“I believe I’m here to share ALL my gifts and teach others to do the same. I love to U.S.E. people—Uplift. Support. Empower. That’s my purpose.”
Thank you for stopping by! Scroll through and see all I have to offer.
About Me
Hi! I’m Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist, author/illustrator of I’m Proud to Be Natural Me!, creator of the Healing Our Families parenting communication course series, and designer of all things #Proud2BNaturalMe.
I am a proud mother, a powerful speaker, an inspirational writer, and a multi-talented artist. I inspire, uplift, support, and encourage people of all ages to love themselves, to heal from the messages that make self-love challenging, and to adopt behaviors that move them closer to their dreams.
I am the owner and Chief Empowerment Officer of MDillon Designs & Publishing.
My Blog
Do you love a feel good story? Do you need encouragement or an inspirational pick-me-up?
I love to use my gifts of writing and storytelling to inspire, uplift, support, and empower.
Tap an image below to check out some of my favorite blog posts, or use the button below to visit my blog page!
My Supporters
Do you love my positive posts, empowering book & products, podcast, or blog?
Surprise gifts are always so special for me. 
Especially as a single mom. If you find value in my work, and would love to support, you can send monetary gifts via Buymeacoffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a brilliant giving app that allows supporters to send a tip to their favorite artists. It’s the equivalent of seeing a poet or singer performing at a coffee shop and you say, “Here’s $5. Let me buy you a coffee.”
If you’d like to encourage me to keep going, please send me a gift and a nice message. I love positive feedback!
Tap the Support tab for smaller gifts or choose Membership to give monthly/annually. For other ways to support, visit my Support page.
Who is Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist?
I am the owner and Chief Empowerment Officer of MDillon Designs & Publishing (a graphic design and publishing firm I opened in October 2002). I am an insightful and artistically inclined visionary, who loves to create and share what I create, to inspire others to share their skills and talents. I’m mildly obsessed with empowerment in its many forms.
I teach children to love themselves and believe in their dreams, through my books, author visits, and #Proud2BNaturalMe products.
I teach 4th-9th grade girls to believe in themselves, and make better decisions, through my trajectory-shifting SISTA Girls’ Empowerment Workshops in schools, community organizations, and churches.
I help parents improve communication with their children, and raise them with a healthy self-concept, through my Parent Empowerment Workshops and online courses.
I.U.S.E. (Inspire Uplift Support Encourage) and empower listeners and readers through my blog and podcast. In March of 2024, I began sharing my daily podcast, Share & Let’s Live! w/ Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist, on my blog page with an added blog post to allow more people to engage with my work in accessible ways.
About My Podcast
I have a podcast on SoundCloud and YouTube called Share and Let’s Live! w/ Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist!
I love sharing my personal growth journey daily, through my personality-filled, typically oversharing, storytelling podcast. I have a lot of fun sharing my stories (that I typically giggle through) and the limitless personal development tools I use to process life’s ups and downs.
People have different preferences and needs. And not everyone has access to SoundCloud. So now people can easily listen to my podcast episodes directly on my blog page. And if you prefer to read a blog than to listen to the podcast most days you’ll be able to read a full post on the same topic.
My podcast and blog are my my way of serving where I am. I don’t want to wait ’til I’ve arrived to be of service. So I invite you to join daily as I navigate this thing called life in pursuit of greater joy, peace, and self-acceptance.
Oh, and I am big on being authentic, so… don’t listen with the kids around. I cuss. lol
If you’re all about empowerment, personal growth, storytelling, communication, healthy relationships, and inner peace you’re going to love my DAILY PODCAST!
Each month, I pick a theme and share a FREE empowering podcast episode DAILY. I get to incorporate my love for design and writing by creating new memes and writing a blog post almost daily. I don’t know how long I’ll continue to offer all this for free but I’ve been doing the podcast every day since May 1st, 2023!
This month’s topic is #ONYOURMIND. The idea came from a recent podcast episode where I realized that often we are unaware of our thoughts and the impact they have on our emotions and behavior.
Join me this month, as we explore what’s on our minds and become more intentional about what we think.
*** You can also check out recent podcast episodes & blog posts here.***
Prefer to watch on YouTube? You can find podcast reels and full episodes on my channel!
Are you struggling to communicate with your child?
Healing Our Families: Healing the Parent-Child Relationship is my online communication course that teaches parents how to talk to their children. Check out my video for more info.
Healing Our Families: Healing the Parent-Child Relationship is a self-study online course, meaning you buy it today and have access to it forever. You can begin today, or wait ’til you’re on vacation from work. You can finish it in a day or work through it a week at a time. It’s really on your schedule. The videos, lectures, and journal prompts are set up to walk you through the information at your own pace. Get it today, and start when you’re ready. Tap the button to order.
Looking for unique birthday decor, personalized gifts, or high quality invitations?
You’ve gotta check out my online store!
My I’m Proud to Be Natural Me! brand gifts, birthday party supplies, and tees were designed to celebrate our hair and our skin, and teach children we are ALL beautiful.
Giving thought gifts lets a person know how much you really care. So all the items in my store can be personalized. You can add their name, their age, or a personalized message (depending on the product). You can even create customized high quality event invitations and save-the-date cards, and have them printed and shipped to your door! All you have to do is type in the details and order!
Use the button below to shop now!
Does your child struggle with self-acceptance?
I’m Proud to Be Natural Me! uses positive affirmation to teach children to love themselves.
So many of our children struggle with loving themselves. Maybe they are the only one in their class with curly hair, or the only one in the family with dark skin.
I’m Proud to Be Natural Me! is the story of a little girl who’s teased because of the texture of her hair. Her mom explains to her that her hair is part of her identity, and that she is beautiful the way that God created her. By the end of the story the little girl is saying, “I’ve learned to love what I see. I’m proud to be natural me!”
As children read this story, they gain this powerful message of self-acceptance for themselves. The beautiful images display children of different skin tones and hairstyles. Every other page repeats the positive affirmation, “I’m proud to be natural me,” so as children hear her story, they are learning self-acceptance.
Children’s self-confidence erodes very rapidly once they begin to interact with peers and teachers. Often, family members can be the main ones who teach them that their beauty is inferior. This book helps to reinforce the truth in our children, that we are ALL beautiful. Order today.
Need a preview? Watch my read aloud video below, then order copies below.
Get a copy for all the little ones you love. BUY NOW on Amazon.
Looking for natural hair tees, personalized gifts, or invitations?
Order personalized t-shirts & gifts, customized invitations, & more!
I designed every item in my online store. In 2011, when I first opened, seeing a woman with natural hair was rare—melanin and curly was not mainstream. I wanted our kids to know their hair and skin is beautiful, so I took the characters from my book, I’m Proud to Be Natural Me! and designed t-shirts, mugs, keychains, stickers, etc. Even back then I knew that representation matters.
When my daughter was little, I struggled to find items that reflected her beauty. Now, with my #Proud2BNaturalMe product line, our children have options. From mocha to latte, dark skin, to albinism, I’ve created products that celebrate our spectrum of beauty. Shop now to buy personalized gifts, tees, birthday party decor, and more, in various shades of melanin!
Order custom mugs, tees, gifts, & so much more!
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