Meet Dr. Uvonda Willis | Business Owner & Principal

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Uvonda Willis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Uvonda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As an assistant principal and now principal, I’ve worked with teachers at various stages of their careers. What I noticed is that while teachers have professional development opportunities about content matter, I did not see a lot of professional development that offered unique professional development opportunities tailored towards inspiring educators in their craft; hence, Inspired Instruction Consulting Group, LLC was formed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been an educator for over 20 years. I began my career as a high school English teacher, transitioned to a high school assistant principal and now serve as an elementary principal. One thing I believe sets me apart from others is that I’ve worked in multiple districts and within those districts, I had the pleasure of working with various socioeconomic levels. These experiences truly helped me work with all types of students, which in turn allowed me to share these experiences with teachers and assist them in their journeys as educators. The other thing that sets me apart is that no matter the capacity in which I am working, I immerse myself in the community and truly get to know the parents I serve. This is important because parents are the connectors to the community and we all have one goal in mind, which is to see the success of all students. Professionally, I am who I am because I was allowed to glean from some phenomenal educators who gave me an opportunity to do as such. My path was not easy, in that were many setbacks and challenges, but my faith in what God promised for my life kept me in those situations. As an educator and business owner, one of the biggest obstacles has been exposure outside of those who know you and opportunities to build your clientele within school districts. However, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned to stay persistent, keep building and opportunities will come at the right time, with the right door opening. Inspired Instruction Consulting Group, LLC is a brand rooted in classroom and administrator experience, and those two encompassed allows educators to get the best of both worlds!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, my friends love to eat and drink coffee, so we’d first go to Biscuit and the Bean for breakfast and amazing coffee. This would be the breakfast and brunch spot for the week. For dinner, we’d go to Nino’s which is an Italian restaurant. If they wanted wings, etc., we’d go to Kickback Jacks; for burgers, we’d go to Red Robbin or Five Guys. Most of my friends prefer to watch movies at home, so we’d probably eat at a restaurant and then go downtown Greenville to Insomnia Cookies!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to Dr. Patrick Greene, principal of Greene Central High School. Many years ago, Dr. Greene gave me the opportunity to work with beginning teachers and allowed me to create in-house professional development opportunities for them. Because of this, I realized I wanted to use my skillset to help others teachers in this manner; therefore, his foresight to allow me to spearhead opportunities for teachers served as the foundation for Inspired Instruction Consulting Group, LLC.

Website: http://www.inspiredinstructioncg.com

Instagram: @inspired.instructioncg

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uvonda-willis-ed-d-43b55a6b/

Twitter: @instructioncg

Facebook: @inspiredinstructioncg