The Steve Fund presented Restorative Reflections: Emotional Wellness for the Spelman Community on March 5, 2025, in a day of workshops hosted around the campus. The engaging wellness seminars explored the significance of emotional well-being, mindfulness, and self-care in academic and professional settings.
Featured speakers included Shona Pinnock, C'95, Peloton's vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts, C'2001, Peloton's yoga and meditation instructor, Dr. Janice M. Beal and Dr. Raé N. Lundy. They shared their insights on fostering resilience, navigating mental health challenges, and cultivating sustainable wellness practices.
“The Restorative Reflections program was a beautiful reminder that taking care of ourselves is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It created a space where the Spelman community could pause, breathe, and reconnect with their well-being without guilt or pressure,” said Frances Cloud, C’2012, director of the Counseling Center. “Throughout the day, students, faculty, and staff engaged in mindfulness practices, stress-relief techniques, and powerful conversations about emotional wellness. One of the most impactful moments was witnessing participants fully embrace the guided meditation with Chelsea Jackson Roberts.”
Lundy followed Roberts's guided meditation with her story of nurturing her emotional health from childhood. She spoke about her experience with grief. “My personal experience with well-being began as a 12-year-old when my parents divorced. That was the first time I realized how grief impacted me. My mom put me in my first experience of counseling, which I thought was brave – given no one in our family had that. I realized that that experience opened me up and I felt so much better after it. After that experience, I became friends with everybody I talked to,” said Lundy, director of Counseling Services at Georgia State.
From the strength of her mother’s belief and several therapy sessions, Lundy grew to become a licensed clinical psychologist, higher education executive, mental health activist, and TEDx Speaker. The Atlanta native earned a B.S. in psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana and an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Notre Dame.
“My own journey has ebbed and flowed. I’ve been vocal about sharing my experiences. I’m passionate about making sure that folks know we’re all in this together. Even if you’re experiencing emotional distress, you can still thrive; you can be vulnerable about it. It started for me as a young woman. It started for me when my mother believed enough in me despite what our culture said that we’re supposed to just pray about it. She put me in counseling, and I think I grew from that moment. I want to make sure no one feels like they can’t talk about what they’re experiencing. I want to make sure, particularly women, know that it’s okay to express your needs,” said Lundy.
“The phrase that resonated most with me throughout the day was “intentional pause.” That phrase serves as a reminder that taking time for ourselves isn’t something we have to earn. Too often, we feel like we must justify rest or self-care, but this event reinforced that pausing with intention is an act of self-preservation, not indulgence. Welcome to taking care of your emotional well-being,” Cloud said.
The Counseling Center also revealed a brand new wellness studio located in Laura Spelman Rockefeller residence hall. The studio will be dedicated to yoga and meditation for students to use.
The Steve Fund is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations focused on transforming educational, organizational, and workplace environments to support the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. Building knowledge and capacity among organizations serving young people is critical to the Steve Fund’s mission. The Steve Fund offers various solutions to assist colleges, universities, nonprofits, and workplaces in enhancing their capacity to promote mental health and emotional well-being among young people of color.