Our Founder

Dr. Shakiethia Wheeler is the founder and Pioneer of the Southern Women In Motion Foundation Inc. She’s a 22-year entrepreneur and Atlanta native who brings a unique and invaluable perspective to her work, shaped by her own personal experiences within the criminal legal system. Her professional background spans Accounting, Business Management, Real Estate and Non-Profit leadership.

Dr. Wheeler is deeply dedicated and ambitious, leading the S.W.I.M Foundation in the criminal justice reform movement. Her profound mission is rooted in a commitment to reduce mass incarceration and criminalization, alleviate poverty and homelessness among returning citizens, cultivate programs that promote economic stability, and prioritize the mental, and social well-being of women, girls and their families as they reintegrate back into their communities.

She is also the founder & President of the MOTIONS Collective, (Members Organizing to Innovate Our Networks). This initiative is a women-led group of organizational leaders, stakeholders, and advocates—most of whom are justice-impacted—who collaborate collectively to dismantle the criminal legal system.

As a proud community leader, mother and spouse, she strives to impact many lives by fighting against this system that we seek to find justice. She’s a natural warrior who continues to organize, and advocates for justice and equality, bringing awareness to the critical issues of mass incarceration, housing injustice, and inequalities that the Black and Brown communities continue to face.

Shakiethia has made some impressive achievements during her journey. She is an alumna of the 2024 Civic Innovation Fellowship, Women Organizing for Justice & Opportunity, and she is also a Woman of Impact Awardee for Broken Crayons Still Color.

She is also an alumna of The Center for Justice at Columbia University in New York for Women Transcending Collective Leadership Development. In August 2025, her evident love and compassion for the people in the Metro Atlanta area, where she was born and raised, led her to receive an honorary doctorate degree in Humanitarianism, a distinction initiated by the legendary Congressman John Lewis.

She has also been nominated for the 2026 Good Trouble Honors, which celebrates individuals who, in the spirit of the late Congressman John Lewis , lead with courage and conviction, driving meaningful change in their communities.

Her vision is to remain active and bold, while participating in the fight to end homelessness, address economic disparities, and reduce barriers and harm within our penal system and communities.

Sincerely,

S.W.I.M Board of Directors