About Us
Mission
Inspiring Black Women to embrace their next chapter of growth through travel and shared experiences.
Women Evolving Together
Before we knew each other’s names, we traveled in the same circles. Looking back, we realized that we actually met for a brief time in Jamaica, but we were officially introduced in 2019 at the Little Rock Marathon. When we signed up to Run the Victoria Falls Marathon in Zimbabwe neither of us had a roommate. We were paired together by the trip leader. We are forever grateful that she started our friendship.
Our bonding started on Day 1 in Zimbabwe when we both overslept. We had 7 minutes to meet up with our group for the day’s tour and somehow we made it.
As our friendship grew, we watched the pandemic bring our travel to a screeching halt. We had long conversations about places we wanted to go and things we wanted to do. To our surprise and delight, we both wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
The conversation turned to us both wanting to have “like-minded” women share this experience with us. We reached out to other women and invited them to be a part of this experience. As we looked at the variations of the women, from all walks of life, with different life experiences, we knew we were favored. Shades of Favor begin to take shape. To quote one of the Ladies on the trip, “Our life experiences differ like the hues of our beautiful skin”.
We want to continue to provide a safe environment where Black women can come together, enjoy a little bit of adventure, and bond. Whether in person or online we are excited about getting to know all of you. Like, follow, and subscribe for updates on ways to do one or hopefully both.
Vision
To provide a safe, supportive and encouraging environment where Women bond as they embrace new experiences
Diana
To know me, Dawn Frazier begins with my respect for the term Sankofa meaning “go back and get” from the Twi language of Ghana. In the spirit of Sankofa, I take the lessons of the past and use them to shape the future. Budgeting and time management skills that my mother used to raise children and care for aging parents provided me with a guide as a divorced mother of 4 active children. As an Army veteran who joined for the travel and looked forward to the long road marches, it was a direct transition to an international marathoner. Bartending and navigating a college campus in the 21st century to get a bachelor’s degree at 52 years old is a result of my ability to apply the code-switching that I learned as a child in South Carolina in the 70s. As an empty nester I am rediscovering my love of reading and the peace of long walks but now I have expanded to joining the book clubs and membership in run/walk groups. I am excited to be a work in progress because it means I have many more adventures to come.
Dawn
Born number four of five girls, Ms. Diana K. knows the true meaning of Sisterhood. Raised to bring immeasurable strength to the challenges of life, she knows no limits. Diana is always looking forward to the next adventure. Diana - The Army Veteran, Marathoner, mountain climbing, practicing Yogi continues to write the pages of her chapters with resolve and forgiveness in its purest form. When she’s not traveling the world, or struggling with technology, Diana spends her time enjoying her grandchildren, gardening, crafting and relaxing with her rescue “Rodney”, a Shih Tzu.
Diana
We believe you must bring your whole self to the table if you want to thrive in today’s crazy world; your personality, your sense of humor, and most importantly, your heart. All of these elements brought us to start Shades of Favor.