Be Present Empowerment Model (BPEM)
Be Present uses a model of transformation, the Be Present Empowerment Model (BPEM), which was created by Lillie P. Allen to provide individual empowerment and collective leadership skills first, to African-American women, and now to women from all walks of life, as well as men and boys.

The BPEM recognizes that social change is the active building of community one person at a time. The model begins on the individual level, exploring the impact of diversity and oppression on women and girls. It is built on the understanding that in order for change to be sustainable, women and girls must understand and appreciate who they are and find and value their true voices. As women and girls are able to feel their own power, they begin to comprehend their connections with others, and to move their focus from personal empowerment to community action and grassroots social change.

Be Present offers women and girls an opportunity to learn how to expand the dialogues and analyses on race, class, gender, age, and power, and to encompass what until now has been polarized between intellectual and emotional discussions, and then apply theoretical understandings in practical ways.

The BPEM is a guide through three distinct stages of development:
1. Know yourself beyond the barriers of the “isms.”
2. Listen to others in a conscious and present state.
3. Create new relationships and build alliances that celebrate differences as well as similarities.