Dr. Sherina D. Travis
Co-Founder and Leading Lady

Sherina D. Travis was born in Philadelphia, PA to Deacon Floyd “Dennis” Mason and Missionary Cynthia Mason. She attended Philadelphia public schools where she graduated from Samuel Fels High School. She later matriculated to West Chester University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education with emphasis in math.

Spiritually, Sherina grew up at Philadelphia Way of the Cross Church under the leadership of her grandparents: the late Bishop John E. Williams, Sr. and Mother Cecilia Williams. There she was baptized and served in many capacities. While in college, she became a member of the West Chester University Gospel Choir. During this time she was baptized with the Holy Ghost at Christ Haven Pentecostal Church under the leadership of the late Bishop William F. Todd. Before graduating from college, Sherina would serve as vice president of the gospel choir, lead a campus bible study, call Virtue, and be instrumental in the campus wide revival that saw over 100 students baptized in Jesus name and 50 filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost.

While in college she met and married her soul mate, Bishop Travell Travis on December 30, 2006. Soon after marriage, they were thrust into higher positions of leadership as Bishop Travis would be elected IYFC President in 2007 and in 2009 they established the City of Refuge Way of the Cross Church in Richmond, VA.

Sherina serves the City of Refuge as the co-founder and leading lady. In addition, she served as YFC President, Praise Team member, and Kids Academy Coordinator. She currently serves as a missionary, trustee, sound engineer, director of media and production, and member of the Ambassador’s Choir; in addition to serving in various other ministries and committees in our church.

For the IYFC, Sherina has served on the registration team and as recreation coordinator, IYFC 2nd VP executive assistant and currently serves in her own right as coordinator for the IYFC Daughters of Destiny, member of the scholarship committee, essay and oratory contest committee, and member of the altar workers ministry. In 2019, she was elected IYFC 2nd Vice President – the first female to ever hold this position.

Professionally, Sherina began her teaching career with University Instructors as a math specialist for 5 years serving various schools in the Hampton Roads community. For two of those years, she was assigned to Lakeview Elementary School in Portsmouth where she was able to help 6th grade students, primarily from low-income and minority families, to achieve an 87% pass rate in 2012 and 96% rate that year on the Virginia SOL Test.

Currently, Sherina is employed at John Rolfe Middle School in Richmond. During her tenure at Rolfe, she has served as math department chair, 7th grade math team lead, 7th grade STEAM coordinator and representative, district curriculum writer for Henrico County, new teacher mentor, and workshop presenter. One of her most notable accomplishments was being the visionary and coordinator for the “Amazing Race” at White Oak Mall in 2019. This event linked the school and the community in hands-on exercises and activities that made the classroom come to life in the real world. To date over 21k people have viewed her video and many have invited her to train their teams on how to implement a similar program for their school.

Since beginning her teaching career, Sherina has furthered her own education. In 2014, she graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg where she received a Master’s degree in Secondary Education with specialization in K-12 math. That year, Sherina was accepted into the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.8. In 2018, Sherina graduated again from Liberty University with an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in Curriculum and Instruction, Middle School Math. In 2021, Sherina graduated with her doctorate degree in educational leadership (Ed.D) from Liberty University. Currently, Sherina works as a Teacher Fellow, training and mentoring new teachers in Henrico Public Schools.

In February 2020, Sherina hosted a virtual consecration entitled, Building Faith Challenge. Since then, the Building Faith Community has become a weekly online gathering place for Christian believers to learn, develop, grow, and activate their faith in God. In 2025, Sherina hosted the first Building Faith Gathering, providing an opportunity for the virtual community to fellowship together in-person and ignite faith to “come alive”.

Her motto, "Seek to Excel," reflects her commitment to inspiring others in both spiritual and academic pursuits as she and Bishop Travis raise their three daughters—Deonna, Janiyah, and Amiyah—and serve their community.