About Armor Down Girls
Pam Ave Maria
Pam Ave Maria, a graduate of Ithaca College and Northwestern University, is a retired (40 years) music teacher and singer, who taught for 29 years at Washington School, and served as the District 65 Music Department Chair .
In retirement, Pam works as a docent at the Shrine of All Saints in Morton Grove, where she also serves as a cantor and choir member. She loves to read, travel, and spend time with her young grandchildren. As a proud member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional organization of Key Women Educators, Pam is president of Eta Chapter and has served on numerous state committees. In her “spare” time, she works with an Estate Sale company and spends time with her 3 adorable grandchildren.
Michelle Castor
I'm the mother of 2 wonderful boys ages 13 and 17. By day I'm a Senior Manager in a Contact Center with a passion for reading and making a positive impact on the lives of others in any shape or form. When I'm not working, you can find me reading self-care books, listening to different podcasts and enjoying time with my family and friends.
Our Sponsors
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Our Story
ADG was founded in 2018 by Dr. Fee. The premise of ADG is to “arm” girls ages 8 to 21 with confidence and other qualities, to eliminate self-doubt and to empower through book characterizations. The books are selected based on lessons or themes where girls can learn, grow, and aspire. Books, rather fiction or nonfiction, can demonstrate characters’ struggles, successes, and other issues or experiences that may feel enormous at the time. Discussion of book characterizations offer a multitude of opportunities to help girls expand their own perspectives and understandings of life.
Over the past several years while teaching Dr. Fee noticed that girls’ self-esteem, regardless of their race or academic level, seemed to be low. “Many seemed unsure of their capabilities, had difficulty projecting their voice, and not recognizing their true worth and intelligence” stated Dr. Fee. “I saw a good fight so I got in!”
Remembering the feeling of empowerment and confidence that I possessed after high school graduation, I want to bottle that feeling and pour lovingly into the girls. It is my hope that ADG helps girls to capture that “Ready for the world” feeling and know their self-worth at a much younger age. I do not consider ADG work, it is a passion!
ADG was founded in 2018 by Dr. Fee. The premise of ADG is to “arm” girls ages 8 to 21 with confidence and other qualities, to eliminate self-doubt and to empower through book characterizations. The books are selected based on lessons or themes where girls can learn, grow, and aspire. Books, rather fiction or nonfiction, can demonstrate characters’ struggles, successes, and other issues or experiences that may feel enormous at the time. Discussion of book characterizations offer a multitude of opportunities to help girls expand their own perspectives and understandings of life.
Over the past several years while teaching Dr. Fee noticed that girls’ self-esteem, regardless of their race or academic level, seemed to be low. “Many seemed unsure of their capabilities, had difficulty projecting their voice, and not recognizing their true worth and intelligence” stated Dr. Fee. “I saw a good fight so I got in!”
Remembering the feeling of empowerment and confidence that I possessed after high school graduation, I want to bottle that feeling and pour lovingly into the girls. It is my hope that ADG helps girls to capture that “Ready for the world” feeling and know their self-worth at a much younger age. I do not consider ADG work, it is a passion!
Facilitators
Willie Shaw
Willie is a graduate of one of the oldest HBCU, Rust College. Her degree is in sociology/Social Welfare & Human Behavior.
Willie also has double master degrees. One in General Education and as a learning Behavioral Specialist which includes learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, Autism and traumatic Brain Injury from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois.
During her professional career she has served as chair of the school improvement team, authored many reading curriculums, authored and presented a variety of workshops, developed many programs for school assemblies, Served as department chair, and authored a liaison program that currently continues to be used in Evanston district 65 schools.
Willie has been a member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church for 36 years. At Mt. Zion she has served as a Sunday Teacher, Youth coordinator, Christian Education chair, Scholarship President, Girl Scout leader for 20 years, and superintendent of Sunday School.
Willie retired with 35 memorable years of service in public education. At the top of her retirement list was to consolidate all those accumulated pieces of paper with family notes into a resource that could be used by her family and all those desiring to begin or continue exploring their own ancestry. That book “Family Links was published in 2013.
