Cherena Douglas, a Springfield native, learned early on in life the importance of self-autonomy. As an only child, Douglass found her strength in her competitive spirit. From school fundraisers to dance competitions she found herself to be most comfortable in competitve environments. Douglass put her competitive focus into sports and became a High School Basketball and Volleyball star; voted the 2004 CS8 Female Athlete of the Year by the State Journal Register. Being from a small town affords kids big dreams and Douglass was no exception. She was committed to succeeding and for her that meant getting into a college that was "1. Far, 2. Free, 3. HBCU". Cherena acheived her goal by obtaining a full-ridescholarship as a dual sport collegic athlete at the Winston-Salem State University. As the journey of life is often full of obstacles, Douglass endured a knee injury her sophomore year that lead to a spiral of other issues. Although her college althletic career was stifled she persevered and obtained a BA from UIS. Douglas strives to to empower her community with the lessons learned through her experiences. She has recently founded a coaching firm (Coach Rena, LLC.) focused on community empowerment through the development of businesses and individuals. Douglas is also raising her beautiful and fun little girl, Lena.  This will be Rena's 2nd year with CAVC.