She has been honored by receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the White House and the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from Barrack Obama, where she has been recognized by several branches of the US Government for her dedication, services, and work including multiple awards in areas of Business Leadership, Mentorship, and Entrepreneurship. These accolades include the U.S. Congress Business Leader Award, Business Leadership Award from the California State Senate, and the California Merit Award. The California State Board of Equalization has presented Shellie with an Award in Business and she earned from the California Legislature Assembly the Local Businesswoman Award. The City and County of Los Angeles presented her with Recognition and Commendation Speaker Awards, and she accepted an Entrepreneurship Award from the State Attorney – County of Maryland. Shellie has been honored in the area of mentorship and innovation by California State University Long Beach with the Team Mentor Award and has been recognized internationally with the Global Iconic Innovation Award. In addition, she received the Diamond Rose Award in Motivational Speaking from the Multicultural Motion Picture Association, Global Humanitarian Award at the World Congress Center, and the International Women’s Day Outstanding Service Award for Excellence.

She also has appeared as a featured host/speaker in a documentary series entitled “Freedom” for the Human Potential Network. Shellie currently is a proud member of the Alliance of Women and Media, which promotes positive progress and change for women, and sits as a judge for the last seven years for the nationally televised Gracie Awards. Shellie served as a national board member for the NWPC (National Women’s Political Caucus) and hosted the 2014 Emma Awards.

In 2014, the special honor of knighthood was bestowed upon Dame Shellie Ann Hunt by the Order of the Orthodox Knights Hospitallers of St. John, now known as The Order of St. John Russian Grand Priory. This is the oldest historical charitable order, which started the world’s first hospitals to serve humanity, regardless of caste, creed, or ability to pay. As the First Lady of Entrepreneurs, she has served well over tens of thousands of women and children worldwide in communities and outreach programs. Shellie has also taught reintegration to Veterans in transition at Cal State Long Beach.

Shellie has currently been described in the international press as “One of the best orators and coaches of human potential available for public speaking and a master of business structure and multiple sources of income.” Her speaking skills and courses cover the full spectrum. She has focused her life’s work on the realm of human potential and business success. Shellie has presented to and coached well over ten thousand individuals from all walks of life. These include CEO’s, business owners, inventors, authors, managers, Supreme Court Judge, blue-collar industries, teen trainings, as well as the general public.

For over 25 years Shellie Hunt has specialized in personal improvement and corporate leadership trainings. She has worked with major corporations to include Time Warner, M3, The Young Entrepreneurs Society, VH1, Pacific Electric, and Kimberly Clark to name a few. Having grown up in poverty, Shellie’s passion and mission is to show people they too can create their own life success and awaken to all that is possible!

     With all Shellie achievements she is certainly one of the most influential women, she has the strength, courage, confidence, and assertiveness to beat any challenges that comes her way and making an influential positive impact on people lives around the world.

IPM:   Women of Global Change is an inspirational network of humanitarians, what inspired you to start this?

Shellie:  I literally woke up one night from a dream. A vision came to me to bring together and activate leaders of all different organizations in collaboration to create change bigger than we ever could alone. Together we create positive progress and change for ourselves and our communities in the world.

IPM:  Can you tell us about your favorite mission you did with Women of Global Change?

Shellie:  There have been so many memorable missions on this journey but one of my personal favorites was in Roatan Honduras. The AIDS rate for babies under 2 was extremely high. We went in Honduras during our WGC International Summit in 2013 and built an infant care unit center and mothers’ facility. When I went back six years later, the AIDS rate for babies under two, was zero in Roatan. They have been living under these conditions for generations and in six years it was eradicated. They went on to turn The Infant Care Center into a school to assist the school system as they were not prepared for the influx of children surviving. We were not the only ones fighting this battle, but WGC was definitely a part of making a difference. This is when I really realized the power, we had to make a positive impact.

IPM:  How did you feel receiving the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from Barrack Obama in 2015 and later a second-lifetime achievement award from President Biden in 2021?

Shellie:  I was so humbled and honored and almost in disbelief but then when I stepped back and really looked at the lives and the number of people served nationally and globally, I understood. In addition, my awards, Women of Global Change (WGC) has received its own White House Service Awards and Recognitions from four sitting presidents.

IPM:   Have you drawn professional inspiration from other influential women? Can you tell us about someone who has inspired you?

Shellie:  There are many different women that have influenced my life as mentors, some historically and some in person. Frankly, my mom and her network of courageous women had a big influence in my life and it has continued from generation to generation as my daughter just graduated from law school, passed the bar and is now writing her own path as she drafts bills for congressional review.

