Laurice Lockhart Sosa (right)
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Laurice is first and foremost a child of God. She is also a wife, mother of three boys, daughter of a 6'9 legend, a sister, saint, sinner...you know how the song goes. Laurice has worked for Army Contracting Command for over 15 years and comes with a wealth of contracting knowledge and is a leader in her field. She also has extensive experience developing, coaching, and mentoring current and future contracting professionals. As a tall woman standing at 6'3 she has always loved being tall but hated the inaccessibility of well-fitting clothing for tall women. Storytime- In 2002, while in attendance at Prince George High School, each student was to develop a project replicating what they wanted to do in the future. Laurice's project was the creation of Above The Crowd-clothing for tall women. In 2006, Somehow Laurice landed a job as a Civilian with the Army where she met her very best friend, Charlene Johnson 6'1. However, upon arrival everyone stated, "You have to meet Charlene, she is tall like you". She didn't want to meet Charlene, in fact, they both tried to avoid each other because everyone was trying to force their inevitable relationship. Tired of everyone's constant nagging the two met and were inseparable since. Fast forward to the year of COVID19. In an attempt to find her place in the sun, Laurice decided to start her lifelong dream of creating accessibility for tall women and ask Charlene if she wanted to join her on this journey. Who knew that 19 years later that dream would become a reality? Above the Crowd was established to first create access for tall women 5'10 and above. To uplift these women, regardless of their race or sexual orientation (LGBTQIA+), reinforcing that they are entitled to feel loved, comfortable, and confident, while holding their heads high as they stand Above the Crowd.

Charlene Johnson (Left)
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder

Charlene is also first and foremost a child of God. She is a wife, mother of seven beautifully tall children and young adults, and grandmother to four (soon to be five) grandbabies. Charlene has also worked for Army Contracting Command for over 15 years and has over 20 years of Federal Service, as she served 10 years in the US Navy. Charlene was a military brat, as both her parents were in the Air Force, she moved often, and did not have a lot of confidence. Always the tallest kid in class, shy and awkward. It did not help that she was unable to find proper fitting clothing; everything was too short! Imagine being a quiet, shy, and awkward kid with high-water pants and sleeves at your forearms… It wasn’t until high school that she found basketball which helped to build her confidence. She went to college and later joined the Navy where she didn’t have to shop for clothes anymore, how about those standard issue dungarees?!?! Fast forward to 2020; Charlene now has a tall beautiful 10 year old girl going through the same growing pains she once did. It was quite fitting that she would embark on this journey with Laurice to satisfy the tall community’s need for accessibility; but also to help build her daughter’s confidence in her ability to be comfortable in her own skin. She embraced Laurice’s vision as her own because they are so like-minded; and both want tall women everywhere to stand Above the Crowd.