Conference Schedule
Below is the tentative schedule for the 2025 Embodied in Color Conference. Timing is subject to change.
Day 1: Friday, May 30th 2025
Conference Starts: 7:30am PDT/ 8:30am MDT/ 9:30am CDT/ 10:30am EDT
Day 1 of the conference consists of three virtual seminars, hosted through Zoom events.
Conference Opening
7:30am PDT/ 8:30am MDT/9:30am CDT/ 10:30am EDT
15 minutes
Opening remarks and an introduction on the mission of the conference from the founders of Chicago Minds.
Niki Aquino, LCSW (she/her) is an individual and family therapist and adjunct lecturer at the University of Chicago. Niki specializes in working with children, teens, and parents struggling with ADHD, anxiety, and mood disorders. She also supports young people and families as they manage the challenges of growing up (and raising kids) in a complex world. Niki offers empirically supported treatments for children and families such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), and Parent-Child/Teacher-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT/TCIT). She also uses her background in improvisational theater to supplement these therapeutic modalities creating joyful, authentic spaces for clients and families. Outside of her clinical work, Niki has been featured on several podcasts and offers community trainings focused on child anxiety and challenging behaviors.
It’s Good to Laugh: Using Improv to Address Mental and Emotional Fatigue in Clinical Practice
8am PDT/ 9am MDT/ 10am CDT/ 11am EDT
1 Hour
Led by Niki Aquino, LCSW (she/her)
You are human first, clinician second. You are not a robot who is expected to endure the same task over and over or expend all of your energy without release, recovery and relaxation. The helpers and healers who treat those who need help are becoming more isolated, burnt out and, more than ever, are at an increased risk of depersonalization, depression and suicide. What can we do? Improv. Improv? Yes! Improv!
Come to this session and learn how we can use comedic improv as a tool for self-care and as part of clinical practice. By applying the basic fundamentals of improv, we can move from isolation to more connection. We will learn to drop our barriers and guards and be comfortable with doing so. We will take care of ourselves so that we're better equipped to take care of others. Using basic improv techniques allows every individual to overcome self judgement, drop preconceived notions to serve the situation/circumstances and not our own agenda and be more comfortable about collaboration, communication and connection with others. If reading this description made you a little nervous, then you are exactly who should join us. Follow the fear!
LeNaya Smith Crawford, The Holistic Therapist™, is a Holistic Mental Health and Healing Educator, Licensed Therapist, Business Mentor, Holistic Healer, and Wellness CEO on a mission to make Holistic Mental Health and Healing accessible, inclusive, and relatable by training and empowering the Therapists, Healers and Organizations that make this work possible. She teaches Therapists,Entrepreneurs, and Healers how to work more holistically, prioritize their healing, and expand beyond 1 to 1 work for more life balance, joy and financial freedom.
LeNaya specializes in Holistic Mental Health and Healing, which she defines as “the return to wholeness through integrating practices of the mind, body and spirit.” She believes that in order for us to truly heal we must address all layers of self: physical, energetic, mental, emotional, spiritual and communal.
With over a decade of experience in the mental health and wellness space, LeNaya takes a science-and-soul approach to healing, and is passionate about helping her community HEAL, LEARN, and GROW. She is a sought after Mental Health and Wellness Expert who has been featured on several platforms including the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Essence, and Healthline.
She is the creator of The Holistic Therapist Academy™, The Holistic Healing Circle™ and is the Co-Owner of Seviin Yoga Studio + Yoga School, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nourishing the Healer:
Prioritizing Self-Care for Therapists
9:30am PDT/ 10:30am MDT/ 11:30am CDT/ 12:30pm EDT
1 Hour
Led by LeNaya Smith Crawford, The Holistic Therapist™
As therapists, your well-being is essential to your ability to support others, yet self-care is often overlooked. This one-hour session offers a holistic approach to self-care, allowing you to prioritize your own healing so that you can continue to serve from a place of balance and fulfillment.
The session begins with a grounding exercise to center and prepare you for the experience ahead. A discussion follows, focusing on the importance of self-care for therapists and the principles of holistic healing, including ways to nurture the mind, body, and spirit. Participants will then be guided through a combination of gentle yoga, grounding breathwork, and soothing sound healing designed to release tension, restore balance, and cultivate inner peace. The session concludes with a closing reflection and Q&A, providing an opportunity to gain insights into how these practices can support your ongoing well-being.
This program offers therapists a restorative space to recharge, leaving you with tools to incorporate into your personal self-care routine.
Dr. Manuel X. Zamarripa, co-director and co-founder of the Institute of Chicana/o/x Psychology, is a Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x psychology mental health speaker and educator. He speaks to professional, student and community organizations. Dr. Zamarripa often speaks on destigmatizing and decolonizing mental health in Chicanx/Latinx and BIPOC communities with a focus on bringing forth cultural strengths and resources.
