Life wasn't easy for Angelique back in her college days. Her mother died before she could graduate and she had to take care of her disabled father and young brother. Within the year, she also had to see her father die of a broken heart for not being with her mom.
In the midst of it all, she decided to just drop out of Brown University, where she was taking a course in Public Policy, but the school offered help instead. She did not expect the support knowing that she is a political student activist, but she received a full scholarship and was allowed to go to school part-time. Brown basically wanted her to succeed.
Things didn't go as she initially planned for her graduate studies. She wanted to go to Berkeley but she could find a school where she could still provide for her brother, who had special needs. That's when Princeton University stepped up, gave her a spot in the class, and even provided family housing for her and her brother.
In 1999, she moved to Washington D.C., which was then "destroyed" from previous riots and drug oppression. It was the time when the city gave away homes for $1 if buyers got a construction loan for renovation. Brunner looked at it as an opportunity to help rebuild the state just as others helped her before.
Brunner worked for real estate companies such as Fannie Mae, Neighborhood Development Company and National Capital Revitalization Corporation, to learn the trade. She got interested the most in the EB-5 Program that the Congress created to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment.
In 2008, she founded EB5 Capital, a company that raises capital from foreign investors to fund job-creating projects in areas of the U.S. that needs revitalization. The company's framework also allows those foreign investors and their family to become permanent residents of the U.S.
For 10 years, the company established different real estate developments such as housing, grocery stores, as well as luxury hotels, in and outside Washington D.C. Moreover, it has generated more than 30,000 jobs from its projects.
As an African American and a woman, Brunner wasn't noticed at first. But she didn't take it negatively, she used it to her advantage instead. Now, she is one of the most outstanding in the field and she's happy to see more following her lead.
For more information about EB5 Capital, visit www.eb5capital.com
