American Wellness - Together WeXL Empowering You Through The Creative Process

Jillene is a citizen of the Gros Ventre or “Aaaniih” Tribe of Fort Belknap, Montana. She resides in Gresham, Oregon with her life partner and children. Twenty years ago Jillene helped to co-found and currently serves as the executive director of the Native Wellness Institute (NWI), a national social profit organization existing because of the lasting impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma. NWI is a training and technical assistance organization, and helps tribes, Native-serving organizations, and Native communities move beyond trauma to a place of healing.

Jillene is a life-long learner of her culture and knows that the culture holds the answers to the impacts of colonization. She worked for the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board for nearly ten years and previous to that she provided substance abuse training to Native youth attending BIA boarding schools across the nation. She has also worked for her own tribe in both the housing and education departments.

Jillene is a member of the International Organizing Committee of the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide movement. Jillene has over 35 years of knowledge and experience working for Native communities, organizations and tribes by providing training and technical assistance in a variety of areas related to the healing of individuals, communities and systems.

Jillene has five children that she raised, one granddaughter, enjoys traveling, reading, beading and celebrating life. Here personal and professional mantra is: “living the warrior’s spirit- being positive, productive and proactive.”

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Dr. Ajilore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in biology. Dr. Ajilore went on to do his MD/PhD degree at Stanford University where he studied the deleterious effects of stress hormones on the brain. He joined the research track residency at UCLA where he transitioned into neuroimaging in major depression. His lab currently uses computational neuroimaging techniques and digital biomarkers to better track and treat neuropsychiatric disorders.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Marisa Floro is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and practicing trauma therapist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy from Washington & Jefferson College in 2014. With a focus on gender studies and mental health, Marisa earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2016.

Marisa began her social work career working within the Allegheny County Jail providing psychoeducational groups on change to adult men and women in 2015. During her work within the criminal justice system, she developed and delivered training on cultural competence within the field of forensics. Marisa later began her work as a trauma therapist in August of 2017.

In her therapy practice, she uses Gestalt theory, trauma-focused technique, and holistic approaches to help her clients gain insight and awareness to reach their desired goals. Marisa believes therapy provides a supportive and open environment for clients to challenge unhelpful patterns of thought and work on completing any unfinished business that can impact their present lives.

Marisa is certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy and Trauma-Focused CBT, trained in EMDR Therapy and Gestalt Therapy. Her perspective on therapy is to meet the client exactly where they are as they arrive, to listen to their desired goals, and find creative and practical ways to achieve them. Marisa is additionally pursuing Sex Therapy certification in the Buehler Institute Sex Therapy Training program in order to blend her trauma specialization with her Gestalt training to couple’s work and individual intimacy exploration.

With her time spent outside therapy, Marisa enjoys writing poetry, hiking, and exploring new areas and trying various restaurants around Pittsburgh. She is an advocate for indoor plants and a lover of her adopted cats.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Karen E. Riggs, PhD, is professor of media studies in the School of Media Arts & Studies at Ohio University in Athens. She worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years, starting as a feature writer and later assuming the duties of managing editor at the Vero Beach Press Journal in Florida. She received her doctorate in mass communication at Indiana University in 1994 and joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and was later appointed department chair. In 2001, she joined the faculty of the Ohio University School of Telecommunications (now School of Media Arts & Studies) as school director. She was the first woman to rise to full professor in the school.

Along with numerous journal articles, Riggs has published two scholarly books on media technologies and aging: Mature Audiences: Television in the Lives of Elders (Rutgers University Press: 1997) and Granny at Work: Aging and New Technology on the Job in America (Routledge Press: 2004).

In 2013, she founded the Scripps College of Communication Certificate in Social Media Studies, now one of Ohio University’s largest certificate programs and one of the first such undergraduate programs in the country. As coordinator, Riggs designed and teaches numerous courses in social media, including Content Curation, the first such college class in the nation. She tweets about social media and has almost 10,000 Twitter followers.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Dr. Kwo has 15+ years of experience specializing in healthcare product development and commercialization, marketing and sales, strategic partnerships, and post-merger integration. Dr. Kwo was a serial entrepreneur, co-founding and served as the CEO of InfiniteMD, a telemedicine company connecting patients with physicians for second opinions. She previously worked at Medtronic, American Well and she also founded multiple venture-backed companies in educational technology, digital healthcare and healthcare supplies.

Dr. Kwo earned a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and her MD from Harvard Medical School. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPH from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Preventive Care at Harvard Preventive Care and is Board Certified in Preventive Care and Occupational Medicine.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Dr. Kwo has 15+ years of experience specializing in healthcare product development and commercialization, marketing and sales, strategic partnerships, and post-merger integration. Dr. Kwo was a serial entrepreneur, co-founding and served as the CEO of InfiniteMD, a telemedicine company connecting patients with physicians for second opinions. She previously worked at Medtronic, American Well and she also founded multiple venture-backed companies in educational technology, digital healthcare and healthcare supplies.

