Garden State Times

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” is a beautiful and inspirational sentiment but for most people that is all it ever is, just a sentiment. For Shelja Touri, our 2022 Outstanding Women of Burlington County Award recipient for Diversity/Inclusion, it was a call to action. 

2020 brought social justice issues to the forefront of the national conversation and after witnessing hateful comments in her own community in response to pleas for tolerance and inclusivity, Shelja decided to rally like-minded allies and advocates to hone the most powerful tool in the battle for humanity’s soul: Education. 

In response, Shelja founded the Diversity & Equal Opportunity Network, a 5013c3 nonprofit dedicated to addressing the void of inclusive education in Burlington County, giving a voice to underrepresented students and communities, and connecting those communities with the people who can implement the policies, processes, and laws that impact diversity and inclusion. For Shelja and her co-founders at DEON, education was at the heart of the matter. Education is an opportunity to teach children to have empathy and create solutions. 

Shelja was named one of South Jersey Magazine’s 2021 “Super Women,” alongside the women who helped her found the nonprofit DEON. She recently worked with Senator Troy Singleton to create a bill that would ensure indigenous history is taught in schools and especially in those schools that use symbolism of tribes and are on land once owned by indigenous tribes. Locally, Shelja partnered with Evesham Township/Marlton elected leaders to put on the townships first ever Juneteenth Celebration, Cultural Day, Diwali Event, and a sponsored a book drive which provided over 400 books written by or about members of diverse communities to K-8 schools.

Shelja is a resident of Evesham Township and currently serves on the Burlington County Youth Services Advisory Council and a member of the African American Chamber of Commerce. 

Congratulations Shelja! We are excited to celebrate you, your impact, and achievements on Wednesday, September 21st!

Learn ways to support outstanding women here: http://co.burlington.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/16394/Outstanding-Women-Sponsorships-2022-002?bidId=

Original source can be found here.