Featured
Aquarius Ester Alegria is a recovery support specialist, clinical massage therapist, filmmaker, and performance artist using her lived experience with chronic pain and mental health challenges to create unique tools for trauma recovery.
Over the past 13 years, she has used film, poetry, dance, journalism and performance art as a vehicle to process heavy emotions and manage the symptoms of my mental and physical health diagnoses, leading to a level of stability that supports clients at a Chicago-based mental health organization.
Featured in The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader, on WBEZ, WTTW, FoxSoul, and on international television and radio, Nikki Patin has been writing, performing, educating, and advocating for over two decades. She has taught workshops on performance poetry, body image, sexual assault prevention and LGBT issues for over 20 years.
Bianca N. Cotton, a proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools and a native of the South Side of Chicago, has emerged as a significant figure in literature, television, and personal development. She is the author of nine impactful books, the host of a signature show on CANTV, and the founder of the transformative movement, Behind the Confident Smile, which has been a beacon of hope and change for seven years.
Natalie Battles is a visual and performance artist. She uses her gifts of photography, cinematography, event curation, acting, directing, and hosting to educate, amplify and inspire. Natalie does this by taking control of the melanated narrative, helping melanated people to love themselves, their stories, and their image.
Brittany Washington is a body positivity advocate, entrepreneur, author, and speaker dedicated to redefining beauty standards and creating an inclusive society where women of all shapes and sizes are celebrated. Nicknamed “Fluffy” as a child, Brittany transformed a childhood moniker into a movement for self-love and empowerment.