5 Women Who Influenced Me: Shelonda Stokes

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Occasionally, we ask one of our Top 100 Women or Leading Women winners to name five women who have influenced her, personally and professionally. Do you know a Top 100 Woman or Leading Woman who should be featured here? Email Special Products Editor Patrick Brannan at [email protected].

When asked to narrow my list of women who inspire me to only five, I was challenged. Not because I couldn’t think of any but because there are a tremendous number of women who did and continue to mold me. The five women I selected model who I aspire to be, hold me to a high standard, and challenge me to do more today than I did yesterday. I want to give you a more in-depth insight into each signature aspect in the chronological order that she was introduced into my life.

Shelly Eford

Of course, the first is Shelley Eford, my mother, and the woman who gave all that she could to ensure that I understood that I could be anything my heart desired. Not only did she give me her body for nine months, but she also put her dreams and aspirations on hold so that I could live out mine. I watched her work several jobs and even skipped meals to ensure that my brother and I had a hot meal every day. She made our home the meeting spot for all neighborhood kids to gather and get a Popsicle or other exciting treat.  She continuously places the happiness of others before herself, and for that, she demonstrates and teaches me the gift of SACRIFICE.

Sharon Pinder

I entered young adulthood in a foreign territory. The first in my family to graduate from college, my early-career jobs were with Fortune 100 companies. As a young black female entering the workforce on the heels of affirmative action, I questioned if my color or intellect helped me land the job. But upon meeting Sharon Pinder, a striking tall black woman who eloquently demonstrated her worth and rose above every challenge, I quickly learned how to make myself irreplaceable. She pulled me under her wing, and together we helped GE create a web presence for each of their businesses. You see, the World Wide Web was new, and we were learning, building, and training others as this online resource was expanding. We rode the ebbs and flows of this new way of doing business, understanding the incredibly impactful lesson of RESILIENCE

Tisha Edwards

After working for several years and beginning to make a name for myself, I had the opportunity to lead a passion project.  Hewlett-Packard awarded Baltimore a $5M grant to help bridge the digital divide, and I was allowed to lead the initiative. Having minimal experience working for a board, Tisha Edwards put me through an executive crash course in board management. She helped me structure presentations and packages that were as compelling as they were beautiful. I had an equal responsibility to the leadership team and the community, and she never allowed me to slack for either audience.  Her “tough-love” approach to helping me develop instilled in me a sense of ACCOUNTABILITY that ensured that when I showed up, I fully represented me and a voiceless community who needed someone at the table with their interest at heart.

Sydney Stokes

Now knocking on 30-years of age, my husband and I welcomed our second child into the world, a beautiful baby girl named Sydney Stokes. Nearly 8 pounds at birth, she would develop into my mirror, allowing me to see my character, work ethic and compassion front and center.  A 4.0 student-athlete most of her high-school tenure, Syd worked tirelessly to push herself beyond comfortable. Side by side until the wee hours of the morning, we work on our laptops, striving to get ahead of the curve. In addition to excelling in school, she’s currently the captain of her basketball team and an intern at MASTERMND, an amazing talent pipeline company with the mission of making technology accessible for all. I see Syd’s unwavering commitment to creating inclusiveness for all through her hard work, and in her, see my PURPOSE.

Rachel Monroe

A couple of years shy of 50, I’ve entered a new phase of my life. I’m able to draw upon life’s experiences to offer tangible solutions to the ever-increasing demands of work, family, and community. I had the pleasure of experiencing The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg’s business educational trip to Israel with some of our City’s most prominent leaders. I live by the mantra of whom much is given, much is required, and have had the pleasure of watching and benefiting from Rachel Monroe’s benevolence throughout Israel, Hawaii and the Baltimore Communities. Rachel and her team’s dedication to meeting the basic needs of people experiencing poverty in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, and Community Services are at the heart of their immense GENEROSITY for which I strive to replicate.

This article is featured in The Daily Record’s Women Who Lead: A Woman’s Guide To Business. The mission of the Women Who Lead (formerly Path to Excellence) magazine is to give our readers the opportunity to meet successful women of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs and learn how they define success. Read more from Women Who Lead.