Tracy Taris, a licensed marriage and family therapist, experienced her own personal demons as she battled doubt, fear and anxiety which stemmed from negative childhood internal and external influences and voices. As the eldest of six children, Tracy was given a daunting amount of responsibility over her siblings that motivated her to become outspoken. Being a non-conformist caused her to be labeled as “evil.” As an adult, she also endured a family tragedy that brought up a deep fear of early death. Determined to break free and help others, Tracy earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology while learning to identify and eliminate personal confusion and chaos caused by negative messages. She discovered healing through Jesus Christ’s love and guidance. In her therapy practice, she offers healing techniques to her clients struggling with psychological and relational suffering.

Xavier Henderson, MEd, is the co-founder

and chief development officer of For Oak

Cliff, which works liberate Oak Cliff from

systemic oppression. Xavier is tied to the

neighborhood being born in raised in South

Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove. Previously,

Xavier was a Teach For America corps

member and taught at a school on the same

street where he grew up in South Oak Cliff. He

was drawn to education because of his

experience with limited resources in his

community and as a Dallas public school

student. While teaching, Xavier got a closer

look at the barriers families faced in accessing

resources, inspiring him to co-found For Oak

Cliff. He works to ensure resources are accessible to the predominantly Black neighborhood he

grew up in and still calls home. He received a master’s in education from Southern Methodist

University and a bachelor’s in communication studies from the University of North Texas.

At the age of 23 Danielle was hit by a drunk driver and sustained a life-altering injury to her brain. The medical world said there was no hope of recovery & told her to accept this life as her “new normal”. Although her body was physically impaired, her spirit was strong, she refused to believe their diagnoses. Her mind was determined to recover… and she did! Through the power of what she refers to as ‘Mind Control,’ she attracted the mindset, techniques, and exact quantum healing technologies needed to fully recover. She has since built an international business, authored an e-book called Mind Control and shares her life-altering experience with countless people around the globe.

On a quest to help mainstream America acknowledge and embrace the Hispanic media market, Margie Aguilar founded and is the current company lead of ISP Creative, a video production and full-service creative content house in Irving Texas. With Margie at the helm, ISP Creative has become a driving force in the industry and recently nationally recognized as US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Small Businessperson of the Year. Margie is an energetic, visionary centric leader who looks through a lens of opportunity and leads with an expansive mindset. Margie has a vision to see people and projects at their next level! Through Margie’s leadership, she helped expand Ulta’s definition of beauty with its DEI campaign, Driven to be Different, an all-encompassing campaign highlighting that anything is possible when dare to show up in our own unique and different way. She transformed DFW H100, a Latina nonprofit in North Texas, elevating it to a more sustainable and inclusive brand. Margie stands out by truly “SEEING” the opportunity that success brings with her team, clients, and community. Margie is motivated by uplifting women, living by the mantra, “MY WIN IS HER WIN” she is promoting women’s empowerment and influence, and serves on boards and committees that build women in prestigious organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, Women’s Business Council Southwest and Young Women’s Preparatory Network and The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber. Margie is a DOUBLE Dallas Business Journal's Business Awardee, for community advocacy and a woman in business if the year, a living legend awardee and in 2021, Margie was honored with the United States President’s Volunteer Service Award. Margie’s company’s mission is “Capturing the Spirit of Being Seen, and 24 years later, she still challenges everyone around her to remember it's not about us, it's about the people around us. We see you.

Dr. Jill Waggoner holds a Medical Degree and a Master's Degree from the University of Oklahoma. She has certifications in both Preventive Medicine and Wellness Coordination from the prestigious Cooper Institute. Dr. Waggoner is a residency trained, board certified Family Practice Physician, with nearly 30 years of experience. She has studied Functional and Integrative medicine for the past 15 years; an approach that seeks to find the cause of disease and uses multiple healing modalities to help patients obtain optimal health. Most recently she received a certification in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University. She has dedicated her life to teaching her patients how to flourish and embrace better living through better health. Dr. Waggoner has authored eight books, the latest of which is Maddie on a Mission, a children's book. She has also served as a national medical expert for both television and radio for NBC, ABC and Fox affiliates, and has been selected as D Magazine's Best Doctor for five consecutive years. Her most rewarding accomplishment is that of wife to her husband Mark, and mother to her two daughters Jillian and Uriah. Dr. Jill Waggoner is dedicated to the cause of giving individuals the tools needed to step beyond the traditional approach of early detection of disease, to the futuristic reality of prevention of disease! Her personal mission is to diminish suffering, foster healing, and prevent disease through connection, compassion, enlightenment, education, and love.

