Happy Women's History Month everyone! It's that time of the year when we pause to pay tribute and salute the diverse range of women across the globe that have inspired us, impressed us, changed our lives, changed their communities, and the world.
We are pleased to celebrate with you some accomplished, and visionary hidden gems that have dedicated their lives to helping others through their products, services, business, and brands. Each of these women are so unique, appreciated, and making a real difference.
Let's begin!
Sherika Stroud
Sherika Stroud is the National President Grand Founder of Alpha Omega Theta Sorority, Inc., a national organization for professional women, aspiring entrepreneurs, and businesswomen. She is also a business coach and the best-selling author of "Recover Strong: A 30 Day Devotional Journal," "Millennial Daughters: Spiritual Daughters 101", and the anticipated compilation series, "Lipstick Stories." Sherika wears many hats, as she is also the CEO of Stroud Publishing Co., AOT Capital Consulting, and AOT Holding Company. And also shares her culinary skills through her business, Lady in the Kitchen.
As the National President Grand Founder, Sherika founded the organization in May 2017 to bring a massive network of women from all over the world together in sisterhood and service to serve in the community they live in. She currently serves with over 80 women spanning chapters in all 50 states operating more than 15 service projects and initiatives nationwide. In 2022, she will be officially launching her newest initiative, the Barbara Jean Project (also known as Granny's Heart). The Barbara Jean Project serves as a resource for foster children and foster parents, as well as provides support for adoptive families. This project is dear to the sorority founder's heart, as she is adopted, and she wants to use her resources and story to help other children and families nationwide. She believes that if we build families, we strengthen our communities.
Connect on Instagram @iamathetawoman
Rita S Fierro, Ph.D
Rita S Fierro, Ph.D is an intellectual artist who skillfully combines creative, innovative, and analytical thinking by bridging groups, networks, and arenas that may seem far apart: art and facilitation, healing, and research.
In her writing, she uses storytelling, memoir-style to showcase the complexity of the human spirit, of the institutions we operate in nationally, and the relationships we establish internationally. Her world travels are seen in her writing as cultural clashes or shared humanity. She writes two blogs: one on organizational development, facilitation, evaluation, and antiracism at www.ritafierro.com/blog, and another on the ways in which trauma shows up in group dynamics at DrRitawrites.com.
Her major creative work is her book: Give Me Back My Child: How the USA System Kidnaps Children which speaks out on the child industrial complex. Give Me Back My Child is a collection of stories of six mothers who lost their children to foster care and fought to get them back. In the Appendix, she unfolds her own story and how the 16 years of research that gave life to this book changed her from helper, to advocate, to activist. The book reads as a memoir and social commentary for a general audience. Each chapter exposes a different aspect of the system that is not working for children of color.
The conclusions offer an alternate option for transforming trauma in ourselves and the system as a whole. As Principal of Fierro Consulting, Dr. Fierro is also a facilitator and evaluator. Dr. Fierro has been a facilitator since the age of 15 when she worked with youth to help them lead ethical lives. Dr. Fierro specializes in helping groups reach their fullest potential and collaborative decision-making with vibrant and heartfelt meetings using a diversity of organizational development tools. Some of these tools include participatory leadership methodologies, complexity theory, collective intelligence—approaches on the forefront of current business innovation and stakeholder engagement, to build teams, shared visions, and leverage collective capacity that generates organizational and systems change. Dr. Fierro has supported strategy creation in leadership development, guidance on future investments in civil society, changes in organizational structures, sustainability planning, strategic planning, and capacity building. In 2012-2013, Dr. Fierro assessed a funding stream for a UN agency that generated an international future strategy with input from practitioners all around the world.
An evaluator for the past 15 years, she conducts culturally-competent research and evaluation in multiple sectors with a focus on vulnerable populations and social justice. Dr. Fierro has worked for foundations, universities, community-based organizations, non-profits, and individual artists. Her portfolio includes prestigious clients such as the United Nations, the National Science Foundation, the Center for Creative Leadership, America for the Arts, and the Department for International Development. She worked in the United States, Europe, Africa, and New Zealand. Dr. Fierro has a Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University and a master's in Sociology from the University of Rome, “La Sapienza,” Italy.
