ABOUT REV. DR.

SHELLEY D. BEST

Rev. Dr. Shelley D. Best is an artist, yogi, minister, and social innovator who guides people and communities through disruption into clarity, resilience, and renewed purpose. She is the creator of Creative Disruption®, a modern approach to leadership and life that blends imagination, mindfulness, and grounded strategy. Her work helps people rise through uncertainty, reconnect with what matters, and lead with courage in times of change.

As founder of TubmanWalker, she brings together the legacies of two women who reshaped what freedom and imagination could mean: Harriet Tubman, whose clarity and courage transformed lives, and Alice Walker, whose artistry and truth-telling expanded cultural possibility. Inspired by their gifts, TubmanWalker exists to support individuals, organizations, and communities as they build cultures where belonging, creativity, and purpose can flourish.

Shelley’s work serves artists and creatives seeking deeper expression; philanthropists and funders shaping the future of impact; activists and organizers building community and social transformation; and policymakers and institutions designing systems where people can thrive. Her approach unites art, culture strategy, mindfulness, narrative work, and spiritual grounding to help leaders move through complexity with steadiness and imagination.

A graduate of Yale Divinity School and a nationally recognized figure in community leadership, Shelley is known for her ability to bring people together across differences, translate complex ideas into accessible insight, and guide teams and institutions toward more resilient and coherent futures. Through her public art initiatives, creative placemaking work, teaching, and consulting partnerships, she helps cities and organizations design environments where people feel seen, supported, and inspired to rise.

Philosophy

Creative Disruption® begins with a simple truth:
Disruption is not an ending — it is an opening.

When we pause, listen deeply, and imagine again, we discover clarity where confusion once lived, courage where fear once held us, and new pathways where old structures have fallen away. This is how individuals grow, how teams evolve, and how communities become places of belonging and possibility.

My Story

My life’s work has always centered on helping people grow. I have moved through sacred spaces, community spaces, healing spaces, and leadership rooms — each one teaching me something about resilience, clarity, and the transformative power of imagination. I have walked through my own seasons of disruption and emerged with a deeper purpose: to help others rise with strength and vision.

TubmanWalker was born from this journey. It is a home for people navigating transition, reinvention, and bold new beginnings — a place where creativity, compassion, and clarity come together to support meaningful transformation.

My Approach

I integrate:

  • mindfulness and grounding

  • creative and cultural strategy

  • narrative and story-based insight

  • leadership development

  • community wisdom

  • spiritual presence

This approach helps individuals and organizations move through disruption with integrity, steadiness, and bold possibility. My work meets people where they are — and supports who they are becoming.

Next Steps

To continue exploring this work, you are invited to:

TubmanWalker is a place to belong, to grow, and to rise — with clarity, courage, and imagination.