MeMe JJ and Friends Named a 2026 Stevie Awards for Women in Business Finalist

Woodbine, Georgia — September 2026 — MeMe JJ and Friends LLC has been named a finalist in the 23rd annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, an international awards program recognizing the achievements of women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and women-led organizations. Finalists were publicly announced on September 17, 2026.

For founder Serena N. Brown, the recognition marks another milestone in the growth of a business that began with stories inspired by her own pets and has expanded into a broader educational platform.

Brown is a U.S. Navy veteran, marine electrician, author, and founder of MeMe JJ and Friends LLC. The company develops children’s books, educator resources, Visual Narrative Emotional Comprehension (VNEC), Career-Infused Learning curriculum, workplace-safety learning, and digital educational tools.

What began as storytelling around characters such as JJ, MeMe, Tank, Tuffie, Lexus, and Uno gradually developed into an educational approach centered on observation, evidence, comprehension, communication, and real-world application.

“JJ was the little dog who started it all,” Brown says. “The stories began with our real-life experiences, but I kept asking what else children could learn from these characters. That question eventually grew into something much bigger than a book series.”

From Storytelling to Career-Connected Learning

Today, MeMe JJ and Friends is developing a PreK–12 learning model that connects visual literacy and evidence-based reading with career exploration, workplace safety, academic application, problem-solving, and workforce readiness.

Its Visual Narrative Emotional Comprehension framework encourages students to Observe, Interpret, Compare, and Apply information. Those foundational observation skills are then extended into Career-Infused Learning, where students encounter academic concepts through the context of real professions.

The company is developing learning experiences across 28 professions while also building relationships with educators, employers, technical colleges, community colleges, and working professionals. The goal is to provide students with authentic career context rather than limiting career education to one-time exposure.

Recognition During a Period of Growth

The Stevie Awards recognition comes as MeMe JJ and Friends continues expanding from a publishing brand into a broader educational company serving schools, organizations, educators, and families.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business have recognized women-led achievement for more than two decades. More than 200 professionals are serving on the 2026 judging committees, and finalists will ultimately receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award placements.

Those placements are scheduled to be announced during the awards banquet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 16, 2026.

For Brown, however, finalist recognition already represents something larger.

It demonstrates how an idea that started with one small dog, a series of personal stories, and a desire to help children understand what they see can grow into intellectual property, educational curriculum, digital tools, career-connected learning, and a developing national education brand.

Looking Ahead

MeMe JJ and Friends is continuing development of its Career-Infused Learning curriculum, VNEC resources, digital learning tools, educator materials, workplace-safety instruction, and school-district partnerships.

The long-term vision is to create a learning pathway that begins with a young child examining a picture and asking, “What do I notice?” and eventually leads to a high-school student who can observe a workplace, analyze information, recognize safety concerns, communicate clearly, solve problems, and understand how classroom learning connects to a future career.

For MeMe JJ and Friends, becoming a Stevie Awards finalist is not the end of that story.

It is another chapter in it.