Welcome to the Trauma & Healing podcast series hosted by and inspired by our host Demarra West and her debut book Me Too: A Therapist’s Journey to Heal, Find Liberation, & Joy. This 12-episode series helps individuals understand the universal nature of trauma and its pervasive impacts, and a pathway towards healing and liberation for us all. Demarr…

Demarra West, author of Me Too: A Therapist’s Journey to Heal, Find Liberation, & Joy, founder of Be Well Beautiful People and host of the Be Well Beautiful People podcast, leads us through the first episode of the Trauma & Healing podcast series centered around her book. This series will feature 12 episodes and include the practices that have been…

Dr. Akua K. Boateng is a sought after psychotherapist and therapeutic coach. As a licensed clinician with extensive experience, practice and education spanning nearly 15 years, Dr. Boateng has been featured in The Washington Post, ESSENCE, NBC News, Refinery29, HuffPost, Pinterest, CNN, and more as a trusted speaker, expert contributor and insightf…

Tina Strawn (she/they) is a joy and liberation advocate, racial and social justice activist, author of "Are We Free Yet? The Black, Queer Guide to Divorcing America." The heart of Tina's work is founding and leading Legacy Trips, immersive, 3-day antiracism weekends where participants visit historical locations such as Montgomery and Selma, AL, and…

Dr. Adia Gooden is a licensed clinical psychologist who received her BA in Psychology from Stanford University and her PhD in Clinical Community Psychology from DePaul University. Dr. Adia is a sought-after, dynamic speaker who gives talks and workshops on unconditional self-worth, imposter syndrome, and Black women’s mental health. She is most kno…

Rebecca Whitman, known as the Magnetic Abundance Mentor, is an International best-selling author who graduated with honors from Princeton University. “LA Weekly” magazine featured her as one of the Top 7 Entrepreneurs to watch in 2023. She has also been featured in “New York Weekly,” “Miami Magazine,” and has had appearances on ABC and CBS. Additio…

Jovian Zayne is a celebrated international speaker, certified leadership coach, and expert facilitator who deeply transforms the lives of others through her inspiring and grounded approach to living and leading a purpose and values-driven life. With nearly 20 years of experience developing thousands of values-driven leaders, she continues to shape …

Elaine Starling, The Abundance Ambassador, is a sought-after TEDx and international speaker, the host of The Abundance Journey Podcast and Video Show, an international best-selling author, coach, trainer, and successful entrepreneur. Elaine’s unusual spiritual awakening prompted her to help people who crave spiritual enlightenment to partner with T…

For over fifteen years, Sister Anyangō has been using her experiences to help individuals, primarily women over forty, to discover themselves, and create a road map on how to get there. In addition she’s a dancer, master teaching artist in various dance mediums, and a university visiting lecturer. Additionally she is an award-winning Empowerment Fr…

Vanessa Chisakula is an artist, a speaker and creative activist, who employs art as a medium for advocacy. She has been featured on various platforms including CSW66, the UN High-Level Global Conference, the Southern Human Rights Defenders Summit, the International Fundraising Congress (IFC), the Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC…

Certified yoga and meditation teacher, Caitlin Cady has been called a “wellbeing whiz” by Australian Yoga Journal and her positive perspectives and relatable, playful approach have inspired people across the globe to get lit up and live to their full potential. After a decade-long battle with chronic Lyme disease, Caitlin turned to meditation as a …

For more than a decade, Cheryl Pullins has been the invisible force behind women in the corporate space to women in the marketplace looking to elevate their impact and skyrocket their income while doing what sets their souls on fire. She left a two-decade corporate career to start her company and has helped thousands of women along the way build ab…

Kristie Kennedy, The Image Confidence Expert is a TEDx Audacious Leadership Keynote Speaker and Authentic Lifestyle Author, & Certified Radical Resilience Coach. As the owner of Queenfidence Global Image Consulting her electrifying inspirational gift empowers visionaries with confidence and clarity keys to find their voice, free their voice and loo…

Lucinda Cross is the founder of Activate Worldwide LLC. a boutique marketing firm that supports small business owners with leveraging and monetizing their services and products. Lucinda is a highly sought-after motivational speaker, best selling author, TV personality, and spokesperson for Verizon as their Small Business Come Back Coach. She’s also…

Dr. Nicole Roberts Jones affectionately called “The Purpose Producer”, is uniquely gifted at one thing – drawing out what’s best in YOU and helping you take your Brilliance to The Bank. A veteran of the entertainment industry, she now works with entrepreneurs to start businesses alongside their 9 to 5, generating multiple revenue streams and a grea…

Wendi Blum Weiss is a visibility expert, best selling author, international speaker and business architect. She helps speakers, coaches, and entrepreneurs start, grow and monetize their brand and business using her unique Reverse Engineer Your Identity method. Wendi is also the founder of The Speakers and Coaches Society which has grown to 22,000 m…

Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship and The Age of Overwhelm. She is the host of the podcast Future Tripping, which is dedicated to conversations about overwhelm. In our conversation for we explored the following: 1) The difference between vicarious trauma and bur…

Majora Carter is a real estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant, MacArthur Fellow and Peabody Award winning broadcaster. She is also a lecturer at Princeton University's Keller Center. She has helped connect tech industry pioneers such as Etsy, Gust, FreshDirect, Google, and Cisco to diverse communities across the country. In our…

Morgan Reid, mental health professional and founder of A Little Mental, has the goal of bringing mental health and wellness to everyone. During this episode we explore how to discover wellness practices that are perfectly aligned for you along with practical ways to make well-being a top priority.Oleh bewellbeautifulwoman

Dr. Jackie "Bouvier" Copeland, Founder of Black Philanthropy Month & Women Invested to Save Earth Fund , takes us on a transformative journey through Black philanthropy’s legacy. Tune in as Dr. Copeland shares heartwarming stories, dispels myths, ignites change, and celebrates the unwavering spirit of giving within the Black Community. Be prepared …

Nichomi Higgins is a licensed psychotherapist, speaker, and bestselling author who passionately exists to empower women of vision with the tools to inspire and lead others through curiosity and self-compassion. She believes that when individuals boldly and bravely choose to lead themselves in this manner, they unconsciously accept a Divine invitati…

Dr. Annice Fisher founded Developing Capacity Coaching and later, their sister non-profit GiveSankofa, Inc. to focus on co-creating a world where everyone has the full and equal opportunity to benefit from the resources within their organization, community, city, and world. Her Conscious Leadership for Equity work is currently being integrated acro…

Kena Hodges is the example that you can be whatever you want to be, whenever you DECIDE to be. She is an artist, a holistic healer, a wellness warrior, an influencer, a student, a teacher, a coach, an author, and a mom. With a specialization in mindset coaching, manifestation, self-love/inner work, nutrition, herbal/supplemental medicine, fitness, …

Tonya Melendez is an award-winning psychic medium who teaches people to harness their intuitive intelligence to empower their lives and lifestyle. A former librarian, Tonya turned her coffee shop tarot readings into a thriving wellness, wisdom, and woo business. Tonya was voted the #3 Psychic Medium in the world by STB TV Channel (Kyiv, Ukraine). A…

Kimberly Brazwell is a Washington DC transplant and native of Columbus, OH, and is the CEO and founder of KiMISTRY, which specializes in the unique intersection of trauma, justice and holistic wellness. Through writings, paintings, blogs, vlogs, social media content, and community conversation forums, Brazwell creates safer spaces to use story-shar…

Kiaundra Jackson is a trusted Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist that gets results. She has been seen on OWN’s TV show, Love Goals and has been featured in Oprah’s Magazine, Essence, Women’s Health Magazine, FOX, CBS and Forbes as one of the ‘Next 1000.’ She is an award-winning speaker, best-selling author, TV Personality and a noted expert on …

For over 16 years, Sonja Herbert has served as a social worker and established a deep professional commitment to fitness training, devoting herself to teaching classical Pilates and integrating it with her clients' fitness and athletic goals. Sonja is currently working on an MSW through Fordham University and has plans to intentionally meld two of …

Zee Clarke, Harvard MBA, went from leading teams at Fortune 500 companies and startups in Silicon Valley to teaching mindfulness and breathwork to people of color. After experiencing a number of race related challenges, from racial profiling and harassment by the police to microaggressions in the workplace, she realized that mindfulness and breathw…

Sabia Wade (she/they), is a Black, Queer, CEO, Investor, Educator, Full Spectrum Doula, and expander of Black Luxury. Sabia is the founder of Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, an accessible and inclusive training program for community care workers, and For the Village, a non-profit providing doulas at no or low-cost to low-income and marginalized …

Lyvonne Briggs, MDiv, ThM, an Emmy Award winner, and body- and sex-positive womanist preacher and speaker, is the host of Sensual Faith Podcast, the author of Sensual Faith: The Art of Coming Home to Your Body (Convergent/Penguin Random House out March '23), and co-host of Sanctified, a faith-based, Spotify-exclusive podcast on Jemele Hill’s Unboth…

Jenny Block’s work has appeared in a number of high-profile publications from The New York Times to Huffington Post, and is the author of four books, including Be That Unicorn: Find your Magic. Live your Truth. Share your Shine. She has been featured regularly on HuffPo Live and in their videos and multimedia projects. Jenny has also appeared on a …

Rafaella Smith-Fiallo (she/ella) is a licensed clinical social worker, sexual liberation activist, and therapist specializing in relationship, sex, and trauma therapy. She owns Healing Exchange LLC, a therapy private practice, and co-founded Afrosexology, a sex-positive, pleasure-based sexuality education business. Her work has been featured in num…

