Thriving Thursdays: Mental Health Advocacy

Join this powerful discussion as Dr. Jackman sits down with U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo, Artist and Creative Entrepreneur, and Chief of Creativity & Culture at Maoko Project. 

The program will also be live streamed on InnoPsych's Facebook page.

Bios:

U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo is a Zimbabwean-American poet, performance artist, storyteller, and educator with an international reach and a transnational lens. Her debut poetry collection, Soul Psalms (She Writes Press), was published in April 2016, and hailed by David Updike as “a fearless female voice … tempered with optimism and healing possibilities of love.” Most recently she has been featured on GBH’s “Suitcase Stories” and “ Growing Up Black Part 2 “, and on “ Memoirs of a Black Girl” as Wardrobe Stylist which is the opening film for the Roxbury International Film Festival June 17, 2021. U-Meleni is an advisory board member for Write On the Dot and a member of the New England Poetry Club. She is a 2021 Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship recipient from the Arts and Business Council of Boston. Having spent decades working in diverse sectors, she founded Maoko Project, an arts-based approach to DEI, Wellness, and Education guided by Ndau (Shona) principles. She is currently having a fundraiser in support of Friendship Bench Zimbabwe that provides mental health to community members in crisis through talk therapy interventions in person on a bench or on virtual platforms like Whatsapp. U-Meleni is also an occasional adjunct professor at Endicott College (Boston) teaching creative writing and performance poetry. She has a Master’s in Education from Lesley University, focusing on multicultural education and theatre arts. Also very proud of being an undergraduate alum of UMASS Boston. She is fiercely passionate about using her voice for women’s empowerment, wellness, and exploring “hyphenated identities” through her work. When not writing, performing, or collaborating with other artists, she can often be found enjoying a Riesling at a winery, biking and running for charity with her husband and son, and traveling the world. She lives in Boston with her family. For more information: www.u-meleni.com

Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D., is a Harvard-trained, licensed psychologist with over 23 years in the mental health field. Dr. Jackman is the founder + CEO of InnoPsych, Inc., an organization on a mission to change the face of therapy and to promote wellness & healing for people of color. InnoPsych, Inc., is an award-winning organization focused on increasing access to therapy through its online therapist of color directory and thought-provoking emotional wellness programming. As a change-maker, Dr. Jackman is passionate about the intersection of psychology, mental health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion and has created social impact initiatives that support community members and mental health professionals. She has used her expertise to shape how organizations respond to and support their employees during the COVID-19 and racial violence crises. Dr. Jackman is the recipient of the City of Boston’s Black History Month’s 2021 Innovator of the Year Award. In 2020, Dr. Jackman was the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s 2020 PLC Diversity Award, and was named one of the 50 Most Influential Business People of Color by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Jackman LOVES talking about mental health and is a national spokesperson for mental health and emotional wellness. She has also been featured in both print and TV media outlets locally and nationally.