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Shakela Mills-Strawberry

@theeshakela

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#goddoesallthingswell #spedmom Founder/CEO of @a_d_e_lab “Closing the Equity Gap in Special Education One Unique Mind at a Time”

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#WorldDyslexiaDay
#ThankfulThursday
I am still processing everything that happened at our 5th Anniversary celebration and the screening of the Left Behind Documentary. Here are just a few things people said as they left that day.
Thank you, Learning Ally, for being our presenting Sponsor
Thank you, Anna Toomey, for such an amazing Film
Thank you, Hilderbrand Pelzer III, for not only introducing us and helping produce, but also filling in on our panel at the last minute.
Thank you, Clarice Jackson, Toya Algarin, Brent Johnstone, Stacey Jackson, and Chronic Dopeness for being a part of this amazing experience.
Thanks to everyone who helped behind the scenes with A.D.E. and supported this day financially and in person, including Elisha Keller Carter and Read by 4th.
HAPPY NATIONAL DYSLEXIA AWARENESS DAY!!! by @theeshakela

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10 days ago

This picture tells the truth—but not the whole story.

Looking at this picture after this weekend, is just confirmation that regardless of what is going on around me, I am walking in my purpose.

You see me standing onstage, holding the microphone and carrying the vision. What you cannot see is that shortly before this moment, I experienced one of the worst panic attacks I’ve ever had. I felt physically ill and dizzy. I cried, struggled to breathe and move, and genuinely did not know whether I could continue. I was disoriented, overwhelmed, and embarrassed that it was happening so publicly.

As Stacey helped calm me, she likened the experience to having labor pains in the birthing room. She reminded me that labor does not feel good. It can be painful, frightening, and even disorienting—but something beautiful is being born through it.

I needed to start by breathing.

What she did not say—but what I later shared with her—was that as I looked around and saw her, Clarice, Surruchi, Elisha, and my mom surrounding me, I kept thinking:

These are my midwives. These are my doulas.

Thank You, God, for once again showing me who my village is—and reminding me that I am not doing this by myself.

I was embarrassed that my struggle happened publicly. But the people around me did not see failure. They saw strength. They saw a mother working through the labor pains while bringing something meaningful into the world.

Sometimes strength looks like standing confidently on a stage. Sometimes it looks like crying, trembling, breathing, and allowing your village to hold you until you can stand.

Both happened this day. But, as I tell my children, “We Can Do Hard Things.”

Through this Labor, something beautiful is still being born. 💗🔥

#LifeWithPTSD #MotivationMonday #ButGod #ADE #PurposeInThePain ChosenForChange StoriesServed LightsCameraLiteracy myhannahexperience by @theeshakela

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14 days ago

Some moments touch your heart in ways you’ll never forget. Today was one of them. 🤎🎤

Shakela Mills-Strawberry, your vision for Stories Served came to life in such a powerful way! It was a blessing and an honor for On Purpose with Stacey J Podcast to be part of this experience.
And watching my son, Dana, moderate the all-male panel, “Three Generations. One Conversation.” I could not have been prouder! Sharing this experience with him felt like such a full circle moment. To see him using his voice and helping others share their stories meant so much to me as his mother. 🤎

The documentary LEFT BEHIND is absolutely amazing a must see for all families, educators, and policymakers. It shares the powerful stories of parents who became advocates for their children, fighting for the understanding, support, and educational opportunities they deserved.

A special thank you to filmmaker Anna for bringing these families’ journeys to the screen with such care and impact. Their stories remind us how powerful a parent’s voice can be and why children with dyslexia deserve to be understood and supported. 🤎🎬

Shakela, thank you for trusting us to be part of your vision, and congratulations on five years of A D E - Audacity to Dare to Educate! Thank @you to the panelists and everyone who showed up ready to listen, learn, and engage.

Real talk. Real purpose. Real life. This is why we do what we do.

#OnPurposeWithStaceyJ #StoriesServed #AudacityToDareToEducate #DyslexiaAwarenessMonth #Neurodiversity #ProudMomMoment taken in Moore College of Art & Design by @theeshakela

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15 days ago

A girl is EXHAUSTED!

But fulfilled!

