Dr. Sonya Reddick Shaw, Founder and President of S.R. Shaw Enterprises, is a retired parks and recreation director with over 30 years of municipal parks and recreation experience in North Carolina. She is a Fellow of the American Academy for Parks and Recreation Administration, having been recognized as 1 of the top 100 parks and recreation practitioners in the country. Dr. Shaw is the first African American woman to obtain a Doctorate Degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from North Carolina State University, where she conducted the first national study in the country on the career experiences of African American women in public parks and recreation agencies.