Meet the founder

Sheena Watkins is a nationally recognized operations and organizational performance leader with nearly 20 years of experience helping companies, schools, and nonprofits stabilize, grow, and thrive. Known as a strategic “fixer,” Sheena brings a rare blend of business operations expertise and deep early childhood education (ECE) leadership—making her uniquely positioned to support organizations that need both operational rigor and mission-driven insight.

Throughout her career, Sheena has transformed underperforming teams, rebuilt critical business systems, and led complex multi-site organizations through periods of rapid change. She has overseen Finance, HR, Operations, Compliance, and multi-million-dollar budgets, consistently delivering measurable improvements in performance, culture, and financial stability.

Sheena has built a reputation for turning complex problems into clear, sustainable systems. She is especially skilled at identifying root causes, aligning teams around goals, and creating operational models that make growth predictable rather than stressful. 

Her work in early childhood education runs deep. She has successfully led licensing and accreditation efforts, designed program quality systems, built enrollment strategies, and coached dozens of center directors and school leaders. This dual expertise—business operations and ECE leadership—is the foundation of Elevate Advisory Group and what sets it apart nationally.

Today, Sheena partners with organizations across Missouri, Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia—helping leaders gain clarity, strengthen systems, and unlock the next level of performance. Her approach is grounded in transparency, strategic thinking, warm leadership, and the belief that the right structures can turn overwhelm into momentum.

Master of Education & Social Policy [New York University] 

Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Psychology [University of Kansas] 

Accounting Certification - [eCornell]

Inspire Montessori (501c3), Co-founder  2022

Inspire Logistics LLC, CEO 2024