Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to TiElla Grimes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

TiElla, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m TiElla Grimes — a Mindset Coach, Generational Relations Advisor, and Founder of InnHer Uplift Consulting. With over two decades of experience in youth development, coaching, and facilitation, I help individuals and organizations build the internal capacity to lead with clarity, resilience, and purpose. My path into this work was never linear — it was shaped by lived experience, creative expression, and a deep desire to bridge the gaps I saw between success and sustainability, leadership and self-awareness, achievement and authenticity. My journey into this work began as a teenager, discovering my voice in a youth media literacy program — a program that completely changed the trajectory of my life. That early exposure to community building, storytelling, and youth empowerment shaped the foundation of everything I do today. Since then, I’ve worked across schools, colleges, and nonprofit spaces to create programs that not only develop skills but also honor the lived experiences of the people in the room.
Over the years, my passion evolved into a calling — and eventually into a business. I launched InnHer Uplift to help individuals and organizations bridge the gap between outer achievement and inner alignment. I offer coaching, workshops, professional development training, and leadership intensives that center around four pillars: mental fitness, emotional resilience, energy wellness, and self-empowerment. My programs support high school and college students, professionals in transition, recovering people pleasers, and teams looking to build emotionally intelligent, value-aligned cultures.
What sets my work apart is its depth and range. I don’t just speak to one type of audience — I move fluidly across generations and sectors. I’ve spent over two decades working in youth development, education, and nonprofit spaces. I understand what it means to sit at both the leadership table and the coaching circle. That dual lens allows me to bring strategy and soul together in a way that’s both practical and transformational.
What I’m most proud of is that my business was built in response to real, lived need — mine and others’. I’ve walked through burnout, self-doubt, overextension, and reinvention. Everything I teach, I’ve had to practice. That’s why I don’t believe in surface-level fixes. I believe in helping people develop the internal capacity to meet challenges, speak honestly, and lead themselves with clarity — because when you do, you’re not just surviving life… you’re shaping it.
If there’s one thing I want people to know about my brand and my work, it’s this: You don’t need to be “fixed.” You need to be seen, supported, and strengthened — and that’s exactly what I offer through InnHer Uplift. It’s about taking an honest look at your patterns, your potential, and your purpose… and choosing to align with who you truly are, not just who you’ve had to be. Whether you’re leading a team, navigating a transition, or rebuilding your relationship with yourself, I’m here to support that process. Not as a guru, but as a guide. Someone who’s been there and knows the way forward is inward.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely. One of the clearest examples of resilience in my journey was the path I took to graduate school. After finishing undergrad, I knew I wanted to continue my education, but I was struggling to find a program that could hold all the parts of who I was – my passion for media, education, social justice, and youth development. For three years, I researched, visited campuses, set up meetings with department heads, and explored different tracks. And during that time, it wasn’t always easy. There was a lot of internal pressure to just pick something, to not lose momentum, to make a “logical” decision. But my spirit needed something more aligned. What I’m proud of is that I didn’t rush. I trusted my process, even when it took longer than expected. Then one day, while riding the train, I saw an ad for Lesley University’s Self-Designed Master’s Program. That phrase alone – self-designed – sparked something in me. I attended not one, but two open houses – the second time bringing my best friend because I wanted her to see what I saw. At that second event, there was a raffle, and somehow, I won not once, but twice. For me, that moment felt like divine confirmation. It wasn’t about luck – it was about alignment. I knew I had found the space that would allow me to fully shape my academic and professional growth.
For me, that moment captures the essence of resilience. It wasn’t loud or performative. It was quiet, intentional, and rooted in self-trust. I didn’t let fear, urgency, or outside pressure dictate my pace. I stayed committed to the process of finding a path that fit me. And that decision shaped the foundation of the work I do now — guiding others to align their choices with their values, not just their timelines.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the most pivotal moments in my journey came in 2022, when I made the decision to leave my full-time role as a senior program manager at a nonprofit — a role I was passionate about, and one that had deep personal significance. I had been leading a girls’ leadership program at the same organization that once mentored me as a teenager. It was truly a full-circle moment. But over time, I began to feel a deeper call — a desire to expand the work beyond the limits of a single program, to support more people across generations, and to bring forward a vision that had been quietly forming in me for years. That’s when I decided to take the leap and launch InnHer Uplift Consulting full-time. But to be honest, I didn’t step out with a fully polished plan or all the answers. I launched while still figuring things out — while still learning what it really takes to grow and sustain a business. And truthfully, I’m still learning. The difference is, I trusted myself enough to begin.
That pivot taught me that clarity often comes in motion, not before it. It required me to release the pressure of having everything perfectly mapped out and instead stay committed to the purpose — to help individuals and organizations develop the mindset, emotional resilience, and self-awareness needed to navigate real life, not just check boxes.
Now, as I continue to build this business, I do so from a place of humility and power. I don’t position myself as someone who’s arrived, but as someone who’s deeply invested in evolving — and in guiding others as they do the same. This journey is still unfolding, and I’ve learned that the pivot isn’t always a moment. Sometimes, it’s a movement.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tiellagrimes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theinneruplifter
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/theinneruplifter
• Other: Substack: https://substack.com/@theinneruplifter

Image Credits
Image: TiElla (Red) and Client – Photographer: Zulhay Garcia, Garcia Productions
2 Images: TiElla in action with students – Photographer: D. iRvin Photography