EMBRACE Dadicated

Co-facilitator Iona Lewis (she/her) is a Bay Area native who has over 15 years’ experience delivering community education, trainings and workshops centering the humanity of those at the margins, specifically families, survivors of intimate partner and/or community violence and those formerly incarcerated. Iona has dedicated her efforts to reimagining how we support and respond to the needs of Black families in our communities. Iona has developed parenting curriculum and training platforms centering on the undoing of the generational harm that influences parenting Iona facilitated parenting workshops for families impacted by violence and incarceration as well as co-facilitated learning engagement to students of the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program at California State University, East Bay’s University Extension. In her current role as Safe Start Coordinator for Safe & Sound, Iona manages advocates that provide Case Management, parent education and child abuse prevention trainings to the community.

Co Facilitator Rahsan Brown (he/him) is a father of four and community educator dedicated to the joy and liberation of people within the African Diaspora. A lifelong Bay Area resident, Rahsan stands rooted in mindfulness and radical authenticity as the pathway to our collective healing and wellbeing. His experience as a father, community advocate and educator has enabled him to work collaboratively with African American fathers and their families providing support to those parenting with ACES and promoting father without fear. His work in the Bay View exists at the intersection of community outreach, family building with the goal of disrupting of multi-generational trauma. Rahsan brings diverse perspectives to his work helping to engage fathers in utilizing safe, positive, and effective strategies to significantly impact the lives of their children and families.