Dr. Kwo earned a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and her MD from Harvard Medical School. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPH from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Preventive Care at Harvard Preventive Care and is Board Certified in Preventive Care and Occupational Medicine.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Dr. Frank J. Corigliano, Ph.D. is New York State-Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Social Entrepreneur, President of Healthy Connections PLLC, and Director of Supportive Televisiting and Telemental Health Services of the United Social Services, Inc., of the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

Healthy Connections Psychological Services works with Skilled Nursing and other medical facilities to meet the Quadruple Aims of Health Care Reform by providing crisis and ongoing behavioral health care including assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues. Dr. Corigliano specializes in expanding telemedicine to rural communities here in New York State. Through Healthy Connections, Dr. Corigliano is committed to closing the gaps in access to mental health care.

Televisiting connects children and teens with their incarcerated parents via live, interactive video from the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Supportive Televisiting Services have grown to include critical telemental health services such as school-based and home-based individual psychotherapy supporting middle school students in the Bronx during the COVID19 global pandemic.

Additionally, Dr. Corigliano provides consultation and workshops for doctors, health professionals, and administrators.

As current President of the NY State Psychological Association's Independent Practice Division Dr. Corigliano spearheads outreach, cultural competency, and innovation initiatives. His education includes a B.A., Psychology and Business Studies, Baruch College, CUNY with studies at Oxford University; M.A., Clinical Psychology, Columbia University; and a Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, St. John's University.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Maribel Martinez has spent the last 20 years working with various nonprofits in Santa Clara County addressing issues ranging from education reform, community safety measures, social services, health care outreach, to public policy.

For nine years, she served as the founding director of the Associated Students Cesar Chavez Community Action Center at San José State University creating interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to infusing social justice and service learnin​g in the co curricular experiences of students. Prior to that, she worked with organizations such as People Acting in Community Together, Catholic Charities, Somos Mayfair and the City of San José.

She holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology, a graduate degree in Applied Anthropology. She holds certificates from the McCourt School of Public Policy from Georgetown University, Stanford University’s Local Governance Summer Institute, The Panetta Institute for Public Policy, and the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Dr. Desirée Anderson was born in San Diego, California. The child of Naval personnel, she had the pleasure of moving around a lot including living in Belgium for 5 years where she also attended High School. Desiree returned to the United States to live in Louisville, Kentucky where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Louisville. Having worked in higher education for over 13 years, Dr. Desirée Anderson has committed her energy to address issues of bias and hate on college and university campuses.

She earned her Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans researching The Use of Campus-Based Restorative Justice Practices to Address Incidents of Bias: Facilitators’ Experiences. Before coming to serve as the Associate Dean of Diversity and Student Affairs at the University of New Orleans she worked as the Director of the Intercultural Center at Saint Mary’s College of California and previously held positions as the Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs at Tulane University and as an Area Residence Director at Texas State University. Desirée serves as an instructor in the Educational Administration Master's degree program at the University of New Orleans and as a Restorative Justice National Team Trainer for the Center for Restorative Justice at the University of San Diego. Dr. Anderson has recently released a book chapter in Colorizing Restorative Justice by Living Justice Press. In her free time, she enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and watching an unnecessary amount of TV.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.

Janie Harvey Garner, a registered nurse based in Missouri, founded Show Me Your Stethoscope in response to a public attack on nurses when they were mocked for wearing “doctor’s stethoscopes." This event led to a public national and global firestorm from nurses, allied health professionals, and the general public, bringing about the #NursesUnite movement.

Janie decided to channel this public outcry in a positive way and started a Facebook group, daring non-doctors to wield their stethoscope publicly and proudly. (For the record: they regarded physicians highly as well, and more than a few joined in on the fun.)

As the group gathered members, pictures and steam, members began to speak of a vision of united healthcare workers making large-scale changes—safer staffing, safer work environments, improved professional advocacy, public education, and support for peers, co-workers, and colleagues. SMYS has 650k members and receives hundreds of new members daily.

About the Show:

American Wellness – produced at the WeXL Media Lab, which the Streamlabs grant helped establish – features WeXL Creator, Gabriella Deyi, whose recent journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin included on-air reporting for WKOW-ABC 27. Deyi, the current Miss Wisconsin USA, uses her platform to raise awareness of mental health issues – including those that afflict her mother and brother as she prepares for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 9. A first-generation American born to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Deyi embodies WeXL’s mission and that of #Creators4BIPOC.

At WeXL, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories and providing key tools to succeed. We provide mentorship, resources and networking support to our amazing community. Together, We eXcel.