Azurae Johnson Redmond
Chattanooga,TN
Summary
Passionate, inspirational author, speaker and grief coach, inspiring more than 2,500 widows and widowers of all ages, nationalities and religions worldwide, through the founding of the progressive nonprofit Young, Black & Widowed, during the pandemic in 2020. Resilient, young widow fueled by life experience to advocate for widows after losing her husband to lung cancer, at just 27 years old in 2017, while 5 months pregnant, with their 10-month-old on her hip.
Overview
3
3
years of professional experience
Work History
Founding Director & Certified Grief Coach
Young, Black & Widowed Inc.
08.2020 - Current
- Worked closely with organizational leadership and board of directors to guide global operational strategy.
- Developed engaging and inspiring inclusion and diversity communication strategies to be inclusive of widow(er)s of all ages, nationalities, religions and gender identities worldwide.
- Helped clients build life management and coping skills to handle specific stressors and set reasonable goals on weekly basis.
- Connected clients through daily peer support line to connect widow(er)s with local resources in their unique city across the United States to improve plan success.
- Facilitated multiple weekly group peer support sessions and learning discussions to further objectives since the founding in 2020.
- Designed safe and supportive environment for clients to discuss diverse issues in minority communities worldwide.
- Supported individuals with peer grief support dealing with mental health and emotional issues and connected them with local psychologists and psychiatrists of color in their unique city across the United States.
- Provided education on mental health topics and resources to clients in a palatable manner to minority communities.
- Developed engaging and informative content through our podcast, "Young, Black & Widowed."
- Connected and interacted daily with readers via multiple platforms such as zoom, Clubhouse, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Threads to address the needs and ideas of the global widowed community.
- Researched creative topics to write, edit and create layouts for new articles and features on the informative website blog with step-by-step post-loss estate management.
- Represented the organization at national conferences and community events.
- Developed marketing strategies to facilitate expansion.
- Led recruitment and development of strategic alliances to maximize utilization of existing talent and capabilities.
- Devised and presented business plans and forecasts to board of directors.
- Collaborated with legal, accounting and other professional teams to review and maintain compliance with 501(c)3 nonprofit regulations.
- Cultivated a forward-thinking, inclusive and community-focused culture to push for progress for widows in local legislation.
- Engaged positively with the 100% Black, widow(er) comprised leadership and volunteer teams, soliciting and encouraging feedback and collaborative spirit.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Chemical Engineering & Business Management
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, TN2015
Skills
- Nonprofit Management
- Peer Grief Support
- Inspirational Speaking
- Social Media Campaign
- Special Event Planning
- Global Marketing
- Operations Start-Up
- Business Administration
Accomplishments
Named Tennessee's Top African-American Women in 2022 by the state-wide Tennessee Tribune.
Board of Directors
WTCI-PBS, Signal Centers, Read20
Timeline
Founding Director & Certified Grief Coach
Young, Black & Widowed Inc.
08.2020 - Current
Bachelor of Science - Chemical Engineering & Business Management
Tennessee Technological University
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