Her Story
About Rashanda
Rashanda Boone is a creative professional, speaker, and youth advocate dedicated to empowering the next generation through faith-based education, storytelling, and leadership development. Based in the Greater Chicago area, Rashanda currently works full-time as a freelance writer specializing in Christian education while also serving as a new generation speaker who connects youth in Black and Brown communities with opportunities through partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and educational organizations. With more than a decade of experience implementing creative leadership strategies, she is passionate about helping women and people of the next generation discover their voice, build confidence, and recognize their potential. Her work centers on authenticity, positive affirmation, and creating meaningful connections that inspire youth to dream bigger and pursue purpose-driven lives. Before transitioning into full-time creative work, Rashanda spent over nearly eight years as a corporate recruiter, inspiring people to pursue new oppunities and helping cultivate skills needed to achieve desired career goals. Rashanda also served as a director of youth, where she developed interactive programs and leadership activities designed to increase youth engagement and strengthen community connection. Throughout her career, she has combined creativity, communication, and mentorship to build impactful experiences for young people both inside and outside of faith-based spaces. One of her proudest professional achievements is becoming a published writer through the Sunday School Publishing Board, where her work is distributed nationwide and contributes to the spiritual and personal development of the next generation. She is also pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry Leadership, further strengthening her commitment to education, leadership, and service. Rashanda’s day-to-day work includes outlining empowering messages for leaders, facilitating engagement and skill-building activities on leadership platforms, and speaking directly with youth in schools and communities about resilience, opportunity, and self-discovery. She believes deeply in the power of collaboration, kindness, integrity, and communication, and she encourages young women entering creative industries to avoid limiting themselves and remain open to growth and reinvention. Drawing strength from her faith and spiritual guidance, Rashanda continues to use her voice and creativity to inspire others while building pathways for underserved communities to access opportunities, leadership development, and personal transformation.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rashanda
01What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, I attribute all my success to God. I have a strong sense of spiritual guidance that fuels everything I do. That relationship gives me joy that I'm able to bring to different spaces, and it's the fuel for my creativity. It also helps me endure different hard times while still handling everything with grace and integrity. I owe that all to my relationship with God, for sure.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of my managers told me something so simple, but it really stuck with me. He said, 'If you don't ask, you won't get.' I was younger in my career and just learning how to ask for raises or put myself out there, and that advice encouraged me to find my voice and go for things that I really want. The most people can say is no, and no is not always guaranteed when you ask, but it's definitely guaranteed if you don't ask. That's something that has really helped me further along in my career.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't put yourself in a box. Be open. Don't be afraid to be yourself, honestly. Being open means being open to learning and growing and discovering and rediscovering yourself over and over. There's going to be so many different versions of you as you learn who you are and what you want to contribute to the world. Don't be afraid of that, and don't let anyone tell you who you are. Continue to search and continue to dig deeper. That's going to make sure that everyone gets the authentic version of you, and that's what the world needs the most.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think one of the biggest challenges in the field is that sometimes the market can seem oversaturated. It seems like everybody is doing kind of the same thing in certain fields, especially with social media. That can limit the creative to think they only have to do it one way in order to be successful, and to me, that kind of stifles the creativity. But on the other hand, you see so many great examples of inspiration and things that you can do in order to push your dream forward. I think it all goes back to centering yourself and making sure that you can be inspired by what you see, but always aspire to be the best creative that you can be.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me in both my professional and personal life are integrity, kindness, communication, and collaboration. I believe integrity is the foundation of trust and accountability, while kindness allows me to build meaningful and respectful relationships with others. I value open and honest communication because it helps create understanding, strengthen connections, and encourage teamwork. Collaboration is equally important to me, as I enjoy working with diverse individuals, learning from different perspectives, and contributing to shared goals in a positive and supportive environment.
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