As board director for High School District 99 in Downers, Grove Illinois, Sherell Fuller is the only African American to hold the position. Fuller is the co-founder of SpotzCity, a technology firm concentrating on diversity and inclusiveness in entrepreneurship and vendor management. The co-founder chatted with rolling out recently regarding her superpowers and the significance of Black women in technology.
What are your responsibilities and why did you select this career?
My profession is business development and technology. I selected this profession because I have always had a passion for business, strategy and growth. I also believe in the power of data, efficiency and streamlining processes. Technology has given us the vehicle to do that, in fact, most of us cannot imagine life without technology. I selected this career because business development and technology are embedded in the culture of growth, creativity and advancement.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpower to be?
As a Black woman, I consider my superpower to be the ability to think in the realm of “impossibilities,” move mountains and making those things possible, as demonstrated by many amazing women that came before me — like my mother, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Stacey Abrams, to name a few.
What thoughtful or encouraging piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
The advice I would give my younger self is to take more strategic risks. The earlier we start, the more time we have to get it right. I absolutely believe that failure creates power in most cases if you are open to assessing the experience and learning from it. Understanding my strengths and what kind of contribution I wanted to make in the world would have been instrumental in taking those strategic risks.
What is the value of creating Black-owned technology as entrepreneurs?
The value of creating black women-owned technology creates the power of inclusiveness. In an industry that has power that creates change and a profound sustainable impact on our world, it helps me participate in the change I want. I am proud that our software focuses on economic impact, diversity and inclusion. Our software, T.U.L.I.P., is [a] comprehensive, and cost-effective software designed to solve the challenges of diversity and inclusiveness in vendor selection for corporations.
Why is it important for more experienced Black women to reach back and help younger women of color?
Black women reaching back and helping younger women of color is super important to me and so necessary because we all stand on someone’s shoulders. We have been through a lot as a culture, and it is especially important that we pave the way for those that come behind us. It is a multiplier effect that we must understand the power of. We must be the mentors that we always wanted and the leaders that we looked up to.
