Women's Wellness Podcast with Lucy Coutinho

Reshon Witter is a motivational mentor, author, and creative entrepreneur. She is the founder of theRAWproject, a self love blog and organization where they empower the community through art and aesthetics. theRAWproject started as a personal self-love journey and has evolved into creating poetry/typography prints to help inspire others through hardship. Her poetry book Neoteric tells her story from overcoming depression to discovering self-love and can be found on Amazon. For more information, you can find her on Instagram @therawprojectlifestyle and my personal @heyy_raw.

Lenira Querido is a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Activist. Lenira uses her voice and social media platform to advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. She is the founder of Kriola Empowering Kriola, an organization that offers support and a safe space to women in need.

Sherrie Mendes is a young, professional, single-mother, who decided to go against societal, cultural, and religious norms in order to gain her own wholeness and happiness as a woman and mother. As a Cape Verdean American and preacher’s daughter, Sherrie had a great upbringing, however, the expectations of how she should be as a woman and mother were great. As a result, she decided to join the US Air Force, to gain independence and create a career path. She is currently a veteran and has been working within Government agencies as Contracts Professional, writing and negotiations contracts for over 22 years now. Outside of her career, starting with a peer counseling program in high school and with great inspiration from her father, Sherrie became passionate about women’s health and overall well-being. She co-hosted multiple women’s support groups through the years with this focus in mind. The group name was ‘Sisters-Supporting-Sisters’ which had focused weekly topics and provided an open and safe forum for women to open up, share, and grow from one another.

During that time she became a mother to a daughter and endured multiple hardships including abusive relationships. Through it all, she fought for her peace and to make sure her daughter was raised in a healthy environment. An opportunity arose for her to work abroad in Europe, which was a big risk as it was leaving her family and friends and her daughter was still in high school. She took the journey with her daughter and it changed both of their lives forever! Sherrie has since been traveling the world, living and taking the steps (if even if scary) to live the best life she can, while still hoping to be an inspiration for other women.

Jessica Monteiro was born and raised in #CapeVerde Islands, where she lived until the summer of August 6, 1991. She is the second of seven kids, and her parents made the decision to move to United States. Her Grandfather and Grandmother who lived in Cranston petition for my Father to come to United States and we moved to US and settled in Providence Rhode Island. She attended Hope High School. Living in the United States has provided her with the opportunities to grow and develop, both in her personal and professional life.

Growing up in the Republic of Cape Verde, off the West Coast of Africa. She experienced the importance of higher education, through observing the lack of opportunities in her country. As She grew older, she noticed how her family struggled for a better living in a third world country and knew that she wanted something better for her own family in the future. When her parents who were both teachers, decided to immigrate to the United States, it was specifically to give their children the opportunities for an education. Her main reason for immigrating to the United States was to finish high school and go on to college or University. She came to United States when she was 17 years old. She started at Hope High School a Public School in Providence, Rhode Island. She is the founder of MIGUEL VICENTE MONTEIRO Foundation.

Danielle Cyprien is a passionate young advocate best known for using her personal experience and expertise to fight against Child Sex Trafficking and Exploitation. Cyprien is currently a pre-law major who has served on the RI Human Trafficking Task Force, alongside FBI and Homeland Security. Cyprien helped start the first Survivor Mentor Program in RI for at risk and confirmed survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation. Cyprien continues to use her personal experience and expertise to advocate for the rights of victims and educate the community. Danielle currently works out of Warwick, Rhode Island.

Vanessa Flowers is a creative professional and community organizer living in Chicago. My purpose is to help women blossom! I do this by running a healing safe-space for empowered women in Chicago to talk about our mental health, the workplace and what it means to be a woman today. I was born in Cape Verde, West Africa. I earned a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College. In addition to English, I also speak Spanish and Creole-Portuguese.

Neusa is a Kriola, born in Cabo Verde and immigrated to Boston with her family when she was 13 years old. She graduated from Pine Manor College with her B.A in Biopsychology and a minor in Drama and Theatre. After giving back to her community of Cabo Verde in Boston, she joined Peace Corps as a HIV/AIDS and Community Development volunteer in Botswana and later joined Peace Corps Cabo Verde and worked as the Training Director/Community Development Program Assistant and Post Acting Director. Neusa started working with Wediko Children’s Sercices as the MassSTART Case Manager in June 2013 in substance abuse education and prevention and implemented the life skills group facilitation to the youth in the program. She earned her M.A in Mental Health counseling and Dance and Movement Theraoy and worked as a school-based clinician and now as In Home Therapist with underserved children, adolescents and families in the Boston area. She enjoys working in international development, traveling, music, dance and spending quality time with her family and friends. Her dream is to establish a Ubuntu Dance and Movemenr Therapy center in Cape Verde one day and self care and healing are some of her many objectives integrated in her dream project.

Bio: My name is Cristina Cabral, I am a mother of two, a documentary filmmaker, a journalist, activist feminist. I am a cosmopolitan woman an adventurer living in London.My motherhood instincts coupled with my passion to media and storytelling encouraged me to start a masters in diversity and the media. The world needs more representation and as a Criola I believe there is urgent to educate our communities and empower our women to pursuit their dreams. I am the director of the awarded documentary : “ I am Criola” a film about my first travel to Cape Verde. From this experience I feel that I wasn’t born in Cape Verde but Cape Verde was born in me. Currently I am shaping my media skills into different interdisciplinary approaches in the creation of more academic and visual artefacts to educate our young children.

Tikesha Renee Morgan was born and raised in Brooklyn NY by a mother from the deep segregated south of Mississippi, and a father born and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Where did they meet?! New York City of course!

As a first generation college student her parents always encouraged her to achieve the highest, do not forget where you come back from and to always help others who walk beside you, behind you and in front of you. She became interested in the field of student affairs as an undergraduate student at Buffalo State College while being involved in student leadership, student conduct, diversity alley, being a resident assistant and plenty of other campus activities. Tikesha’s campus mentors encouraged her to pursue a master’s degree in higher education to continue the work that she was so passionate about.

19yrs later she has served as a hall director at Vassar College, Assistant Director of Residence Life & Summer Programs at Suffolk University, Director of Multicultural Student Affairs & GLBTQ Resources at Emerson College and now setting off on a new adventure as the Inaugural Senior Student Affairs Officer for Emerson's European Center in Kasteel Well, Netherlands. The passion she has for her profession has been infused into her personal activism and the intersectionality that she lives and breathes daily as one of the co-founders of the Lesbians of Color Collective Symposium, organizer for Queer Women of Color, diversity consultant for New England area community colleges and universities, liaison/moderator for the LGBTQ Caucus at the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity.

Her career and life plan were not laid out before her. She decided to carve a new road, add a new light pattern and learn as much as she teaches. Her hope is that during this life and career she can encourage the students she has the honor to work with to speak the truth even when your voice shakes.

Nadjejda Chapoteau is a Haitian American woman who is passionate about dance, social, racial, economic justice, and making an impact through being of service. She's a yogi, mental health and clean eating enthusiast. After over 12 years working with her academic degrees, she chose to get trained and be certified as a professional coach. She is a Certified Empowerment and Leadership Coach, Spiritual Teacher, Author, and Speaker who empowers rising leaders to make an impact in the world by being of service through advocating for social, racial, and economic justice through finding their voice, living their core values, and sharing boldly who they are and what they stand for. Join her mission here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamnadjejdachapoteau/ | Instagram: www.instagram.com/nadjejdachapoteau/ |

You Tube Channel: Love Light Coaching with Nadjejda