Shumeca Pickett is the founder and principal of Alfred Dewitt Ard. Shumeca's maternal great grandfather, Alfred Dewitt Ard also affectionately known as Dee Dee, arrived in Chicago from Mississippi alone during the Black Migration in the 1950s for economic opportunity. His first wife, Thelma, and five children stayed behind in Mississippi for some time, and he would return to Mississippi every other weekend to spend time with them and deliver money for living expenses. He did that until the late 1950s when he was able to secure a home for his family and relocate them to Chicago where they eventually lived together. Grandma Thelma died suddenly a few years after they settled in Chicago, and Dee Dee became a widower with five children.

As Shumeca’s extended family grew, her great grandfather’s influence extended. Alfred Dewitt Ard was a proud patriarch who prioritized his family. Shumeca’s family knew he loved them and they were proud to be loved by him. So his death in 2009 at the age of 91 ushered her family into deep introspection.

The day following her great grandfather's homegoing celebration, Shumeca heard him say, “Watch my life. Watch my work.” while watching a video of his 1985 birthday celebration speech. It was a prophetic declaration. In that moment, Shumeca knew that every decision he made pertaining to his family was intentional. She realized that long ago he had decided to love his family, and he renewed the decision with every choice he made in their favor.

Alfred Dewitt Ard was the obvious name for the social impact consulting firm when Shumeca founded it in 2010.