INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER & FACILITATOR

She is a passionate historian, educator and DEI advocate and facilitator. Sheri grew up as the only African American in a sundown town in Central Illinois, her encounters with widespread racism in her early educational experiences, propelled her into education to provide support for other Black and Brown students in the education system. She graduated from Illinois State University’s Secondary teacher training program with a BS in History and a minor in Ethnic and Cultural Studies. She went on to teach in several schools in Illinois, where she successfully created programs and opportunities for marginalized youth.

In order to have more time with her daughter, Sheri left education and moved to Syracuse NY, where she entered the business world as a Credit Manager for Suburban Propane. During this time, she became politically active with the Cicero Democratic Committee. As the Committee chair and was responsible for fundraising, organizing elections, and networking with political candidates and other community leaders. Sheri has been known as a “connector” and loves learning about and listening to people and their stories. These experiences propelled her to advocate for racial equity in the criminal justice system and for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in business and educational environments.

Sheri moved to Denver Colorado in 2015 where she returned to education. Sheri took a job in the classroom in Denver Public Schools and then moved to Middle and High School English Language Arts and Social Studies Positions at Strive Preparatory Schools. At Strive Prep Lake Middle School, she became the World Studies and ELA department lead, the DEI Facilitator for the Lake campus, where she successfully implemented systems to create a more inclusive and safe school culture for staff and students. She also served as the DEI representative on the Lake hiring committee to maintain that culture. She served on the DEI Content creation team for the Strive network and collaborated with a variety of educators and school leaders to provide relevant and actionable content to all 11 Strive Schools and their staff.

In May of 2022, Sheri received her Masters in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education from the University of Colorado Denver. She has decided to leave the classroom and focus on training other educators and leaders on how do create equitable and engaged classrooms, schools, and communities. To strengthen her skills in corporate facilitation she also received a HRCI certification in Diversity & Inclusion and HR Management. She continues to learn, lead and advocate for all marginalized communities and identities.