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WHO?
Meet our 2024 Uncommon Bipoc Presenters
Wanda Belle, Financial Advisor
Wanda Belle is the CEO and Founder of Belle Financial Services, a financial consulting firm dedicated to empowering individuals through credit education and one-on-one financial coaching. With a deep, personal understanding of the connection between financial health and mental well-being, Wanda leads with empathy while teaching others how to take the shame out of their past financial mistakes, while focusing on building a strong financial foundation.
After obtaining her B.S. in Finance from Colorado Technical University, while maintaining a career in corporate I.T., Wanda decided to open Belle Financial Services, to show others that it doesn’t matter where you start on your financial journey, what matters is that you start. Financial education and freedom are attainable for anyone and it is BFS’ mission to help others understand and thrive in their financial situation.
Wanda’s own financial journey began as a young, single mother. At 19 years old, she was a college dropout, with a son and an unhealthy marriage. By her 25 th birthday, she was divorced and in a mountain of debt. Through years of perseverance and discipline,she completely changed her life, both financially and mentally. Through research and education, Wanda was able to take her credit score from the low 400s to the high 700s, where it maintains today. Through that journey, she discovered how impactful a positive credit profile can be and how it can be used to leverage financial opportunities and increase overall net worth.
A resident of Georgia for the last 10 years, Wanda is originally from Maryland and still spends a vast amount of time there today. She loves to read and travel and has been fortunate to travel to South Africa, Spain, and Italy in the last few years, with her son in tow. She’s also hyper focused on instilling a deeper understanding of financial wellness into her son, as he graduates from high school his year and advances to college.
Lillian Henderson, Financial Advisor
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Lillian Henderson, a Huntsville native is a financial advisor who has served over fifteen years in the investment industry. She attended Birmingham Southern College as a student-athlete and played Division I volleyball while obtaining her degree in Business Administration/Finance in 2006.
She began her career in 2007 working for Redstone Federal Credit Union. In 2008, at the age of 26, she obtained her Series 7 & 66 working alongside the advisors within the Madison/Athens branches for the Investment Division. In 2014, she joined Edward Jones Investment, and ran a successful office for seven years. She later joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2020 and worked on a minority team while building more awareness of small minority businesses within the community. After her 15-year career span, Lillian became Founder/CEO of LBH Wealth Advisors a full boutique wealth management firm offering services in budgeting, investing services related to retirement planning, college planning, wealth protection, and estate services. As a trailblazer in her industry, she is continuing her commitment in serving her clients and the community through financial literacy.
She has been a trailblazer in Huntsville, AL and across the state cultivating seeds through financial literacy and speaking on topics of retirement planning, women & finances, investing basics, wealth protection, social security, & estate planning. Lillian is a mother to one son, age 20, who is also a student-athlete attending her alma mater, BSC majoring in Finance. Her beliefs and relentless drive to help her clients achieve their financial goals has been truly a driving force in this industry.
Lenora Johnson, MSW, LCSW, CCATP, CTMH
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Lenora has 20+ years of experience in health and human services working as a victim advocate, crisis intervention specialist and group facilitator. Lenora has 10+ years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) providing therapy, case management and care coordination. Lenora is also passionate about education is currently certified as a Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional, Clinical Telemental Health Provider, and Shame Informed Treatment Specialist. Lenora’s pronouns are she/her/hers. She is an African American woman and an ally for LGBTQ+.
Lenora received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Forensic Science from University of Nevada Las Vegas. She became a certified Child Protective Investigator and specialized working on sexual abuse and human trafficking. Lenora graduated from the University of Cincinnati with Master of Allied Health degree in Social Work,specializing in mental health. She also worked as a Child Abuse Treatment Specialist teaching healthy coping skills to children, offering support groups for children who were the victims of sexual abuse and completed Parent-Child Interactive Therapy.
