Meet Rochelle Johns of Black Women That Rock in Central

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rochelle Johns.

Rochelle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am originally from St. Louis, MO. I have been living in Arizona for 12 years. When I initially arrived here I had a culture shock, I was miserable, I would cry and ask myself what have I done, I did not know a soul. Then I had to suck it up and I changed the narrative by changing the question to what is my purpose of being here in Arizona. This journey for me started (7) seven years ago, I was trying to figure out my purpose for living here in Arizona having an end of the year conversation with myself and God, I asked myself what is the nearest and dearest closest thing to my heart and boom out of self-discovery the name Black Women That Rock came to mind. I am a giver by nature, so I knew that this organization would be based on volunteering, service to others. Our mission is self-less service the vision is to leave a legacy of giving. This journey has not been easy, I had to learn to be resilient, I had to get past a lot of No’s to get to my Yes’s. Still, on this journey, I sometimes second guess myself but then I remember my WHY and that puts everything back into perspective.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not been a smooth road, I once read a quote that says “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it” one of the main struggles is that Black Women That Rock (BWTR) consists of a group of ladies from 25-50 members this number fluctuates and that is my biggest struggle not knowing who is going to stay and who will be leaving. Often reminding the ladies that life happens to all of us and sometimes on this journey of life you will decide if this is the end of the road for this ride with BWTR, it sometimes can be bittersweet, but hey keep moving forward.

Please tell us about the organization.
Our organization is a non-profit charity we specialize in helping others by being a servant in the community of the Valley of the Sun, we have a variety of organizations that we have partnered with. What sets us apart is that we are an organization that has shown the culture of Arizona that black women can and do come together to make a positive difference and sacrifice their time by giving back to the less fortunate. I am proud that we have been existing for (7) seven years and counting within that (7) seven years we host an annual conference/expo that is free to the public we offer speakers and panels that can relate to all cultures that are to empower and inspire you to carry on with your lives.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood was visiting family down south (Arkansas and Tennessee) family time learning how to fish and hunt, the sad thing about this is that I did not have an appreciation of this until my adult years when it all made sense.

Contact Info:

• Website: bwtrphx.org
• Phone: (480) 648-1775
• Email: blackwomenthatrock@gmail.com
• Instagram: @blackwomenthatrock
• Facebook: @blackwomenthatrock
• Twitter: @BlkWomenThatRoc

Image Credit:
Belong to Rochelle Johns

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