About Us
Special Pedals Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit bike shop working towards an inclusive community where adults with disabilities are employed at jobs that offer equitable hours, pay, and quality of life.
We provide individualized training and employment opportunities for adults with neurodiversities in a variety of fields. Our team of volunteer mentors have a diverse background of experience in Special Education, Marketing, Art, and Bicycle Mechanics. Each volunteer mentor works to teach our participants new skills to help them be more successful in the workforce.
Get to know our founder
Leah Sherrill
An accomplished EC Education teacher in the public school system and a graduate of UNCW.
During her time at UNCW she also worked at Easter Seals and saw a lack of diversity in available employment and individualized training for the neurodiverse community.
In 2015 while completing her senior year at UNCW Leah founded Special Pedals with help from the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to help reduce the employment gap that plagued the community she served.
AWARDS
2015 Teresa S. Lee Scholarship in Education
2015 Innovative Ideas Grant from North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children
2016 Graduate of the Emerging Leaders Program from the BB & T Leadership Institute
2016 1st place at the UNC Social Entrepreneurship Conference
2016-2017 Recipient of the Ignite Program through the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
2019 WILMA Women to Watch -Rising Star Category
2019-2020 WILMA Leadership Institute