Meet Shambrekiá Wise | Co-Creator, Sightseeing with Sandy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shambrekiá Wise and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shambrekiá, how does your business help the community?
The unique offering behind “Sightseeing with Sandy” is not only highlighting heroes from yesterday and today, but we also give back to trailblazers of today by forming strategic partnerships with the very people who help us create our adventures.

For example, Sandy and I met up with Steffano Berni, owner of Berni Bean Coffee Company in Downtown Dallas, and we told him we loved the concept of he and his family bringing Costa Rica right to the heart of Dallas by the cup. The shop is truly immersive and the coffee is absolutely amazing. We found out that he uses beans from farmers in Costa Rica and with the understanding of how hard most farmers have had it over these last few years, we wanted to find a way to give back to the community. We agreed that during our campaign for every Costa Rican box kit sold, we contribute a certain percentage to a local school. It’s our way of partnering with local heroes making global impacts.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My name is Shambrekiá Wise and I am the Co-Creator of “Sightseeing with Sandy”, a children’s book series that takes children all over the world, regardless of their zip code, introducing them to geography, historical figures, culture and of course, travel. My favorite person in the whole world is Co-Creator Sandiya Badmus- my little girl. Considering she’s 8, I foot most of the business’s financial needs, but honestly if it weren’t for her heart, this story would have never been told. While traveling to LA in January 2019, Sandy noticed there weren’t many people (especially children) on the plane who looked like her. She held no bars and shared her observation…loudly.

Very LOUDLY.

While slightly mortified, her observation was accurate. And I knew it.

She didn’t mention her concern anymore until we got back on the plane to come home a few days later and I had to pinky promise her that we would talk as soon as we landed. And we did. I told her not many kids get to travel – I didn’t fly until I was 14. I was raised in Texarkana, Texas by a single mom and family vacations were not a topic. She did what she could do to take care of us, so my appreciation of global travel was through shows like “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?”, “Reading Rainbow” and of course, books with vivid pictures.

Her solution (after me shutting down the thought of us sending EVERY kid on a vacation and “creating” a cartoon) was to write books showing kids the world. She saw a problem and she wanted to fix it. As her mother, I did and I am still doing my best to make sure she understands just how amazing she is and how many kids can benefit just because she has a loving, giving heart.

I try to celebrate our memorable moments together as much as possible because if it were not for her, we would not be where we are. “Sightseeing with Sandy” would not even exist if it weren’t for her selflessness.

I hope I’m able to build something incredible for her and all kids in the world. I was the main audience I now target in our books and it truly humbles my heart to do our givebacks and help put promise in kids where there once was none. I thank God I’m her mom because she has truly made me a better person. When I fought through Multiple Sclerosis induced paralysis in 2016, her spirit sometimes was the only thing that got me through. That could have broken me, but I never let it because she never gave up on me. Her smile and her love radiated and kept my soul afire. We have come so far, but I am so excited to see where we will go! <3

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The pandemic has truly shifted some of my favorite spots or unfortunately taken them away, but here are a few of my favorite spots:

Breakfast:
1. Berni Bean Coffee Company
2. Ida Claire
3. Village Baking Company
4. Snooze
5. Henry’s Majestic
6. Barney’s Brunch House
7. The Rustic

Lunch/Dinner:
Seasons52
Roots Southern Table
Monarch
Uchi
Del Frisco’s

Hangout:
XOXO
CatBird
Parliament

I truly love Monarch. The ambiance, the food, the views, the drinks, everything is absolutely amazing!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Literally, I wouldn’t be where I am without my family and my friends coming through to support me when “Sightseeing with Sandy” was just a concept. Tonya Moore, my first financial investor, helped me obtain my Trademark and Blake Garrett, who came in within a week after Tonya, helped me illustrate my first book.

David Mullings was my first major purchase for a daycare center in Florida. This was like a dream for me because the children who attended that daycare fit the exact type of child I envisioned “Sightseeing with Sandy” making a difference for as they began figure out the world and how they would contribute to it one day.

My Entrepreneurial Community has been my backbone during my growth. From my tech days at DivInc and Pitch Black to my current progress with fundBlackfounders, Crowdfund Better, and Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator Connect Program, I am making my dreams come true every moment I possibly can, but I wouldn’t be as confident nor as prepared as I am today without having gone through these experiences.

Website: www.sightseeingwithsandy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/SightseeingwithSandy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65905223/admin/

Twitter: @SandyandZooma

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SightseeingwithSandy

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL1YNiExNHT1dHAcTbHMmJA