Dr. P On The Pod

Larry Overton is the Founder & Director of Overton Estates in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. Overton Estates stands on land that has remained in the same family for more than a century. This land was not inherited casually — it was earned through determination, sacrifice, and an unwavering belief in ownership, education, and community. Overton Estates is not preserved as a relic of the past — it is activated as a living legacy. Horses, land stewardship, youth engagement, and community gatherings all serve a larger purpose: honoring where we come from while creating space for what’s next. Today, Overton Estates encompasses more t...

Ivy Snead is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist with more than eight years of experience serving diverse populations, including individuals with brain injuries, mental health disorders, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and conduct disorders. A proud product of Richmond and Goochland, Virginia, Ivy attended Old Dominion University. She is passionate about creativity, wellness, and experiences that challenge and inspire the right side of the brain.

Dr. Sherri Garrett, a native of Cedartown, GA, grew up as an Army brat. She is the daughter of the late Sgt. Lloyd Garrett and the late Clara Garrett.

After graduation from Clark College in 1976, Sherri began her career as a teacher at Cedartown High School, Polk County, Georgia. During that time, she earned a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum /Supervision from the University of West Georgia. Following her stint at Cedartown High she moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and taught English for 7 years at Boyd Anderson High School. In 1986, she was called back to Polk...

Pamela D. Price currently serves as the Deputy Director for The Balm In Gilead, managing the various health initiatives of the organization.  Under her leadership, the organization provides support to faith institutions in areas of program design, implementation, and evaluation, which strengthen their capacity to deliver programs and services that contribute to the elimination of health disparities.  In addition to her role as Deputy Director, she also serves as the Director for The National Brain Health Center for African-Americans. 

As the Center’s director, she co-developed a six-part educational curriculum for nurses and allied healthcare professionals aimed at ad...

Pastor C.J. Matthews, II serves as Executive Pastor and Pastor in Succession of Mt. Sinai-Friendship United Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he ministers alongside his father, Rev. Dr. C. Jay Matthews. In this unique role, he is both honoring a rich pastoral legacy and preparing to carry that vision forward for the next generation.

A dynamic and innovative thought leader, Pastor C.J. is known for delivering impactful messages at the intersection of faith, fitness, and finances—empowering individuals to pursue holistic transformation in every area of their lives. He is especially gifted in leveraging digital pl...

Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque, Ph.D., is a seasoned leader in higher education, ministry, nonprofit innovation, and community transformation. She spent two decades in student services leadership at institutions including Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Mills College, and the University of California, guiding students toward academic success and personal confidence.

Answering her call to ministry, she earned both an M.Div. and Doctor of Theology from Boston University and went on to serve in diverse church contexts, concluding her congregational leadership at the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church.

Dr. Jacque has also served as...

Dr. Shayla Walker is a licensed clinical social worker, professor, workshop facilitator, and public speaker. With bachelor and master degrees in social work (BSW and MSW) and a PhD in Transformative Social Change, she brings over a decade of experience addressing mental health, belonging, racial justice, and restorative healing. Known for blending scholarship with authentic lived experience, Dr. Walker delivers engaging, relatable, and transformative experiences for higher education institutions, nonprofits, state agencies, conferences, and corporate DEI initiatives.

Maya Dionne is a bestselling author, widow coach, and CEO/Founder of Purpose2Platform LLC and Widows DO Bounce Back LLC. With over 20 years of experience in IT and writing, she blends technology, creative strategy, and behavioral psychology to empower writers in building their platforms in one business; and helping widows create lives they truly love in the other.

Through Purpose2Platform, Maya helps aspiring authors take their books from concept to bestseller, offering coaching, project management, and marketing services. Her work has been featured on national widowhood advocacy stages like Camp Widow, she has accomplished 5 bestselling...

Sharvette Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell Productions, is more than a business leader and marketing consultant; she’s THE PLATFORM BUILDER®. Her vision, ingenuity, and extensive 25-year background in corporate America at Capital One Bank, coupled with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Virginia Commonwealth University, have crystallized her reputation as a foremost authority in the marketing landscape.

Sharvette’s unique approach, encapsulated in her trademarked framework THE PLATFORM BUILDER®, has become a beacon for small businesses seeking to amplify their brand.

Sharvette has been featured in publications such as Yahoo! Finance, AARP, Huffington Post, HOPE f...