IPM:  Did you come across any major barriers when on your path to success?

SHELLIE:  The first problem I ran into was trying to do it all myself. You may start out that way but I learned that to have a team that is good at what they specifically do is imperative. Then you have to let them run doing what they do in that lane while you stay in your own. This makes for very harmonic growth. And it is a place where you and others can win as a team and as a corporate culture of growth.

IPM:   What pushed you to go down the path of helping people become successful?

Shellie:  I literally grew up in a home with a single mom on the East Coast and one pair of shoes at a time to my name. I came to realize, if I could do it, anyone can do it. I also think it is a time for women to rise as leaders around the world. The planet is in need of the balance that women in power provide. I like sharing my knowledge with others so they no only have more success in their lives but also more fulfillment as they become active contributors in the world they serve.

IPM:   What motivated you to start Success is by Design?

Shellie:  I wanted to design a program that was individualized yet worked within the principles and systems of business. We are not cookie-cutter people. We are all individuals with gifts and talents and in our hearts, we carry great purpose. A purpose I believe we are born to share with the world. I wanted to create a program that worked with how an individual works so they could not just have business success but also a balanced successful and more joyful personal life .

IPM:   What is one major thing you wish more people knew about women in the workplace?

Shellie:  It is so important for women to support women in the workplace. Studies have shown it’s not as much as the men holding us back as it is us as women not supporting other women. It is important we support women in managerial positions as we still are not equal in board rooms. It is time for us to join together and give each other, as sisters, a reputation to live up to.

IPM:   Can you share one “how-to” tip with us on how to design our own success?

SHELLIE:  Have clarity of the vision of what you want to create. Then worry about the mechanics. It is never about the mechanics, it is always about the intention. Intention brings mechanism. Look at other industries or businesses that are doing what you want to accomplish. Look at their models and systems, start to incorporate what you need and make adjustments from there. The other thing to remember is you are not alone, so many times as entrepreneurs we feel that way and as women we feel we have to be strong. But it’s all about asking for what you need. And looking out for what you need next. I am constantly asking myself what do I need next, even now.

IPM: With being so busy managing multiple companies, what are the ways you stay grounded and take care of yourself, your motivation?

SHELLIE:   When it feels like I don’t have enough time or I feel ungrounded I would try to do more only to become less effective.

So I found what feeds me naturally in nature and what I mean by that is what energizes me and replenishes me. And for me it is plants and animals. After mentoring from some of the best in the world, what I did come to notice is all great leaders recognize when their energy is waning and they are perfectly OK to step to the side to rejuvenate. There are times I have taken my shoes off and just walked in the grass. I know it sounds funny. There are other times I play with my animals. I have had clients whom the ocean called to them and I would tell them to just sit in front of the ocean until their mind starts to calm and their shoulders drop. So find what feeds you from nature. I have found nature has divine intelligence and a divine balance.

IPM:  How important is it to have a mentor and grow as a leader? Do you feel everyone who wants to grow in leadership needs a mentor?

SHELLIE:    I think mentorship is incredible not only do you learn what works, but you also get to avoid what doesn’t work. And if you are truly growing and developing, mentorship is imperative

IPM:  How can women support other women in their organizations?

SHELLIE:    Engage and work in camaraderie, not a competition with other women-owned businesses and with coworkers. We rise together.

IPM:   What advice do you have for women looking to grow either their own business or within the company they work for?

SHELLIE:  Understudy and engage in relational currency. Also learn the art of negotiation. Don’t try to do it all and don’t wait till it’s perfect to do it, it will never be perfect except it will always be the perfect time to start.

IPM:  Do you have any advice for the next generation of female leaders?

SHELLIE:  You are the next generation of the Feminine corporate culture! Do what you’re good at, do what you enjoy. Recognize the gratitude in all of it, even if you fail forward. You are the leader of the world is waiting for!

IPM:  Do you have any comments or anything you would like to share?

SHELLIE:  It has been an absolute hard year both personally and professionally.  Starting with the loss of our international board member Frank Shankwitz who was the co-founder of the “Make A Wish” Foundation and two of our avid supporters and advisers Bob Proctor, and my mom Shirley Hunt.  They believed in the vision for the betterment of humanity.

Women of Global Change wouldn’t be what it is without them and our Global Chapter leaders being active participants in the world.  They are truly “The Changemakers” and together they create a wave of change around the world.