Influential Woman · Sports Coaching

Danisha Shaw

Teacher/Coach, Jefferson Parish Schools

Her Story

About Danisha

I've really done everything I have dreamed and prayed of in this life. I started as a professional basketball player, which was something I talked about as a kid when they ask you what you want to be when you grow up, and I played professionally in different countries for 6 years. When COVID hit in 2020 and my contract to play in El Salvador fell through, God opened up certain doors that I prayed about. I went back to my alma mater, Bonneville High School, and got an assistant coaching job, which I did for 5 years from 2020 to 2025. I was also a JAG specialist, which is why I got into the social work field. I've always felt like my purpose is just to help people, and that's the lane I've been taking. I couldn't balance teaching and school at the same time because teaching was something I was passionate about, so now I work as a medical courier, delivering lab specimens and blood to different hospitals as a subcontractor, and I coach on the side as an assistant coach for Dillard University women's basketball. I also run my own clothing brand, Always Pray and Have Faith, which I trademarked in 2015. I sell faith, hope, prayer, and divine clothing with godly quotes. I'm a real creative, so I also do flyers for people's businesses, websites, and I control my own family's business, Shaw's Catering Company, doing videos and content for them. I've had a lot of trials and tribulations, trauma and turmoil along this journey, but I've been able to persevere and accomplish everything I've prayed and manifested at 33 years old.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Danisha

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to just being able to persevere through certain life trials and tribulations. I've had a lot of trauma and turmoil along this journey and road of life, but I've been able to see it through. Everything I have ever prayed and dreamed about and put in and manifested, I've really obtained it. I think for me, it's just always putting my best foot forward and staying consistent. I've been able to accomplish all the things that I have accomplished at 33 years old by not giving up, even when I wanted to give up a lot of times. I had a lot of people on this journey who kept me going, like my mom, my coaches, and friends who could relate to being in that basketball setting and not letting basketball become my identity, which I struggled with early on in my career. Anybody who supported me and invested in me, whether it was mental, physical, or spiritual, all those people mean everything to who I am and what I have became and the type of woman that I'm becoming.

02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

The most important thing for me in my everyday life is time management, making sure I'm doing everything in a respectable time. I also value that self-care part, having that balance. I just learned that as a social worker, you know, having that balance in both. I feel like I've done everything I ever prayed and dreamed of on this God-raised earth, so I feel like my purpose is just to help people, and that's the lane I've been taking. My brand stands for something - I sell faith, I sell hope, I sell prayer, I sell divine clothing and godly quotes. I'm very inspired by my brand. As long as you're growing, you're blooming, you're flourishing. We can relate a lot as flowers - we're flourishing, we're growing, we gotta be watered, we gotta pour into ourselves. Just keep going and keep growing, don't stop, don't give up.

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