Together, we can mobilize Black voters and combat suppression, ensuring voices in Black communities are heard and reflected at the polls
Black the Vote is a campaign and call to action, encouraging civic engagement, voter turnout, and uplift issues impacting Black communities. Black the Vote is led by One Love Global in partnership with the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter.
Shani Saxon, LMSW is the founder and executive director of Kids Turning Corners, Inc., a nonprofit that addresses mental and physical well-being for young people of color, especially those who are uninsured or under-insured. As a passionate social activist of social justice, Shani is committed to helping under-served populations and communities achieve their potential through advocacy, equity, and inclusion.
In addition to Kids Turning Corners, Shani owns and operates a private practice and consulting office in East Lansing called Turning Corners Consulting, Inc., where she provides consulting services and emotional/behavioral counseling to individuals, agencies and groups. Through her own lived experiences and professional development, she recognizes that when individuals can become self-aware of their own unique potential and are given the chance to rise despite their differences, they will develop the skills they need to heal and become effective leaders for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Shani contracts as a field instructor at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University-Schools of Social Work in partnership with One Love Global, providing supervision to students (MBK Scholars) with a macro focus in social work. With the Upward Bound Program at Michigan State University, Shani facilitates life-skills groups for local high school students transitioning to college. She also presents an emotional well-being and transitioning seminar to incoming students enrolled in the Engineering Science Success Academy (ESSA) each summer.
Shani previously worked as a consultant for the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services- Child & Adolescent Health Centers department to manage a 2.1 million dollar contract where she assisted Directors from multiple sites to open thirteen school based health centers (SBHC) in Detroit and Muskegon. Shani currently serves on the Board of the Ingham County Women’s Commission, addressing policies and issues that impact women and children.
Shani’s research interests are social justice, child advocacy, sexual abuse and trauma. The majority of Shani’s ongoing research focuses on the disparities of mental health accessibility and experiences of Black women with severe mental health diagnoses using ethnographic research and narrative analysis.