Chlo'e I. Edwards, MPP, SEL*F
Co-Director
Chlo’e I. Edwards is the Founder and Co-Director of Transformative Changes, where she leads strategy, vision, and sustainability through a co-leadership model that reflects the organization's commitment to collective care and healing justice. Under her direction, Transformative Changes is cultivating a long-term movement infrastructure grounded in cultural healing, youth leadership, and systemic transformation.
A nationally recognized advocate, award-winning leader, and healing-centered engagement practitioner, Chlo’e brings over a decade of experience advancing equity through public policy, movement building, and trauma-informed care. Her work centers the needs, leadership, and creativity of historically marginalized communities—especially Black youth and youth of color.
She currently serves as Policy Director at New Virginia Majority, Adjunct Faculty in General Education and Social Justice at Southern New Hampshire University, and DMV Youth Slam Team Coach and Youth Poet Laureate Advisor at Words, Beats, and Life, where she also leads creative arts mentorship for youth poets and emerging artivists. Through this work, she uses poetry, performance, and storytelling to help young people build voice, healing, and civic engagement.
In community, Chlo’e founded Virginia’s first Racial Truth & Reconciliation Week—recognized by Governor Ralph Northam—which led to the Racial Truth & Reconciliation Virginia Campaign and positioned Virginia as the first Southern state to declare racism a public health crisis.
Her honors include:
🏆 Richmond History Maker – The Valentine
🏆 YWCA Outstanding Women Leadership Award
🏆 Virginia AEYC Media Award
🏆 Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40
🏆 RVA Mic Share Top 34 Black Women Trailblazers
Chlo’e holds a Master of Public Policy in Leadership from Liberty University and a B.A. in English with a Social Justice minor from Hollins University. She is an alum of the University of Richmond Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, the Virginia Progressive Leadership Project, and UVA’s Sorensen Institute for Political Emerging Leaders.
Chlo’e is a proud dog mom to Leo, a therapy dog. She is also a performance poet, gospel singer, and faith-driven fitness instructor who believes that movement, art, and joy are medicine.
Carissa Henry, MPH, LPN, DASM, CRS
Co-Director
Carissa Henry is the Co-Director of Transformative Changes, where she co-leads the organization’s vision, strategy, and day-to-day operations through a shared leadership model grounded in healing justice, interdependence, and community accountability. In this role, she oversees program development, policy advocacy, resource cultivation, and partnership building—ensuring that Transformative Changes remains a trusted ecosystem for collective healing and youth-led transformation.
With over a decade of experience in healthcare and public health, Carissa brings a systems-thinking lens to the work of community wellness and racial equity. She has led quality improvement initiatives for the Virginia Department of Corrections, enhancing patient safety and care delivery across carceral facilities. She also advanced whole-person care models for Medicaid recipients—integrating housing, behavioral health, food security, and transportation services to remove barriers to well-being. Carissa is a long-time advocate for substance use prevention and community-driven recovery supports.
As a white ally working within a Black woman-led organization, Carissa embraces a practice of ongoing learning, humility, and action. She believes white allies have a critical role in sustaining healing justice movements—not by leading them, but by resourcing them, protecting them, and tending to their own personal ecology. Her leadership is rooted in the understanding that collective liberation depends on the wellness, rest, and long-term sustainability of Black leaders—and that allyship must be active, relational, and restorative.
In community, Carissa co-founded Mental Health Boxes, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the mental health of Black girls through curated care packages, affirming tools, and culturally grounded wellness resources.
She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from George Washington University and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH). Carissa is also a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), a Community Resource Specialist (CRS), and a Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM).
She is a proud mother of three and finds joy in game nights, creative play, and cultivating care within her family and community.
Volunteer
We invite professionals and community members alike to consider their roles as healers, creatives, advocates, or agents of change. By donating your time or expertise, you can significantly impact community transformation. Your contributions can lead to meaningful growth and community empowerment.
Tax Exempt: 92-11578