Meet Your Hosts
Alishia
Hello, my name is Alishia McCullough (she, her) and I am a millennial Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist and National Certified Counselor currently residing in North Carolina. I am also an independent published author of the book Blossoming.. I am passionate about anti-racism, racial healing, and decolonization within eating disorders. I am motivated to increase access and create spaces for black, indigenous, queer, people of color to come together and heal in ways that inspire holistic wellness and culturally inclusive informed healing. I grew up in a non-denominational Christian two-parent household. Outside of my clinical work, I am also the Co-Founder of the AmplifyMelanatedVoices Movement and the Founder of The Holistic Black Healing Collective. My work has been featured by Target, Bustle, Popsugar, and Teen Vogue.
Safiya
Safiya McHale (she/her, they/them) is a Licensed Master Social Worker living in Maryland. In the past year, she has worked as a therapist in various community mental health settings. She is currently a therapist at a group private practice where she focuses on eating disorders, body image, and gender from a liberation framework. She grew up in a Christian family and became involved in church starting in high school. She is spiritual but no longer identifies as Christian, though she occasionally participates in church. Outside of clinical work, she has a passion for racial justice activism where she connects these issues into the conversation about eating disorders and body image concerns. She also provides peer support groups and consulting services for racial justice.
Whitney
Hello, My name is Whitney Trotter. I am dually licensed as a Registered Dietitian and Nurse and am also a registered yoga teacher. I am passionate about the education and advancement for Back and Indigenous, communities of color facing complex trauma and eating disorders. Whitneys experience lies within the eating disorder community at various levels of care and extensive as well as working with survivors of violent crimes. I co-founded a non-profit Restore Coprs to help combat human trafficking and advoate for surviors. I am the owner and founder of Bluff City Health, a private practice dedicated to helping individuals with the intersection of eating disorders, trauma and body autonomy. I identify as a Christian, and was raised in a two-parent non-denominational Christian household. I am currently married to a Pastor who is also an activist for anti-racism and social justice while preaching the gospel.
Gloria
Gloria Lucas is the founder of Nalgona Positivity Pride, a Xicana rooted organization dedicated in amplifying the voices and needs of BICC (Black, Indigenous, communities of color) affected by body-image & eating disorders. Gloria’s line of work has consisted of historical trauma and eating disorder, eating disorder harm reduction, and merging ancestral knowledge to eating disorder healing. Gloria grew up in a home divided by two religions and was raised Jehovah’s Witness. Currently, Gloria holds no religious affiliation but is inclined to personal ancestral practices. Her work has been featured in NPR, Teen Vogue, Huffpost, Los Angeles Times, and Bitch Magazine.