As of 2023-2025, Willie actively serves as a life member of the NAACP (Executive Committee board member, Civic Engagement & social Chair & member of youth & education committees), Amour Downs Girls Mentoring facilitator, Focused Ministries fundraising chair, Northwestern’s Osher life-Long learning study group coordinator, Osher’s DEI chair & vice-chair, League of Women voters (LWV board member). Willie is also actively involved in her high school & college alumni associations. She has developed various programs and served as the chair of the Hall of Fame Program, Disaster Relief Fund and as chair on numerous occasions for the biennial reunions.
She is the proud mother of one daughter & three grandchildren.
Dr. Felisha Parsons
(Dr. Fee)
Felisha or affectionately known as Dr. Fee impacted young lives for over 30 years in two public school systems. She retired in 2023. Having earned an advanced degree and several Masters degrees one would not believe that as a young child, school was not a favorite of hers. As Dr. Fee grew into adulthood, her perspective about education changed. For more than 30 years Dr. Fee shared her passion for learning and love of history with her students.
Meeting Dr. Fee’s childhood hero, Muhammad Ali, was a dream come true! Imagine idolizing someone that you read about during your middle and high school years, who was a light in the world, and an inspiration to you. And then decades later you finally meet them. That day was everything to Dr. Fee! She has visited The Muhammad Ali Museum in Louisville, Kentucky about 10 times since it opened in 2005.
Armor Down Girls (ADG) keeps Dr. Fee busy. She started ADG out of pure classroom observations over the years. She noticed that girls did not use their voice, were shy, and didn’t show how smart they were. But on the other hand, boys were aggressive, showed lots of initiative, and were very confident. So after talking this over with her pastor, she founded ADG. The premise is simple but essential; building girls’ confidence level. Those same girls will be women one day and in whatever path they choose, confidence will show up because the seeds are being planted now. Dr. Fee is also committed to other organizations in her community. Her favorite quote by Muhammad Ali embodies her life’s purpose, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
Dr. Fee loves to travel. Since retiring she has visited Hawaii, Aruba, and South Africa (as well as domestic travel). Her hobbies include walking, listening to music, cooking, watching movies, playing board games, going to concerts, reading books (Dr. Fee has been in the same book club for almost 25 years!) and entertaining friends. She collects stamps, lighthouses, and just started collecting vinyl records! Her favorite colors are royal blue, green and black.
Dearest to Dr. Fee’s heart is her family and circle of friends. She has 4 sisters and 1 brother, lots of nieces, nephews and godchildren. Her parents and grandmother instilled strong values, integrity, and a love for God. She is a Christian; was born in the south and considers herself a proud southern girl. Her mother is her best friend, but has treasured friendships and special sister friends that have spanned over 25 years. Dr. Fee is truly blessed to be able to have purpose in her life and continue to make an impact in young girls’ lives.
Dr. Fee loves to travel, play board games, yoga, and attend concerts. She has an eclectic taste in music and belongs to a book club for over 20 years. Dr. Fee is a southern girl who loves the south, embraces her southern roots, and southern cooking. Strong family values – preparedness, persistence, service and kindness keeps her grounded. Dr. Fee’s favorite quote by Ali embodies her life, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
Pam Ave Maria
Pam Ave Maria, a graduate of Ithaca College and Northwestern University, is a retired (40 years) music teacher and singer, who taught for 29 years at Washington School, and served as the District 65 Music Department Chair .
In retirement, Pam works as a docent at the Shrine of All Saints in Morton Grove, where she also serves as a cantor and choir member. She loves to read, travel, and spend time with her young grandchildren. As a proud member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional organization of Key Women Educators, Pam is president of Eta Chapter and has served on numerous state committees. In her “spare” time, she works with an Estate Sale company and spends time with her 3 adorable grandchildren.
Michelle Castor
I'm the mother of 2 wonderful boys ages 13 and 17. By day I'm a Senior Manager in a Contact Center with a passion for reading and making a positive impact on the lives of others in any shape or form. When I'm not working, you can find me reading self-care books, listening to different podcasts and enjoying time with my family and friends.
Our Mission
Armor Down Girl’s mission is to arm all girls centering African American girls and girls of color with the confidence they need in the world. Arming girls by increasing their confidence, eliminating self-doubt, and developing a growth mindset through a structured, consistent programmatic system that reflects self-love, dignity, diversity, positive self-image, and resilience; and by arming girls with financial confidence and STEM exposure.