Today we’d like to introduce you to Shera Phillips.
Hi Shera, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
grew up in the Mississippi Delta in a single-mother household where education, faith, and service to community were deeply valued. My mother was both a pastor and educator, and I come from generations of teachers, farmers, entrepreneurs, and landowners whose lives shaped how I understand responsibility and community.
From an early age, I was drawn to storytelling and the arts. Writing, singing, acting, and dance gave me a way to explore my experiences and make sense of the world around me. As I grew older, that creative curiosity expanded into a fascination with human behavior, culture, history, and the systems that shape people’s lives.
That curiosity led me into teaching, community organizing, and public engagement. Through art, education, research, and advocacy, I began exploring questions about race, power, identity, inequality, healing, and social change. Today, I continue that work as an artist, educator, organizer, and entrepreneur committed to helping people think more deeply about themselves, their communities, and the world they are creating together.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the greatest challenges in my life has been learning how to communicate what I see. I have always been deeply curious about people, systems, culture, and human behavior. I tend to notice patterns, contradictions, and connections that others may overlook or take for granted. While this has been a gift, it has also created tension. Asking questions can be mistaken for criticism. Examining beliefs can be mistaken for rejecting them. Exploring complexity can be uncomfortable in spaces that prefer certainty.
Throughout my life, I have wrestled with how to hold difficult truths while remaining connected to the people and communities I care about. That challenge continues to shape my work as an artist, educator, organizer, and thinker. Rather than turning away from complexity, I have learned to engage it with curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to growth.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multidisciplinary artist, educator, organizer, entrepreneur, and public thinker whose work explores the relationship between people, power, culture, and social transformation.
My practice spans writing, performance, teaching, community organizing, and leadership development. Across these disciplines, I am interested in how beliefs shape behavior, how systems shape communities, and how individuals and institutions can move toward greater awareness, accountability, and healing.
Whether I am facilitating workshops, writing essays, creating art, supporting community programs, or engaging in public dialogue, my work seeks to make complex ideas accessible and inspire people to think critically about themselves and the world around them. At its core, my work is an invitation to curiosity, reflection, and collective transformation.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Much of my work has required me to question assumptions, challenge dominant narratives, and speak about subjects that can be uncomfortable or controversial. I have taken risks by publicly examining issues such as race, religion, power, gender, inequality, and social change, often inviting conversations that others avoid.
I have also taken risks by refusing to stay within a single professional lane. Rather than choosing between art, education, organizing, entrepreneurship, or scholarship, I have pursued an interdisciplinary path that allows me to draw from each of these areas. This choice has sometimes meant navigating uncertainty and creating opportunities where none existed.
Perhaps the greatest risk has been allowing myself to remain curious. Curiosity has led me to ask difficult questions, challenge my own beliefs, and continue growing even when certainty would be easier. That willingness to examine, learn, and evolve remains central to both my life and my work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iam_she_ra
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherashinning
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sheraphillips
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iam_she_ra