Rita Fierro was born in a family that has believed and practiced traditional healing methods for generations. Rita began to practice Reiki to offset the effects of her own chronic migraines that have since been long gone. In the transformational process she experiences through Reiki, she shed the identity of being purely intellectual and now embraces being an intellectual artist capable both of innovative and analytical thinking. Much of her practice revolves around living a balance between mind and emotions, meditation and work, self and others, mind and heart, intellect and art, self-care, and social justice.
Connect on Instagram @drritawrites
Brandi Watters
Meet Brandi Watters, CEO of Supportive Care, LLC. Brandi became a certified nursing assistant in 1997 and a medical assistant in 2000. She started Supportive Care, LLC, to provide in-home care to anyone in need of assistance. Her services can range from light chores, bathing, setting up and distributing medication; To rehabilitation, post-op care, and anyone who desires companionship and support of caring for a loved one. From an early age, this entrepreneur knew her purpose was to care for others, which she would have to do throughout adulthood for her son through various health scares and caring for her ill mother.
This CEO considers her patients like family and ensures they can communicate with their family members through phone calls and FaceTime, especially in difficult times such as the pandemic. Personally, for Brandi, one of the biggest challenges as an entrepreneur has been letting go of self-doubt. According to her, this expedition entrepreneur requires patience, time, research, and a tremendous amount of self-confidence!
Ms. Watters would like to thank her beloved mother for seeing the potential that she could not see in herself and for inheriting her incredible work ethic. Ms. Watters thanks her family and friends, especially her two sons, Recco Jr. and Jeremiah, for believing in her and constantly pushing her to succeed beyond her limits.
Supportive Care, LLC Instagram: @supportivecarellc
Lucille Reddic
Lucille Reddic provides resources to help singles and couples create a plan or budget to get out of debt, save for emergencies, buy a house, start a business, save for a vacation, or save for retirement. She helps couples realize that they are on the same team.
Lucille is a woman of God, a speaker, a financial coach, and a certified information systems auditor. She is a wife of 36 years to her husband Donnie and resides in Dallas, Texas. She is a mother of 3 adult children. After her oldest daughter died of a brain hemorrhage in 2019, she was reminded that life is too short not to live her dream of helping married women. She is a woman who has dedicated her life to impacting the lives of others.
She is the founder of the Chosen Wives Tribe, a community of women committed to inspiring and empowering women to transform their minds and character to create healthy and happy marriages. Whether she is posting encouraging quotes, speaking to a group of women, hosting a podcast, making a quick video to speak life into the lives of wives everywhere, it is from a posture of gratitude for the gift her marriage has been in her life.
Connect on Instagram @lucie_speaks_life
Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye
Ezinne is a talented and passionate entrepreneur with a love for the healing aspects of beauty and celebrating Black skin. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, entrepreneurship was a common venture in her household. She grew up learning from women who always surpassed the norm. At 16yrs-old she moved to America by herself and soon enough discovered a disconnect between Black women and the luxury beauty industry.
Her first job in college was in the beauty department store as a perfume girl at Dillard’s. From behind the counter, her passion for luxury beauty flourished and after college she continued to grow in the luxury beauty space, working for brands like Dior, Nordstrom, and Lancôme.
Ezinne Iroanya-Adeoye created SKNMUSE to serve as an intersection of beauty, culture, and community for the modern Black woman. Raised by her mother to prioritize self-care as a right, a necessity, and a source of joy, Ezinne uses the values instilled during youth and her experience in the luxury beauty space to fulfill the previously unmet skincare needs of Black women. SKNMUSE uses authentic clean beauty practices and nourishing ingredients to provide a sense of familiarity and comfort for the “firsts” and “onlys” of the room, giving the modern Black woman an indulgent self-care ritual to cater to her soul’s vessel.
Connect on Instagram @sknmuse
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