Muhsana Center for Health and Healing (Muhsana) is a community-based organization located in Oakland California . Its mission is to improve the quality of life of African-Americans within Alameda County by providing health education through a culturally based model offering resources, education and support.

The primary objective of Muhsana is to reduce the disproportionate incidence of chronic disease mortality by:

1. Improving knowledge about various health resources and practitioners available in the African American Community.
2. Promote understanding of how social conditions can affect health outcomes and provide tools for participants to increase and/or improve their own health conditions.
3. Highlight the connection between modern day health and wellness practices and traditional African and African American practices used to maintain health.
4. Target women as the primary change agents or “health ambassadors” since women historically tend to be the primary caregivers who deliver the message of health to their families and their communities.

Conscious New African Women's Healing Collective are those Activist women who hold themselves responsible and accountable for themselves, their families and their communities. The purpose of their work is to develop a space for the creation of an active network of supportive women who identify with one another and share the need for rejuvenation as well as recognition for our daily challenges and struggles.

The goals of the CNAWHC is to deepen our own insights so we can continue to be of service to our communities, to stand in our power, to attain a level of clarity, to clarify our need for activism and organizational and resource building, to create a holistic approach to activism, to activate our spiritual and political power through culture, politics, arts and health and to create prosperity through gifting and sharing.

Fiscal Sponsor

Family Independence Initiative works with groups of low-income families in Oakland , CA , who are committed to working together towards self-sufficiency. FII follows their leadership and initiative and seeks to bring them capital, connections, capacity and choice. FII is based on a realistic understanding of what works. For most people, achieving success is not simply a matter of individual ability or finding the right social services. Instead, sustainable pathways out of poverty are built by entire networks of people.

Founding members / Advisory Team / 2004 Steering Committee

Kanika Ajanku, Aishah Bashir, Aisha Bilal, Darnetta Elaine Bell, Ph.D. , Delores Dillard, Gigi Gregory, Ameenah Lutfee , Ayanna Mashama, Hadiah McLeod , Letitia Ntofon, Elaine Peacock, Shukuru Sanders, Muhjah Shakir

Black Women's Health and Healing Conference Organizing Committee 2006

Aishah Bashir is a mother, student, community organizer, exploratory artist and budding entrepreneur. She has over 9 years experience in African based cultural/healing arts practices and received her BA in community health focusing on health, healing and African American women. She is a co-organizer of the Conscious Black Women's Healing Collective, the SF Bay Area MAAFA Commemoration and the Black Women's Health and Healing Conference.

Lori Camille teaches mindful cooking and eating for health and wellness to all age groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Lori trains various youth organizations in the Bay Area, curriculum development for peer-t-peer education, and is known for her passionate, energetic and loving cooking and nutrition presentations. Lori earned her B.S. in Health Sciences from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in holistic health, and earned her nutrition certification from Bauman College in 1997.

Nichelle Kitt is a graduate from California State University Hayward and currently pursing her M.B.A. She has worked with a non-profit serving the community, specifically with parents and teenagers.  She is a loving dedicated mother of two. Nichelle is striving to be an entrepreneur, she has designed a Jewelery line and had many experiences with other projects.  Nichelle is committed to assisting her community with health issues, healing and wellness support through participation and coordination of health conferences, support groups and social activities.

Diane Lee , proud mother of one and grandmother of three, has been organizing special events for the last 10 years. As a professional Event Manager, she enjoys providing inspiring, empowering and informative events at home and abroad, while connecting people of color to their rich and sometimes hidden heritage. Currently Diane works for the University of California Office of the President and is also receiving her Liberal Arts degree in Arts and is an active member of Downs United Methodist Church. Her special talents and skills are the "commitment, perseverance, and ability to not only get the job done, but to get the job done right!"

Hadiah McLeod is a mother and proud grandmother of eight beautiful children. She has been a professional teacher for 16 years, spending one year in Africa as an English lecturer. Hadiah is a co-organizer of the Conscious Black Women's Healing Collective, the SF Bay Area MAAFA Commemoration, the Black Women's Health Healing Conference, and retreats. She is a board member of East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), she was a member of the Timers (Timers are no longer functioning), and other local community groups. She has been a community activist for over 30 years, working to expose the Black community to various empowerment methods of the Pan African Diaspora. Hadiah is dedicated to the healing of our African Nation. “In unity we are strong and can accomplish what we will.”

Audrey Muhammad is a writer, educator, poet and fitness enthusiast. Her column, “Get Fit to Live,” is featured bimonthly in the international newspaper, The Final Call. Ms. Muhammad, who is a part-time instructor at Contra Costa College , is also the editor and publisher of Virtue Today magazine; a magazine redefining today's woman. Please visit her websites at: getfittolive.com and virtuemag.com.

Carmen West has 20 years of experience and as a health and wellness expert, including group exercise, personal training and nutrition and spiritual consultation. My specialty is Women's Fitness. Carmen is the founder and owner of the Goddess Boot Camp Ministry and is certified by: the American Council on Exercise (ACE), Pilates Mat Exercise, Spinning, (indoor cycling), Living Food Healing by the Ann Wigmore Institute/Puerto Rico, and a licensed spiritual counselor, Science of Mind/Religious Science