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Shantrelle P. Lewis

Education is a paramount for the vitality of the African-American community according to Shantrelle P. Lewis, Founder and Executive Director of YFS. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, she graduated, cum laude, from Howard University in May of 2001 with a bachelor degree in Biology and African-American Studies.  While at Howard she became a member of Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and held leadership positions in several other campus organizations.

After graduating, she taught at Hyde Leadership Public School, in northeast Washington, D.C., where she developed its Biology, Chemistry, and African-American Studies curriculum. In addition to teaching,  Shantrelle took on the roles of college placement counselor and community liaison. In her role as community liaison, she sought to link the school to its stakeholders.  To this end, she created an adopt a Black business program which encouraged faculty, staff, and parents to support select businesses in return for discounted services and products, organized a neighborhood clean-up day, and established a father’s club that encouraged fathers to actively participate in the school’s activities. 

In 2004 she moved to Philadelphia, where she enrolled in the Africana Studies program at Temple University.  With research interests in African spirituality and the African Aesthetic,  she began to travel the world, seeking to broaden her perceptions of the African Diaspora first-hand.  Her travels took her to London, Madrid, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, Toronto, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.  It was in Brazil, as she traveled with fellow members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, that she gained a greater appreciation of traditional African religions, particularly Yoruba and Candomble. She was awarded her Master’s Degree in African American Studies in February 2008.
At the onset of her first semester at Temple, she volunteered as a docent at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and began conducting tours of the museum for visiting groups. This volunteer position eventually led to a full time job at AAMP .  After conducting a host of programs, Ms. Lewis began to notice a disheartening trend—a lack of involvement from the 20-40 something demographic.  To address this problem, she researched how other arts institutions around the country handled this troubling issue.  As a result of her research, and with the help of native Philadelphian Nia Meeks, she founded the Young Friends Society. After a two year tenure at AAMP, several members of YFS decided to take its vision further – beyond an individual, beyond an institution, beyond a city – and they applied for and was granted 501 ©3 designation in Summer ’07.        

Recently, Shantrelle relocated back to New Orleans to help the cultural preservation and documentation of the city’s African heritage and traditions. She intends to pursue her doctorate degree in Cultural Anthropology and Art History in the Fall of 2009. Currently, she is the Curator of the George & Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art.