Choose to Awaken with the WUE Nation!

On March 29, 2020, Spirit of A Woman, LLC, launched the Wake Up Everybody (WUE) Virtual series in partnership with community healers, thought leaders, coaches, medical and mental health professionals, educators and artists from across the nation. WUE was created to provide community members, from across the country and abroad, with an opportunity to keep their mental, emotional,  physical and spiritual well beings balanced and whole as they navigated the impact of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 global health crisis. 

WUE was  originally designed as a 30 day offering that would provide “temporary” covering and support for participants until the quarantine period ended, however, the producers and community members quickly realized that the WUE journey would last much longer than they originally anticipated. 

The series was created by Shawnee Benton Gibson, CEO, of Spirit of A Woman (SOW) Leadership Development Institute, who was inspired by the lyrics of the song  “Wake Up Everybody” by Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. The song, which was popular in the 70s, speaks of issues that we are still glaringly relevant today; (racism, war, poverty, sickness, political strife, corruption, etc). The WUE Virtual series was designed to “WAKE UP” the masses by providing empowering messaging, holistic healing tools, guidance for daily living and strategies for addressing the injustices, pain and imbalance that exists in the world. 

All of the “Wake Up Everybody” sessions take place 5 days a week (every Sunday, Tuesday, & Thursday from 7:00am - 8:30am EST and every Monday and Wednesday from 7:00am -7:30am EST.) over Zoom and Facebook Live. Every session is facilitated by powerful and prolific presenters from various backgrounds and areas of discipline. Each facilitator guides participants through an interactive experience that fosters education, conversation, new insights, empowerment  and expansion. 

The WUE Family invites you to join our phenomenal community so that you can share, heal and grow as part of the collective. You are free to join as a community participant, as a session facilitator and/or a member of the admin team to support the magic that happens behind the scenes. We hope to hear from you. 

Sunday, March 18th - "Adjustment for Advancement: From Stuck to Strategic"

Facilitated By: Dr. Lavonya Douglas

This 90-minute immersive workshop is designed to help you reflect on where you are, why you feel stuck, and what needs to shift for you to move forward. Through guided exercises, mindset work, and intentional journaling, you’ll begin to uncover the patterns, people, and perspectives that have held you back. You’ll gain clarity on what alignment looks like for your next season and leave with a bold, actionable step to begin your personal reinvention.

Monday, May 19th - "Life is a Sacred Dance Part 2"

Facilitated By: Dr. Ausar

Dance is a universal language that speaks to the hearts and minds of all, transcending boundaries and bringing people together in unity. Rooted in the wisdom of our Ancestors, dance serves as a powerful tool for healing, connection, and creative expression. It fosters social interaction, promotes community, and offers a joyful, fresh way to communicate beyond words. In this session, we will explore dance as a sacred practice of the rituals of resistance and evidence of resiliency.

Tuesday, May 20th - "From Connections to Conversations: Personalizing Your Brand’s Identity"

Facilitated By: Athenia Rodney 

In this session, we’ll explore how to transform surface-level interactions into meaningful brand relationships by creating a brand identity that feels authentic, approachable, and aligned with your values. You'll learn how to personalize your messaging, speak to different personality types using the B.A.N.K. framework, and build trust that turns connections into loyal clients. Whether you're a service provider or creative entrepreneur, you'll walk away with practical strategies to make your brand feel human—and get results.

Wednesday, May 21st - "The Courage to Move: Positioning Yourself for What’s Next"

Facilitated By: Alicia Holmes

This session will explore how the community can step into clarity, power, and strategic action while others sit on the sidelines.

Thursday, May 22nd - "Have You Talked to Your Child About Being Touched Today? Part 3"

 Facilitated By: Martine Lissa Malivers

This is the final session of the series where we will learn actual steps to take to start implementing prevention into our everyday lives and turn our WUE conversations into action!

Dr. Lavonya Douglas is a distinguished scholar who holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership Psychology with a specialization in African and Caribbean Mental Health. Her expertise lies at the intersection of psychology, leadership, and cultural diversity. With a strong commitment to enhancing individual and community well-being, Dr. Douglas specializes in developing professional development and leadership programs. Through her research and studies, she has gained profound insights into the psychological dynamics within these communities, enabling her to design impactful initiatives that foster personal growth, leadership skills, and mental health awareness. Dr. Douglas' work not only advances the field of organizational leadership psychology but also addresses the crucial requirement for culturally sensitive approaches to professional development and mental health support. Dr. Douglas is a leader, mentor, mother, and energy producer! She is a leader of leaders who leverages individual strength. She’s a coach and mentor to her colleagues and teams. She helps transform lives, create a sense of purpose, and instill a passion for excellence in individuals and organizations.

