Atty. Renee Higginbotham-Brooks
General Partner

To know the entrepreneur that Atty. Renee Higginbotham-Brooks is today, you have to go back to Martinsville, Virginia, where her entire family has owned businesses—a wide variety of them—since before the 1900s.

“I come from a history of people that have been in business: a hospital, a hotel, a bowling alley, motels, apartments, a brick quarry, real estate, a garment factory making sweat pants, and even a Negro leagues baseball team,” said Atty. Brooks, rattling off a partial list. “That’s what I identify with.”

Renee attended high school in Greensboro, North Carolina, then attended Howard University and later Georgetown University Law Center.

When Atty. Brooks started her law firm, it was more of a business than a practice. “What I did was volume personal injury and workmen’s comp,” Atty. Brooks said. “I marketed ‘me’ and sped from zero to as many as 750 clients. I had five full time paralegals and two attorneys. For years, I promoted the law firm with a lot of advertising, infomercials, and hosted radio and television shows, including: The People’s Law,” and “Ask an Attorney.”

Recently, she gave it all up. Today, she serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Howard University. She also travels the country aiming to raise $150 million for a private equity fund. Her newest venture, however, is serving as a Vice President of Nadean Enterprises, Inc.

A 17 year client of hair stylist Nadean Day, Renee Brooks was amazed by the effectiveness of Nadean’s natural products. She connected Nadean with Renee Cottrell-Brown, who had been a marketer with Pro-Line International for 25 years. It was Renee Brooks’ business acumen that prompted the introduction of the two women and from that moment NEI, Nature’s Essential Ingredients was born.

Renee Brooks has two daughters, Leigh and Codie.