“SEEING HER CLIMB FROM JCPENNEY TO WALMART AND NOW CVS, INSPIRED ME TO GO TO HARVARD AND JOHNS HOPKINS AND PURSUE THE C-SUITE BECAUSE I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS AN HBCU ALUMNA ALONGSIDE ME SAY THIS WAS POSSIBLE” -SHENEKA BALOGUN
about myself,” she recalled. “I had been that size since I was about 12; but when I was working around food, I was really self conscious. I didn’t want to be the big bakery buyer. That was back in 2015 when I made the decision. I was very intentional. I didn’t wanna be the big bakery buyer. I started going to the gym. I have a workout buddy, and I currently work out with my sons.”
Thomas has directly and indirectly inspired business owners seeking growth, fashionistas seeking an online community on her social media channel called Black Women Who Love Fashion, in addition to friends in need of moral support. That includes Balogun.
she is,” said Balogun, Chief Operating Officer for Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis. “She really inspired me to dream of what was possible. I was a stay-at-home mom for several years. My life didn’t look the way I wanted it 10 years ago. Kinna being so brave to step into rooms that we normally aren’t in really pushed me to challenge myself in ways I never imagined.”
“Seeing her climb from JCPenney to Walmart and now CVS, inspired me to go to Harvard and Johns Hopkins and pursue the C-suite because I had a friend who was an HBCU alumna alongside me say this was possible,” said Balogun.
“One of the things I love most is her friendship and how supportive
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