Meet Karrie Fox | CEO & Mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karrie Fox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karrie, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
We came to education and kids a little differently than other providers. In 2016, we were approached by the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) to develop and implement an afterschool program teaching the basics of audio engineering and servicing a school district who has a 90% minority enrollment and 68% are underserved youth. Our first after school program, The American DJ Company B.E.A.T. Program serviced dozens of schools with curriculum that exceeds the State mandated requirements.

The value in each of our programs is because they are designed with personalized learning for each student. A great example is that in every DJ class we teach the B.E.A.T. mantra. It goes like this:

Believe in yourself
Engage with everyone
Activate your talent
Train to be prepared

Every class, every student, repeats these words twice during our sessions.

We’re not just teaching kids the basics of audio engineering through DJ classes or how to code through robotics. We’re also teaching kids to believe in themselves. It’s ok to engage with everyone. We want them to find and activate their talent. But most of all . . . we really want them to train, so that they can accomplish whatever they want in life and be prepared when they get there. We build this idea into each of our three programs:

The American DJ Company B.E.A.T. Program: We hide the basics of audio engineering inside of a DJ Program. This is a progressive curriculum designed to build on itself week-over-week. We provide the gear (laptops, mixing boards, headphones, etc.) so that any child can walk in and learn the basics quickly and easily.
Super-Hero Vs Super Villain SCIENCE: On the first day of after school, our kids create their own super-hero! Then we give them a scenario like ‘Magneto is attacking Metropolis!’ The experiment that we work on ties directly to the powers of the super villain. After we complete our projects, each child works on creating their own comic book page so they can apply what they learned that day.

The Battle Brain Bot League: This is our competition with kids competing every week as they code and their robots to compete in challenges. Our coding robots are amazingly student friendly robots and teams can code those robots and then apply that coding to simple head-to-head competitions with teams earning points throughout the program as they and their team learn not only about working together but also learning about coding and robotics.

Some people think after school and summer school programming is gloried babysitting. It might be with some people, some companies. But this company, when we approach a school district, we do so with something from which the students can be genuinely excited about and benefit. They inspire us to do better and create better. We think we’re doing it a little differently, but still getting amazing results.

We understand, we’re helping to shape the future every time we spend time with our children.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am sure you have heard the quote from Arianna Huffington about “Success is not a straight line, it’s more of a dance and being open to possibilities.” It was not until Covid, that the reality of this hit home and I had to look back at my career journey to see that the whole of my sum of work and experience was indeed exceptional. With this new-found reality and a group of support people that help ‘keep it real’ I made the decision to focus on our family business full-time and start being successful for us. I am able to be present for myself and my family, create something that will help youth tap into their talents and have fun doing so.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in the DFW area, there are so many places to show of the diversity of the metroplex. We would have to explore my city of Grapevine and take a wine tour in the quaint Main Street area. Then off to Dallas to take in the Perot Museum and of course the historical stops of Dealey Plaza and the Six Floor Museum. If we have time, definitely check out the Botanical Gardens in Dallas and Fort Worth. Then off to Fort Worth to get a “Texas” experience at the stockyards, picture on the bull at Billy Bobs and watch the long horns make their journey through town. I may encourage a purchase of a pair of boots and a cowboy hat to lock in the experience😊

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There have been so many spectacular women in my life that inspire me. They are brave, they are authentic and smart. I would be remiss if I did not start with my mom, who instilled independence and empathy. During my professional journey, I have been in awe of so many amazing leaders that lead with heart and head that embrace their authentic self, such as Michelle Peluso, Renee Anderson, Suzi Meyers, Jackie Talbot, Dianne Fannon, Ashanti Titus and Dana Thomas to name a handful, but there are so many more that have impacted me. Looking through my LinkedIn and Social connections, I am truly blessed.

Website: qfiresolutions.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karriefox/

Facebook: @qfiresolutions