From a mother at age 14 to a CEO by age 34, LaShunda is no stranger to adversity and hard work. When she was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a pediatrician or entrepreneur. Instead, when LaShunda was little more than a baby herself, she gave birth to her first child, a son. At that point, LaShunda could have become nothing more than a statistic. However, LaShunda is a dreamer and a doer. She became the first in her family to graduate college, earn a master's degree, and she hopes to one day earn a doctorate. She accomplished all this while raising her son — and later her daughter — with her husband of now nearly 25 years.Understanding the needs of teen parents, at age 24, LaShunda started her own nonprofit organization, Successful Pathways, to serve teens who were pregnant or who were on the path to becoming pregnant. She served that organization for nearly a decade before moving on the help found and implement several other nonprofit organizations, always supporting and advocating for underserved populations. LaShunda most recently served as the President and CEO of Young Women’s College Prep Foundation, Inc., and is now “doing her life’s work” as Executive Director of Connected Communities. LaShunda also runs a consulting firm, Sent One Consulting, LLC. Sent One Consulting takes a client-centric approach to develop plans and strategies that bring out the best in organizations, assessing organizational development and creating strategic direction for nonprofits. Sent One Consulting provides board development training, teaching, and training new and existing board members about effective governance and fundraising.LaShunda has formally and informally mentored, counseled, and advised hundreds of women throughout her career, in her personal life, and in ministry. She felt a strong prompting to take what she has learned through trial and error and package it into what is now the EPIC Women’s Conference. The first conference was launched in September 2018. To her surprise, it was a sold-out event, and women’s lives were changed. EPIC is a biannual conference.LaShunda is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and workshop presenter. She has been selected as the recipient of numerous awards, including being named a Rochester Business Journal’s Woman of Excellence and a 40 under 40 honoree, Girls Scouts of Western New York Woman of Distinction, and an ATHENA Young Professional finalist by the Women’s Council. LaShunda is blessed to share her life’s journey with her husband Moses and their two adult children, Branden and Myanna.