Chlo'e I. Edwards, MPP, SEL*F
Founder & Co-Executive Director
Chlo’e I. Edwards is a visionary force shaking up healing justice and movement-building. As Founder and Co-Executive Director of Transformative Changes, she leads with bold innovation, driving a revolutionary co-leadership model rooted in collective care, cultural healing, and systemic change. Under her leadership, Transformative Changes is building a powerhouse movement—fueled by youth leadership and deep-rooted transformation.
A nationally recognized advocate and award-winning leader, Chlo’e brings over a decade of trailblazing experience advancing equity through policy, trauma-informed care, and bold storytelling. She centers Black youth and youth of color, transforming their creativity into powerful civic action.
Chlo’e holds key roles shaping the next generation: Policy Director at New Virginia Majority, Adjunct Faculty at Southern New Hampshire University, and Creative Mentor to the DMV Youth Slam Team Coach and Youth Poet Laureates at Words, Beats, and Life, where her mentorship transforms young poets into fearless “artivists,” using storytelling as a radical tool for healing and social change.
She’s the visionary behind Virginia’s first-ever Racial Truth & Reconciliation Week, a landmark recognized by Governor Ralph Northam, and sparked the statewide campaign that made Virginia the first Southern state to declare racism a public health crisis.
Her honors speak volumes:
🏆 Richmond History Maker – The Valentine
🏆 YWCA Outstanding Women Leadership Award
🏆 Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40
🏆 RVA Mic Share Top 34 Black Women Trailblazers
Chlo’e fuses intellect and heart to lead boldly, holding 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 also an alumna of elite civic leadership programs including the University of Richmond Bonner Center, the Virginia Progressive Leadership Project, and UVA’s Sorensen Institute for Political Emerging Leaders.
Offstage, she’s a performance poet, gospel singer, faith-driven fitness instructor, and proud dog mom to therapy dog Leo—living proof that art, movement, and joy are powerful medicine.
Carissa Henry, MPH, LPN, DASM, CRS
Co-Executive Director
Carissa Henry is the Co-Executive 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.
Kiara Brown, M.S.
Advocacy & Engagement Fellow
Kiara Brown is the Advocacy and Engagement Fellow at Transformative Changes, where she centers the aspirations of historically marginalized communities to help close the policy and people gap.
A distinguished Doctoral Candidate in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Kiara is a recognized emerging leader in policy and community engagement. Her research examines the experiences of individuals systematically marginalized due to race or ethnicity, with a focus on how systemic adversities shape developmental outcomes. She has led community participatory action projects that blend rigorous quantitative and qualitative research with meaningful stakeholder engagement across developmental stages.
Kiara earned her B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Life Sciences from Pennsylvania State University, where she excelled as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and contributed to multiple research labs. In 2024, as a Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Fellow, she spearheaded a landmark initiative on permanent supportive housing for individuals with serious mental illnesses—an effort monitored by the Virginia General Assembly. She further honed her policy expertise as a Christine Mirzayan Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, helping shape national conversations on children’s well-being.
Kiara is committed to translating research into actionable policy reforms that dismantle systemic barriers for marginalized communities. Outside of her professional work, she mentors students, volunteers with youth empowerment programs, and enjoys traveling, podcasts, and quality time with family and friends.
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