Yolanda has considered a number of entrepreneurial ventures–selling floral arrangements, painting, sculpturing, consulting services for corporations and nonprofits groups, grant writing and even national franchise businesses  – she discovered exactly what that something else should be after spending time with a good friend.  She has always enjoyed fashion and home decor.  She never thought she would have the opportunity to do it.   After meeting with her good friend Fumi and talking about how to connect fashion with giving back she knew exactly what the business would be for this season of her life.  She realized with ADASSA BRAND she would be able to combine making women feel good about fashion/ design and giving back to children and families worldwide.  Yolanda says “Adassa is not just about clothes, it is also about making a difference in the lives of others”. 

Yolanda has a B.S. in Education and Social Work from Austin Peay State University and M.S. in Nonprofit Management and Leadership (Fall 2009).  She has held several management and consultant positions during her professional career. She has provided services for corporate and nonprofit companies across the country. 

For over 19 years she has devoted her life to helping others, so it’s no surprise that she is seen as a gifted leader and advocate in her community. 

She has assisted over 20 corporations in the areas of marketing, media relations, and business development, program best practice, celebrity charity management, fund development, special event planning, strategic planning, professional development training, and organizational sustainability.    Yolanda is sought after as a leader in her field to participate in brainstorming discussions on how to improve customer services, as well as fund development sustainability strategies in the nonprofit and corporate sector.  Yolanda takes leadership seriously.   The same zestful energy that she packs into being a great leader was also packed into building her career in the area of corporate and nonprofit management and training.  She desires to serve with integrity and leaves nothing less than a trail of excellence wherever she’s involved.

Yolanda has earned the respect of individuals as well as the community in which she’s involved because she hones in on the day-to-day human contact skills that allow people to feel comfortable with her in order to accomplish the desired goals of their company or community group.  Organizations that contact her to provide a service are left with not only exceptional knowledge, but with the encouragement needed to continue on a path to accomplish the strategic goals for their companies’ growth. 

Yolanda Shields also knows the importance of Philanthropy; she has worked hard to bring together generous givers to make a difference in communities with the goal of promoting the well-being of the communities most at risk. Over the years her leadership skills, along with her commitment as a community leader, have worked to her advantage in establishing partnerships with several small and large corporations across the country.  She is looking forward to bringing generous givers together to make a difference in the projects and programs that the Adassa Foundation implements.