❤️ About the SJ Wilkes Foundation

Sharonda Johnson-Wilkes is the Founder and CEO of SJ Wilkes Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through advocacy, education, and accessible living. With more than 30 years of experience serving and uplifting individuals with disabilities, Sharonda has become a leading voice for accessibility, inclusion, and systemic change.

Her journey is one of courage, conviction, and transformation. After surviving years of personal hardship—including sexual assault, domestic violence, and the daily challenges of navigating a world not designed for wheelchair users—Sharonda chose to turn pain into purpose. Rather than allowing her disability to define her limits, she allowed it to define her mission.

• The Accessible Housing Initiative, creating affordable and beautiful homes designed for independence.
   
• FATA Worldwide (From America to Africa), a global outreach program that collects and ships mobility aids to Kenya while developing a disability-inclusive community abroad.
   
• The National Coalition of 100 Women on Wheels (100WOW), an advocacy network for women who use wheelchairs, focused on legislation, entrepreneurship, and empowerment.
   
• The Let’s Make a Deal Youth Mentoring Program, a community-based project that provides mentorship, entrepreneurial guidance, and hands-on opportunities for diverse young people to learn business skills, earn income, and support accessible community efforts.
   
• Education and Anti-Ableism Training, offering awareness and etiquette programs for schools, organizations, and workplaces, and
   
• The Caregivers Award Program, celebrating caregivers and allies who make a meaningful impact in the lives of people with disabilities.

Through these initiatives, Sharonda leads a movement that combines compassion with construction, advocacy with action, and lived experience with leadership. Each project under her direction works toward a shared goal: building a world where accessibility, dignity, and opportunity are not exceptions—they’re expectations.

Guided by her personal mantra, “No Pity, Just Purpose,” Sharonda believes accessibility is more than design—it’s a moral responsibility. Her projects aim to dismantle barriers while fostering independence, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment.

Sharonda is also an author and storyteller. Her upcoming memoir, I Rolled Through It: No Pity, Just Purpose — A Memoir of Strength on Wheels, chronicles her life journey of survival, faith, and triumph. Set to release on October 22, 2026, her birthday, the book reflects the same unstoppable spirit that drives her foundation’s mission.

Today, Sharonda continues to inspire others from her home in Charles County, Maryland, where she lives with her husband, Darryl Wilkes, and continues to advocate for accessible housing, inclusive policies, youth mentorship, and global collaboration. Her story is not just about resilience—it’s about rewriting the narrative for every person who has ever been told “you can’t” and proving, through purpose, that we all can.

 “As a woman on wheels, I turned my challenges into purpose — creating pathways for others to thrive without pity.”