Launchpad Panel: Health is Wealth

This dynamic panel will explore practical strategies for maintaining wellness, preventing burnout, and creating sustainable wellness habits.
About this Event

Join us for an engaging and empowering conversation on the importance of prioritizing health and well-being while navigating the demands of professional and entrepreneurial life.

August is Black Business Month, and at the heart of every successful business is the well-being of its owner. Prioritizing self-care, holistic health, and overall wellness is essential not only for personal growth but also for building and sustaining a thriving business.

This dynamic panel will explore practical strategies for maintaining wellness, preventing burnout, and creating sustainable habits that support both personal fulfillment and professional success.

Invest in your greatest asset—you. When your health thrives, your business, relationships, and community are better positioned to flourish

About The Panel

Moderator:

Kevnesha Boyd, LPC is a trauma therapist, EMDR and cannabis consultant, registered yoga teacher, and the Founder and Clinical Director of Quality Counseling—a certified women- and Black-owned group mental health practice rooted in healing justice.

Born and raised in New Haven, Kevnesha transforms her lived experience with community violence, mass incarceration, and systemic oppression into purpose. Her life’s mission is to heal generational trauma in Black communities through therapy, art, education, and yoga.

With over 15 years of experience in diverse mental health settings, she holds degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice, a master’s in Community & Forensic Psychology, and certifications in EMDR, yoga, and cannabis consulting. Her work bridges clinical care with cultural responsiveness, advocacy, and holistic wellness.

A proud Pr*son abolitionist, Kevnesha is an active member of Stop Solitary CT and contributed to the passage of the 2022 PROTECT Act, legislation that ends solitary confinement in Connecticut and establishes independent oversight of the Department of Corrections.

Through Quality Counseling, she is building a liberatory model of mental health care—centered on restoration, joy, and collective healing—so that Black communities can thrive, not just survive.

Panelists:

Ifeoma Nwokoye, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, RYT, DipACLM is the founder and CEO of Lifestyle Medicine New Haven, a healthcare clinic that blends traditional primary care medicine with a lifestyle first approach so that you can live a healthier and more fulfilling life. She is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Lifestyle Medicine Provider with 20+ years of experience in primary care, public health and wellness. She takes a holistic approach to healthcare and is passionate about preventing, treating and reversing chronic disease through evidence-based lifestyle changes that address the root causes of imbalance.

After earning her Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University in 2016, and completing a nurse practitioner residency in Berkeley, CA, Ifeoma worked as a primary care provider in community health centers across Connecticut. She also has a background in managing public health programs in West Africa, as well as being a certified yoga instructor and life coach.

Janet Gipson has spent more than two decades building teams, pipelines, strategies, and organizations, and will tell you the most important infrastructure she ever built was internal. She spent nearly 15 years at EchoStar Corporation, rising from Director of Business Development to Vice President of Sales and Marketing, before bringing that same strategic instinct into talent acquisition. As Vice President of Talent Acquisition at both DISH Network and Global Medical Response, she built and led recruiting functions for large, complex organizations. Since 2022, she has served as Head of Talent Acquisition at Yale University, leading the recruitment of diverse and exceptional talent for one of the world's leading academic institutions. She holds certifications in Diversity and Inclusion from eCornell, completed the McKinsey Black Executive Leadership Program, and most recently earned an AI Innovation and Leadership certification from Temple University. She is also Co-Founder of Parhelion Career Accelerator, a venture focused on expanding access to career opportunity.

Thirteen years ago, she walked into a Pilates class without fully understanding what she was stepping into. What followed was a years-long process of learning to listen to her body, interrupt patterns that no longer served her, and build a compass she could actually trust. She was constructing something real. It took nearly a decade to recognize it for what it was.

She named it Absoulutely Balanced, mindfully balanced, soulfully empowered, a coaching and somatic movement practice rooted in neuroscience, designed for people navigating the space between where they are and where they feel called to be. Her work helps clients find clarity, alignment, and a framework for a life that resonates from the inside out.

Jeroy Smith, MS, LPC is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical leader, and founder of Strategy Counseling and Coaching, LLC, with more than 15 years of experience providing behavioral health services, leadership development, and community-based interventions throughout Connecticut. He has built a distinguished career helping adolescents, adults, families, and organizations navigate complex personal, emotional, and systemic challenges through evidence-based, client-centered care.

Mr. Smith's clinical practice is grounded in an integrative approach that incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Relational Therapy, and Trauma-Informed Care. His work is guided by the belief that meaningful change occurs through strong therapeutic relationships, practical skill development, and the empowerment of individuals to achieve sustainable growth.

As Founder and Clinical Director of Strategy Counseling and Coaching, LLC, Mr. Smith provides psychotherapy, coaching, consultation, and professional development services to a diverse client population. He also serves as a clinician with the Mary J. Sherlach Counseling Center, where he delivers individual, family, and group therapy while supporting youth development initiatives and mentoring emerging mental health professionals.