Ann Gathoni Maina was born in Kenya and spent her childhood in Calgary before moving to Edmonton to pursue higher education. As a daughter of newcomers to Canada, Ann has seen firsthand what it takes to build something from the ground up. Ann’s mom intentionally put her in spaces where the depth of conversation and the beliefs and perspectives being discussed were not commonplace in society. In these spaces, she learned, grew, and expanded beyond the restrictions and stereotypes the world placed on her.
Our overarching theme of emotional understanding is aimed at giving the participants language to describe the sensations they feel in their body. We want them to realize that emotions are data we can use to help guide us. It’s also important to introduce that emotions are not bad. Negative emotions actually have a message to share with us. Instead of avoiding or denying our negative emotions, we teach how to hear the message and use it to move forward into more positive emotions
