Meet Us
Get to Know Us
Katrice Nelson, MEd., RYT
Coordinator & Visionary
DMV Black Yoga and Wellness Week
Seeking to help others thrive by nurturing body, mind, and spirit through yoga and massage is Katrice's ultimate goal. As a registered yoga teacher, Katrice has used her degree in Clinical Nutrition and certifications in wellness and Thai Foot Reflexology/ Massage to provide a holistic approach to health and wellness for adults and children. Katrice's holistic training includes Thai Massage and Reflexology, Reiki, Yoga for Adults and Children, Yoga for Athletes, and Yoga for Injury Prevention & Recovery. Teaching yoga and meditation at libraries, residential gyms, schools, and corporate offices, including CSPAN, Washington DC has been fulfilling, Katrice is a certified member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals and has completed certifications and training from Breathe for Change Yoga and Wellness, YogaFit, and Spiritual Essence Yoga Wellness Center. Katrice is the founder/president of Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds Yoga, Inc. - a nonprofit yoga and wellness organization for children and families.
Jerome Paige
Wellness Panelist- Yoga Instructors Gathering
Jerome S. Paige views meditation as a doorway to knowledge, comprehension, and action. He equips individuals with meditation frameworks and resources, enabling them to access a state of inner tranquility that strengthens their ability to promote health, healing, and well-being for themselves, others, and their communities.
Since 2000, Jerome has actively engaged in meditation practices. He attained Level 1 Yoga Nidra Teaching certification from the Integrative Restoration Institute(iRest®) in August 2007, followed by completing the iRest Level II Teacher Training in August 2008. Additionally, he participated in the training program “Yoga as a Peace Practice" offered by the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance in August 2018 and May 2019. Since 2017, Jerome has been an advisor to and board member of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance (BYTA). Furthermore, he has been a dedicated practitioner of hot yoga since 2004. Jerome explores mind/body/spirit/shadow issues in his blog—What’s on Jerome’s Mind. Apart from his involvement in yoga, Jerome operates his own economic, business, and organizational consulting firm, Jerome S. Paige & Associates, LLC, located in Washington, DC.
Dana A. Smith, E-RYT 500, CLC
Location Host- Holistic Spa Day ( Main Event)
Dana A. Smith is the founder and owner of Spiritual Essence Yoga and creative visionary behind the international YES! Yoga Has Curves movement. She is a wife, mother, certified yoga teacher/trainer, coach and wellness practitioner. Since 2003, she has been a pioneer for inclusive yoga in the West.
Dana teaches yoga as a tool for powerful life transformation. Even though she has trained over 500 yoga teachers since 2008, she considers herself a lifelong student.
Herbal Consultations, Holistic Spa Day
Yuma "Docta Yew" Bellomee is a holistic wellness consultant, herbalist, and percussionist who's been playing and studying rhythms of West Africa and the African diaspora since his childhood. Throughout the years, Docta Yew has drummed for a number of festivals, dance classes, stage performances, ceremonies, and presentations, with a genuine passion for the connection between music, culture, healing, and personal development. He currently teaches drum classes in the Washington, DC metro area, drums regularly with Ni Dembaya African Drum & Dance Ensemble and Coyaba Dance Theater, and supports many other African drumming ensembles & other musicians, locally and abroad.
Lisa Brown Alexander
Location Host- Praise and Worship Yoga= Wellspring Manor & Spa
Lisa has demonstrated success as an entrepreneur and business leader. In 2011, Lisa was named one of Washington DC’s Top 25 Minority Business Leaders by the Washington Business Journal. In July of 2012, Washington SmartCEO Magazine recognized Lisa as a 2012 Brava! Award winner. The Brava! Awards celebrate the distinguished achievements of 25 of Greater Washington's women business leaders. In March of 2016, she was named to the list Power50 Women awarded by Walker’s Legacy. She has served as President & CEO of a human resources management consulting firm since 2000 and prior to that served in a variety of executive level positions. She has also serves as Associate Producer of the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival since its inception in 2010 and serves on the Board of Directors of the DC Chamber of Commerce, the Prince Georges Cultural Arts Foundation and the Upper Marlboro Arts Council.
Jana Long
Wellness Panelist- Yoga Instructors Gathering
Jana Long, the Executive Director and co-founder of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance (BYTA), leads a remarkable nonprofit providing representation, continuing education, and professional development for Black yoga teachers. She also spearheads the Power of One Yoga Center in Baltimore, MD, a community-oriented space empowering "baby boomers" to embrace self-care practices for improved health and wellness as they age. Jana is an accomplished Ayurvedic lifestyle consultant, meditation facilitator, and State of Maryland certified Master Gardener, guiding others towards holistic well-being. With a rich background studying diverse yoga lineages and cultures across Africa, India, Central America, and the United States, her personal yoga journey spans over 50 years. A mentor to many, Jana's nurturing guidance and inclusive approach inspire transformation in the lives of countless individuals.
