Shareeza J. Wilkerson was born in Fort Lauderdale, FL. After attending Boyd Anderson high school she graduated from Broward College and then AIU. As a little girl, she dreamed of being writer or a news anchor. She knew even then that she wanted to tell her story.
However, Wilkerson says the journey from that little girl in Lauderdale Lakes to the CEO, Author and motivational speaking was a sobering one. Growing up in the inner city without much. She became pregnant at the early age of 16. Tragically her daughter’s father was murdered when she was 5 months pregnant and never met his baby girl. She was able to stay in school graduate and attend college but became pregnant again at the age of 19. Now as a teen mom with daughters under the age of three, many expected to count her out. Wilkerson buckled down and pushed through. She raised her two daughter while 2 jobs and going to school at night for four years until she finally got her degree. She describes her day to day life back then almost nonchalantly, but it sounds exhausting. She excelled and landed a prestigious position at a Fortune 500 company. I admire the will it must have taken to persevere. When I mention this to Wilkerson, she just states matter of factly “God had plans for me”.
A hustler by nature she speaks of being a Mary Kay representative at one point and making and selling gift baskets during the holidays. While she remains happy in corporate America, she yearned for entrepreneurship but wasn’t sure of where her true calling lie. Reflecting on all she had been through, made her realized her purpose was to tell that story in hopes that it could help and encourage others. That led her to create Just an Ordinary Girl, LLC and Extraordinary Girl Foundation INC., A not for profit organization encouraging women and young girls to embrace their EXTRAORDINARY. It also led to her books Pray, Write Believe, a prayer journal and Sistah Deprogrammed: Your guide to growth, freedom, and redefining yourself.