Black Mental Wellness Symposium

Martell Teasley

Dr. MARTELL TEASLEY is Associate Provost for Strategic Academic Initiatives at the University of Utah, and he is the former Dean of the College of Social Work at the University of Utah. From 2017 to 2023 he was a two-term president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Social Work. Martell was Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work in the College of Public Policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 2012 until 2017. He is the former editor-in-chief (2015-2018) of the NASW journal Children & Schools. As the lead investigator on the Social Work profession’s Grand Challenge to Eliminate Racism, his major areas of research interest are African American adolescent development, school social work practice, and diversity in social work education. Dr. Teasley has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on a variety of topics dealing with social work practice and the educational outcomes of African American youth. He is the former Chair of the Social Work and Disaster Recovery Program at Florida State University College of Social Work. He served in the U.S. Army for 10 years and participated in the First Persian Gulf War as a Licensed Practical Nurse.  His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Fayetteville State University in North Carolina in 1994. He received a Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 1996, and his doctorate in Social Work in 2002 from Howard University, located in Washington, DC. 

Kaila Atkins

Kaila graduated from Northeastern University with her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology (B.Sc) with minors in Business Administration and Human Communication. She has received her Master of Social Work (MSW) at Boston College with a concentration in Afrocentric Social Work, and was a member of the Black Leadership Initiative (BLI). Kaila has provided counseling in residential, community- based and out-patient settings for individuals whose ages ranged from elementary school to seniors. She utilizes empowerment, strengths-based, and Narrative theoretical models to help clients meet their individual needs. In Kaila's free time she enjoys traveling, listening to music, and being a plant mom.

Lujuana Milton

Lujuana Milton, MSW, LICSW graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree from Boston College. She has over 16 years of clinical experience in the field and has worked in a number of settings addressing issues of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, opposition/defiance, and trauma. She has been trained extensively in a number of treatment approaches including traditional talk therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She also provides consultations and workshops with local community and school districts regarding issues affecting children, adolescents, and families such as substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and self-harm.  Lujuana’s clinical practice centers African values and principles in service of clients of the African Diaspora.

Vanessa Benzan Monteiro

Vanessa Sujey is a passionate and energetic individual who thrives on thoughtful conversations about life. With a background in social work, she brings a unique perspective to understanding the intersection of mental health and personal evolution. Vanessa's eclectic approach combines Internal Family Systems therapy with embodied practices like FLOW breathwork, sound baths, and energetic healing. She is dedicated to empowering melanated women in their journey to answer life's big questions, fostering both intellectual and holistic growth. Join Vanessa on a transformative path of self-discovery and empowerment.

Nieisha Deed

Nieisha Deed is a powerful emerging voice and leader in the mental health and wellness space in Boston and is working fiercely to advocate for mental wellness in Boston’s Black community. She is the visionary and creator behind PureSpark. As a person living with bipolar disorder, Nieisha understands all too well how important access to holistic support services and community are to one’s mental wellness. As a Black woman, Nieisha is a community builder and disruptor in the mental health and wellness space. She is dismantling the walls of silence by raising awareness about mental illness and wellness, not just through PureSpark, but with speaking engagements and facilitated events, where she shares her personal story as a Black woman living with a mental Illness. Because the Black community has historically been left out of the conversations about mental health and wellness, Nieisha feels that it’s vital to share her personal experience and voice with her community. Through her leadership, Nieisha shatters the shame around mental illnesses, creates access to mental health support, and shows us that healing is possible.

Morgan Breon

Morgan Breon is a three time graduate from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor—Dual Masters in Social Work and Education Policy, and Dual Bachelors in Psychology and English. She is a Certified Relationship Coach in the Gibson Integrated Attachment Theory.

Her core passion is fostering healing and support for Black youth and young adults. She has been a volunteer and mentor with foster care and adoption agency Spaulding for Children since 2012. In addition to facilitating youth workshops through her program, P.O.W.W.E.R. Training, for over 7 years, Morgan was the Behavior Specialist for the 9th Grade Academy at Denby High School and served as the Manager of Behavior and Culture at GOAL Line (Detroit Community Education Commission).

In 2017, Morgan decided to incorporate her gift for acting and playwriting into her “healing work,” and founded heal.be.live., LLC. She is an award-winning playwright, a 2017 Mitten Lab Fellow, 2017-2018 University Musical Society (UMS) Artist in Residence, 2018 Playwriting Scholarship Recipient with PlayPenn Theatre in Philadelphia, PA, 2018 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow, 2021 4.0 Essentials Fellow, 2022 Eastern Michigan University Porter Chair recipient, 2022 4.0 Tiny Fellow and a 2022 Comcast RISE Technology Recipient. Her work has been presented at ASHE, AERA, OABSE, CEYou Plus, and a plethora of schools, universities and community organizations. (www.healbelive.com)

Albert W Pless, Jr.

Albert W. Pless, Jr, is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Office of Equity and Social Justice for the Town of Reading. He was the previous  Inaugural Director of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion for the Town of Andover. He has over 25 years of experience working in public health, and community-based programs in the Greater Boston area. In addition, he directed nationally recognized Community Health Worker programs for Black and Latino men at both the Boston Public Health Commission and Cambridge Public Health Departments. He is on numerous boards and committees, including the Men’s Health and Black Health Care Workers Caucus of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Harvard Catalyst. Albert has committed his entire professional career to addressing health and racial inequities. He received my Master of Science degree from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH.

Melissa Wood Bartholomew

Melissa Wood Bartholomew (she/her), MDiv ’15, is the Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Lecturer on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Harvard Divinity School. She is a Christ-centered minister and a racial justice and healing practitioner committed to a multifaith, multidisciplinary, Afrocentric approach to healing justice rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, restorative justice, and love.

Melissa’s passion for racial and social justice was cultivated at Howard University where she received her undergraduate and law degrees. She is an attorney with nearly a decade’s experience in public interest law. Through her experiences in Seattle practicing law as an Assistant Attorney General, as a legal aid attorney with the Northwest Justice Project, and working as a mediator in King County Superior Court, it became clear to Melissa that the law could not facilitate the heart changes required to eradicate racism and oppression from individuals and systems. Her call to ministry led her to pursue her MDiv at HDS. Melissa is earnestly committed to eradicating racism and oppression and advancing healing and societal transformation through spiritually-engaged, heart-centered multifaith and multidisciplinary strategies rooted in love. She is a restorative justice practitioner and has studied restorative justice in Rwanda, transformational leadership in Ghana, and has published various articles exploring racial justice and healing. Melissa received her MSW from Boston College where she received her PhD in social work. Her research interests include the impact of racism, incarceration, and other systems of oppression on the mental health of Black people and the role of religion and spirituality in their resistance. She serves as part-time faculty at Boston College where she teaches restorative justice at the School of Law and has taught diversity in the School of Social Work.