AWARD WINNING ABSW MEMBERS
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“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: DR. SONIA R. BANKS
ABSW-NYC offers a heartfelt thank you and community spotlight to Dr. Sonia R. Banks for all of her work within the community and for spearheading / facilitating our mentorship program. Together, we partnered several elder and seasoned ABSW members with newer members.
Dr. Sonia R. Banks is a dynamic clinical psychologist and behavioral strategist specializing in life and leadership transitions for personal empowerment. By using behavioral play, she introduces clients to their “Possible Selves”, accessing their full potential to achieve authentic personal power. Known for her infectious energy, Dr. Banks blends fun with growth, creating an environment where curiosity, creativity, and self-reflection thrive. Whether she’s training, lecturing, or coaching, she inspires everyone around her to embrace new ways of thinking and expressing themselves.
Through her company, Dr. Banks integrates playful activities into consulting, coaching, and team engagement, inspiring individuals and organizational cultures to innovate, relate, and connect to grow. She believes in a transformative learning system designed to ignite creativity, sharpen critical thinking, and expand our capacity.
Dr. Banks is dedicated to helping individuals and communities live well. At DrBanksAtPlay.com, [we] believe “play” is a powerful tool for change, using uncommon strategies to unlock our “strengths that support difficult transitions. No matter who and how we guide, we play.
Sonia@drbanksatplay.com
www.drbanksatplay.com
COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MICHELLE WILLIAMS-O'DONNELL
Michelle Williams-O’Donnell is the sister of Cassaundra Williams-Anderson, who is a lifelong friend and member of ABSW.
Michelle was born and raised in Queens, and lives in northern New Hampshire, where she owns skinnytowel.com. In between she has lived in so many places that her mother wrote her addresses and phone numbers in pencil in her address book. Michelle’s BA in Sociology from CCNY sent her on a two-part career path: first, as a newspaper reporter and editor; then, she saw both sides of the fundraising world as a foundation executive, development director, and grant writer for a Federally Qualified Health Center. Today, she is living her best life in retirement, supporting grantors and grantees as a consultant/copy editor.
She was happy to join her sister in donating her handmade tote bags which were filled with juice, water, snacks and 50 specially designed, souvenir bracelets by Cassaundra, for the New York Chapter ABSW Adoption Services’ bus tour this past August to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. Together, they continue their shared passion for giving back.
We thank Michelle for her time and donations to the members of the ABSW NYC Chapter.
COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: DR. SHAWNELADEE C. COLE
ABSW – NYC Chapter‘s very own Dr. Shawneladee C. Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and adjunct professor at Hunter College in New York City. Additionally, Dr. Cole is a long-standing member of NABSW. Shawneladee chairs the Mental Health and Counseling Committee for ABSW-NYC and has presented at a number of conferences for both organizations. She maintains a private practice in Chelsea, NYC treating children and adults.
She’s also an avid hula hoop enthusiast. Dr. Cole received a Master of Social Work from New York University and her PHD from Smith College both in Clinical Social Work. Dr. Cole works in school based mental health with both adolescents and adults. Although she treats a variety of clients, she specializes in mental health treatment for African Americans. Despite the many strengths and challenges within our community, African Americans have a long history physical and mental health trauma. Dr. Cole practices her interpretation of culturally influenced psycho-dynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy to provide services often inaccessible to people of African descent.
Now more than ever Black Social Workers are needed to offset, support and shield our community from the political and emotional climate today. Dr. Cole lectures on a variety of mental health topics ranging from Afrocentric theory, Colorism, Countertransference, Psychodynamic & Psychoanalytic treatment for African Americans. Always trying to expand the boundaries of treatment, Dr. Cole is interested in varying her practice. After the stresses of the COVID 19 crisis closed many of our self-care outlets, Dr. Cole revisited her long standing passion for hula hooping fitness. Although fun play during many of our childhoods, hula hooping offers opportunities for alternative methods of treatment for our community and also for non-verbal clients troubled by traditional talk therapy.
The Hula hoop circle can be likened with our cultural understanding of the collective and the value of our Black Circle i.e. family, community, culture and spirituality. The “Hooping Community” appreciates “Flow.” Flow is a zone in our practice, very similar to our free association in treatment. In our treatment sessions practitioners encourage clients to freely associate any thoughts, feelings or memories as they organically emerge.
Similarly in hooping, we also encourage movement to organically emerge without control or direction of a leader. Dr. Cole will continue to develop her practice to include more group hoop movement and flow arts expression to treat children, adolescents and adults.