Dr. Zamarripa was awarded the University of Texas System Chancellor’s “Innovations in Education Award” (2007). In 2023, Dr. Zamarripa was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin’s School of Education and was also awarded an American Psychological Association Presidential Citation for his advancement of Chicana/o/x Psychology.
Manuel has been featured on NPR and in the L.A. Times. He is also a past president of the National Latinx Psychological Association.
Chicano Psychologist, Dr. Zamarripa, is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor (Texas) and received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his master’s in Counseling Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, and his bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Notre Dame.
Creating a Wellness Altar:
A Workshop of Restorying. Wellbeing & Healing
11am PDT/ 12pm MDT/ 1pm CDT/ 2pm EDT
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Led by Dr. Manuel X. Zamarripa
In this workshop, we will focus on constructing a home altar focused on your continuing wellbeing by tapping into past and present family and cultural strengths through the process of restorying. This can be both a process of personal growth and health and/or a therapeutic intervention. Thus, this is applicable for community members and mental health professionals/educators. Although the origin of this activity is rooted in the religious/spiritual tradition of home altars common in many Chicana/o/x homes, this will also be presented as creating a meditative space or space of intention to focus on wellness and tap into personal, familial and cultural strengths.
A main aspect of the workshop will be restorying personal and family stories to bring forth positive personal characteristics or strengths. Participants will then identify some current concerns in their lives. We will then place the identification of strengths with concerns to create the intention for participants’ altars (or intentional space of wellness). In discussion together we explore how this process can facilitate healing wounds, solving current difficulties, and adding to our own practice of mental and/or spiritual wellbeing. We will borrow from a Chicana/o/x affirmative approach and ideas from Narrative Therapy.
Day 2: Saturday, May 31st 2025
Conference Starts: 8am PDT/ 9am MDT/ 10am CDT/ 11am EDT
Day 2 of the conference consists of three virtual seminars, hosted through Zoom events.
Alex Ngo, LCSW, is a writer, therapist, and consultant. She works as the Clinical Director of Mindful Life Counseling and teaches a class at the University of Chicago on social justice education and group facilitation. She is also a celebrated drag performer who produces queer and trans nightlife events.
She is passionate about sharing her experiences as the eldest daughter of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants who is proudly queer and trans to help others find their way towards healing, love, and liberation. She shares excerpts from her journal on her Instagram @alexjenny_. As a writer, she's been featured in Them., Teen Vogue, Wondermind, and more.
Throughout her career, some of her notable clients have included Lollapalooza, Instagram, Lurie Children's Hospital, Amazon, and Grubhub.
What We Can Learn from Queer and Trans Time to Heal Ourselves and Change the World
8am PDT/ 9am MDT/ 10am CDT/ 11am EDT
1 Hour
Led by Alex Ngo
This workshop will focus on the concepts of queer and trans time, challenging norms of development in terms of the way it can restrain our ideas of what kinds of lives we want to live, being open to exploring our sense of self, ways to build community care, and inner child healing. Participants will be led in mindfulness meditation on the practice of freedom and liberation visualizations, using the concept of time travel to lead them to visualize a radical new world where they are free.
*Pending full workshop description
Cotorey is a passionate therapist, coach, and spoken word poet dedicated to inspiring healing, authenticity, and purpose. He empowers others to process past pain, embrace their unique stories, and live from a place of wholeness.
Living at the intersection of faith, mental health, social justice, and storytelling, Cotorey integrates these values into his work to foster meaningful transformation. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor with Cultivate Counseling Group, where he helps individuals navigate life’s challenges and find lasting healing.
The Stories We Carry:
Holding Space for Ourselves Through Storytelling
9:30am PDT/ 10:30am MDT/ 11:30am CDT/ 12:30pm EDT
1 Hour
Led by Cotorey Seals
As therapists, we are the keepers of countless stories—both our clients' and our own. But how often do we pause to examine the narratives we carry and how they shape our presence in the counseling room? This experiential workshop invites therapists to engage in deep self-reflection, exploring the personal and professional stories that inform their practice.
Through guided storytelling exercises and interactive writing prompts, participants will uncover the beliefs that shape their therapeutic approach, challenge limiting scripts, and reframe their personal narratives in ways that foster growth and authenticity.
By the end of this session, participants will have crafted their own story (poem) that honors their past, acknowledges their resilience, and affirms their ability to show up fully—both for themselves and the communities they serve.
Gail Jackson comes to us from the unceded land of the Dena’ina People in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is the owner and founder of CreativeRhythms.
CreativeRhythms brings the art of sound, rhythm-based drumming circles, mindfulness meditation and movement to transform lives.
