Joyce M. Rose-Harris is an experienced Digital Strategist for political and non-profit organizations. Currently Joyce is a Digital Trainer with the National Democratic Training Committee. Most recently she was the Digital Organizing Director for the 2020 South Carolina Coordinated Campaign; and Digital Director in South Carolina for the Elizabeth Warren Presidential Campaign. Joyce is a published poet and serves on the board of The Watering Hole Poetry Organization. You can find her musings on her blog PaisleyPerspective.com. She is also an active member of the Richland County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Instagram: @PaisleyPerspective 

Twitter: @PaisleyPerspect

Ginette Rhodes graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019. After graduation she founded Mannaherbalcare.com which is an online wellness store that ships natural personal care items, vitamins, superfoods, candles, incense and household supplies. She is a nature enthusiast and active podcaster. Her current podcast “Empowered Life Lessons” details her different life lessons in a monologue format to document her maturation into womanhood as well as her awakening to “self”.

Website: www.mannaherbalcare.com

IG: @mannaherbalcare 

FB: Mannaherbalcare  

Podcast: Empowered Life Lessons on Spotify

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

D. Colin is a poet and dreamchaser holding degrees in English and  Africana Studies. She is the author of Dreaming in Kreyol and Said the Swing to the Hoop . One of NY Capital Region's Creatives under 40 in The Collaborative, she is also an NYS Writers Institute, VONA and Cave Canem Fellow. D. Colin uses poetry, performance and paint to inspire, empower and educate communities through creative writing workshops, theater and visual art. She also runs, Empress Bohemia, her own line of wearable art which mainly showcases handpainted wood earrings.

Facebook: Danielle Colin, D. Colin, Empress Bohemia

Instagram: @poetdcolin @empressbohemia @poeticvibe518

Twitter: @poetdcolin

Lauren Pope Forbes is a Holistic Wellness Guide and certified Institute of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She is also the Creator and Founder of Love Yourself Healthy and the Hair & Body Positivity Experience. Her business is based on 4 basic pillars of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle: knowing, nourishing, loving and giving yourself. Her mission is to infuse into the lives of women over 40 the same unconditional love, compassion, and support that they give to everyone else. By focusing on a holistic approach and ancient self-care practices including meditation, yoga, plant-based eating and mindfulness techniques, each client will develop a more loving and healthy relationship with the most important person in her life: Herself! This love that will radiate from inside her will help her better serve those she loves, and serve the planet with her unique gifts and talents.

Website: laurenpopeforbes.com

IG: @laurenpopeforbes

Clubhouse: @aware

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

Today's show is our season 2 finale and my first double interview. Today I had the pleasure to talk all things cannabis with Khadisha Thornhill and Natalie Cox of Afro Cannada Budsistas.

Khadisha Thornhill is an outspoken co-founder of the important new Canadian collective. AFRO CANNADA BUDSISTAS. She developed an appreciation for cannabis approximately 4 years ago when she was dealing with some chronic shoulder pain issues and has recently been prescribed medical cannabis which has made her more adamant about advocating for better insurance health benefits coverage for medical cannabis to ensure end-user patient access.  Khadisha spent nearly 4 years as an admin and moderator for Black Moms group on Facebook - a group with more than 16 thousand members, and developed a lot of skills in managing online safe spaces for Black women. Every day she remains committed to standing up and speaking out to the ravages of systemic racism and white patriarchal societal systems. You can follow Khadisha on Instagram @ms_weedwiki

Natalie Cox has been described as a powerwoman of Canadian cannabis.  She first came to the plant for personal reasons - she realized she had been coping badly with untreated anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia. Cannabis, she says, helped give her a better quality of life. With the federal legalization of cannabis in Canada, she felt empowered to start growing her own.  She was good at it - and so, after a lifetime serving customers in retail, she determined to go back to college to study Horticulture. She also became an influential member of the Canadian cannabis community - and she realized her voice was needed -Cox went online in search of groups where she could find other Black women interested in cannabis, being vocal in the space. Over conversation with Khadisha Thornhil, the two lamented over the lack of spaces for Black women and committed to filling to the gap and creating the space they craved, birthing Afro Cannada Budsistas.  Together, their mission is to normalize cannabis use among Black Women by information, education, and exposure. You can follow Natalie on IG @growingwithnatalie

And check out Afro Cannada Budsistas:

IG: @afrocannadabudsistas

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Afro-Cannada-Budsistas-100244085141795/

Website: afrocannadabudsistas.com

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

Alexis Motley is contagiously positive and passionate about nutrition and creating healthy lifestyles for everyone in her community. She is known for her comprehensive approach that encompasses a positive relationship with food and physical activity.  She takes her professional expertise and practical ideas to make nutrition fun and easy. 

