Sheila Adams

Sheila Adams is the seventh-generation inheritor of her family’s two hundred year old ballad singing tradition, carrying it forward through sharing its music, stories and heritage. Sheila shares this treasured repertoire across the United States.

Adams serves as President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, an organization which works to increase economic opportunities for its members through training and development programs such as computer instruction, high school equivalency courses, job counseling services and Youth Works job readiness programs.

Early Life and Education

Sheila Adams hails from Sodom Laurel in Madison County, North Carolina – an area renowned for its unbroken tradition of unaccompanied ballad singing. As seventh-generation ballad singer she also boasts proficiency as clawhammer-style banjo player and storyteller.

Bryant College awarded her with a business degree, leading her on to become a private accountant. Committed to improving the community where she lived, she invested considerable effort into volunteer activities in order to contribute her talents for good.

Sheila serves on the Board of Trustees for the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, an organization focused on providing training and development programs that promote self-sufficiency. Additionally, Sheila participates in Leadership Cincinnati X, an initiative encouraging civic and business leaders to invest their time in their community.

Professional Career

Adams sees her role as creating greater economic opportunity for her community and has made that the cornerstone of her career. One notable professional achievement of Adams’ was overseeing the renovation, restoration and construction of an historic courthouse complex to create two important courts to assist people find housing and jobs.

She has worked to provide legal aid to those in need throughout her career and serves on the boards of several corporations as well as helping establish scholarships for students.

Adams serves as dean at The W, overseeing both Nursing and Speech Language Pathology colleges. She has won multiple awards and honors during her time there.

Achievement and Honors

Sheila Adams is one of the most loved teachers at East Bernstadt Independent School in Laurel County and one of her first grade classes is no exception. When Sheila asked who the president of the United States was on Tuesday, one boy raised his hand and waved it desperately – confident he knew who it was. Adams has taught there for thirteen years, becoming one of their favorite instructors along the way.

She created the African American Leadership Development Program to cultivate leaders who would have a direct effect on their communities. She graduated from Leadership Cincinnati X, which provides business and community members an opportunity to address societal issues through consideration and dialogue.

Adams is a celebrated ballad singer and banjo player, performing at festivals, events and music camps across the US and overseas. She’s a regular performer at Swannanoa Gathering where she offers workshops in unaccompanied singing and storytelling.

Personal Life

Adams hails from Madison County in North Carolina where ballad singing has long been part of its rich traditions. She has performed for audiences throughout the U.S. and even abroad; earning herself recognition such as a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and Brown Hudson Award from North Carolina Folklore Society.

She has written several books, with another due out soon with illustrations by her father Murphy. Additionally, she graduated from Leadership Cincinnati X, which offers training to future leaders who aspire to make an impactful difference in the community.

She is actively engaged in charity work. She established a program that assists young African Americans prepare for professional careers. Additionally, she serves on the board of a local community center and actively promotes arts and sciences within local schools.

Net Worth

Sheila Adams is an esteemed Additional Crew from United States. Born Sheila Kay Adams on 18 March 1953 in Revere, North Carolina; as of 2023 she will turn 70. Sheila Adams hails from Sodom Laurel community of Madison County, North Carolina – an area renowned for its unbroken tradition of singing traditional southern Appalachian folk songs unaccompanied. Adams graduated with honors from Mars Hill College in 1975 and received its LifeWorks alumni recognition award to honor her shared commitment to service and responsibility. Since then she has performed at various venues and festivals across the U.S. She also recorded several albums, some with her late husband Jim Taylor (deceased).