We recently connected with Zashonya Glass-Marshall and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Zashonya, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Absolutely. My mission is deeply personal and layered because my work serves families, life coaches, and communities in ways that I once needed myself.
First, my Seasons of Support Foundation was born out of my own life as a mother to a son with multiple disabilities. When you’re raising a child with special needs, you often feel unseen, unsupported, and overlooked. These are the children who rarely get invited to parties, who may not get to go to prom, who miss out on simple joys because sometimes society just doesn’t see them. So, the Seasons of Support Foundation is our community
Through the Seasons of Support Foundation, we create seasonal activities and supportive experiences, so these families feel included, celebrated, and surrounded by love. We’re still a fairly new foundation, but our mission is to grow bigger and stronger through love, compassion, and a commitment to remind every special needs family that they matter in every season.
Next is Built to Coach Academy. When I became a certified life coach, I spent money, time, and energy getting qualified but once I graduated, no one gave me a blueprint on how to get clients, structure my business, or handle the hard days when coaching feels heavy. I eventually gave up on coaching for a while because I didn’t have the support I needed to keep going. But coaching is my passion and my purpose, so I decided to build what I wish I had: a community and resource hub for coaches who are skilled and qualified but need real tools and ongoing support, so they never feel alone or unprepared. That’s how Built to Coach Academy came to life.
And for individuals who want to become certified coaches in the first place, we have BTC Coaching Institute. This is where they earn their certification with us and then step straight into the Built to Coach Academy community, so they don’t just get certified they get equipped, supported, and set up to build a successful, purpose-driven coaching business.
My mission across all of this is simple: to make sure people feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive in every season of life whether they’re a family raising a child with special needs or a coach stepping into their calling. Nobody rises alone under my watch.
Alongside my foundation and coaching work, I’m also the author of Becoming Unapologetically Me: From Pain to Purpose. This book was birthed from one of the hardest seasons of my life. I was attacked at 22 weeks pregnant that attack brought on my son’s disabilities, and for years I wrestled with how to forgive the people who hurt us. Writing this book became my way to not only tell my truth but to help others find theirs. It’s part personal testimony, part faith-filled guidance, and part motivation to help anyone who has survived trauma learn to forgive who hurt them, forgive themselves, trust God again, and walk boldly into a life of purpose and healing. It’s proof that pain doesn’t get the final say purpose does.
Zashonya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hi, I’m Zashonya Glass-Marshall. If you’ve never heard of me, here’s what I’d want you to know first: I build spaces where people don’t feel forgotten whether you’re a coach trying to make a living doing what you love, or a family raising a child with special needs who just wants to feel included.
My work is split between my businesses and my nonprofit, and both were born from my real life. I’m a life coach and an entrepreneur at heart, so I run Built to Coach Academy a community and resource hub for coaches who want to show up consistently online, find and serve clients the right way, and build a business with structure instead of stress. I also founded BTC Coaching Institute because I know so many people dream of becoming a coach but don’t know how to get certified or where to start. So I give them that foundation, and then they roll right into the academy where they get day-to-day tools, content, and real support to keep going.
But my proudest title is mom. I have a son with multiple disabilities because of an attack I survived while I was 22 weeks pregnant. Living life as his mother opened my eyes to how much families like ours are overlooked especially during the times that are supposed to feel joyful. Birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, holiday parades they’re rarely designed for kids with special needs. So, I created the Seasons of Support Foundation to change that. We organize seasonal events, safe activities, and family days where no one feels left out, no child is stared at, and every parent knows they’re not alone. We may be new, but we are growing through pure love, compassion, and community support.
I’m also the author of Becoming Unapologetically Me: From Pain to Purpose. It’s my honest walk-through forgiving what happened to me, forgiving myself, trusting God in my darkest moments, and helping others do the same.
If you’re wondering what sets me apart it’s that I never leave people guessing. I don’t do empty motivation. I give you the tools, the steps, the templates, the real conversations, and the safe spaces to grow. My community is built for people who want real change, not just inspiration that fades.
What I’m most proud of is watching this vision live and breathe seeing coaches stay committed when they once wanted to quit, seeing families laughing together at events designed just for them, and hearing from people who say, “Your story gave me hope to keep going.”
If you remember nothing else about me, remember this: everything I do is built so you never feel alone no matter what season you’re in.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One story that truly shows my resilience is when I was attacked while 22 weeks pregnant with my son. That moment changed the entire course of my life the attack caused the disabilities my son now lives with every day. He’s 22 now and being his mother has taught me a depth of strength I never knew I had. I’ve come to terms with things most people don’t think about, being that he is my only child I have never been called mom, because he is nonverbal, He has never seen my face or heard my voice because he is deaf and blind, I’ll never be called grandma, and there are so many milestones we’ll never have together. There has been so much missed and so much lost, but my strength and my faith has always been stronger than the situation.
In the years that followed, I had to fight for his care, advocate for his needs, and learn how to forgive the people who caused so much pain. That forgiveness didn’t happen overnight, but I knew holding on to anger would only keep me stuck. Through my faith, I found freedom, healing, and a bigger purpose.
That resilience is exactly why I do what I do today. It’s why I started the Seasons of Support Foundation so families like mine have safe, joyful spaces to belong, celebrate, and be fully seen. It’s why I wrote my book, Becoming Unapologetically Me: From Pain to Purpose, to help others find the courage to forgive, trust God again, and live fully after trauma. And when I almost walked away from coaching because I felt unprepared and alone, I chose to rise instead. That choice is what birthed Built to Coach Academy and BTC Coaching Institute so other coaches never have to feel lost like I did.
To me, resilience means refusing to let pain have the final word. It means getting back up, loving deeper, serving harder, and turning your hardest season into hope for someone else. That’s my story and it’s what I stand on every single day.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that everyone is not meant to go into every season of life with you and that’s not a bad thing.
For the longest time, I thought loyalty meant dragging everyone along with me, even if they weren’t growing or ready to come. But when you’re in your growing season, sometimes you have to leave people right where they are for now and trust that you can come back for them later when they’re ready.
Trying to carry everyone with you will slow down your purpose. It keeps you stuck at levels you’ve outgrown and delays the next doors God is trying to open for you. When I finally accepted that truth, I was able to breathe again and I had the freedom to build Built to Coach Academy, launch BTC Coaching Institute, finish a book I had been writing for 10 years, and just fully grow into my purpose without unnecessary weight holding me back.
So, if I could tell anyone reading this one thing: don’t feel guilty for moving ahead. Trust that if it’s meant to be, you can circle back and help them when you’re stronger and more whole. But don’t miss your next level trying to drag everyone with you. Protect your purpose.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zashonyaglassmarshall.com
- Instagram: zashonya_official
- Youtube: zashonya1
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