About Me

Hi there!  I’m Shelia Higgs Burkhalter, but my friends call me Shiggs. The “B” in ShiggsB Coaching pays homage to the 21 year Burkhalter journey, I’ve been on. More about that later. 

I am so excited that you have decided to visit. I’ve been a higher education professional for 27 years, 12 of those have been in executive leadership roles. Over the years, I’ve mentored and advised hundreds of colleagues whom aspire to next level leadership and newly minted executives. I loved engaging in those conversations, and sharing my knowledge and lived experiences. However, over time, I became increasingly uncomfortable using my journey as a map by which others should navigate their journeys. We are all individuals with our own unique backgrounds, values, experiences, and choices. It became clear to me that people needed to take ownership for their own journeys, and define success on their own terms. 

I have discovered that coaching allows me to be in partnership with my colleagues and clients by leveraging my lived experiences to ask them empowering, insightful questions. My experience is still valuable because it allows me to intuitively understand the issues with which the client might be struggling, help them to discover the options before them, and then consciously choose what is right for THEM. It is an amazing experience for them and me, and I’m excited and feel so blessed that I get to do this work.

A FEW RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME 

I’m a preacher’s kid and first-generation college graduate. 

I am so grateful for my grandparents and parents who dreamed of a better life for my sisters and I. They didn’t know exactly how to get us there, but their vision, faith, and support combined with God’s grace and our hard work was enough. The spiritual foundation that they laid helps us to successfully withstand anything that comes our way. I like how Zora Neale Hurston says it, “They appeared to be staring into the dark, but their eyes were watching God.” 

Getting an education has opened my world. I am living a life beyond my wildest dreams. I am grateful for the friends, teachers, guidance counselors, mentors, sponsors, advisors, professors, and everyone who believed, nudged, and challenged me along the way. No one “gets there” alone. 

I believe in people, values, and leading with heart! Like Maya Angelou, I think “Courage is the most important of all virtues because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtues consistently.”

I love hanging with family and friends, reading, traveling, enjoying visual and performing arts, cooking, and long walks in nature—seriously. 

I’ve been with my amazing husband for 23 years and married to him for 21. We count all of the years of this relationship. We have traveled literally and figuratively through a plethora of interesting roads together. He is my biggest cheerleader and supporter. He believes even when my faith fails me. I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else. 

We have an intelligent, artistic, beautiful 16 year old daughter who has taught us a lot about life, living, and love. And, our newest family member is an Imperial Shih Tzu named Nico. He is playful, cuddly, hilarious, and loves us and anyone he meets unconditionally. 

Thanks for joining me on this journey.