Who We Are

Our Legacy: Where It All Began

CulturEd® Consulting was born from legacy—one built on community, learning, and the unwavering belief that education is a pathway to liberation.

Founder Zakiya Williams-Spears was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, in communities rich in spirit but starved of resources. Schools were underfunded, and neighborhoods were overlooked. But her parents were builders—givers of their time, love, and leadership.

They founded The Soweto Center, named after the South African township known for its resistance and resilience during the anti-apartheid movement. The center wasn’t just a community hub—it was a catalyst for hope. It offered computer literacy, reading and math enrichment, dance, fellowship, and job training. But more than that, it offered possibility.

Zakiya grew up inside that vision. She saw what it meant to hold space for people to rise—and the resistance that often comes with that rise. In communities where opportunity is rare, elevation is often met with fear, scarcity, and systemic pushback. She didn’t have the words for it then, but she does now: this is legacy work.

That legacy runs deeper than one generation. Zakiya’s grandmother, a beloved crossing guard, held the line for children in her neighborhood—her guidance rooted in love, protection, and presence. Her teacher had been a student of Booker T. Washington, making Zakiya just a few degrees removed from one of the greatest Black educators in American history.

Her mother and aunts were also educators, organizers, and mentors—Black women who led with heart and vision, shaping lives and shifting the trajectory of every classroom and community they touched. Zakiya witnessed firsthand how education could move beyond academics to become a vehicle for identity, purpose, and internal transformation.

CulturEd® Consulting exists because of that legacy.

Because futures are built when communities have access to real learning, real leadership, and real tools to thrive.

Because education should not confine—it should elevate, empower, and expand what’s possible.

And at the center of it all is Zakiya Williams-Spears—an educator, strategist, and learning architect committed to carrying that legacy forward in every corner of her work.