it was for me. I'll leave you with the affirmation she gave me; "I am in overflow. I need for nothing."

Peace and Love,

DORiS