From teenage mother to boardroom strategist

Success stories often begin with privilege. P. Falasha Harrison’s began with prayer, perseverance, and an unshakeable belief that her life was meant for more.

Today she is a visionary leader, a Harvard-certified strategist, and founder of organisations that empower women, strengthen families, and restructure non-profits. Her influence is measured not by wealth, but by her ability to inspire resilience and self-sufficiency among those who once felt trapped by circumstance.

Harrison is the founder of The NonProfit Agency, which provides strategic consulting for mid- to large-sized organisations, building infrastructure for capacity-building programmes, grant acquisition systems, and executive succession planning. She also leads Her Legacy Co, a non-profit focused on restoring family systems, advancing leadership among system-impacted communities, and preserving generational legacy. Among her initiatives is the Rooted in Presence Study, a national research project on fatherhood and leadership. She has designed programmes serving incarcerated fathers, daughters navigating restoration, and leadership cohorts. “I would like people to understand that God will take care of them. Just show up for God, and He will show up for you,” Harrison said.

Her journey to this point was far from easy. Born in the United States to Jamaican parents, she relocated at age five to Kingston, where her grandmother became her anchor. “She gave me the kind of opportunities most children only dream of, top-tier education, cultural exposure, and a disciplined foundation that would later carry me through boardrooms and global platforms,” Harrison said.

Powerful Vision

By 12 she had returned permanently to the US, struggling to fit in but quickly realising her gift for strategy. “My brain was always working, and trying to find ways to fix things; even when I was trying to be cool,” she said.

At 15 she became a mother, and by 17 had two children. Their father was in and out of prison, leaving Harrison to protect and provide. “I never allowed my life to get so bad, that I could not get out of it. God has always ordained my steps,” she said. Determined to break cycles of dependency, she launched a six-week boot camp motivating black women to believe in themselves. “I wanted women to understand that they could transfer from welfare to self-sufficiency. Since then, 90 per cent of the women in that programme have achieved up to a master’s degree,” she said

Her grandmother’s passing forced her to pause an early venture, the K-Starr Foundation, but she pressed forward. Each setback sharpened her resolve. “After that six-week boot camp, I started to visualise that I could do anything that I made up my mind to get done,” she said. That vision has since expanded into scalable systems and culturally grounded programmes that blend US structure with Caribbean insight.

Harrison’s success today is not defined by status, but by influence. She openly shares her journey so other women can find strength in their own. “Vision is powerful. When God plants something in your spirit, no setback can erase it. I learned to walk by faith, not by fear,” she said. Her leadership comes from lived experience – knowing what it feels like to have nothing and still give everything. “I am where I am today because I believed God’s promise more than I believed my pain,” she said.