Women & Politics: Women & Community Leadership

On Today’s show we invite in two community leaders making waves in their cause areas:

Kenda Sutton-El – Founding Director Birth in Color RVA

Kenda’s greatest pleasure as a reproductive healthcare worker has been watching women become confident and excited about the birth and early parenting of their children. She firmly believes in the power of redirecting your fears and anxieties into finding new, empowering ways to experience birth and parenting.

Kenda is the Founding Director of Birth In Color RVA. Kenda holds a Bachelor’s in Health Science and is also a Doula Trainer, Diversity Equity Inclusion Consultant, Policy Analyst, CPR Instructor, Holistic Nutritionist, Lamaze Childbirth Educator, Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, Hypnobirthing Educator.

Kenda serves as the Chair of Virginia Doula Taskforce Chair, Chair of Greater Richmond Regional Maternal Child Health Taskforce, member of the Virginia Maternal and Data outcomes Taskforce, Pregnancy Services for Incarceration Workgroup.

In 2019, Kenda Sutton-EL helped establish “Black Maternal Health Week” and also led the campaign for Doula Medicaid Reimbursement for the state of Virginia. Her passion for reproductive justice has led her to relentlessly pursue methods of improving maternal health for women of color. She firmly believes that until every woman is safe before, during, and after childbirth, we have not done our job as a society.

Honesty Liller – CEO McShin Foundation

Honesty Liller is a woman in long-term recovery from a Substance Use Disorder since May 27, 2007 and a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist in VA. Honesty is the best-selling author of “Scattered Pink”and is the Chief Executive Officer of The McShin Foundation, a non-profit authentic peer-to-peer Recovery Community Organization (RCO), that serves individuals and families with Substance Use Disorders. She is the recipient of the Vernon Johnson Award given by Faces and Voices of Recovery in 2015. Honesty was also featured on “Face The Nation”, FOX News, and PBS discussing addiction & recovery in America. In addition, she completed Stanford University’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. In 2019 she was honored with the Jean C. Harris Community Service Board Award from Hanover County. WRIC – Channel 8 News did a feature about Honesty for the “Richmond’s Remarkable Women” special in 2020. She has been a field reviewer for SAMHSA, Faces & Voices of Recovery, and CAPRSS. As a female entrepreneur she co-founded CARE Talks, LLC. She is a board member of VSIAS and LAPPA. Honesty is able to be a voice for those with addiction and their families through countless news articles, magazine stories, and TV interviews. To spend time with her husband, two children, and her two dogs is a gift that keeps giving!

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