Formidable Woman Magazine’s “POWER 20” Online Magazine spotlights 20 accomplished women making extraordinary strides in their industries. These women inspire the next woman to be bold, to unapologetic, to be great!
FWM: Who is Ariel and what is your suporpower?
Ariel is a God-fearing, compassionate, and purpose-driven woman. There are few things that I enjoy more than my relationship with God and spending time with my husband, Keith, and my six-month-old daughter, Amina. These relationships are what drive me to work hard and with a purpose.
It is for this reason that I devote much of my legal practice to pro bono work where I have helped countless families combat unscrupulous landlords and eviction practices. My legal career and work with Garden Street shed light on what I hold as most important: being a vessel who helps others. In fact, my sister and I, cofounded Garden Street to ensure that children of color see themselves in mainstream entertainment. Sierra and Chad’s Stone Adventures informs children about the monumental, yet underrated achievements and contributions of the African diaspora. The lessons learned in this children’s book series fill children with a sense of pride in their heritage and in themselves.
My superpower is understanding that there are no limits to who I am and what I am meant to give to the world. Often society seeks to put people in a box and limit their potential. I desire to show that world that you can be anything you are called to be. That includes practicing law, authoring books and blogging, all while being a former professional soccer player. I am a firm believer that having confidence in all of your God-given talents is the only way you can truly live out your purpose in life.
FWM: How can women who want to do what you do gain access and support?
It is important to lift up others while continuing to strive to meet your own goals. Women that want to be successful in the legal field first need to believe that they can do it! That starts with representation. Alarmingly enough, only 2% of the legal profession is made up of African-American women, so I know that I have to be intentional about being a resource to younger women who seek to practice law. For me, this means serving as a mentor to many law school students both formally through my law school’s mentorship program and informally.
This also means helping to create a program at my firm that will provide diverse students with: (1) a glimpse into what it looks like to be a practicing attorney and (2) opportunities to succeed in the profession. I remember first starting out in law school and having some incredible mentors who really just poured into me and made sure that I was not alone on my journey.
I intend to be that same source of refuge to those that come after me. On an even more practical note, I encourage all those starting out to join their local bars and to stay connected with their law school colleagues because these are the relationships that truly matter as your career grows
FWM: You’re a serious BOSS! Tell us, what are you working on and what’s next for you?
I am working with my sister, the co-founder of Garden Street, to publish the next two books in the children’s book series about Mansa Musa – a great ruler of Mali who is believed to be the richest person to walk this earth – and Queen Yaa – and incredible warrior and ruler of Ghana known for her agricultural skills. These two books will be published in early fall 2020.
Blog website: www.arielelisa.com
Book website: www.gardenstreetinc.com
IG: @arielelisa_
Twitter: @arielelisa_
About Ariel
Ariel Harris Roberson is an up-and-coming commercial litigation attorney practicing in the Charlotte and Raleigh offices of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP. Nelson Mullins is a national law firm that ranks among the top 100 largest law firms in the country. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received her BA in Biology. She went on to obtain her juris doctorate from North Carolina Central University – School of Law.
Ariel’s practice spans mostly along the east coast where she focuses on general business litigation, employment litigation and sports law. She also devotes a large portion of her practice to pro bono landlord/tenant disputes. Ariel brings unique experience and understanding to her legal career having been both a NCAA D1 national champion with the UNC Women’s Soccer team and a professional athlete for the Boston Breakers of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Not only has Ariel built a strong legal career representing some of the biggest companies in the country, but she is also the cofounder of Garden St., Inc also referred to as Garden Street. Garden Street is a publishing company that focuses on creating children’s entertainment products, including a children’s book series entitled Sierra and Chad’s Stone Adventures. In her spare time, Ariel also enjoys her lifestyle blog – Ariel Elisa – where she blogs about her recent introduction into motherhood and her passion for yoga.
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