CiNease Freeman is a Richmond, Virginia-based colorectal cancer survivor and advocate, diagnosed with Stage 3 rectal cancer in June 2022 at the age of 28. She is active in raising awareness, particularly around the rise of young-onset colorectal cancer, and is featured in national campaigns.

Dr. Cary L. Goodman has a sincere passion to empower faith communities to operate at their fullest capacity in areas of health promotion, advocacy programs, outreach and development. For over 18 years, he has been dedicated to establishing and expanding health programs across the United States by building the capacity to address health disparities that greatly impact congregations and the communities they serve by strategically leveraging faith-based and community partnership to impact sustainability. 

Currently, Cary serves as the Faith Based Program & Engagement Consultant for The Balm In Gilead, Inc. where he works diligently at the intersection of faith a...

Elmer Dixon, a longtime activist for racial justice, grew up a witness to the Civil Rights Movement and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Seattle, WA in the 60s.

He was one of the founders of Seattle's chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968. Only 17 at the time, he helped to shape a new world, a new place, a new country, where all people were respected, regardless of color and position in life.

Now Dixon runs his own business in Seattle and . is a diversity trainer who speaks about his experiences with the...

Edna Elaine Glover is a retired schoolteacher from South Carolina School Districts. Teaching social studies to high school students, her career spanned 30 years. Ms. Glover grew up in the era of segregated schools and the Jim Crow South. She was among the few African American teachers that were hired to teach in integrated schools post segregation. Ms. Glover received a Bachelor of Arts from South Carolina State University and a master’s degree in education from The Citadel in Charleston. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Recently, she has taken up quilting as a treasured jo...

Miyoshi Juergensen, PhD (she/her/hers) is an educator, scholar, and practitioner whose work centers Black educational history, teacher leadership, and equity-driven school and community improvement. A former classroom teacher and district leader, Dr. Juergensen brings more than two decades of experience in education and a deep commitment to understanding how Black educators have historically built, sustained, and visioned caring and consequential schools and communities under conditions of constraint.

Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Juergensen’s research explores Black teacher leadership in segregated and ma...

Erin Poyant is the founder of #hATTRNextGen™, a community-driven movement focused on raising awareness of V122I hereditary amyloidosis within the Black community. Inspired by her late father’s journey with the disease and her own experience as a gene carrier, Erin’s work centers on honoring legacy while encouraging earlier understanding and more informed family health conversations.

In another capacity, Erin works with the Amyloidosis Research Consortium (ARC), supporting healthcare providers and systems with education and resources that enhance understanding of all forms of amyloidosis. Together, her community advocacy and professional experience reflect a commitment to improv...

Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, Founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is a phenomenal trailblazer. Dr. Seele is celebrating over 38 years of providing vision and leadership in areas of technical support to strengthen the capacity of faith institutions in the United States and Africa to eradicate health disparities by promoting health education and services within their local communities.

Born in the heart of the south, this Lincolnville native always shares a special love for South Carolina. Dr. Seele received her Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science from Clark Atlanta University...

Bishop Dickie L. Robbins is a dynamic visionary, community leader, public speaker, preacher, teacher, husband, and father.

Bishop Robbins is a strong believer in equipping the believer to embrace the truth of who they are in Christ. They are to influence the world around them by having signs and wonders following them. The life of the believer should be such an example, of who Christ is, that those perishing are drawn to Christ by the life they live.

Along with his wife, Bishop Robbins founded and is currently the Senior Pastor of Life In Christ...

Joanne Mitchell-McLaren is a Lifelong Patient Advocate and Educator, Clinical Expert and Rare Disease Specialist. Her overall goal is to prepare and provide patients and caregivers with the awareness, support and education they need as it relates to their health. She has provided tools, education and encouragement that patients need to feel confident to have courageous conversations with their health care providers; in hopes to empower them to make the best decision and to use their voice to advocate for themselves.

Patient advocacy is her birth right. She believe the greatest gift one can provide is the...

Lawrence C. Harris is a nationally recognized Youth Empowerment Speaker with a dynamic voice for teens and young adults facing self-doubt, insecurity, and internal barriers. Through his powerful lived experience—overcoming childhood abuse, Autism, and complex PTSD—Lawrence has helped thousands of young people build unshakable self-worth and rise above challenges that once held them back.

Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, Founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is a phenomenal trailblazer. Dr. Seele is celebrating over 38 years of providing vision and leadership in areas of technical support to strengthen the capacity of faith institutions in the United States and Africa to eradicate health disparities by promoting health education and services within their local communities.

Born in the heart of the south, this Lincolnville native always shares a special love for South Carolina. Dr. Seele received her Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science from Clark Atlanta University...

Kaye Woodard is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Co-Founder of Livalytics, Inc. - a system that combines biometric analytics and health insights to help businesses and individuals achieve measurable performance improvements.

Her experience includes leading process improvements that deliver measurable results—most notably, playing a key role in launching the iconic Redbox video 'robot,' which transformed video rental through automation and logistics innovation. This experience reinforced her belief in the power of technology to enhance customer experience while improving business performance.

Building on this expertise, she designed Livalytics. Livalytics reflects her commitment to data-driven op...

Tanya Simmons Reid is a visionary leader, communications strategist and mental health advocate. In 2018, she founded Skyrocket Communications, Inc. to help organizations "rise brilliantly" in their ability to serve clients, customers and communities. Under her leadership, Skyrocket Communications also produces signature events and apparel that spark awareness, drive change and foster meaningful conversations.

With a distinguished career spanning communications, marketing, business development, branding, sales, donor engagement, media relations and event management, Tanya has built a reputation for delivering innovative solutions that amplify impact and achieve measurable success.

Committed to addressing mental health disparities in Black...

Cary L. Goodman, a native of Richmond, VA, has a sincere passion to empower faith communities to operate at their fullest capacity in areas of health promotion, advocacy programs, outreach, and development. For over 16 years, he has been dedicated to establishing and expanding health programs across the United States by building the capacity to address health disparities that greatly impact congregations and the communities they serve by strategically leveraging faith-based and community partnerships to impact sustainability.

Currently, Cary is a Program & Strategic Development Consultant for The Balm In Gilead, Inc., where he works diligently at the intersection...

Delores Fedrick is a multifaceted public health leader with over 50 years of pharmaceutical and medical sales, grant writing, nonprofit administration & public health literacy experience. She is the author of The Complete Guide to Developing Nutritional Skills: A One-Stop Dietary Solution for the Entire Family and Diverse Literacy Levels (First and Second Editions). She is passionate about ensuring everyone has adequate information to live healthy lives. 

Bio of Janet M. Taylor, Owner, Totally Organized, Inc. 

For the past 28 years, I have been assisting clients in creating a space that attracts more abundance, love, and happiness in their lives. My expertise includes transforming cluttered rooms into functional and creative spaces, organizing the personal and professional spaces of executives, and downsizing offices.

As a speaker, I have presented at the Philadelphia Home Show and conducted workshops at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’ Annual Conference. In 2020, I gave a webinar for a corporate client in New York that was attended by over 600 people.

I...

Craig Ascue is a humble visionary leader, entrepreneur, and community builder rooted in the Gullah Geechee heritage of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. As CEO of Ascue’s Paint and Body Shop, a second-generation collision repair business founded by his father in 1968, Craig blends tradition, technical excellence, and team leadership. Since taking the helm in 1995 after graduating from South Carolina State University with a degree in Marketing, Craig grew the company’s revenues, maintained consistent profitability, and in 2007 relocated operations to a 10,000 sq. ft. modern facility. Craig did this while assisting his father in developing the now Ascues Automotive Complex in M...

Tiffany D. Pogue, PhD (she/her/hers) is a life coach that incorporates the use of Black History, Black Culture, and Black Spirituality to support women in their defining and acquisition of holistic success. College dropout turned Black PhD, Tiffany knows first-hand how the knowledge of our cultural legacy can change our lives for the better. 

Currently, she serves as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Albany State University.   Pogue received her PhD from Emory University in Educational Studies.  As a proud HBCU graduate and administrator, her research int...

S. Darlene Cheek is an extraordinary Executive Administrator with a gazillion years of administrative experience. She graduated from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC with a bachelor's in Psychology and a minor in Music. She moved to New York and has held many roles: Caseworker for the Department of Child Abuse and Neglect, Transitional Housing Social Work Supervisor and Director, and numerous temporary positions. She joined The Balm In Gilead, Inc. during the inception of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Harlem Community unifying churches and communities around this disease. She held many positions at the Balm: Executive...

