Believing in the power of healthy competition and presenting your BEST self during the pursuit of any goal, DETRA M. TRUEHEART, founded the Young Miss Buffalo Pageant: Scholarship and Enrichment Program, Inc. (YMBP, Inc.) in 1999 for girls 13-17 years of age.

A speaker, fundraiser, mentor, former pageant contestant and title holder and national dance competitor, Detra has more than two decades of pageant, youth development and performing arts experience. No stranger to the stage, this Buffalo native, is a former Miss Young Gifted & Black (1992),Miss Buffalo (1997) and Miss Western New York (1999), two-time runner up to Miss New York (99-00), two-time runner-up to Miss Black World (94-95), a NAACP-ACTSO National Bronze Medalist (1994) and recipient of a host of other titles and awards. Trueheart is also a former model and instructor at the former June 2 Modeling and Talent Agency.

Answering an internal call to action to help young women become their best and to instill some of many life lessons she learned throughout her time on and off stage, Detra sought to be a part of the solution instead of just talking about the problem. From her own experiences and believing that just creating a pageant would not address the emotional, mental, and social issues that teenage girls are bombarded with daily, she added an enrichment component to teach life skills and coping mechanisms that would empower them to reach beyond their comfort zones through a process of healthy nurturing from the inside out. The enrichment component works together with the pageant experience to enhance four essential elements of YMBP, Inc., B= Beauty (inner/outer); E= Education (through scholarship and academic assistance); S= Service (to the community); T= Talent (finding and developing your hidden treasure), which emphasize the word B.E.S.T., in the programs motto: helping young women become their B.E.S.T.

Within her community, Detra serves as a life coach/mentor young women as well as a reference to organizations and agencies on issues concerning young women. She is the President of TrueheartSpeaks Enterprises, a lifestyle management firm designed to help individuals get out of their own way by shifting their beliefs and behaviors so they can live purposefully, grow spiritually, & lead authentically. TrueheartSpeaks specializes in keynotes, online courses, life coaching and consulting.

Detra M. Trueheart received her formal education from Canisius College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, from The Bernard M. Baruch College CUNY with a Master of Public Administration, and from Medaille College with a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling. She resides in Buffalo, New York with her husband, their son and dog Missy.