A Bit About me
I am a liberation coach, wellness educator and facilitator of liberated learning/healing experiences. Through my business, Heal with Keonna, I design and facilitate transformative curriculum, consulting and coaching centered around wellness, healing and liberation. My work includes, but is not limited to, facilitating community healing events, leading workshops and liberation-centered trainings at educational institutions across the country, facilitating yoga and mindfulness programming for Black youth, and providing both group and private coaching for Black womxn who are ready to live out their most liberated, fulfilled lives.
My journey
Elementary School Teacher in Oakland, California
2018 (During Teacher Strike)
Yoga Instructor, Wellness Educator & Mindfulness Guide
2019
Self-Healer & Recipient of Divine Guidance + Support
2020-2021
Liberation Coach & Wellness Educator
2021
Liberation Coach, Wellness Educator, Consultant & Counselor-in-Training
2021-2022
Liberation Coach, Wellness Educator, Consultant, Counselor & Author
2023+
While an undergraduate student at Penn State University, I was confident that my calling was to be a classroom teacher and social change agent within the public school system. When I entered the classroom, I quickly realized that there were several barriers keeping my scholars from being able to be fully present in school. To add on to this, the demands of teaching were weighing heavily on my mind and spirit.
With hopes to find wellness for myself and gain tools for my scholars, I journeyed deeper into the realm of wellness and enrolled in the Breathe for Change 200-hr yoga teacher training program.
This experienced changed the trajectory of my life.
In one year, I went from being nearly burnt out to leading weekly yoga classes for my scholars, designing creative curriculum rooted in ancestral wisdom and mindfulness, and facilitating wellness workshops for my colleagues. After witnessing the impact these experiences had on my community, I realized that my true calling was not to just cultivate space for learning, but to support my community and fellow change makers in their healing and wellness journeys as well. I decided then to start my own wellness business. In my first year of business, I designed and facilitated yoga and mindfulness programming for youth within Richmond Public Schools and local Boys & Girls Clubs. I also had the opportunity to lead wellness workshops and trainings at educational institutions, organizations and conferences, including Teach for America, Virginia Commonwealth University's Summer Learning Academy and The Teacher Self-Care Conference.
One year after starting my business, my Granny passed away from COVID-19. When she became an ancestor, I felt her spirit tell me to slow down and take time to heal. She was someone who always put other people before her. I realized that I had inherited this generational cycle of sacrificing my own well-being and desires for others. She gave me permission to break free from this cycle and prioritize my own wellness and rest. I took a 10-month sabbatical to grieve, heal and dream. I left my career as a schoolteacher, started coaching myself, going to therapy, releasing relationships and recommitting to the practices that set me free.
After diving deep into my own journey of healing and breaking generational cycles, once again, my life completely changed. I learned how to design a life that centered both my purpose and my wellness. I felt my Granny's spirit then tell me to start sharing what I learned with other Black womxn. This is when I began offering liberation coaching and healing meditations for Black womxn who were ready to break generational cycles and design their lives to center their wellness, healing and liberation.
Since then, I have facilitated transformative coaching programs for Black womxn (including The Breakthrough, a 21-day coaching program), community-centered wellness + healing experiences across the country, and workshops + trainings for several organizations, institutions and conferences including The Teacher's College at Columbia University, Penn State's College of Education, Academics 4 Black Lives Conference and Peter Paul Development Center.
During this time, I also pursued a master's degree in Counselor Education to increase my capacity to support change makers and communities on their healing and learning journeys. I am currently partnering with non-profit organizations to provide free counseling and wellness services to families with limited access to mental health and wellness services. My plan is to continue to work alongside non-profit organizations to further support high-need families and communities with limited access to high-quality, culturally relevant healing experiences.
I am currently working on a book highlighting my own journey toward healing and liberation. My mission is to use my own story to activate change makers and communities to prioritize their healing and pursue liberation on a collective level. Stay tuned to see what's next.