Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashia Johnson.
Hi Ashia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi, I’m Ashia “Aj” Johnson. The Founder and Executive Director of Sistahz Full Circle, Inc. What’s my story? I probably shouldn’t of made it this far. I was a young mom and I struggled in college. I chose to hang around people that did not make good life choices, however, my parents never gave up on me. I struggled for years. When I say the struggle is real, most don’t believe me because they see me now, but my inner circle of friends, who know my journey (iykyk) can attest to the struggle. My faith kept me grounded and determined to turn my life around. I found my “why” through my two beautiful daughters (Brooklyn and Addisyn). My daughters held me accountable and showed me, they deserved better and I pushed myself out of very humble beginnings to where I am today. My girls inspired me to create and launch Sistahz Full Circle, Inc., a women’s support and empowerment group.
I recognized early on it takes a village to raise children, to work, go to school, and balance the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical components that shapes us into adulthood. I saw that in my upbringing and questioned, how many adult women did not have a village or a circle of friends and family they can lean on? This lead me to mentoring and wanting to help other women ages 18-55, through mentorship and guidance with their personal and or professional goals.
Our mission is to support and empower women, that aspire to want and do more. We pride ourselves in helping women achieve small and or large goals. Our phenomenal advisory board (visit our website to meet the team) work with women that seek advice and or guidance on various subject matters: how to apply for college, how do I get into real estate? I want to leave a domestic violent situation but don’t know how? I want to learn a foreign language, etc. We receive inquiries about a lot of different things, and we want women to know we hear them, they are seen, and if we can mentor and partner with them, we will. We want women to feel good, knowing they have a sister/cheerleader/expert/supporter in their corner!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is not always a smooth road but luckily as our team grows, our team shows up and pull their weight; always willing to support and help where needed. All of our team members work full-time jobs, so them giving their time, energy, resources means the world to me. For me, I work in healthcare operations and my industry has it’s own set of challenges. Balancing a full-time job, family, and managing a non-profit is an interesting lesson, yet a rewarding gift. Another challenge was IT/graphics/social media component; who’s going to do this? That line of work requires time and skillset so our lovely marketing team (s/o Amber and Taylor) are vital to our small business. They keep us and our audience engaged. Lastly, learning to not take on every fundraising event, volunteer event, donation drive, public client (person seeking assistance), community partner, or networking event by myself. Early on, I recognized I can do this, but I don’t want to over-extend myself. Having board members Eliana Keshari and Stacy Babineaux Daigle (and past board member Tina Chen), helps keep our mission alive, as we equally divide the responsibility of showing up for those in need and the events mentioned. We all share the same goal, so doing what we call “heavy lifting” at times doesn’t feel like a burden. It’s not seamless, but we all help, alleviating the stressors that come with managing a non-profit.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m proud to be the Executive Director of Sistahz Full Circle, Inc. This role allows me to navigate the many great organizations Houston has to offer. This also allows me to identify women in need of a sisterhood as I network and meet with people daily. Our presence and platform has connected us with people, otherwise we would of never met. To partner with area schools and other non-profits for our annual Back to School Supply Drive. We work with a local historian to curate Black History Month tours (Hey Whitney). We run two campaigns geared to helping young girls and women. “BE Kind to Myself” is a campaign that asks the community for feminine hygiene products and in return we donate them to teen girl foster homes, women impacted by domestic violence groups, and other female driven groups in the area. We also hosted our first annual “Ladies First” campaign in which our community showed up with women’s undergarments. The overwhelming response from our donors provided bras, underwear, socks, etc. to women who are reassimilating to society, after incarceration. Since 2022, we’ve been able to assist more than 450 children between school supplies and undergarment donations and we’ve assisted more than 250 women through mentorship, guidance, and donations from both our campaigns. Annually, we recognize three women that have made an impact in our community. We want to share their civic contributions they’ve done throughout Houston and we congratulate these women at our anniversary celebrations. I also want to share through community donorship, we provide stipends for women in need. We cannot pay for many of the certifications and or programs these women enroll or express interest in, but we can provide some financial relief. These stipends are awarded through request, limited to first come first serve and must be approved by our board. We are a small non-profit that does not receive any federal funding, but we are fortunate enough to grow and thrive with our donors help.
Aside from the non-profit, I’m also a board member to two local non-profits. As mentioned, I’m a healthcare advocate for a national healthcare system. I’ve worked in various sectors throughout my 20+ years in the healthcare industry. I enjoy being a part-time Adjunct Professor for a local college system (I am a big proponent of education; doesn’t matter subject, topic, or interest). In my spare time, I share my talents as Community Engagement and Outreach Chair for a National Medical Association I belong to (Houston Chapter). I also have previous knowledge and expertise of being an entrepreneur/investor (small business owner) to a local eatery.
What sets me apart from others: I’m always reinventing myself. I’m an avid learner and will never stop learning and growing. I genuinely enjoy what I do personally and professionally. Happy to say I created this lane for myself and I’m passionate about serving. Growing up, my parents had me volunteer and get involved in a number of social/extracurricular activities which lead me to expand my personal and philanthropic interests into adulthood. This is my purpose: Sistahz Full Circle Inc. allows me create a footprint, while demonstrating how to lead with example and engage women to do better and be better, for one another.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Everyone has a story to tell and Sistahz Full Circle, Inc. wants to help women complete a chapter! Sis, you are not alone and know you got this! To see some of the great work we are doing in Houston and to donate to our cause, please follow us on IG @sfcircle or LinkedIn, Sistahz Full Circle. To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit www.sistahzfullcircle.org or email us at info@sistahzfullcircle.org.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sistahzfullcircle.org
- Instagram: sfcircle
Image Credits
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