She facilitates drumming circles in underserved communities, schools, corporate settings for team building and specific populations for well being.
Gail is a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher-P.
As a sound practitioner, performing and recording artist , she recently went to Calcata, Italy along with twenty-two other international students for an in-depth study of sound through the gongs. This year Gail will be traveling to Oberlarg, France for another in-depth study of sound through the gongs with other international students.
In Anchorage and surrounding areas she facilitates sound sessions: one on one, groups and businesses for stress management and over all well being.
At the end of November 2024, she completed Intensive II training to become certified to lead Deep Listening® Workshops, awaiting the official release. This training was through The Center for Deep Listening.
In January of this year as an artist, she was awarded a grant, Arts, Health and Well-Being in Alaska, to address children, teens and adults who are experiencing stress, anxiety and isolation. This will be addressed through the art of sound, Deep Listening exercises and breath work.
Do you have a minute?
11am PDT/ 12pm MDT/ 1pm CDT/ 2pm EDT
1 Hour
Led by Gail Jackson
This sound meditation is inviting attendees to be with the inquires, "Do I have a minute?" A minute to pause, a minute to notice the breath, to feel the feet in connection with the floor, to notice the thoughts, the shoulders. "Do I have a minute to be?"
Day 3: Sunday, June 1st 2025 (In-Person in Chicago)
Conference Starts at 10am CDT
Day 3 of the conference will feature 3 interactive, experiential in-person workshops at the Chicago Minds office in downtown Chicago. Lunch will be provided.
Opening Poetry Performance
10am CDT
15 minutes
Led by Cotorey Seals
Spoken-word poet and therapist Cotorey Seals will perform an original piece created for the Embodied in Color conference to begin sessions on Day 3.
Venus believes it is everyone’s divine birthright to live with a deep sense of joy and authenticity. As a transformational teacher and mentor, her intention is to activate the inner healer. Her healing journey began in a classic disciple and teacher training certification learning the art of Medical Qi Gong in 2006. Through the power of Qi Gong, sound therapy, and heart centered energy healing she provides a grounded and nurturing safe space for you to explore the magic of your inner Universe. For more information go to venussabay.com.
The Art of Medical Qi Gong with Crystal Bowl Sound Bath
10:30am CDT
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Led by Venus Sabay
Explore your energy through an ancient practice that has stood the test of time. Qi Gong is an energizing yet calming practice that allows you to feel grounded and in tune to your body. In this workshop you will learn how to open your energy channels and strengthen your heart qi. Healthy heart qi maintains our innate wisdom and emotional balance, and is the home of our spirit. We will end with a crystal bowl sound bath to elevate our consciousness to another level.
Dr. Alyssa Perez, DACM, L.Ac., is a Latina acupuncturist, massage therapist, and community health practitioner based in Chicago. With a deep commitment to wellness, Alyssa weaves together the traditions of Chinese medicine with a passion for community care. She is dedicated to healing mind, body, and spirit, and actively works to make acupuncture and collective healing accessible to BIPOC.
Radical Healing Through Community Ear Acupuncture
1pm CDT
1 Hour
Led by Dr. Alyssa Perez, DACM, L.Ac.
This session invites participants to experience the power of community ear acupuncture, a healing practice with radical roots in the social justice movements of the Black Panthers and Young Lords. Participants will not only learn about the historical and cultural significance of ear acupuncture as a tool for collective care and liberation but also experience a session designed to foster relaxation, healing, and connection. This immersive experience will highlight the transformative potential of acupuncture in creating healing spaces for BIPOC clinicians and their communities.
Victoria Doobay, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist, supervisor, and clinical training manager at DePaul Family and Community Services (FCS). She is also a registered yoga teacher, and teaches in various community spaces. She obtained her Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. At FCS, Victoria provides individual, family, and group therapy to children, adolescents, and families both in the clinic and community settings, as well as supervises graduate students. She also conducts and supervises psychological assessments.
Victoria holds a growth mindset in regards to the mental health field, and is an active advocate for examining and holding ourselves accountable to respectful care. Victoria provides support from a decolonial perspective incorporating various healing modalities for mind, body, and spirit, such as mindfulness, yoga and body awareness/movement, and art/music expression. Victoria is also a lifelong learner dedicated to unpacking the internalization of colonization within herself.
Healing with the 8 Limbs of Yoga
2:30pm CDT
2 Hours
Led by Victoria Doobay, Ph.D.
Life can be unpredictable with many ebbs and flows. This workshop will briefly go through the 8 limbs of yoga as a way to work with our emotions, thoughts, and felt experiences. Through several experiential practices, we will use yoga based philosophy and techniques to give our nervous systems space to express and regulate in a community space.
Conference Closing
4:30pm CDT
Led by Chicago Minds