Women’s Empowerment

Desiree Coleman-Fry helps organizations redefine diversity, equity & inclusion practices. She also speaks, writes, and curates events to empower women and is the Founder of the Queen Within. She holds an MPA, is a Danforth Plant Science Center trustee and received Investment News’ Rising Star Award.  She spearheaded the launch of this a virtual, signature women’s empowerment event to create community and connection while focusing on wellness & positive mental health. 

Connect with Desiree: @desireescoleman

Dr. Cortney Beasley is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and the founder of Put In Black, a platform designed to help improve Black communities’ access to health information. She received her Doctor of Psychology degree from the joint program between Stanford University and the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, and completed her pre-doctoral internship at The Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, at Boston Medical Center, and the Boston University School of Medicine. Throughout her career, she has focused on learning and sharing information that directly affects Black communities across the nation, as well as gaining insight into positively influencing the healthcare and justice systems.

Connect with Dr. Cortney: Facebook and instagram: put.in.black + Linkedin: Put In Black or website.

St. Louis native, Morgan Williams, is a Program Manager for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team at Ameren Corporation, overseeing various employee resource groups that foster a diverse, inclusive workplace by aligning with the company’s values, goals, and business objectives. She values opportunities that allows her to bring people together and inspire those around her.

Morgan’s genuine passion for empowering and serving is how her business Ooh So Sisterly™ was created.  Ooh So Sisterly™ focuses on online content development with a strategic emphasis on women’s empowerment. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for women everywhere by creating an inclusive, collaborative environment of story-sharing cultivating healthy dialogue amongst women. Ooh So Sisterly’s™ platform leverages art in various forms to deliver significant messaging around self-worth, self-confidence, and self-love for all women.

Catch Elle online: @oohsosisterly or on her website.

Keisha I. Patrick is an ordained minister and licensed attorney in Washington, DC.  She enjoys traveling, exercising and women ministry.  Her passion is speaking about racial justice and reconciliation.

Connect with Keisha: Instagram: @empirical98  

Phuong Kinney is a Chef and Co-Owner, with her husband James Kinney, of EXIT 2 Vegan™ a plant-based meal-prep service based in St. Peters, Missouri. Phuong, James and family began their plant-based journey in 2017, initially to be healthier, but decided to stay plant-based for more than health.  Now, it’s also for environmental and ethical reasons.  By changing what we consume on our plate, we better not only our mind and body, but also the environment.

Phuong’s personal journey turned into a passion when she, with her husband James, launched EXIT 2 Vegan™ in 2018 to help people with their journey to be WELLthy, eat WELLthy, get WELLthy, and stay WELLthy by providing delicious, nutritious and convenient plant-based meals.   She strives not only to open others to how good plant-based meals can be for nourishment, but also to show how good it can taste. This is accomplished by introducing seasonings from across the globe. Join Phuong on your road to wellness and be sure to Exit 2 Vegan along the way.

Connect with Phuong: Instagram: exit2vegan and see her featured in this article.   

Emily Michael is a Haitian-American singer/songwriter and worship leader who performs her lyrics with the raw depth of emotion with which she penned them. Since leading worship at the age of nine, she has expressed herself through her prophetic songs that bring deep conviction and yearning to the listener to enter the very throne room of God. At age fifteen, she led youth groups to Haiti with her Harp and Bowl Missions ministry where she trained young people to bring worship to prisons, hospitals, orphanages, and the local communities bringing peace, healing, and joy whenever they went. Whether it’s strumming her guitar, ukulele, or running her fingers along her piano keys, Emily exhibits an ability to bring fun, depth, and vulnerability in her performances. 

Connect with Emily: Instagram and Facebook: @emilymichaelmusic   

St. Louis native, Ericka Harris, 200 RYT, began practicing yoga in 2007 and completed Yoga Teacher Training in 2015.

Ericka views yoga as a lifestyle that brings people back to themselves. Oftentimes, the external world can be unsettling, so during the practice of yoga, Ericka places deep emphasis on paying attention to the breath, and it is through this paid attention that awareness is brought to one’s own deep fears, hopes, and joys. It is Ericka’s personal mission to help others take their inner awareness with them into everyday life, in order to help them bring love and brightness to those around them.

Connect with The Collective: Instagram: thecollectivestl and find them online.