About Cherita O'dell
Print Bio
Cherita O'dell is a transformational speaker and author of “Good God!: A Single Girl’s Rocky Path to Finding True Love,” a faith-based book for women navigating waiting, dating, and purpose. A former Olympic athlete and licensed real estate broker, she blends spiritual wisdom, resilience, and real-life experience to help individuals and organizations rethink identity, timing, and trust. Through Speak Life, Cherita challenges audiences to stop asking God to bless their plans, and start making decisions God can bless. Born in Barbados and educated at Rice University and Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, she brings warmth, clarity, and conviction to every conversation. Visit: goodgodhelpmeout.com.
Broadcast Bio
Cherita O'dell is a transformational speaker, former Olympic athlete, and author of “Good God!: A Single Girl’s Rocky Path to Finding True Love,” a faith-based exploration of waiting, dating, and spiritual maturity for modern women. Through honesty, humor, and deep spiritual insight, she challenges the idea that waiting is a punishment, and reframes it as purposeful preparation.
Born in Barbados and now an international speaker, Cherita holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University and an MBA from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. She is the founder of Speak Life, through which she works with women’s organizations, faith-based audiences, and corporate teams seeking renewal, clarity, and resilience.
Her journey — from Olympic qualification and career transitions to faith, disappointment, and surrender — gives her a powerful voice on identity and perseverance when life doesn’t go as planned. Cherita speaks with warmth, authenticity, and conviction, helping audiences reconnect to purpose and walk forward with confidence, even when the answer is “wait.” Learn more at cheritaodellspeaks.com and goodgodhelpmeout.com.
Suggested Question for Hosts: What does it really mean to trust God when the answer isn’t “yes” or “no,” but “wait”?
In-Depth Bio
Cherita O'dell is a transformational speaker, author, and former Olympic athlete whose work speaks to women navigating faith, identity, and the often unseen emotional toll of modern dating. She is the author of “Good God!: A Single Girl’s Rocky Path to Finding True Love,” a faith-based book written for women who love God yet still wrestle with waiting, surrender, and the feeling that life hasn’t unfolded according to plan.
Born and raised in Barbados, Cherita brings warmth, honesty, and cultural depth to conversations about purpose and perseverance. Her perspective is shaped not only by faith, but by lived experience — particularly the moments when effort, discipline, and belief didn’t immediately lead to the outcome she expected.
As a young athlete, Cherita qualified for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta in the long jump, only to be sidelined by injury just before competing. Watching her dream unfold from her room in the Olympic Village forced an early reckoning with disappointment, identity, and the question many women later face in relationships: Who am I when the thing I worked toward doesn’t happen? That experience became foundational to her understanding of resilience and surrender — lessons she now weaves into her speaking and writing.
Cherita holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Studies and Spanish from Rice University and an MBA in Human Resources Management and Marketing from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. She is also a licensed real estate broker. Through her speaking practice, Speak Life, she has worked with corporate teams, hospitality organizations, women’s groups, and faith-based audiences, helping individuals and organizations reconnect to purpose, responsibility, and meaning, especially during seasons of burnout or transition.
“Good God” is written through the voice of a fictional character named Ava, inspired by real-life experiences. Rather than offering tidy answers or glorifying waiting, Cherita creates space for honest reflection about desire, frustration, and faith. One of her core messages — that dating is a spiritual decision, not just a romantic one — challenges women to slow down, examine patterns, and make choices aligned with who they are becoming, not just what they want next.
Cherita is known for speaking candidly about wholeness, identity, and trust without relying on platitudes or guilt. Her approach resonates with single women navigating dating fatigue, faith-based audiences craving more honest dialogue, and organizations seeking grounded voices who understand both ambition and pause.
At the heart of Cherita’s work is a simple but powerful belief: Waiting is not wasted time, and disappointment does not disqualify purpose. Through storytelling, spiritual insight, and lived wisdom, she helps people reframe delay as preparation, and learn how to move forward with clarity, faith, and self-respect, even when the answer is “not yet.”
Learn more about Cherita and “Good God!: A Single Girl’s Rocky Path to Finding True Love” at goodgodhelpmeout.com.