Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Rhonda Shaw. Them and their team share their story with us below:
On November 9th, 2019, Dr. Rhonda Shaw opened the mic for the very first time, hosting special guests to discuss mental illness and trauma to the 94.7 FM listening audience. Shaw is the founder and host of Doctor to Doctor- In the Chatroom, that airs weekly on Saturday’s at 2:00 p.m. on the FM station. Doctor to Doctor addresses topics that impact our communities and our world. The shows motto is “Promoting Change One Talk At A Time.” Topics range from mental health, education, human trafficking, domestic violence, reentry after incarceration, criminal justice, race relations and more. There are even the fun talks, “guy talk and girl talk” about relationships. There’s nothing that Shaw won’t address in the chatroom. Although Shaw grew up around radio, she never had a goal to do radio. Her father, State Representative Johnny Shaw was a local DJ when she was growing up and later became a radio station owner of two radio stations. Having access to this platform and realizing the impact that she could have on the community by inviting experts to discuss and offer information to the listening audience, she decided to capitalize on an opportunity to impact her community and beyond in a positive way. The radio station, WOJG, 94.7FM, can be heard around the world by just simply tuning in to the station if you’re in the listening area of West Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, or by streaming online at WOJG.COM. The show has earned fans from all over the world and that is something Shaw never expected. Shaw has been fortunate to host guests such as Jane Elliott, an internationally known teacher, recognized for her blue eyes/brown eyes exercise that exposed prejudice and bigotry as an irrational class system based purely on arbitrary factors. Dr. Jen Caudle, America’s family on-air physician and expert from CNN, PBS, and FOX News was featured on the show to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine rollout. Local and state politicians, representatives from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, Workforce Development of Tennessee, authors, psychologists and psychiatrists, attorneys and many more have all sat down for a talk with Dr. Shaw. All shows were live until the pandemic began, and then shows were done virtually for safety reasons. Shaw is delighted to have brought a cohost to the show, Dr. Nicole West in May of 2021. Dr. West comes with her own area of expertise in child therapy. The two have become an item on D2D and have been able to keep the topics fresh and exciting for the listening audience. Shaw produces her own show.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The greatest challenge since the start of the show has been the pandemic. Although speaking with the guests virtually still allows us to have weekly shows, being able to meet in person and to engage the listening audience with call-in questions and comments is always a lot more fun.
Also, sometimes it can be a challenge to find guests that are experts on the various topics. We want to keep the show fresh and exciting, and we want to ensure that we are proving factual information.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Dr. Rhonda R. Shaw attended Memphis State University in 1984 to pursue a career in nursing, and later transitioned into the field of education. She began her career in education in 1999, after receiving a Master’s in education from Freed-Hardeman University. Rhonda went on to receive her Ed.S in education from Union University in Jackson, TN., a Doctorate in education/Leadership and Professional Practices from Trevecca University in Nashville, TN., and has spent her career impacting the classroom & administrative aspects of education. She spent five years with Tennessee Workforce Development as the Director of Adult Education for Hardeman County. She later became an Education Consultant for the Tennessee State Department of Education, Federal Programs, where she was responsible for school improvement and compliance for twenty-three school districts in West Tennessee. She received the Award of Excellence in 1999, Model Classroom award in 2000, Baldrige Award from the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence in 2004, became a Certified Examiner for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence in 2005, received certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid, and a certified trainer for (Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES).
Professionally, she is a member of the Tennessee Association for Adult and Continuing Education, the Commission on Adult Basic Education, Tennessee Alliance for Continuing Higher Education, Tennessee Education Association, Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Justice Board, and the JDAI Governing Committee of Memphis.
In my spare time, I enjoy music, whether playing piano and organ or singing. I have devoted much of my life to music ministry in the Church.
I believe that what sets me apart is that I’m not focused on the “fame and fortune,” but on what role can I play in positively impacting the community and the world. My father is a person of servitude, and I want to follow in his footsteps. The work and resources involved in making it all come together for D2D; I do. It’s not easy, however, it’s so worthwhile.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
My passion is working with at-risk youth, particularly girls. My dream is to one day launch a program that focuses on the underserved youth in our communities.
I am the mother of two and the grandmother of five who keeps me on the constant move.
When I open the mic each week to share with my listening audience, my prayer is always that there’re some worthwhile takeaways for the people that come back every week to listen-in for that hour. And, we’re so grateful for their dedication to share one hour a week with us. Every Saturday… “same chat channel, same chat time.”
Contact Info:
- Email: doc2docchat@gmail.com
- Website: doc2docchat.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Doc2docchat
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXNHTZeXHGBlkSltknHLwWg
