My name is: Madame Athena Chang.

I’m known for being: Passionate, fearless and a lover of life and community

I'm talking about: My work within wellness, racial justice and racial healing.

I specialize in coaching, educating and training in the areas of health and wellness, mindfulness, environmental justice, racial healing, equity and resiliency. In 1998, I founded my consultative business, Madame Chang Inc., and later, For Life Inc., the non-profit arm with wellness and education projects in the United States, Jamaica and Cape Verde. Presently, I implement global wellness retreats and detox programs, work with individuals and families and consult with non-profits, schools and private sector companies on ways to incorporate wellness, restorative justice, social and emotional learning practices and build a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment. I’m also a part of the Courageous Conversation Global Foundation team, a foundation with the mission of elevating racial consciousness through interracial healing.

You can find more info at: madamechang.com and forlifeinc.org.

Before I began this work, I was: As long as I can remember, wellness and playing a role in educating and working actively to remove mental and structural barriers that impact health outcomes has always been a part of my journey. It began with self-awareness and personal evolution. At age 14, I decided to stop eating candy. (I was a candy-holic, eating ten packs of Now-and-Laters daily, for those who are old enough to know that type of candy.) This set me on a path to personal wellness and, as I evolved and became aware of the systemic barriers to health (i.e. food deserts in BIPOC communities), I became an activist and environmental and health justice walked hand-in-hand with my work within the wellness space. This work began and continues with my personal evolution—the messenger must always be the message.

It’s a game changer because: Once you tap into purpose—always be in alignment with who you are, who you choose to surround yourself with, what you choose to do and how you choose to live—all have to reflect you and what is important to you. My life's work is not what I do; it is who I am. Making a difference in this physical lifetime is important to me, but my work begins with my personal growth and commitment to all that I am.

For me, what it means to be a woman warrior is: To walk fully in the shoes that you have been gifted.

It’s important to affect change because: We are all connected and what we do impacts the collective, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. You can elevate or diminish the universal vibration of all things. It is up to you decide what your individual role will be in our collective evolution.

This can help us live our process because: We are one.