Courtenay S. Brown, E-RYT 500, YACEP®
Wellness Panelist - Yoga Instructors Gathering
Founder and owner of Shabach Yoga Studio in Waldorf, MD, Courtenay took her first yoga class in 2007. “After my very first practice, the moment I got up from the mat, I felt overwhelmed by a deep sense of gratitude. I felt like I had an encounter with God.”
She is the creator of Gospel Yoga Flow ®, a vinyasa flow, geared to creating a "worship experience" on the mat. Gospel Yoga Flow ® focuses on strengthening the spirit and the mind, as much as the body.
Courtenay is a Reiki Master, Vibrational Sound Therapy Certified Practitioner, Certified Mental Health First Aid Provider, and Purpose Coach. Courtenay is an international yoga retreat facilitator, who leads others towards wholeness in annual retreats to Costa Rica and North Africa.
A former book editor/publisher by profession, she holds BA and MA degrees in English. She is also a wife and proud mother of two daughters. She is a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Fort Washington Alumnae Chapter), and a member of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance and the International Association of Reiki Professionals.
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Kendra B. Dibinga
Wellness Panelist, Yoga Instructors Gathering
With a unique understanding of how the body moves and a passion for effectively harnessing its power, Kendra Blackett-Dibinga has dedicated her journey to helping individuals achieve what might once have seemed impossible. As the Chief Visionary Officer for BikramYogaWorks since 2014, she has introduced trademarked systems DRIP’T and FLEX’T, aimed at bringing balance to the body by aligning strength, flexibility, and mobility. With over two decades of experience in yoga, fitness, and flexibility/mobility training, Kendra's journey began with the creation of FLEX’T during the intense training demands of the COVID era, driven by her own need for recovery and balance. Her approach blends yoga philosophy, anatomy, and personalized flexibility training, catering to individuals of all ages, shapes, and sizes, aiming to optimize body performance through technique and mindfulness.
Marsha D. Banks-Harold
Wellness Moderator- Yoga Instructors Gathering
Marsha D. Banks-Harold-owner of PIES Fitness Yoga Studio, Director of Holistic Yoga Therapy and Yoga Teacher training programs, certified yoga therapist, trams sensitive yoga facilitator, and an engineering executive leader, is a called intuitive healing trailblazer who empowers clients to compassionately lead while negotiating the intersectionality of trauma, wellness, body positivity, disabilities, and social justice.
Tamisha J. Ponder
Wellness Panelist, Yoga Instructors Gathering
Tamisha believes there is something powerful when you’re able to share your authentic self with others, so by blending together her passions for both yoga and community, she and her husband, Marcus, opened Sankofa Yoga and Wellness Center in July 2019. Seeking to create more spaces to foster community, relationships, healing and wellness, Laurel, the city in which she was raised, was selected as its home. In November 2020 they opened, Sankofa Health Center an urgent and primary care medical center and 2023, transitioned it to an integrative health center providing culturally responsive mental health services.
Asia Vianna Leak
Wellness Panelist- Yoga Instructors Gathering
Asia’s love affair with movement started in childhood, yet her journey with yoga did not begin until 2014 with a trial class at a local dance studio. From there she was introduced to the mindfulness of yoga at a small community studio. It was not until moving to Hyattsville in 2015 that Asia came across Love Yoga and immediately felt connected and has been hooked on yoga ever since. She enjoys practicing Hatha yoga and Yin yoga. Her interest in yoga goes beyond her own practice as she believes in the healing powers of yoga and desires to spread this practice to everyone. In summer of 2019, Asia became co-owner of the studio along with her mother Vicki! Asia has taught over 1000 hours of yoga classes, workshops and retreats.
Asia’s journey along the Seat of the Teacher began at Love Yoga Studio, before becoming the studio owner. She completed her 200 Hours Yoga Teacher Training at Love and then during the COVID-19 pandemic completed her Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Teacher Certification & 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training. Asia loves to facilitate continuing education workshops and curate specialty certification programs and run yoga teacher training cohorts. She has a passion for helping people learn in interactive, reflective and thorough ways. Early on in her tenure with Love’s Yoga School, Asia created The Love Way Exchange, a barter-based scholarship to make yoga training and certification programs more accessible.