Alexis received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Southern University A&M College. This is where she commissioned in the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant within the Engineer Corps. After serving her country proudly, Alexis attended McNeese State University where she received her graduate degree in Health and Human Performance, as well as completed the dietetic internship program which resulted in Lake Charles Memorial Hospital recruiting her as a Clinical Dietitian. 

As a Military spouse, Alexis moved to Colorado Springs which is where she became a Consulting Dietitian for 5 Star Senior Living Cooperation. While working with patients at this location, Alexis took her love for food to help create nutritious menus with fun activities to enhance the living experience for senior citizens. 

After Colorado, Alexis returned to Louisiana, taking a consulting position as the Senior Registered Dietitian at Fort Polk to serve the soldiers and families at Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital. As her involvement grew, she collaborated with healthcare teams to create a comprehensive treatment program focused on healthy weight and body image for children, adolescents and families who desired prevention and treatment for weight management, diabetes and other metabolic concerns.

Currently, Alexis is enrolled in the Nutrition PhD program at Louisiana State University (LSU) while also teaching multiple nutrition courses at there. She is also a devoted wife, mother of two amazing little boys, and community outreach organizer.  She has a down-to-earth approach to nutritional guidance oriented to her clients’ goals of “Making Healthy the New Normal.”

Here are a few ways you can connect with Alexis:

Instagram: themommydietitian

Facebook Group: The Mommy Dietitian

Facebook Business Page: Red River Medical Nutirtion

Website: https://www.redrivernutrition.com/

And here's how you can connect with Black Women in Wellness:

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

Sheryl Jackson is a Savvy Entrepreneur, Business and Private Yoga Wellness Coach. She specializes in helping Yoga Teachers & Wellness Entrepreneurs to create financial well-being through coaching and online courses. She also helps women struggling with hormone imbalance. This is done through The Conscious Woman Midlife Detox program. A holistic 90 Days step by step optimal online, private well-being coaching method to transform your life, build a sustainable diet and wellness habits.

Connect with Sheryl on FB and IG to find out more about her course offerings, coaching services, and to catch her live interviews with wellness practitioners making the digital pivot.

In this interview, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Licensed Psychotherapist, Wellness Coach and Certified Life Coach Aisha Antoinette Picott. She has over a decade of experience in the field of social work and mental health in the healthcare setting and is passionate about empowering women to find their passion, live their purpose and fulfill their dreams.  She helps navigate them to a place of power by identifying what holds them back – self-limiting beliefs, negative self-talk, low self-esteem and commonly – low to no self-confidence. Her goal as a coach is to provide all the support, information and motivation people need to achieve and maintain their goals. She is committed to helping her clients realize and unlock their full potential. One size does not fit all! She creates customized programs and goal setting to support optimal health and well-being along with necessary life changes that will enable them to achieve and maintain their health and life goals.

You can find out more about what Aisha is working on at linktr.ee/aishagetfit

Also follow her on IG and Facebook to stay up to date on fitness challenges and more.

For this interview, I sit down with friend and Black Girl Social Club -- Costa Rica Chapter President Celesté Lawson. We have a chit chat about a recent volunteer project we did at the Pro-Huerta Guanacaste Community Garden.

Born in Queens, NY and bred in Columbia, South Carolina, Celesté is from the best of both worlds. Celesté served in the US Army for 4 years including a 1 year deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She is a proud mother of one 17 year daughter who is a National High School Scholar, Varsity Volleyball player, and is currently being scouted by multiple college track and field teams. A born traveler and expat at heart, Celesté relocated to Costa Rica during the pandemic to focus on veteran and mental health advocacy. Inspired by the BLM movement in Costa Rica, Celesté strives to provide access to resources, community, and a safe space for Black and Brown girls to live unapologetically and with purpose.

To donate to the BGSC Costa Rica community food drive, reach out to Celesté here.

To tap into the Black Girl Social Club, check out their IG here. 

Find out more about Pro Huerta Guanacaste Community Garden here. 

We're still looking for black women to interview for season 2. If you are a black woman who works with food and wellness (gardener, farmer, dietitian, health coach/educator, chef, food activist, etc) and you want to be on the show, drop us a line at [email protected]

Tasha Whitaker is a speaker, author, educator, trainer and owner of TWhitaker Enterprises, a consulting agency that provides professional development training, health and wellness workshops for healthcare professionals that build capacity. A passionate health and wellness advocate for communities she empowers communities to take charge of their wellness. She is the Founder and Host of The CHW Crew, a community that highlights the work of community health workers through empowerment, education and service.

IG @iamtashawhitaker

www.tashawhitaker.com

We're still looking for black women to interview for season 2. If you are a black woman who works with food and wellness (gardener, farmer, dietitian, health coach/educator, chef, food activist, etc) and you want to be on the show, drop us a line at [email protected]