Our Mission
Healed Men Heal Men
To provide access to mental health treatment, psycho-education, and community resources to men of color.
Meet Our Team
Tasnim Sulaiman, LPC Founder/CEO of Black Men Heal, Tasnim is a licensed psychotherapist who also owns a private practice in Philadelphia. Tasnim, (warmly known as Taz), is on a mission to dismantle broken systems that uphold the lack of equity and access to quality mental health care for communities of color.
An engaging speaker and media contributor, Taz’s expertise has been featured on notable platforms such as The Breakfast Club, NBC Universal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS Nightly News, NBC 10 Philadelphia, KYW 3, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Psychotherapy Networker. Taz has been a keynote speaker at national conferences and has been featured as a presenter or featured panelist offering expertise for major companies such as Major League Baseball, Ralph Lauren, New York Life, MassMutual, and Netflix.
She leads the BMH team in offering DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) consulting and training to companies and organizations. Presently, Tasnim is proud to be in development of programming and actionable steps towards alleviating disproportionate health outcomes, as a part of the highly selective Political Determinants of Health Learning Laboratory Program, presented by The Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Zakia Williams, MBA Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for Black Men Heal, began her career in the mental health field over 17 years ago. She started with a background in Human Development, Social Work and Case Management for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. In 2015, Zakia became the President and CEO of Interface Psych Services which employs therapists and services individuals, families and elders. Zakia continues to be very passionate and active around social justice, racial oppression and their intersectional impact around mental health inequities. Her mission is to educate and remove the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community.
A fiercely passionate presenter, Zakia has been featured on nationally syndicated show The Breakfast Club; The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS Nightly News, NBC 10 Philadelphia,WURD, WHYY, and KYW 3 to name a few. She has also been featured as a contributing panelist around DEI issues for companies such as Ralph Lauren, MassMutual, Second Muse, Spring Health and Netflix.
Charlotte Andrews, Clinical Director for Black Men Heal is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Behavior Specialist & Professor of Psychology with her own private therapy practice in Philadelphia! She graduated with a Bachelors’s Degree in Psychology from North Carolina A&T State University and received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Psychology from Holy Family University.
She has also received her law degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law with the goal of practicing mental health law. Charlotte is currently serving as the Clinical Coordinator for Black Men Heal which is a nonprofit organization that promotes, advocates, and provides mental health services to men of color, and Girl Secure Yourself which is another non-profit organization that focuses on women empowerment. She is also a permanent feature on “After 6 pm” a podcast and radio show which airs weekly on PQRadio1.
Charlotte also owns an online store that provides education on alternative and holistic treatments for physical and mental wellness, which includes a host of wellness products for sale. Her passion is to empower others to become their best selves, no matter what they’ve been through. Her goal is to educate the community about the importance of mental health treatment in order to play her small part in eradicating the stigma that plagues communities of color about mental illness.
The Reverend W. Douglas Banks is a seventh–
generation descendant of Thomas Jefferson and The enslaved woman Sally Hemings. He is an Adjunct
Professor in the College of Humanities and Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University and the Senior Program Director at Black Men Heal. His joy is being
the Senior Pastor of The Church of Transformation located in historic Germantown section of Philadelphia.
As an educator, his agenda focuses on reconciling the flaws of our human history with the future of our human hope. Rev. Banks has been featured nationally over the last twenty–five years on numerous television news and media shows, giving
light to his family ancestry. Rev. Banks has taken his degree from The Ohio State University (BA) and has matriculated in the Palmer Theological Seminary in pursuit of his advanced degree (MDiv).
Over the past several years Rev. Banks has met with individuals, schools, organizations, and businesses to share his personal journey of accepting and reconciling his personal ancestry.
His unique focus provides examples of ways to create a more equitable,
inclusive, belonging community. There have been numerous events he has participated in, both live and
streamed, to reach thousands of people who desire a balanced perspective on racial issues and how they relate to our collective responsibility in society.
Upon learning about his lineage to Thomas Jefferson, Banks had to face the flaws he inherited and decide what he was going to do with them. While he recognized that President Jefferson was responsible for
some good things he also knew that as an owner of enslaved people, he was also responsible for great atrocities.
He believes that even out of the worst situations, good things can come. “You cannot fix what you are not willing
to face,” says Banks. He firmly believes that as a part of our common humanity, once individuals are willing to face their flaws they have the possibility of growing
past inherent failures.
Rev. Banks not only provides education of his ancestry journey, but also challenges people to look within themselves, embrace differences, and create a more equitable reality within their lives, schools, and
organizations, along with the external communities in which we all belong.
He is available for seminars, speaking
engagements, and educational lectures to
churches, schools, organizations and
businesses.
Akiva Harris: Akiva is a clinically trained therapist who uses a holistic approach because it treats the whole person and promotes individual growth and stability. She serves as a change agent that provides support and empathetic understanding, allowing clients to gain new awareness of themselves, which facilitates health and healing. She draws on her personal experiences and insights to join with her clients. Akiva uses various modalities, such as evidenced-based practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing, in order to create an individualized plan of action for her clients.
Akiva holds a Master of Science in Clinical Counseling from Chestnut Hill College and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, licensed in the state of PA. She specializes in mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, adjustment disorder, low self-esteem, codependency, addiction, and trauma-informed care.
Akiva emphasizes the connection with her client’s true self because that is where all answers lie. She is the conduit, supporting her clients on that journey. This happens through self-awareness, disrupting old behavior patterns, and creating healthy replacement behaviors. She believes some essential elements of the healing process are: allowing ourselves to feel the original pain, the forgiveness of self and others, reframing our narrative, and changing behaviors.
Wesley G. Harris III, M.A. LPC NCC is a board certified and licensed professional counselor who assists others navigate traumatic experiences. He is the Clinical Coordinator of M.A.P.P.E.D., LLC (iammapped.com) a holistic private practice that specializes in using culturally appropriate and responsive evidenced-based treatment modalities as a means to enhance overall wellness. Wesley currently serves part-time as a Clinical Coordinator and Clinical Supervisor for Black Men Heal and will be leading the Prolonged Exposure modality for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
