The panel will be discussing the theme for the festival. "Building Inclusive Wellness Communities".
Panelist:
Kiesha Battles (E-RYT 500, RPYT, CPC, Reiki Master) has been a dedicated yoga professional since 2010. Drawing on her academic background in Business Management and Asian Studies from Seton Hall University, she is the owner of I Am Yoga CLT, a Teacher Trainer, and the Studio Manager of CorePower Park Road. Kiesha’s ongoing study of Sanskrit informs her commitment to the intersection of wellness and intergenerational community, a theme central to her Yin Yoga mantra, “You are not stuck.”
As Co-Director of the 25-year Yoga Retreat for Women of Color, she upholds a legacy of sacred space-making. Kiesha is also a founding member and advocate of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance and the creator of SAFE Yoga (Safe, Accessible, Free Energy) in Greensboro and Charlotte, NC. Off the mat, Kiesha enjoys life with her husband, two sons, and her mother, who first discovered her zest for hot yoga in her 60s!
Darlisa Bryant is the founder of Doin’ Things Better and a Certified Integrative Energy & Holistic Health Coach who helps individuals in their 30s to 50s stop managing their health and start building it. As the Wellness Architect behind The Build Method, she takes a wholeness-first approach that helps clients understand what their body is revealing and strengthen the foundation their wellness is built on. Through her proprietary FRAME™ framework and Functional Wellness Assessment, she identifies where support is needed first and helps clients build a personalized path forward—without quick fixes, generic blueprints, or starting from scratch.
Michael Dyson is a licensed mental health clinician, educator, and advocate whose work sits at the intersection of healing, empowerment, and community. He brings experience in counseling, public speaking, stakeholder engagement, talent management, and program development — grounded in a holistic, whole-person approach to wellness.Originally from Kannapolis, NC, Michael earned his undergraduate degree from UNC Chapel Hill, double-majoring in Exercise and Sport Science and Psychology, and then completed master's degrees in both Career Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Having worked across educational, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, Michael is dedicated to creating space where Black individuals can define and achieve their own vision of success. His work is anchored in a simple yet radical belief: in the face of structural injustice and systemic disadvantage, moving beyond resilience to thriving is not just a personal achievement but an act of resistance.
Shambo is a Durham-raised painter, sculptor, musician & Conscious Connected Breathwork practitioner. He has spent the past 15 years of his life engaging spiritual healing technologies, building community & creating a body of visual and sonic works of art rooted in an ongoing & ever-evolving contemplation of the lives and humanity of African diasporic peoples across space and time.
Shambo is a co-founder of Shrine of The Black Star (an emerging arts and cultural center in Durham), a youth visual arts teacher (jegna) at BUMP The Triangle & co-chair of the CARE (Wellness) Committee of NC Triangle’s Black Men Build.
Saturday May 30, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
