Meet the Architect of The Collective
Founder of Formidable Woman® | Sovereign Leadership Strategist | Speaker | Educator
Dr. Shekina Farr is a transformational force in the realms of education, leadership, and women’s empowerment. With over 27 years of experience as a French teacher, school administrator, principal intern, and professor, her work has always been about one thing: liberating voice and unlocking confidence.
Her early career in education grounded her in the complexities of leadership—how to build trust, lead with clarity, and cultivate transformation under pressure. In classrooms and boardrooms alike, she learned that confidence isn’t just a trait—it’s a skillset. One that can be taught, embodied, and scaled.
Today, Dr. Farr brings that lived expertise to a global platform as the visionary behind the Formidable Woman® ecosystem—which includes Formidable Woman Magazine (FWM), Formidable Woman Beauty Gazette (FWB), and FWU™ Corporate & Leadership Services. Across every pillar, she empowers women—and the companies who value them—to lead boldly, speak unapologetically, and shape culture with purpose.
She is the architect of The Forge, a leadership initiative that trains sovereign facilitators and certified leaders worldwide. Through The Collective, her membership community, she mentors high-achieving women toward deeper confidence and greater visibility.
Dr. Farr is known for her powerful presence, poetic intellect, and ability to walk seamlessly between academic, corporate, and creative worlds. Whether she’s standing at a podium or leading a global cohort of leaders, her message is unwavering:
“Your voice is your power. Own it. Shape it. Speak it—on purpose.”
Becoming Formidable: My Story
From classrooms to boardrooms, loss to legacy—this is the path that shaped my purpose.
Born to Lead
I was 24 when I was asked to become an Assistant Principal. Not because I campaigned for it, but because of how I carried myself. By 26, I was certified and in the role—helping lead a high school with vision and clarity beyond my years. Leadership came naturally to me, but it wasn’t handed to me. I earned every step through consistency, excellence, and presence.
Marriage, Miscarriage & Motherhood​
I married at 25, bought my first home, and was ready to build a life. But my journey into motherhood came with deep heartbreak: eight miscarriages, one of them at six months. Doctors said I wouldn’t have children. But today, I’m the proud mother of two thriving sons, now 14 and 18. They are living proof of the impossible made real—and the reason I never stopped believing.
Integrity Has a Price—But I Paid It​
While serving as an AP, I defended a colleague who had been assaulted on campus. My principal ignored the incident—and I chose not to. That choice cost me. I was blackballed, and I made the difficult decision to return to the classroom. But I didn’t retreat—I rebuilt. I used that season to start my confidence platform, write books, and launch a brand & styling boutique with a full clothing line. All while raising small children.
Building While Becoming​
I was leading students by day and women by night—speaking, hosting events, and planting the seeds of what would become an entire ecosystem of empowerment. When I moved to Georgia, everything expanded. Formidable Woman Magazine, Formidable Woman Beauty Gazette, and FWU™ were born—each one an extension of my heart, my brilliance, and my belief in women who lead.
The Woman I Am Now
After 20 years of marriage I am living in alignment. My sons are my legacy, and my voice is my power. Everything I’ve lived, lost, and led through has shaped me into the Sovereign woman I am today.
​
This is more than a brand. It’s a calling.
Every setback refined me. Every room prepared me. And every woman I serve reminds me:
I was always meant to rise.
An excerpt from my book...
There's a moment every formidable woman faces. It's not on a stage, or in front of an audience, or behind a podium. It's not in the applause or the promotions. It's in the silence of her own space, when the mirror doesn't blink and the truth is no longer avoidable.
​
I remember standing in front of mine—no makeup, no blazer, no curated words—just me. Not Dr. Shekina. Not the coach. Not the leader. Not the mother. Just the woman. And I had to ask, Are you proud of her? The answer didn’t come immediately. Because I wasn’t just looking at accomplishments. I was scanning wounds, revisiting missed opportunities, reckoning with the silence I once mistook for strength.
The truth is, there were parts of me I hadn’t fully grieved. I had survived so much—dismissal, betrayal, blackballing, divorce—but I had packaged those wounds up neatly in productivity and poured them into helping others rise. It took years before I asked, But did you rise, too?
Mirrors don’t lie. But they do wait.
.png)