A BIT ABOUT US

The funny, truthful pains about life can spark beautiful beginnings, just ask co-founders, Sonia Lewis and Shaunda Davis. Both women had been let go from their places of employment with the Sac City Unified School District and the Sacramento Police Department. Both had experienced the backlash of depression and alienation. Both were over-achievers, who valued their integrity and character too much to just fall in line for the sake of status quo. Since their releases, they both had been in contact with former colleagues, students, and parents to assist with a variety of projects. And both were determined to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

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On February 13, 2009, Sonia and Shaunda met for breakfast, it was Sonia's birthday to be exact. Like old times, they discussed how and why parents, students, and teachers were calling them to help with various projects....and laughed hysterically about why neither of them could say no to the requests. The conversation shifted into what if we did this as a business and Ascribe Educational Consulting was literally formed while having breakfast at Stage Coach Restaurant in Sacramento, CA.

As they broke bread, they began to write business ideas on napkins. When they left Stage Coach that morning, each had tasks to complete. Immediately after leaving the restaurant, Sonia began to look up words that began with the letter "A" because she had heard if you ever go into business, your company name should begin with an "A" because business listings were typically alphabetized. Sonia was into acronyms and wanted the name to stand out in capital letters. Sonia pitched ASCRIBE to Shuanda - Achievement and Success Create Righteous Intentions Befitting Excellence.

We wanted to be a catalyst for positive change, and since our beginnings in 2009, we’ve been driven by the same ideas we initially discussed while eating breakfast at Stage Coach. In the beginning, our focus was to solely develop programs for targeting marginalized student groups, and to assist in their transition from high school to the real world - college application process, scholarship acquisition, the development of quality personal statement/essays, resumes, and career/job/interview readiness. We have made several pivots over the years to expand upon support, empowerment, and advocacy. We have grown into more than your typical DEI firm, in that we curate safe/brave space for courageous conversations around race, while strategically leveraging equity, humanity, and belonging. 

Learn more about our mission, our vision, and how we go about making the changes we - the collective community wants and deserves to see.