Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheree Knowles.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sheree. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

After spending 22 years in a variety of HR leadership roles within Corporate America, I found myself increasingly frustrated by the incivility that I experienced as a female African American leader. While I held a very senior title and made what most people would consider being “great money,” I was unhappy and felt undervalued. Because I didn’t fit the framework of the conservative firm that I worked for, I was often excluded from the ‘meetings after the meetings’. I contemplated venturing out on my own for years but, fear of the unknown and the security of a steady paycheck held me captive in my current existence.

In 2013, I had a profound, soul-stirring awakening. I lost two loved ones within two months of each other and the impact of the loss caused me to take stock of my life. I made a wildly courageous decision to leave the company, without knowing what was coming next. Through prayer and a $1,800 check that I ‘found’, I decided to launch out on my own. Sitting in Mimi’s Café with a friend, we brainstormed the name of the company and designed the initial logo on the back of a napkin. And just like that, HR Knowledge Source, affectionately known as HRKS, was born! We’ve had some twists and turns along the way but, we’ve been blessed to experience steady growth over the last six years. Click here to read the rest of the article on VoyagerATL.