We Get 2 Give offers a unique mentoring and leadership development experience to youth in Prince Georges County, Maryland and surrounding areas. Shanequa Pannell, the project’s visionary, brings a wealth of experiences engaging children and youth in various educational and social developmental experiences. We Get 2 Give is positioned to become one of the leading grassroots organizations in the state of Maryland, providing services to children, youth, and families. As the state of Maryland prioritizes services to children, youth, and families, We Get 2 Give offers an array of services specifically designed to target Black girls and young women 9-19 years of age.
Mission
Listening to and empowering Black girls, ages 9-19, to be the very best versions of themselves, highlighting self-worth values by providing workshops and resources relative to their cultural experiences, aspirations and mental well-being.
Vision
To promote and restore the mental well-being of every Black girl and the relationship with their mothers, local and global.
Philosophy
We believe Black girls are stronger when we are filled with self-love and united in creating pathways out of an area of lack or poverty.
Our Team
Shanequa M. Pannell
President
Shanequa M. Pannell is a wife, mom, homeschool teacher, advocate/activist, philanthropist, mentor, coach, writer, entertainer, and entrepreneur. Mrs. Pannell holds a Master of Science in industrial organizational psychology from Walden University and a Bachelor of Science in marketing with a minor in journalism from University of Maryland.
Originally from New York City, she is the President/CEO of We Get 2 Give, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Black adolescent girls navigate and thrive within complex social systems. She is the retired lead rapper of Shanequa an eclectic Hip Hop Band based in London, UK, former creative director of Guys and Gals Magazine, launched in 2008 as an urban lifestyle brand, and former New York entertainment correspondent for the Kinky D show and Manny Norte Show on BBC Radio 1Xtra.
My ministry is helping children of color navigate their way through this tricky world and around the paradigms set up to thwart their success. I hope to shed light on dark spaces and circumstances that impede the mental health of these youth.
—Shanequa Pannell
Mrs. Pannell resides in Maryland, where she advocates with Strong Schools Maryland, as County Captain of Prince George’s County, for children’s rights to an equitable educational experience. She is a fierce champion against domestic abuse, workplace abuse, child trafficking, and physical and sexual abuse perpetrated against minors. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and The National Society of Leadership and Success. She is also a proud co-founding member of the MD7 chapter of Go On Girl! Bookclub.
Tammie Barrett
Board Directors/Treasurer
Tammie Barrett is originally from Philadelphia Pennsylvania and is currently Vice President and Director of Residential Lending for a community banking institution in the Washington DC area. Upon graduating from college Tammie was one of three people selected in PNC Bank’s Management Development Program. Tammie completed the eighteen-month program and her career in Banking began. Her broader service in the financial services industry began when she became a Certified Mortgage Examiner. This level of certification allowed Ms. Barrett to examine financial institutions and mortgage companies for safety and soundness.
Ms. Barrett currently is a member of The Women in Housing and Finance, The National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers, and the National Association for Mental Illness. Tammie has had the distinct honor to lead round table discussions for Affordable Housing for Women and How to guide women to secure Residential Financing. Tammie has planned, organized, and conducted First time homebuyer education, credit and money management and building generational wealth through homeownership workshops and seminars.
Tammie holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Goldey-Beacom College, a master’s degree in Management and a master’s certificate in Leadership and Management from The University of Maryland University College. She currently resides in Maryland with her husband and teenage daughter.
Michelle James
Board Directors/Secretary
Michelle Dion James is a mother of 2 beautiful young ladies, an Accountant, a Photographer, a Writer, and a Youth Group Leader. She aspires to encourage all those she encounters to be hopeful and optimistic despite their circumstances. She enjoys seeing others find joy and happiness…one of the primary reasons she serves as a board member of We Get 2 Give.
weget2give.org 