“To heal is to acknowledge there was a wound in the first place.”

– Wenimo Okoya

What We Do

Healing Schools Project

Making Education a Sustainable Career So Educators Stay

We provide spaces for educators to process their experiences, reduce burnout, and reconnect with their purpose. Our group support and wellness-centered programs prioritize mental health and healing-centered leadership as keys to teacher retention.

Building Cultures of Care

Through intentional dialogue, trained facilitation, and community practices, we help schools become places where teachers can speak their truth, be heard, and feel part of something bigger.

Driving Systemic Change

Lasting change requires more than self-care. We work with school and district leaders to shift culture, policy, and practice—addressing the root causes of stress, trauma, and inequity in education.

Why It Matters

Schools that center wellbeing, identity-affirming spaces, and collective care don’t just keep great teachers—they help entire school communities thrive.
Our team brings lived experience at the intersection of education, mental health, and equity. We’re not just facilitators, we’re former educators, parents, and leaders who understand the weight and beauty of the work.

Join the Movement

We see a vision where everyone—especially those who’ve been historically marginalized—feels safe, seen, and supported in every school setting.

Our Values

Intentionality

Curiosity

Interconnectedness

Joy

Equity

Meet The Team

Healing work is equity work because we cannot achieve collective liberation without collective healing.

a black woman with gold circular earrings, glasses and braids laughing

Wenimo Okoya, EdD, MPH (she/her)

Founder and Executive Director

Former middle school teacher, researcher-practitioner, expert in trauma-sensitive intervention adoption in schools

Healing work is equity work because every human should have the right to the space, time and tools to care for themselves and others.

Megan Cain. (she/her)

Operations Lead

Operations expert for non-profit start ups who need to build the back end in order to win back time and stay ahead of growth.

Healing work is equity work because when we are healed, we are able to imagine, create, and embody a world free from systemic injustice and harm.

Amanda Faison (she/her)

Partnerships Manager

An equity-driven educator and program leader with extensive experience designing and leading healing-centered initiatives in schools and community-based organizations. A former special education teacher in Newark Public Schools, she brings a deep commitment to urban education and antiracist practices. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching, a 500-hour yoga teacher training certification, and is an INELDA-trained end-of-life doula. Her work integrates arts-based learning, somatic movement, and meditation to support educator and student well-being.

Healing work is equity work because we must heal and mend wounds from the past before we can look forward to building a more equitable future.

Ha Ming Ong (she/her)

Administrative Assistant

A part-time NYC substitute teacher and President of the Parent Teacher Association at her local public school.

Healing work is equity work because systems don’t transform without people who feel safe, seen, and valued. Healing-centered leadership nurtures the conditions for equity to live, breathe, and take root.

Tahirah Akilah Bellinger (she/her)

Director of Programs & Innovation

Visionary educator, leader, and healer with over 15 years of experience in education, equity, and wellness. Holds graduate degrees in School Building Leadership and Special & Urban Education. Dedicated to advancing educational equity and scaling programs that center belonging, holistic growth, and community transformation.