Derin Lindsey is an established Branding, Marketing and Creative Entrepreneur. He is the Founder and President of For Black Men's Health Inc. Derin is a wellness advocate dedicated to educating and empowering men of color to prioritize their health.

Tyza Brister is the Church Administrator at Beacon Light International Baptist Cathedral in New Orleans, LA where her father Bishop Darryl S. Brister is the pastor.

She is a mother, a creative, a former athlete and mental health advocate.

Nolly Swan is a recent graduate of the Clemson University Master's of Science in Historic Preservation program at the Clemson Design Center in Charleston, South Carolina. She is originally from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. This May, she published her graduate thesis titled "A Comparative Analysis of Cultural Preservation Focused Land-Use Regulations within the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor of South Carolina."

Below is a link to her thesis statement:

https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4473/

Transformation Specialist Dionne Jones is all about that balanced life! Dionne is Founder and Owner of Age with Vibrancy, LLC, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Age with Vibrancy, LLC “meets women where they are, and takes them to where they deserve to be in their lives.” Dionne takes the whole-body approach to helping women thrive. Get ready to strip away all of the self-doubt and negativity, and find YOU again!

Shyla K. Fields is a devoted wife, mother, and dynamic force for change. As a gifted community organizer, she has spent her career fostering inclusivity and collaboration across diverse communities. She currently serves as the Director of the Health Across the Lifecourse (HeAL) Research Area at the Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she leads efforts to advance equitable health outcomes through research and community engagement. 

Hetlena Johnson is a Patient Advocate, Author, Community Organizer, Retired Educator and Lupus Warrior. She is devoted to helping others face the trials of life with an open mind and energy. A cheerleader for handling life’s challenges with laughter and spirited resilience, she believes in living your best life while living with lupus.

Dr. Gregory Marcelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor committed to helping youth, adolescents, and adults learn how to manage their mental and behavioral health.

He is the CEO and Clinical Director of L.E.V.E.L.S Mental Health Services LLC providing therapeutic support, behavior management, and skill building to individuals who struggle with mental health and substance abuse disorders.

In observance of Parkinson's disease awareness month, we are excited to speak with special guests Michael S. Fitts and Dr. Reversa Joseph.

Michael S. Fitts recent retiree, served as assistant dean for user access and diversity at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB Libraries). He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011 at age 38. In 2001 he became the first African American faculty member of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences and later went on to become both the first African American assistant director and assistant dean. In 2015, Michael was appointed to the UA...

JT Logan is a serial entrepreneur, business coach, author, musician, minister, and father. He is the Founder and CEO of FOURDEEP – a full-service advertising and marketing agency founded in 2011 with offices in Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. JT and the FOURDEEP team have built brands for Fortune 500 companies, global non-profit organizations, universities, faith-based organizations, and emerging businesses alike. JT is also the founder of The Rare Foundation and Breast Cancer Under 30®.

JT is focused more than ever to help businesses and organizations transform their products and services through transformative media and marketing. JT's personal life experiences allowed him...

The Reverend Dr. Mia Hash Sloan focuses on curating spiritual well-being spaces across a broad range of religious and spiritual ideologies. She is a third-generation minister that has worked within the congregation and community for over 20 years. She has truly made a religious, spiritual and social impact in her community. Rev. Dr. Mia specializes in holistic well-being with a universal pull towards cultivating transformative, liberating space for individuals.

Rev. Dr. Mia serves as the Faith Project Manager at the Compass Faith Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University. She has committed her virtues, values, and ethics to providing...

Kayla Nixon is a Richmond, VA based public health communicator, community builder, and advocate dedicated to empowering Black women through information, connection, and action.

A uterine cancer survivor since 2019, she founded Uterine Care Collaborative in 2024 to educate Black women on uterine health conditions, improve access to resources, and amplify the voices and stories of women affected by fibroids, endometriosis, uterine cancer and PCOS.

Her passion for fostering community also led to the spontaneous creation of Bloom RVA in January 2025, a space for Black women in Richmond to connect and thrive. In just three months, Bloom...

In celebration of Women's History Month, we have a special message from our very own Dr. P! 

Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, Founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is a phenomenal trailblazer. Dr. Seele is celebrating over 37 years of providing vision and leadership in areas of technical support to strengthen the capacity of faith institutions in the United States and Africa to eradicate health disparities by promoting health education and services within their local communities.

Born in the heart of the south, this Lincolnville native always share a special love f...