Sherry Williams  is driven by purpose and the need to motivate women through sisterhood, ambition, and inspiration. She built her online platform, This Is Her Way, as a means to drive positive change that creates shared value and meaningful relationships. Recently, Williams completed the second installment of her, Leadership Her Way Conference, an event led by emerging entrepreneurs and professionals in Washington D.C.–where women gathered to discuss work/life balance, financial freedom, and small business.
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BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Sherry to talk her thriving platform, the importance of traditional sisterhood, and the experience that is, ‘leadership her way.’
BlackEnterprise.com: Tell me a little about yourself, and what you do for a living?
Williams: I am a 34-year-old single mom of one, born and raised in the Bronx, New York, with a heart of gold and a passion to push women into purpose. I have a professional background in event and logistics management, yet, even after obtaining a degree in business, for as long as I could remember, I’ve always wanted to be something more than just a product of my environment.
However, it wasn’t enough for me to accomplish my own personal goals, as much as it was for other women to understand that those possibilities existed for them too. It took the move to D.C. to really open my eyes about life, and what it was that I wanted to be remembered for.
What inspired you to create Her Way?
At the height of reality TV and the wave of social media, I wanted to get back to the traditional sense of sisterhood. Â I wanted to dismantle the myth that the only time women get together is when we are throwing bread at each other. Â I wanted to bridge the generational gap among seasoned and young professionals. It was those negative images, and the lack of authentic communication, that ignited the will I needed to make this come to life. Although Her Way is going into its second year, the vision is at least a decade old. Fear kept me dormant for quite some time. Â It almost stole my dream. So now, everything that I do, I do it in faith and for the women whose names I don’t know that, too, are waiting for a courageous leader and a voice that says, ‘your dreams are worth it.’
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What was your big “aha” moment that made Her Way more of a resource than simply a platform?
I can’t say that there was just one “aha†moment for me.  They come often. The first brunch I hosted in March 2014, I had just moved to D.C. from New York, and with zero personal and professional connections, it was more of a challenge to get out and be proactive about meeting people and cultivating new relationships. But it didn’t hit me until this past March, where we hosted the first installment of the Leadership Her Way Series.
100 young professional women came together for a day of inspiration, accountability, and sisterhood.  About  1/3 of the room was from the local area, and the other 2/3 had traveled from New York, Chicago, Ohio, Detroit, Philly, and the list goes on.  That is when I knew. I knew for sure, that in that moment, women, young professional women in particular, were craving spaces and environments ready to celebrate who they were, and they were willing to travel for that connection.
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