As an LCSW She also helped develop and implement several case management programs for pregnant individuals and provided therapeutic support during and after delivery. During her time working with the Start Smart for Baby (SSFB) program she started taking courses with Postpartum Support International (PSI). She has also worked with individuals who were diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness living in a variety of settings. Lenora has worked in medical settings providing therapy services to those individuals on dialysis, in hospice and palliative care programs. She owns and has operated a thriving private therapy practice since Sept. 2021. The business is certified as Women Owned, Minority Business Enterprise and an Emerging Small Business.
Lenora has remained passionate about helping to reduce the mortality rate for Black women and children before, during and after delivery. She is currently a board member for Washington County Community Advisory board, a member of the Team Diaper Change group as well as being the Mental Health Consultant for Lane County’s home visiting programs. She is honored to be the Alliance Representative for the Oregon PSI chapter.
Lenora is a lover of all things in the arts from dance, live music, attending museums to photography. She teaches Zumba in her free time. She loves to travel (domestic and international). She brings her love of music from growing up in Detroit every she goes.
Adrienne McCollum-Smith, LICSW-S
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Inspire Counseling, LLC
Adrienne McCollum-Smith, LICSW-S, is a psychotherapist and group private practice owner of Inspire Counseling, LLC. Located in the heart of Hoover, Alabama. She is known across social media platforms as "The Therapist of the South."
Adrienne is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing); she is a level one sand tray therapist and a clinical social work supervisor. She completed her bachelor's and master's degree in Social Work from The University of Alabama. (2012;2013).
Adrienne's clients are high-achieving women across Alabama who struggle with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, relationships, and women's issues. She opened the doors to Inspire Counseling in March of 2019 and grew to six figures in less than two years in the midst of the pandemic Covid-19.
Adrienne has been a guest on several podcasts, panel discussions, and social media collaborations. She is a member of the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce. She enjoys working with upcoming MSW students and new graduates and is proud of her relationships with universities across Alabama and Columbia. Adrienne was the first social worker approved to conduct biopsychosocial assessments and mental status exams for the state's disability claims. She hopes to scale her group practice as well as continue her efforts to influence women and their families to prioritize their mental health and reject the stigma in the BIPOC community.
Shari Pope-Williams, LPC
Shari Pope-Williams, LPC is the owner and sole provider of Healing Journey Therapy Services, LLC located in Huntsville, AL. She is licensed in both Alabama and Virginia, and currently serves as a Clinical Supervisor for a group practice in Virginia providing supervision for Counseling Residents working to obtain licensure. Shari holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, a Master’s Degree in Addictions Counseling, and a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICAADC), a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) through the International Association of Trauma Professionals, and a trained Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR) Facilitator through the Traumatic Incident Reduction Association. Shari is also a Gottman Bringing Baby Home Workshop Facilitator, a research-based and tested psychoeducational workshop dedicated to improving the quality of life for babies and children by strengthening their families. She is currently on the certification track to become a Certified Gottman Therapist as well.
Shari specializes in substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, and couples counseling. In her 20 years in practice, Shari has had the opportunity to work with a multitude of populations in a variety of mental health settings including crisis hotline counseling, case management, residential addictions treatment, intensive outpatient substance abuse counseling, co-occurring outpatient individual and group therapy, medication assisted treatment, moral reconation therapy groups, integrated behavioral health care, and residential eating disorder treatment.
Pamela Tippit, LPC-S
Our very own Founder, Pamela Lomax Tippit! She is a licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S). She holds an M.S. in counseling psychology from Alabama A&M University and a B.A. from the University of Alabama.
Before starting Blissful Mind Behavioral Health in March 2018, she worked for over 20 years serving diverse populations and clients ranging from children to seniors. Her varied experience in the community of mental health, hospital, and school settings has provided her with the perfect foundation for providing comprehensive therapy services in the private practice setting.
She is passionate about serving BIPOC and women clients and helping clients build resilience while becoming emotionally intelligent and strong so that they have the possibility to live the positive and productive lives that we are all destined for. She provides services that help give all clients the tools, encouragement, and information to live in a way that uplifts them in their life journey and helps them find bliss along the way.
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