Today we’d like to introduce you to DaShayla Foard.
DaShayla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in the Oak Cliff area I saw a lot of inequity growing up. I saw the lack of financial needs but also the lack of educational resources. As I aged, I realized that someone needed to advocate for these people. I vividly remember January 20th, 2009, The first African American president was sworn into office alongside him was a strong woman who had come from similar circumstances such as me, She became a big inspiration to me, she prompted me to act on my dreams so at the age of eight I began to work towards my passion and dream. I began to come up with initiatives to help my community some initiatives included feeding the homeless, volunteering at my local shelters, and creating a safe space for my peers to talk about their struggles. As I got older, I became endowed and began reaching out to different organizations to help me with my goal. I even co-founded a club at Irma Rangel YWLS, the Rangel African American Student Association. This club focused on addressing the issues of racial indifference in the community through panels. leadership, and outreach. I realized that it was going to take more than that, so I joined different organizations that would take my goal and put them into action. I joined the young women’s initiative produced by the Texas Women’s Foundation. Now, today I am apart of many various programs that encourage equity in the allocation of resources such as monetary donations and education.
Great, 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 has not always been a smooth road. Most times I was faced with opposition because of my age and the fact that I am an outspoken young woman of color. I struggled the most with people taking me serious. They thought that I just wanted to do something to keep me busy but it was the total opposite. This was my passion. I overcame that struggle bu showing them what I was really about. I became educated about the statistics and researched that backed up my argument of inequity then dominated in local settings. I held my head high and projected my voice louder to grasp the attention of my intended audience. It wasn’t all that easy especially because I am still an active student, who is a student body president along with many more activities. It was many nights I didn’t eat or sleep because I was focused on making my community a better place bit by bit.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
In the Young Women’s Advisory Council, I am an active council member. This particular group of women of color who collectively comes together to first point out the indifference in Dallas then come up with a solution that might include monetary donations or writing a bill proposal. We specialize in advocating for women of color based on sub-topics chosen by the council. I personally specialize in advocating for minorities, the most oppressed group in Dallas. I am most proud of becoming apart of this organization because this project is bigger than me but with the help of big resources I am able to enact my plan that is one of the things that sets me apart from others I have a goal and I am actively working towards that goal with the assistance of sponsors versus someone who is only talking. A wise man once said, ” A goal is only a dream without a plan.”
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far is when I was about to speak to former Mayor Rawlings about my plans how the City of Dallas could act on some of those small goals. One Mr. Rawligns initiatives were focused on the homeless population, so being able to talk to the Mayor of Dallas about teaming up and trying to eliminate homelessness was a blessing.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 214-586-5083
- Email: foarddashayla@gmail.com
- Facebook: Da’Shayla Foard
Image Credit:
Sharee Antoinette Photography
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