Her Story
About Sheri
I spent two decades in corporate America working in finance and leadership development before transitioning to the nonprofit sector in 2014. During my corporate career, I taught several leadership development courses at GE Crotonville, which was GE's Management Development Institute. I really felt the call to serve and lead a more purpose-driven career, realizing that women needed this leadership development but starting at a much younger age. That's when I founded Live Girl, a national nonprofit serving girls and young women ages 13 to 22. Since founding, we've served over 23,000 girls, and our work has grown organically and exponentially. We now serve girls on a national basis through our college program called She Works, which helps young women get the career readiness skills, mentorship, and internships they need to launch into the workforce. We center women who have been historically marginalized and first-generation college students. Given the current environment and everything going on with the current administration, our work is more important than ever, as a lot of companies are disbanding their women's resource groups and their funding for women's leadership training. I'm also an author and published a book in October 2025 called Confidence Unleashed, which was inspired by my decade-plus of mentoring young women. The book really frames a solution set for young women, making sure they are building the skills they need to thrive and getting the mentors and sponsors to thrive in the workforce.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sheri
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my mom, who instilled in me at a very young age a belief and a sense of agency that I can make changes, not only in my own life, but in my community. I've always been very cognizant of what I view as systemic barriers in our culture and in our workforce, and I have the determination to do something to address those. I've always believed that I can make a difference.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think one of the most important things is to always ask for feedback. A lot of people think that if they just put their head down and do the job, that the rest will take care of it, and that's actually not true. A lot of companies and managers are not equipped at giving good feedback, so you have to develop that feedback muscle and ask for it. If you don't get the interview, if you don't get the job, ask for feedback so you can show up better next time. If you don't get a good response on a project proposal you submit, ask for feedback. Simply say, what's one thing I can do better next time on my next proposal? Building that into your very fabric of always asking for feedback and really having a growth mindset so that you are continuously improving and growing and accelerating your development is probably the best piece of advice I've ever received.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think it's to own your career and own your journey. Somehow so many young women that I work with just think that other people are going to take care of it for them. It's really making sure that you're standing up for yourself, that you're asking for the feedback, that you're taking initiative, that you're advocating for yourself, and making opportunities happen for yourself, whether it's going out there and networking, or raising your hand and volunteering for another project or another assignment. It's always making sure that you are in the driver's seat and that you're owning your career and your journey.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now it's just navigating the moment. Last year we were facing a lot of headwinds from the anti-DEI executive orders. We've had to navigate with a lot of our corporate employer partners pulling back on their commitment to women's leadership and women's resource groups, and even in their commitment to hiring women, both starting at the entry level but all the way up through the board level. So it's just navigating those headwinds. Unfortunately, our work is more important than ever, just given the current environment. Given everything that's going on with the current administration, a lot of companies now are disbanding their women's resource groups and their funding for women's leadership training. So we're going stronger than ever.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The two key words for me are integrity and inclusion. My brand stands for, I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. And inclusion in that I'm always looking to create space for the marginalized voices in the room, and I'm always looking to pull up a chair for someone who may need that opportunity. I think, for me, the two coremost values in my career are integrity and inclusion.
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