D’Shonda Brown is a Cultural Curator, Stigma Breaker and in her own words a “dope human being!” Here’s a glimpse at our December issue shero and her story.

Name: D’Shonda Brown

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Title: Mental Health Advocate, Cultural Curator, Entrepreneur

Bio: D'Shonda Brown is a Communications Associate at A/B Partners and columnist at The RapFest for her curated series #SHOPBLACK with a wide background of experience in entertainment, music, fashion, technology and non-profit organizations. D'Shonda has a background in public relations and social media management previously working for Whose Your Landlord, Soledad O'Brien's PowHERFul Foundation, Shanti Das' Silence The Shame, and Universal Music Group to name a few. Prior to these opportunities, D'Shonda earned her BA in English from Spelman College and is a certified Mental Health First Aider. Moreover, she is a blogger and lead content curator for Signed, Shonda and serves as Principal Publicist at Gold Blooded Communications. D'Shonda explores the power of social movements and influence of media and communications through her work in communications, journalism and passion for breaking the stigmas in mental health, women's rights and providing equal opportunities and access to education for minority youth and underserved communities.

Q: How did you stumble upon your amazing path as a Therapist?

I’m not a therapist, but that is something that I’m looking into pursuing further. I fell into mental health advocacy as I began to dig into more research pertaining to mental health and its direct effects on the Black community and women and children of color. The more I learned, the more I wanted to share this information with my people, my community and just about anyone who would listen.

Q: When was the moment you knew this was your passion and you had to pursue this journey?

I knew this was my passion after attending an event with hip-hop vet and mental health advocate Shanti Das and radio personality and culture curator Charlamagne Tha God hosted by Island Records about mental health in the music industry. As someone who has been in the music industry for years at only the age of 23, I realized that it was time for me to use my passion and personal experience in mental health for the greater good. At 21-years-old , I attempted to complete suicide and for a while, I was confused as to why I was still here and what purpose I had. This event a few months ago recharged the battery in my back and gave me purpose I didn’t even know I had.

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Q: Who inspired you into taking this path?

Myself. It may sound cliche, but I am stronger than anyone I’ve ever compared myself to because no one could tell my story better than me. The troubling part is that I know that there are a lot of people out there who look like me who have experienced similar traumatic events as me, but don’t have the courage and strength like me. I want to give people that voice that they didn’t know existed. I don’t want to say I’m a voice for the people, but I’d like to say I’m a rising leading influencer for Generation Z and millennials of color. My biggest influences in mental health besides myself are Shanti Das, Charlamagne Tha God, Dr. Jessica Clemons and Camryn Triplett.

Q: Who was the first person who believed in you?

The first person who believed in me was my mentor Alechia Reese. While I can’t give a precise date and time, but she and I were speaking about a tour that she was planning for her forthcoming book, The Relationship Game. I told her that I wanted to make a complete shift out of music and entertainment to pursue a career in public speaking and advocacy, but I had reservations due to fear of failure and discomfort. As motherly as she can be, she’s also the real, blunt best friend you don’t know you need until she gives you that talk that you’re overdue for. She told me that the only thing that was in my way was me and that she would be more than happy to help me in my journey however she could - this lead to her putting me onto Lisa Nichols’ public speaking course, going on her book tour that she had been planning, and connecting with Gyrl Wonder, for whom I now serve as the lead podcast host. I’m forever indebted to Alechia for everything she’s ever done for me.

Q: What was the moment you knew you could be successful at your path?

When I was speaking at an event hosted by the NYC Visionistas, prior to attending, I was under the impression that I would be on a panel with a few other fabulous women. Come to find out, I was a keynote speaker - which was terrifying for me considering that I hate attention and being singled out. After I was introduced, I completely winged it - I spoke on my experience with a mental illness, my passion as a mental health advocate and even did a little call-and-response here and there with statistics about mental health and psychology. After my speech was over, I received a huge round of applause, but that wasn’t what hit me. I had a woman around my older sister’s age come up to me, tell me how proud she is of me to tell my story in front of people I don’t know and that I inspire her. If I can touch one person in a room of 100,000 then I know that my job as an advocate has been successful that day.

Q: Give us a typical day in your life:

Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl? Both, I think I’ve successfully mastered the art of staying up late and waking up early. However, if I had to choose, it would probably be an early bird.
When do you get up? Naturally, my body wakes up around 9 AM everyday
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? The first thing I do when I wake up is lay in bed for a while to just have a moment of radio silence before my day of hectic chaos and work begins.
Do you have a morning routine or ritual? I don’t have a morning routine, but I should probably start one. Every morning, however, I try to say three positive affirmations in the mirror and tell myself one compliment before walking out of the door every day before work.
What do you do from 10am to 1pm? From 10 AM - 1 PM while I’m at work, I typically use this part of my day to take it easy and set the tone for the rest of my day by writing out my to-do list, reading the news, listening to podcasts and getting some of my more difficult and time-consuming tasks completed first to allow the rest of my day to roll a little smoother.
What do you do from 1pm to 6pm? From 1 PM - 6 PM, I’m typically still at work, but I do believe in mental breaks so I’ll go for a walk, get a light snack and maybe call a friend or family member to remind myself that I do have a life outside of work. I have a job, but the job doesn’t have me.
What do you do from 6pm until you go to bed? Which day of the week are we referring to? My evenings are all over the place. On Mondays, I attend a dance class at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, New York to help keep my physical and mental health in check as a stress-reliever. Other days of the week, I like to spoil myself a bit so that can mean anything from going out with friends to binge watching a TV show on Netflix or reading a good book that has been collecting dust on my shelf. My evenings are my ‘Shonda Time’ as I like to call it - time to unwind, relax and free my mind of all negative energy and stressors that I may have encountered for the day.
Do you have a pre-bed ritual? I absolutely have to spray my room with aromatherapy spray every single night. I cannot sleep without it. It’s a holistic remedy I discovered about a year ago that really helps me keep my stress levels down before I go to sleep. This season, I’m using amber and maple aromatherapy spray for my room since it's fall. You can buy one for $5 at your local TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
How do define a successful day? A successful day for me is when I’ve made someone smile, laugh or when I’ve been able to relieve stress from someone. When I have inspired someone or gave someone something that they didn’t know they needed - whether it’s courage, an answer to a question or a friend - I’ve had a successful day

Q: What’s been your most important skill you've developed on your path?

The most important skill I’ve developed on my path as a mental health advocate is empathy. Knowing that everyone’s path is different and being able to respect everyone’s differentiating walks of life have been able to allow me to come into a multitude of spaces from entrepreneurship summits to juvenile detention centers. Advocacy doesn’t have a color or an age - mental health is for everyone and it’s in everyone. Empathy has become my superpower.

Q: What’s been your greatest challenge on your path?

My greatest challenge has also been my empathy for others. I grow very attached to the people I connect with and those who reach out to me with their own personal stories, and my heart breaks when I hear other stories of suicide, rape, sexual assault, bullying, etc. because it’s hard to swallow that someone actually has been through something as heartbreaking as my personal story. Most times, more. I want to be able to help and save everyone the best way that I can and sometimes it hurts knowing that I can’t do everything for everyone.

Q: What’s been your greatest reward in the choices you've made to do this?

My greatest reward has been - if I could pinpoint one general one - is being seen. Being recognized by PrettiPassionate, America Hates US, The Rap Fest and more of these outlets and organizations across the board as a mental health advocate doing the work in my community and across the nation has been the most rewarding of all.

Q: Do you have a personal motto or a phrase that best represents you?