April 30, 2025
Me time starts now
Alumna encourages women to dream bigby Allyson Irish
If you had known Sherita Gaskins-Tillett '90 10 years ago, you would have thought she had it all. A successful OBGYN with a degree from Georgetown University, Gaskins-Tillett was married and had a young daughter. It was a picture-perfect life. Or so it seemed.
“I was drowning in the demands of my personal and professional life. I was trying to be a great wife, a great mother, and a great doctor, but I felt like I was failing at everything,” she says.
On a much-needed vacation to Jamaica, Gaskins-Tillett had a moment of clarity. Although she had the trappings of a successful life, she felt like “a hot mess.” Something had to change, and she had to be the one to do it.
“It’s really about the stories we tell ourselves,” Gaskins-Tillett says. “We become trapped in prisons of our own making. I believe that we can do anything we decide to do. We are never stuck.”
She began to make small changes, focusing on self-reflection and self-care. And she also noticed other physician mothers struggling with the same issues. Feeling the need to connect with those experiencing similar challenges, she created the Facebook page “Level Up Lady Doc.” Little did she know how dramatically this would change her life.
Ten years later, Gaskins-Tillett has a blossoming complementary career in the health and wellness field. Boss Lady Dream Builders, her Maryland-based business, focuses on helping women create the lives and careers they have always dreamed of.
Gaskins-Tillett has worked with women who’ve changed careers, gone back to school, taken control of their physical health, and made positive adjustments in their marriages and other personal relationships.
“For me, it's about creating a life of abundance that takes everything into account,” she explains. “Your career, your health, your relationships, your finances—everything.”
Building her dream life has not been easy or fast, but Gaskins-Tillett has learned a lot about herself and would not change any part of her journey. She recently contributed to the book Made for More 2: Physician Entrepreneurs Who Live Life and Practice Medicine on Their Own Terms, and she continues to grow her business with plans to host more retreats and workshops and expand her coaching to younger women.
“I’ve been thinking, ‘What if I had learned these things about myself in my twenties?’ Oh my gosh. How different my life would have been.”
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