Founders

has had a long and distinguished career as an actor and master teacher that spans almost 5 decades. His first professional job was in the national company of the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Charles Gordone, No Place to Be Somebody. Some of the more notable performances in the years to follow included Drama Critics Awards for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC) and Streamers directed by Milton Katselas at the Westwood Playhouse. Other memorable experiences included productions of Fool For Love at LATC, Checkmates at the Westwood Playhouse, a New York Shakespeare production of The Mighty Gents, a New York Manhattan Theater Company world premiere of The Talented 10th, the American premiere of Hapgood at the Doolittle Theatre in Los Angeles,Visions and Lovers at the Skylight Theater, and The Exonerated at the Actors Gang Theater in Los Angeles.

Some of his selected films include Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist, Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire, Stick with Burt Reynolds, The Main Event with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, Coming Home with Jane Fonda and Jon Voight, Audrey Rose with Anthony Hopkins and Marsha Mason, Wag the Dog, starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Angela Bassett,Guess Who, starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, and For Colored Girls, directed by Tyler Perry. He co-starred in Angry Boys, starring Chris Lilley and currently airing on HBO GO. He was also a series regular on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Dynasty, and Chicago Story. Notable movies-of-the-week include The Jericho Mile, The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story, Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI,Pandora’s Clock, and Jackie’s Back. He is fondly remembered as Lucas Barnes on All My Children. As an acting and teaching protégé of one the finest and most respected acting teachers in the world, Milton Katselas, Richard honed his skills and sharpened his abilities. Recognizing a hole in the teaching model, he went on to create one of the most cutting edge schools in existence – the Richard Lawson Studios (RLS).

The RLS uses motivational and cutting-edge computer technology to impart Richard’s 46 years as a successful actor, teacher, public speaker, and drug counselor for the National Basketball Association to empower artists and professionals to achieve their dreams. On the other side of the coin, he uses time-tested acting techniques to empower non-artists, job-seekers, or regular people to achieve their dreams.

 

is a Fashion Designer who has been featured in a slew of publications including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, L’official, InSyle, and Sports Illustrated. Tina was a designer and stylist for the superstar group Destiny’s Child, designing original garments for the group’s tours, for magazine shoots and for television appearances, including The VMAs, BET Awards, and the Grammys. She has also designed for Beyoncé’s tours and television performances, including The Academy Awards.

Tina along with her daughter, Beyoncé, created three very successful clothing lines; House of Deréon, Deréon which range included shoes, handbags, lingerie, hosiery, a kids’ line and bedding and the Miss Tina line, which sold exclusively at Walmart. The line boasted fit and fashion at an affordable price. She has hosted a show on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and has shown her fashion on top television shows, including Good Morning America, The View, The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Hollywood Access Live, Tyra and Ellen.

Tina designed costumes for a number of hit movies including Dreamgirls, Pink Panther, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Obsessed and Cadillac Records.

Passionate about her philanthropic endeavors, Tina, her family and Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland along with St. John’s Church have built and established a center for young people known as The Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth located in Houston, Texas. In addition, the Knowles family established The Survivor Foundation in 2005 and co-sponsored the building of a transitional living center for individuals in need temporary shelter and housing in Houston, Texas named Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments. In 2010, Tina partnered with Beyoncé to create the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center at Phoenix House in Brooklyn, New York as a resource to empower women while providing them the life skills that would give them hope and a means of support after leaving the center.

She has received many awards including the prestigious Ace Awards, the International Global Leadership Award and the Golden Hanger Award. In 2011 Tina was honored by the University of Houston as part of their Living Archive Series and in 2014 by the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation (TWEF), in both instances, for her philanthropic work and achievements in business.

A natural teacher and adviser, she makes time to speak regularly at schools and mentors young women. She was one of the faces of Miss A Meal, a program founded by Rudy and Juanita Rasmus to eradicate poverty in the Houston area. She has appeared in public announcements for Goodwill and supports their efforts to employ and empower people in need.

The author of Destiny’s Style, her 2002 book from Harper Collins, is currently working on her second book. With her husband, actor Richard Lawson, she is in the process of opening a theater in Los Angeles.