I will have more to say in the AM

Happy Birthday 🎂 A.D.E. by @theeshakela

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15 days ago

I am up. And working on 5 hours of sleep 🫠

But I am so excited to see y’all today. And, yes, THERE’S STILL ROOM! The Village doors are open!

storiesserved.eventbrite.com by @theeshakela

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16 days ago

Today is National CPTSD Awareness Day and #thisisme

For 28 days I stepped away from home, work, and life as I knew it because I needed a level of care that I could not receive while functioning as though everything was okay.

I’m a woman of faith. I pray. I serve. I lead. I teach. I’m a wife, mother, founder, and author - and it still needed help.

Acknowledging this isn’t weakness. It’s one of the bravest decisions anyone can make. GOD doesn’t want us to suffer. by @theeshakela

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2 months ago

Please watch powerful conversations. Catch the full episode on the OnPurposewithStaceyJ YouTube channel.
@theeshakela is a mother, advocate, and founder of @a_d_e_lab The Audacity to Dare to Educate but behind the advocacy is a story many people have never heard.

In this episode, Shakela opens up about what it cost her to fight for her son, search for resources, and advocate for other families while carrying more than anyone around her may have realized.

She shares candidly about the toll it took on her mentally, physically, and spiritually, including reaching a place where she questioned whether she wanted to continue living, entering a 30-day mental health treatment facility, and experiencing stress so severe that she lost her hair and required injections in her scalp.
But that is not where her story ends.
She talks about surviving. Healing. Rebuilding. And somehow finding the strength to continue serving and advocating for others.

This conversation reminded me that sometimes we see the work people are doing, but we have no idea about the war they fought just to still be here to do it.

This one is raw. It’s vulnerable. It’s courageous. And it is PURPOSE in its realest form.

🎙️ On Purpose with Stacey J
Real talk. Real purpose. Real life.

You do not want to miss this episode. ❤️#OnPurposeWithStaceyJ #TheAudacityToDare #MentalHealthMatters #AdvocacyInAction #PurposeThroughPain taken in Nu Millennium Multimedia Studios by @theeshakela

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2 months ago

I woke up this morning the mother of an 18 year old Black Man (as the system would say). I am crying as I type this because it’s a hell of hard raising a Black boy. But, by GOD’S grace we made it to this point and I know GOD won’t stop now.

I had no clue that when GOD told me what to name him, it would be for me just as much as it is for him. Every time I go into praise (Hallelujah), I am reminded of my son. It’s the constant reminder that all Praise is to GOD and when praises god up… (church folk know the rest).

So Praise GOD for the Royal One. #hallelade Happy Birthday Son 🥹🥰

He is covered! He is called! He is chosen! I walk in that victory over him in Jesus name! by @theeshakela

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2 months ago

Walking in Purpose has taken me to places I never imagined.

This isn't a job; it's a calling.

I am so excited to have been chosen to present at the country’s largest and most impactful gathering of Black male educators and those who support them. The 9th Annual Black Male Educators Convening.

BMEC Theme: Rooted in History: Constructing the Next 100 Years of Education
My Session: Speaking In SpED™: Lost in Translation—A Language We Were Never Taught
November 13–15, 2026
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown - 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Yes, registration is still available!

hashtag#BMEC2026
hashtag#SpeakinginSpED
hashtag#AudacitytoDaretoEducate by @theeshakela

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2 months ago

“Be still and know that I am GOD.”

I said during the book launch that I literally grieve every day. I just live through it. These past few days have been intense. Then this song was released:
It’s kinda hard to see You standing next to me
When I’m walking through the fire
It’s harder to believe there’s something underneath
When I put my faith on water

Whether or not I feel it, I’m choosing to believe that
You are here

I’m gonna have a testimony
Of how You brought me through the night
But even in the middle, I’m singing
My God, this is what a miracle feels like
The most beautiful stories come from all the broken times
So don’t lose your hallelujah
This is what a miracle feels like

Between these lyrics and the sermon on Sunday, me taking my meds, and me having a village to hold me up, I am grateful and determined to see the miracle in all of this. by @theeshakela

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2 months ago

by @theeshakela

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3 months ago

I’m overwhelmed 🥹

Y’all are simple amazing!

I can’t wait to see you on Sunday! by @theeshakela

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3 months ago