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Rev. Dr. Ausar is a sacred arts minister of dance, with over 30 years of experience as a liturgical dance director. She is a certified Holistic Health Counselor, graduating from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as a certified drugless practitioner. She is also a certified Yoga instructor and Reiki Master. Rev. Ausar received her Doctorate of Ministry degree (D.Min) in May 2012, and her Masters of Divinity degree (M.Div) from the prestigious New York Theological Seminary in 2008. Dr. Ausar is a certified chaplain and pastoral care counselor, certified by the College of Pastoral Care and Psychotherapy (CPSP).

Dr. Ausar has taught at New York Theological Seminary Certificate Program as an Adjunct Professor and she has facilitated and participated in retreats, conferences and workshops throughout the NY area and abroad teaching sacred dance and holistic health as a methodology to fully live out what it means and what it takes to live and be your truth. Dr. Ausar considers herself a Woman of Wisdom. Spiritual leader and guide. A truth teller and seeker, a healer and is involved with community activism. She is the founder and owner of Thegod-factor, LLG

A holistic and wellness center for spiritual teaching, coaching and guidance. As well as education on God, spirituality and natural law.
Most importantly, Dr. Ausar would have all to know she loves God with her whole heart, and her desire is to share the love of God, and the guidance of our Ancestors with everyone she encounters.

She is married to Mr. Eddy Duroseau, and they have four gorgeous children: Jasmine, Andre (Candice), Jah-le, and Jadah and five beautiful granddaughters and two handsome grandsons.

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Athenia Rodney is the Founder and CEO of Umoja Events, a female-owned corporate events logistics planning company based in Brooklyn, NY, and organizer of the flagship event annually known as Juneteenth NYC Festival and Summit. Umoja Events is a MWBE business and focuses on partnerships with city agencies. Athenia has a passion for travel which has led her to start Rodney Tribe Travel and Tours where she offers group travel for weddings and retreats. 

Athenia a wife, mother of 3 holds many positions in the New York City community of Brooklyn where she is currently a chair on the Family Advisory Board of United For Brownsville, an Ambassador for Brownsville Sentiment, Board member at Brookdale Hospital One Brooklyn Health, Co-chair for “Moms Who Lead With Love” a virtual advocacy support group and organizer and founder of the 13th Annual Juneteenth NYC Summit and Nationally recognized Festival. 

One of Athenia’s inspiration is her mother. Growing up in Brooklyn, Athenia’s mother faced barriers to participation as an immigrant in the educational system and that has fueled her ambassadorship with education not only for herself and family but also for others who do not have a voice. Athenia learned how critical it was to be able to access an equitable education, and recognized that the pandemic meant a gap in educational services and childhood development. Athenia acted fast with the help of her peers to put support in place for community members to improve the education, health, and wellbeing of families. 

Among other accolades, Athenia has mentored youth, married couples, and entrepreneurs to achieve their greatest potential.

Athenia, a psychology graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont and a long time lover of education continues to take certificate programs and add to her long list of recognitions that are way too many to mention here. 

Lastly, Athenia was recognized by The Robin Hood Foundation in 2020 as a New York Hero recipient for the work done with United for Brownsville. In addition, Athenia received an Entrepreneur of the Year award from New York City for her amazing organization of the NYC Juneteenth event for 12 years running and her superb outreach work with the community.

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Alicia Holmes, Financial Coach and Educator, founded Journey to Wealth in 2016 with the goal to provide women of color with the tools to create a mindset shift, get out of debt, and build their net worth — with a focus on the game-changing benefits of investing in innovative technology. Since then, her vision has expanded and she has co-founded a DAO (a decentralized organization) called Disruptor DAO. Disruptor DAO is a community-led entity with a shared mission focused on educating and securing a place in the future of Web3 for Black and Latinx women.  

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Martine Lissa Malivers is a pediatric home health nurse, research nurse and a child sexual abuse prevention specialist. She is a survivor of child sexual abuse and is passionate about stopping what happened to her in her youth from happening to other children.

She founded Touch: The Rebellion, Inc. (Touch) in 2011 in order to bring awareness of the prevalence of child sexual abuse in all races, cultures, classes, religions and communities as well as to create fun, engaging and age-appropriate programming that teaches predatory prevention to the community and empowers the youth. Touch encourages discussion that dispels myths, clears up confusion and breaks a societal taboo that has long posed a detriment to our children's well-being. They use a grassroots approach to reach the public directly and provide them with resources such as workshops and free parent packs filled with educational material on how to fight child sexual abuse and make its prevention a part of every child's daily life. Martine believes that the education and active prevention of child sexual abuse is a community responsibility and when fulfilled helps to create safer environments for the world's children.