By Dr. Sharon H. Porter | Friday, December 1, 2023 | 6:00 AM ET
Today's Divine Nine Member Spotlight is sponsored by
Join Vision & Purpose LifeStyle Magazine in celebrating the incredible influence of the members of the Divine Nine! Discover the rich legacy and vibrant impact of these exceptional members in our special Divine Nine Spotlight!
From Alpha to Omega, we're shining a spotlight on the trailblazers, scholars, leaders, and community advocates who make up the Divine Nine. Get ready to dive into the history, achievements, and empowering stories of the members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) organizations that continue to shape our society.
Stay tuned for the exclusive interviews, captivating profiles, and extraordinary journeys of the Divine Nine members on the Vision & Purpose Podcast and upcoming print issues.
Join the conversation and share your thoughts on the incredible impact of these inspiring individuals. Stay tuned for an issue you don't want to miss!
Who or what inspired you to become a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.?
My family Sorors! I come from a line of Deltas on both sides of my families. Delta was all I knew and pursued."
About Dr. La Shawn Denise Witt
A native of Los Angeles, California, Dr. La Shawn Denise Witt worked in the field of education for over 22 years as a Director, principal, assistant principal, middle school teacher and Teacher on Special Assignment. Dedicated to her personal educational advancement, she has earned two Bachelor degrees from Loyola Marymount University in Biology and African American studies, a Masters degree in Education including her secondary teaching credential from Pepperdine University, administrative credential with special education leadership certification in the Masters of Education ISLA program from Loyola Marymount University, as well as a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Argosy University. In addition, she has completed graduate level courses in the Masters of Human Services and Personnel Counseling program at Mount Saint Mary's College.
In 2017, she decided to step out on faith and live her dream of inspiring others and follow the steps that God called her to walk in. She coined her journey as, “The year of 40” and began strategizing to make her dream a reality.
A serial-entrepreneur, Dr. Witt owns Divine Diva Events (DDE), a wedding and special event business based out of Beverly Hills, CA with satellite locations throughout the country. It has always been her dream to provide clients around the country quality, trustworthy event planning at an affordable rate. She has worked in the event industry for 22 years and has established a respectable rapport with many of her clients, successfully producing over 720 events. She maintains working relationships with many of Los Angeles’ top event industry professionals. Dr. Witt sees each event as a unique opportunity to design the experience of a lifetime and gives each client an elegantly personalized affair. She is also the proud owner of Fabulous Divas and Gents, a first- class travel management group that specialized in hosting group travel events around the world for predominantly African-American women and couples.
During the holiday season, Dr. Witt provides special-made dishes to clients across the country under the auspices of Divas Fabulous Fixins’. She enjoys sharing stories about her childhood in the kitchen with her grandmother, mother and aunt. She takes joy in preparing these dishes, knowing that families are blessed with traditions that she once shared with her family.
Over the course of her life, Dr. Witt has faced and overcome many obstacles that have shaped her into who she is today. In the spring of 2024, she will finally release her first book appropriately entitled, “The Diva Herself”. In her book, she will discuss how being a silent rape survivor at age 15 contributed to abusive and failed relationships, poor handling of finances, long bouts of depression, struggling with validation and acceptance, and multiple attempts of suicide. She will share how her journey to “The year of 40” opened the door to walk into a more fulfilled purpose and produced her first Women’s Spiritual Retreat under My Sister’s Keeper. This retreat convened in May 2018 and celebrated diversity, spiritual experience, and healing of women from all walks of life. This event has led to many speaking engagements for women-based events around the country and continues today known as The Wonder Woman Conference.
Dr. Witt has recently launched an initiative through My Sister’s Keeper to fund transitional recovery homes in the city of Los Angeles. She founded Charity House, LLC and her mission is to end homelessness for women, families and communities and assist with providing them with second chance opportunities in life and to restore self-sufficiency and dignity. She is currently in the beginning stages of overseeing a partnership merge to open transitional housing in Los Angeles.
Rounding out her entrepreneurial talents, Dr. Witt recently launched an Educational Consulting business, Witt & Associates, LLC. This business will target school districts and provide strategic planning and professional development to schools experiencing teacher shortages, teacher retention matters, and assist in the execution of administrative retreats for executive leadership teams. Her firm also coaches new administrators.
She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority- Inglewood Alumnae Chapter where she holds various positions both locally and regionally. She aspires to be elected as a National Leader. Dr. Witt is also an Associate member of Jack and Jill of America, Tabahani Book Circle, Phi Delta Kappa Sorority, Inc., National Association of University Women and The Links, Incorporated.
She is also active in the African American Alumni Association at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). She has served on the AAAA Ambassadors for the last 10 years. This involvement includes serving on the planning committees for various engagement events for alumni as well as financially supporting the goals of AAAA to provide scholarships for current students. In 2019, she was elected to serve on the board for the African American Alumni Association.
In addition, Dr. Witt serves as board chair for The IMPACT Experience and was most recently appointed to serve on the board for the Downtown Women’s Center.
Outside of her professional commitments, she indulges in her passions of traveling, reading, shopping, buying shoes, attending live concerts and participating in community service. She is a member of The Advancing Church based in St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Witt currently resides in Inglewood, California where she enjoys spending time with the love of her life, her adult daughter Morgan, a graduate of Howard University. Her famous Shih Tzu’s Dolce & Gabbana have gone on to be with the Good Lord.
La Shawn is “The Global Strategist” and one of her mantra’s acclaims "God is within her she will not fail."
For more information on Dr. Witt, please visit her hub at: http://globalstrategist.info
About Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded on January 13, 1913, by 22 young women studying at Howard University. They sought to create an organization rooted in sisterhood, scholarship, service, and social action. Today, we have blossomed into more than courageous women could have imagined, with over 350,000 initiated women and over 1,000 chapters located worldwide.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. is a private, not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world. The sorority currently has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, Canada, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, West Africa, Southern African, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Korea.
About the Divine Nine
The Divine Nine, formally known as, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of nine historically African American fraternities and sororities, and also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent organization on May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, in Washington, D.C., with Matthew W. Bullock as the active Chairman and B. Beatrix Scott as Vice-Chairman. NPHC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois in 1937.
The council promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other media for the exchange of information and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions.
Each constituent member organization determines its own strategic direction and program agenda. Today, the primary purpose and focus of member organizations remains camaraderie and academic excellence for its members and service to the communities they serve. Each promotes community awareness and action through educational, economic, and cultural service activities.
The Divine Nine Member Spotlight is sponsored by
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