/ 01 Purpose
To empower students with the knowledge, tools, and confidence needed to take charge of their educational journey and make informed decisions about their future.
Who we are
Built by counselors. For students who deserve more than a hallway hello.
Empowered 2 Lead is a practice — not a platform. We connect students and families with certified school counselors, graduation coaches, educators, and board-licensed professional counselors. The bench every school wishes it had time to give.
/ 02 Mission
Connect students and parents with experienced school counselors and educators who equip them with personalized guidance, support, and resources — so students are empowered to lead their own path toward the postsecondary option of their choice.
/ 03 Vision
A world where every student is empowered, well-equipped, and confidently leading their journey to a future filled with purpose, opportunity, and success — no matter their background or starting point.
Founder note
I’ve spent nineteen years inside school counseling. I love the work. But every counselor I know has a 400-student caseload and twenty minutes per kid per year. Empowered 2 Lead is the bench I wish every student already had — outside the bell schedule, on their schedule, with people who pick up.
Shamona Harrell
Director · Fulton County Schools · Founder
Background
Where she’s done the work.
Director of College, Career & Student Supports
Fulton County Schools
Jul 2023 — Present
Coordinator of Secondary School Counseling
Fulton County Schools
Aug 2019 — Jul 2023
Head Counselor
Riverwood International Charter School
Aug 2015 — Present
School Counselor
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Apr 2004 — Jun 2006
Graduate
M.Ed., School Counseling
Cambridge College · 2008
Undergraduate
B.A., Psychology
Hampton University · 2003
What we stand on
Four values, in plain English.
/01 Empowerment
We build student confidence and voice by fostering self-awareness and ownership of their future.
/02 Collaboration
We pair students, families, counselors, and educators in service of shared goals — never alone, never outsourced.
/03 Leadership
We expect students to lead their own journey, with the courage and clarity that requires.
/04 Excellence
Our advisement is high-quality and personalized, because the bench you wished your school had can’t coast.
Our student-development model
Four phases. In sequence — and on loop.
01 Exploration
Open the aperture. Strengths, interests, peer dynamics, family context — everything that shapes choices later.
02 Identification
Name what fits. Translate exploration into a working list of paths, criteria, and trade-offs the student owns.
03 Preparation
Build the muscle. Coursework, executive functioning, applications, scholarships, interview rehearsal — the unglamorous work that decides outcomes.
04 Execution
Land the plane. Submit, advocate, follow up, adjust. We don't drop you at the form — we walk it through.