who i am

Extraordinary. Colored. Moisturized.

Oh, hey there.

Who I’m is?

It all started in Hampton, Virginia with a woman named Eddie and a man named Sonny. These days, I edify, proselytize, and signify on pages, stages and airwaves. I’m a writer, dancer, teacher, talker, and lupus survivor. I’m the co-host of The Extraordinary Negroes podcast, which has been featured both in The New York Times and on the first podcast stage at the SXSW Music Festival. As a certified Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid instructor, I lead trainings in English and ever-developing Spanish that help folks recognize signs and symptoms of someone developing a mental health or substance use disorder and help a person in crisis. I always bring snacks.

And I believe in the omnipotent healing power of a pot of love-filled grits.

I have written for folks like Ebony Magazine, CNN.com, Food & Wine, Very Smart Brothas, Esquire, Courvoisier, The Root, Saint Heron, The Huffington Post, among other outlets. I work to make the world a bit less wack and combat spiritual ashiness as Founder and Creative Director of GetSomeJoy – a creative wellness agency promoting mental and emotional wellness via dynamic storytelling, accessible wellness resources, and live events. My team and I launched SelfCareCheckin.com in the spring of 2018 to share self-care tools and resources to be great(er) at home, work, and school.

I create welcoming spaces where folks can talk about feelings and share their triumphs, tragedies, fears, and favorite childhood movies and coping mechanisms alike. I will wear you out in a Bop It! battle or Sister Act 2 dance-off and I encourage folks to bust their emotions open via a monthly peer-support situation for Black LGBTQ folks in Brooklyn and my Literary Therapy: Writing (for) Your Life workshops. I always bring tissue.

One time, while teaching dance and exploring my Panamanian roots in my mother’s home country, I started a company called Panamerican Languages that trained Spanish-speaking teachers and executives in Panama City to conduct business and conquer the world in English. I did some of my best eating there. You would’ve been proud.

I don’t believe in snow or Delaware.

Be nosy, click around and such.