A Personal Note From Adonica Shaw
Lately, I’ve been thinking about who I was before the noise—before the projections, the politics, the pressure to be someone more palatable or strategic just to stay in the room. In building Wingwomen Inc., I started with heart, vision, and a deep commitment to change.
But somewhere along the way, I found myself shaped by expectations that weren’t mine—layering on survival strategies, professional armor, and borrowed blueprints that dulled my voice and distanced me from my creative core. After everything I’ve endured these past few years, I’m being called—deeply and unmistakably—back to myself.
What I’ve experienced over the last three years—from targeted misinformation campaigns to calculated efforts to delay and disrupt my work—has not only affected my company, but deeply impacted me as a person. The actions taken by individuals I had never even met, who spoke about me without context or care, whose financial conflicts of interest went undetected by those on the receiving end of such communications, were misleading and destructive. They lacked regard for my humanity, my family, and the integrity behind everything I’ve worked for.
What I now know is this: those actions were never really about me. They were projections—fueled by misunderstanding, ego, bias, or financial gain. And for too long, I internalized them. I let those projections form layers around me—armor I thought I needed to wear to be accepted, to be taken seriously, to survive.
The hardest truth I’ve learned while navigating the rough waters of entrepreneurship and innovation is this: people take you more seriously when you know how to stand your ground and defend your work. Desperation dilutes your voice—purpose sharpens it. And nothing commands more respect than being rooted in the clarity and truth of your own vision.
I’m returning to who I am at my core. Not the version shaped by expectations, survival tactics, or outdated models of success—but the version of me that writes to understand, that draws to breathe, that creates from a place of truth and vision. I’m stripping off what doesn’t belong: the heaviness, the performative toughness, the borrowed strategies I picked up from other professional women just trying to make it through.
I honor what those experiences, and what previous mentors have taught me. But now, I’m choosing a new way, one that leaves space for my personal voice—and one that brings me back to joy, to authenticity, and to the voice I’ve always had, even when it was silenced or distorted.
A New Chapter
I'm choosing to use the pain and loss I’ve endured as a catalyst—and have allowed it to crack something open in me that shouldn't have been closed. I want to build what feels real, meaningful, and aligned. So that's what I'm going to do.
Moving forward:
I’m reclaiming my voice—not just professionally, but creatively.
I’m writing again. I’m drawing again. I’m letting my work be personal again.
I’m building partnerships rooted in mutual respect, not performative alignment.
Wingwomen will continue to grow, but not as it once was. It will evolve with me—more intentional, more rooted in creativity and connection. This isn’t a retreat—it’s a return. And what I’m returning to is deeper, more honest, and more alive than anything I’ve built before.
To those who see me clearly and support me without condition—thank you. You are part of what’s next.
Here’s to the freedom of becoming, again. And this time, on my own terms.
— Adonica Shaw Founder & CEO, Wingwomen Inc.