Sherri Mixon has served as the Executive Director of T.R. Hoover Community Development Corporation since 1998. Mixon grew up in the Ideal-Bonton-Bexar St. area of South Dallas, within walking distance of the T.R. Hoover Multipurpose Center, and still resides in the same neighborhood today. As a child she fought against the ills

that plagued her community alongside her mother, Jacqueline. She marched and led protests to help keep the streets of South Dallas a place where citizens could be proud to live. After graduating from South Dallas’ Lincoln High School and matriculating to Prairie View A&M University, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, and returned home to assist her mother, caring for those in need while continuing to create programs and events that would help dissipate abhorrent issues persisting in the community. This work ultimately led to the formation of T.R. Hoover CDC. Sherri was chosen by the community to head T.R. Hoover. While only in her 20s she embarked upon one of the largest transformations in South Dallas, building over 55 new homes, repairing over 100 senior citizen’s homes in The Ideal Neighborhood, the construction of a new multipurpose center, and the development of a retail plan for a business corridor. “Ms. Sherri,” as she is affectionately known, is an experienced community organizer whose family has worked in this neighborhood for over 100 years. She is a developer with experience in operating and managing community development projects. She has an extensive background in grant writing, financial management, and program development and is hands-on with not only the execution of programs and services at T.R. Hoover, but is also a key facilitator. Ms. Mixon continues to serve on several city

appointed boards including the Grand Park South TIF Board, the South Dallas Council

for the Fair & Equitable Treatment of Women, and the South Dallas Transportation Fair

Park Committee, and collaborates with a number of surrounding neighborhood organizations. She seeks to drive the change that is needed in our communities through problem-solving, innovation, and exchange of ideas between change agents. She is currently the driving force behind the creation of T.R. Hoover CDC ’s Hoover Tech facility. Hoover Tech is the first Tech Resource Center in South Dallas for all of South Dallas, ensuring residents have access to equitable technology-based opportunities in the workforce, education, and other community resources. 

Bemnet Meshesha, serves as Vice President of Community, Culture & Equity at Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas.

She oversees the development and implementation of equitable strategy, practices, and policies. She also leads the organization in creating people-centric organizational culture and strengthening their community engagement. Although based in Dallas, Bemnet is an Ethiopian immigrant and that lens remains central to her advocacy in understanding nuanced experiences of people of color and its intersection in navigating inequities within systems and interpersonal connections. Bemnet also serves on a few boards-- Social Venture Partners, Deep Vellum, Harmony CDC and co-chairs the sponsoring committee for the Urban League affiliate. And when she's not working on these amazing initiatives, she is busy catching flights traveling to the next destination with a beach!

Dr. Y. “Falami” Devoe also known as “Dr. Falami” is a Holistic Human Development Strategist, Public Speaker, Educator, Poet and Self-Care Ritualist. She is passionate about centering the voices of Black women and curates’ intentional spaces for authentic dialogue, self-reflection, and community building. Dr. Falami specializes in community conversations with higher education institutions, public school systems, and nonprofits. She has facilitated training for hundreds of participants across the United States focusing on self and collective care, leading from within, and mindfulness. Dr. Falami is a Self- Care Ritualist and integrates meditation, sound healing and reiki practices into her a private well-being practice, Holistic Alchemy. She received her PhD from the Graduate School of Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Being a curious and creative learner sets Valerie Hope apart as a leadership coach and professional speaker. For more than two decades, Valerie has been called to inspire and activate global leaders to become more conscious, connected, and creative.  After traveling to more than 30 countries and living with 400+ host families, she’s learned that life is the best teacher and that we humans are the star pupils

Tilde Guajardo is an entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, global mentor, author, investor, and a proud Army Veteran. Tilde is powerful woman full of faith, hope and love, no longer shackled by anger, fear or shame. She didn’t know it for a long time, but all of her experiences were helping her cultivate a teachable strategy to inspire anyone to become enthusiastic about change, to find their Divine identity, purpose, and power. She’s been doing it for over 20 years in various capacities. Today, she helps women, conscious businesses and organizations rethink how to integrate Spirituality into their everyday lives or culture, so they can thrive. She created The Divine Quotient™, which is a practical and repeatable methodology, to inspire change, growth, and happiness, even amid chaos.

Cessilye Smith is the founder and CEO of Abide Women’s Health Services, which exists to improve birth outcomes in communities with the lowest quality of care. Through her leadership, Abide is on the map as a breakthrough maternal justice organization, a recognized Perinatal Safe Spot, Accredited Easy Access Clinic through Commonsense Childbirth Inc., and future birth center

Shelly has served churches and denominations, worked in church planting and consulted with businesses to grow people and teams for the past twenty years. She holds a Masters degree in Theology and Christian Leadership from Fuller Seminary. She served students with disabilities and began her career as a Speech Pathologist. Shelly developed and launched a Training and Development arm for best-selling author Laurie Beth Jones.  Shelly has authored, created and developed brand programs for Training, Coaching and Building Teams. She consults with coaches, trainers and organizations throughout the US and International. Her mission is to teach, promote and release the feminine voice of God in herself and others.