In 2022, award winning producer, author and media executive Michelle D. Hord released her debut memoir "The Other Side of Yet" on Atria Books. Michelle’s story of resilience is the subject of the intensely personal testimony, which she shares in hopes that others can also find courage and strength on the other side of their own personal "yets." She…

Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an activist, social justice warrior, author, anti-racism consultant and trainer, intuitive healer, and yoga teacher and practitioner. She has led dismantling racism work in many settings, along with practice as a clinical social worker during the same period. Michelle’s work centers on healing from individual and colle…

Dr. Gail Parker is a psychologist, yoga therapist educator, a lifelong practitioner of yoga and the current president of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance (BYTA). She is well known for her pioneering efforts to blend psychology, yoga, and meditation as effective self-care strategies that can enhance emotional balance, and contribute to overall healt…

Dr. Charmeka Newton is a fully licensed psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the School Counseling Program in the College of Human Education & Human Development at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Newton is also the owner of Legacy Mental Health Services, PLLC. She has over 10 years of experience in clinical, academic, a…

In a professional writing career that spans more than twenty years, Marita Golden has distinguished herself as a novelist, essayist, teacher of writing and literary institution builder. She has written twenty books of nonfiction and fiction which includes Long Distance Life which was a best-seller and cited as a Best Book of the Year (by Washington…

Caroline Shola Arewa, the Energy Doctor is a highly respected figure in the fields of spirituality and wellness, recognized for her expertise in Energy work who has over three decades of international experience and awards. She’s a psychologist, international speaker, and author of five books. She also trains Spiritual Coaches and supports individu…

Jevon Bolden is the founder and CEO of Embolden Media Group, a literary agency and publishing consulting firm focused on amplifying diverse Christian voices. In her eighteen years in publishing, Jevon has worked as senior acquisitions editor for adult nonfiction at Charisma House and as senior editor for children’s nonfiction at Scholastic. Launchi…

Kristina "Steen" Lyles, vice president of equity and impact at the leading education non-profit DonorsChoose, not only incorporates a race equity-forward lens in supporting students and teachers across the country. In this episode we discuss the inclusion & equity imperative, especially for girls and women, and how philanthropy has the power to mov…

Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, is an Award-Winning Author, International Speaker, Political Commentator, and Race & Gender Empowerment Expert. As a serial entrepreneur, Dr. Avis serves as the Founding President of the Washington DC Boutique Consulting Firm, Incite Unlimited, along with The Exceptional Leadership Institute and World Changers Media, LLC. H…

A native of Flint, but recent transplant to Maryland, Joyvina Evans, affectionately known as Dr. Joy is a self-care advocate, author, speaker, and higher education administrator. She is the Founder of Confidence Academy which strives to cultivate and inspire confidence, character, boldness, and courage, and Advocating for My Uterus, which provides …

LaTosha Brown is a nationally recognized, award-winning thought leader, institution builder, Cultural Activist and Artist, and Connector. She is the Visionary, Founder and Co-Anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium which is a $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women…

Rafaella Smith-Fiallo (she/ella) is a licensed clinical social worker, sexual liberation activist, and therapist specializing in relationship, sex, and trauma therapy. She owns Healing Exchange LLC, a therapy private practice, and co-founded Afrosexology, a sex-positive, pleasure-based sexuality education business. Her work has been featured in num…

Maite Z. Alday is a writer, artist, and non-profit professional. She's the founder of She’s Mighty Mighty which aims to create a safe space for uncomfortable conversations around taboo topics. In just two years, Maite has increased her reach astronomically, reaching more than 20,000 on Instagram alone - inspiring individuals from all walks of life …

After four years of doing her PhD (Political Science, York University, Toronto), Jelena Vesić decided to walk away and dedicate herself full-time to teaching Ashtanga Yoga workshops and retreats in Toronto and around the world. She’s so deeply committed to the practice she’s made two trips to Mysore, India to study with her teacher, Sharath Jois. J…

Tonya Melendez-Gonzales has come a long way from her humble beginnings reading Tarot cards in a suburban Chicago cafe to international fame as she was voted #3 Psychic in the World. Now based in the place she has ancestral roots, Puerto Vallarta, Tonya gets to share her intuitive gifts and spiritual insights as an Author, Healer, Speaker and Teache…

After a 40+ year career as an award-winning, innovative nonprofit leader, Dr. Geneva Williams reinvented herself as an author, international speaker, podcaster and title-holding advocate for women to live a fit, fine and vibrant life. Dr. Geneva went from her stellar career as a President/CEO, to becoming a widow after four decades of marriage whil…

Brooke Mackie is one of the nation's leading female Event Curators and Brand Influencer for Courvoisier’s Chicago market. Over the past decade, Brooke has delivered brand strategy, marketing campaigns, online/ offline partnerships, large scale events, and influencer strategy content for brands including Fox, Netflix, Pink Luster, The Black Women’s …