Brandi Lee
Brandi is passionate about the health and wellness of all people. Brandi believes her gift is pointing out the gaps in life and sitting with people as they explore what insights, knowledge or peace come out of that space. She was raised in the central north side of Pittsburgh,Pa by way of The Sunshine state. She is currently attending Carlow University for a BA in Social Work. Brandi has been advocating and working for the Pittsburgh community for the past 5 years with 10 years of experience in healthcare. Brandi advocates on her full time job by assisting individuals navigate the healthcare system and social service system. Brandi also advocates for African American mothers through her role as the Lead Brown Mama with Pittsburgh Brown Mamas. She pulls her knowledge for mother’s by her personal experience of being a single mother for five plus years and her professional roles while working at a Family Support Center.
Volunteering plays an important role in her life as she currently volunteers for Cochlear Americas, a cochlear implant manufacturer. Brandi chose the Cochlear America brand to enhance her hearing loss because this manufacturer acknowledges and values the need for peer to peer mentors and a community which is also hard to find as an individual who identifies with being in the middle of the deaf and hearing worlds. Brandi is aware that code switching does not only appear within racial class but also income and abilities. Brandi believes being present with your personal wellness and truth leads you to be the best version of yourself. This truth was solidified in 2017 when she lost the remaining twenty five percent of her hearing and was then received her cochlear implant. Having to sit in her truth of being a single mother with hearing loss forced her to become her authentic and creative self while allowing her faith to be her solid foundation.Brandi has always been in touch with her faith. Her experience as a wellness coach solidifies the importance of needing to be balanced in all the dimensions of wellness. With this insight Brandi serves as the assistant leader to the Young Adult ministry at her church and participants in the dance ministry. Brandi has performed monologues in the shows Metamorphosis: From trail to triumph and The Brown Mama Monologues. She was also featured in a documentary titled Tour Guides, a production of Eleven Stanley. A photo of Brandi and her children can be found in the Single Mom defined traveling exhibit. Brandi has also published a first person article in Public Source and a Self Care Article for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Brandi wishes her passion for wellness, arts and diversity shine through in her writings. Brandi believes a book well done reminds you that you are a human and it’s necessary to laugh, cry and learn. Brandi aspires to be a manifestation of the collection of black women: poets, educators and wellness gurus who’ve inspired her to break every ceiling - experience and education she hopes to guide individuals to tap into a new version of themselves by looking through the lens of the diversity of life. |