An Inspired Chat with Dr. Rashonda Harris of Atlanta

We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Rashonda Harris and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Rashonda, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Right now, I’m being called to take up space in ways I once tiptoed around. For years, I poured into others while staying comfortably behind the scenes—mentoring, guiding, building programs, and creating safe spaces for women and girls to rise. But this season is different. I’m being led to speak louder, stand firmer, and allow my own story, expertise, and voice to be fully seen.

I’ve stepped into a new level of boldness—whether it’s expanding national programs through We Are H.E.R.™ and Black Women Who Mentor™, building Rising H.E.R.™ for the next generation, or leading women through transformational work in Purple WINS™. The call now is to stop shrinking, stop apologizing, and stop hiding behind humility.

I’m embracing the truth that visibility is not vanity—it’s responsibility. And the women and girls watching me need to see what healed, empowered, and resilient looks like in real time.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Dr. Rashonda Danielle Harris, and I am the Founder & CEO of Purple Sheep Consulting, home to a growing ecosystem of empowerment initiatives designed to help women heal, lead, and rise. My work centers around three core movements: We Are H.E.R.™ (Healed. Empowered. Resilient.), Black Women Who Mentor™, and Rising H.E.R.™, each created to build community, confidence, and legacy for women and girls who often grow up unseen or expected to shrink.

What makes my work unique is that everything I build comes from lived experience. I grew up in the housing projects of South Philadelphia, raised in a nontraditional family, surviving off resilience, hope, and grit. Today, I use the lessons from that journey to create accessible pathways for other women—especially Black women—to expand their voice, redefine their worth, and walk in their purpose without apology.

Through Purple WINS™, my leadership and confidence workshop series, and through national and international programs under the We Are H.E.R.™ and BWWM™ umbrellas, I help women learn how to stand their ground, advocate for themselves, navigate bias with clarity, and build lives rooted in healing and self-trust.

Right now, I’m expanding the Rising H.E.R.™ youth leadership pathway and preparing for the next Black Women Who Mentor™ live cohort, while simultaneously building global community through the Purple Sheep Diaries podcast. Everything I do is driven by one mission: to ensure that every woman and girl who crosses my path feels seen, valued, and powerful enough to write her own story—out loud.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world tried to tell me who I had to be, I was a curious, observant Black girl growing up in the housing projects of South Philadelphia—quiet on the outside, but always studying people, patterns, and possibilities. I was a child who knew how to survive, how to listen deeply, and how to make meaning out of chaos long before I had the language for it.

I didn’t grow up with privilege or protection; I grew up with grit. Being raised in a nontraditional family taught me resourcefulness. Navigating instability taught me strength. Watching the women around me sacrifice taught me compassion. But underneath it all, I was a leader in the making—a girl who saw more than she spoke, who felt more than she showed, and who dreamed beyond what her circumstances suggested she deserved.

That early version of me—resilient, intuitive, and unbreakable—is the foundation of everything I do now. She is the reason I created We Are H.E.R.™, Black Women Who Mentor™, and Rising H.E.R.™. She’s the reason I pour into women and girls who were told they were “too much” or “not enough.” Before the world gave me labels, I was a builder, a healer, and a truth-teller. And becoming that again has been my greatest homecoming.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain the moment I realized it wasn’t weakness — it was wisdom. For so long, I carried the weight of growing up in the projects, surviving instability, and navigating life without the safety nets many people take for granted. I learned early how to push through, how to smile through, how to keep going even when life felt heavy.

But there came a point in my adulthood — especially as I began mentoring other women — where I understood that my story was not something to be ashamed of. It was the blueprint. It was the foundation of my leadership, my compassion, and my clarity. The very experiences I tried to silence were the ones women connected to the most.

I stopped hiding when I realized that transparency has the power to heal not just me, but the women I’m called to serve. That moment of truth is what birthed We Are H.E.R.™, Black Women Who Mentor™, and Rising H.E.R.™. My pain became purpose the day I stopped camouflaging my past and started standing in it—unapologetically, boldly, and with intention.

Now, the things that once hurt me help me lead. They allow me to teach women how to stand their ground, reclaim their voice, and rise without shrinking. My pain stopped being a secret the day I chose to turn it into someone else’s survival guide.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes—and it took me years to get here. For a long time, the public version of me was the polished survivor: the high-achieving Black woman who kept everything together, never cracked, never complained, and never showed how heavy the world could feel. That version was real, but she wasn’t the whole story. She was the safe version.

Today, the woman you see publicly is fully me—healed, empowered, resilient, and unafraid to tell the truth about the journey. I’ve done the work to unlearn shrinking, code-switching, and masking. I don’t pretend to be perfect, and I don’t perform strength for applause. I show up transparent, anchored, and grounded because I want the women and girls who follow my work to know that authenticity is power.

Whether I’m leading We Are H.E.R.™, teaching through Purple WINS™, or mentoring through Black Women Who Mentor™ and Rising H.E.R.™, I stand in the belief that visibility should reflect truth, not pressure. So yes—the public version of me is the real me. She’s not curated; she’s aligned.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I spent my life making sure women and girls—especially those who grew up unseen, unheard, or underestimated—finally felt visible. I want the story of my life to reflect that I broke cycles, built pathways, and created spaces where healing, truth, and self-worth were not just talked about but lived out loud.

I hope they say I didn’t just succeed for myself—I made room for others. That I used every lesson from my childhood in South Philadelphia, every setback, and every invisible moment to build movements like We Are H.E.R.™, Black Women Who Mentor™, Rising H.E.R.™, and Purple WINS™ so that no woman or girl would ever have to walk alone.

Most of all, I hope people say I led with heart. That I was proof that where you start doesn’t determine where you rise. That my life was a reminder that purpose is louder than circumstance. And that I spent my years planting seeds of courage, confidence, and community that will continue to grow long after I’m gone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://purplesheepconsulting.com/we-are-h-e-r-1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weare.h.e.r
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/we-are-h-e-r/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17LCqiwm5t/
• Other: https://purplesheepconsulting.com/