Meet Our Team

Laqwanda Roberts-Buckley, MSSW

Executive Director/Founder

With over 18 years of mental health experience, Laqwanda Roberts-Buckley is a lifelong Mental Health Advocate. She is the Executive Director of Healing Black Women which serves as a safe space designed to encourage and promote all forms of wellness/healing for black women. In this space, she leads community engagement alongside subject matter experts through free monthly groups, panel discussions, articles, social media campaigns, podcast, and community awards. 

Laqwanda is a suicide attempt survivor who manages Bipolar I Disorder and PTSD. She is no stranger to outpatient treatment, hospitalization, and crisis intervention. At one point in her mental health journey, she was unable to work, live on her own, or care for her child. Through several treatment failures and successes, Laqwanda has been able to experience recovery in order to support herself and serve her community. 
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Concurrently, she acts as the Mental Health & Wellness Specialist at a university's Life & Work Connection Department; in which, she is responsible for the development, evaluation, and promotion of mental health programming and resources for over 16,000 employees. 

As an established national speaker, Laqwanda has shared her professional expertise with national entities such as Eventbrite, Human Rights Campaign, Mental Health America, EPA, PBS, DC Jazz Festival, Council on Social Work Minority Fellowship Program, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy WOC, to name a few.
 
She is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Rooted Community Acupuncture, Inc. She has held previous positions such as Board Member with Recovery Program Solutions of Virginia and NAMI Northern Virginia, Director of Outreach for the national office of Mental Health America, and Coordinator of Diverse Students’ Mental Health & Wellness for MSU Division of Access, Diversity, and Inclusion.  In addition, she has demonstrated her passion for self-care as a former Writing Contributor with PsychCentral.com through her former blog Self-Care Today.

She is the Host of the Healing Black Women Podcast, the Content Creator for the YouTube channel Laqwanda. Laqwanda is a Reiki Master, Certified Life Coach, holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, a Bachelor of Art in Sociology from Jackson State University with plans to pursue a PhD in Human Services or Sociology and is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
 
As a Black Queer woman and former mental health provider, she realizes the importance of understanding multicultural needs and has extensive experience supporting individuals from diverse and underrepresented populations/communities. 
 
Laqwanda lives life by the simple words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The purpose of life is not to be happy, it is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” It is her goal that the work done in her life touches and inspires the lives of others. 
​@laqwanda





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2025 HBW Associates

Cassandra Hill is a Master Life Coach, Best-Selling Author, and Speaker. Her passion is empowering Black women to live life on their terms by up-leveling their emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being. Cassandra is the catalyst to spark Black women entrepreneurs to create game-winning strategies and achieve them while living a peaceful life. Cassandra has been awarded for her service with recognitions like: 2024 Black Woman Owned Brand of the Year by the I’m Loving Me Project,
Women’s Biz Global: Woman to Watch in 2023, 2022 Influential African American Woman in Business by Smart Women Partner. She has collaborated with: Goldman Sachs, Nashville Voyager and Authority Magazine.
Alicia Stevens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Hunter College and has worked in Finance for 15+ years.  In her free time,  Alicia has always enjoyed writing. A true believer in the importance of self-care, she has written blog articles that focus on self-esteem, relationships, mental health, and wellness. Alicia is currently working on branching out into freelance work. 
Tamika has a passion for helping black women heal from their invisible pains and traumas. As a certified Mental Health First Aid Responder, Certified Meditation Practitioner, and Certified Life Coach, her hope is to teach women that true strength comes from their willingness to be vulnerable and get to the root of their dis-ease. She is currently working on a degree in Psychology with a concentration in Mental Health Counseling.  As a woman who has recovered from crippling grief, who lives with aggressive Generalized Anxiety Disorder and several Chronic Invisible Illnesses, you can trust her when she says, “Because I’ve been through it, I can teach you how to get through it.”  
With over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, I have developed a proven track record of leading teams, optimizing operational efficiency, and driving revenue growth. My professional journey has spanned various roles from branch management to financial consulting, and I am passionate about using my expertise to empower individuals and organizations to reach their financial goals. My personal mission is to help others achieve financial freedom and security, ultimately leaving a legacy for my family and the communities I serve.
Sheila King holds an Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies from University of the District of Columbia. She has served women experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC for years. She has experience in crisis de-escalation, conflict resolution, and group facilitation. She is passionate about mental health and substance use issues. As a Black woman with mental health concerns, she wants to support all black women on their mental health journey.  
MoLove is an Educator, Entrepreneur, Advocate, MoLove spends her life working to help others become who they want to be with small steps in achieving their greatness. She was born an Artist and became an educator by destiny. She created her first business at the age of 10 by using both natural born skills. She continues to growth her entrepreneurships under the umbrella of MoLoveMadeIt LLC. MoLove holds a Master of Strategic Communications from University of Maryland. 
Christopher G. Buckley currently serves as the Lean Management Systems and Continuous Improvement Program Manager and Coach for the Environmental Protection Agency. He also served active duty in the United States Coast Guard for 15 years. He hold a Master degree in Quality Systems Management and a Bachelor degree in Economics.
​Quintanella Roberts Is the CEO/Founder of Cambridge Business Solutions, LLC and MSD,LLC. She received a BA in Healthcare Management and BS in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. In 2018 Ms. Roberts started using her 30 years of management experience to help single parents leave low wage jobs and pursue entrepreneurship.
​Zaria Newbill is the Executive Director of NOMO Organization. She holds an Associate Degree in Marketing Management, Bachelors Degree in Psychology. She is an advocate for all transgender women but especially for Trans women of Color. Her advocacy is based upon lived experience and serves as a bases for her goal is to continue to bring transvisibility and awareness to communities. 
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