Born and raised in Chicago IL. Shatina Edwards is the Founder and Executive Director of M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment™. Shatina is a certified Life Coach and Mentor-motivated and passionate about empowering youth. Shatina has been a youth advocate since 2006, and she has dedicated her time volunteering, mentoring, and participating in numerous events supporting the youth within her community and church. With a passion to serve others, she was determined to build a girl-friendly network to expose young ladies to a feminine outlook, which is lacking in today’s society. After being bullied by her peers in middle-school, Shatina now uses her past to speak out against bullying and empower young ladies to avoid negativity, which is her organization's mission. Shatina founded the nonprofit organization M.E.A.N. (Manage-Emotions-Avoid-Negativity) Girls Empowerment in 2014, which aims to prevent bullying and provide mentorship to young ladies.

M.E.A.N Girls University launched in 2019 and extends to young women ages 18-24 and mimics the motto and mission of its predecessor organization also created by Shatina. Shatina saw a need to expand into this population of college age girls, in order to empower and equip these young ladies with the tools they will need to continue in their success post their high-school careers.  The University encourages its participants to continue to make healthy choices through confidence, courage and creativity. 

Shatina obtained her bachelor's degree in Health Administration from Governor State University (2012) and earned a master's degree in Health Administration from Purdue University (2016). Shatina is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. As an entrepreneur, wife, and mother, Shatina’s mission is to live with purpose and accomplish excellence in all areas of life while supporting others to do the same. Shatina sees value in the uplifting of youth that follow in her tracks. She is dedicated to exuding poise and integrity with her incessant commitment to empower her community.