Meet Chlo’e Edwards

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chlo’e Edwards. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chlo’e , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

As an alumna of the kinship foster care system, I am no stranger to struggle. I shifted from pain to purpose.

After running away from home as a teenager to escape abuse, a white male police officer, who didn’t believe me, said, “I used to be a rebellious child like you, I learned to be quiet.” Instead, I became an advocate for children.

As a kinship foster care alumna, I worked to advocate for permanency and normalcy for Virginia’s Children.

As a PTSD survivor, I accepted a role to work on the Campaign for a Trauma-Informed Virginia.

As a Black woman, I founded the Racial Truth and Reconciliation Virginia Campaign and served as the president of a local Black Lives Matter chapter.

Today, I work to shift power to historically disenfranchised people. Purpose is derived from pain, passion, or opportunity. My higher power turned my trials into a testimony; instead of being quiet, I chose to become an advocate for historically marginalized communities.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a triplet, raised by a single mother, I believe in the power of the community – the community raised me. Often times, whether it was hot water, heat, or electricity, I learned to go without.

No stranger to hardship, I witnessed the cycle of incarceration and substance use when my father would leave for drug binges. As a single mother trying to provide food, clothing, and shelter, my mother was in survival mode, which often led to periods of depression and abuse.

Before I came an activist in the community, I was an activist in my own home, breaking the rule, “What happens in this house, stays in this house,” and leading my siblings to freedom. Once known as “mouth almighty, tongue everlasting,” I have become a mouthpiece for change.

Growing up, I witnessed cycles of generational trauma, systemic inequality, and structural racism. I learned adulthood was not a destination free of trauma or injustice. Coping mechanisms, such as creative writing, advocacy, activism, and cultural-rooted, healing-centered practices, shifted me towards a transformation.

As a policy director, creative mentor, adjunct faculty, and healing-centered engagement practitioner, my approach to change is remarkably diverse. In 2023, I founded Transformative Changes, a Black-woman-owned non-profit with a mission to defy the status quo in pursuit of justice and human liberation.

Our work centers transformation of self, relationships, and community by tackling individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism. We combine expertise in healing-centered engagement, culturally-grounded creativity or artivism, and civic engagement to center people as agents in the creation of their own well-being in the social justice movement space.

We specialize in intersectionality to empower community leaders across a variety of industries to foster growth and societal progress. Our partners are remarkably diverse, tackling public health, education, environmental justice, the creative economy, social emotional learning, trauma, and healing.

To learn more about our policy, advocacy, programmatic initiatives, and events, visit www.transformativechanges.org.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

After engaging in activism at the local, state, and national level and separating from a toxic employer, I did not know who I was outside of my “calling,” achieving fairness, equality, and justice for all people. Racial battle fatigue is a sister to burnout. It starts with many tasks, workaholic honeymoon phases, followed by unabating stress, apathy, and physical and emotional exhaustion.

After experiencing a mental health crisis, I confronted that fact that it was easier to “fight the power” than to fix one’s own family or look within to break the cycles of generational trauma and heal thyself. Saviorism, which describes the need to “save people by fixing their problems” is harmful.

Here are a few lessons I learned during my own journey of transformation, which led me to founding Transformative Changes:

1.) You are not that important. People are more than the worst thing that has happened to them or is happening to them. Everyone has the ability to serve as the creator of their own well-being.
2.) It’s easier to “fight the power” than to look at your family, friends, and within. Before fixing the system, fix your own family. Heal thyself.
3.) Racism is individualistic, interpersonal, systemic, and structural. People often look for solutions with linear perspectives but racism is multidimensional, and therefore, change is non-linear.

Transformative change is radical. It exposes the world for what it is. Breaking the status quo makes you the shark in a school of fish. I recall a boss telling me, “You’re extraordinary, not ordinary. Extraordinary does not work for everyone.” If you are a unicorn in your sector, here’s a few tools I learned:

1.) There is nothing wrong with extraordinary. Extraordinary is what breaks the status quo. Ordinary is what maintains it. Go where you are celebrated and not tolerated.
2.) Change is heart work– not mind work. The evolution and revolution does not happen in concepts. Change is something you feel– not intellectualize.
3.) We are the change. The key to social and systems change is that the world is ever evolving, and thus, we as a society must grow and evolve with the changing landscape. There is always room for learning and growth. Otherwise, change is stagnant.

Transformative Changes defies the status quo through the pursuit of justice and human liberation by leveraging healing-centered engagement for transformation of self, culturally grounded creativity to foster transformation of relationships, and civic engagement to evoke systems change.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Ubuntu is an African proverb that means a person is a person through other people. It means, “I am, because you are.” At Transformative Changes, we believe community is one of the building blocks of society.

We offer a range of community programs designed to inspire and empower individuals. From educational workshops to mentorship opportunities, our initiatives cater to diverse needs. We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to the community’s growth.

We are a non-profit start-up looking to expand our impact. If you would like to fund, contract, or collaborate on a specific project, please visit: www. transformativechanges.org/programs or contact ceo@transformativechanges.org.

We work to bridge the policy and people gap. If you would like to fund, contract, or collaborate on a specific initiative, please visit www.transformativechanges.org/policy or contact ceo@transformativechanges.org.

Get involved! Support transformation:

1.) To learn about our upcoming events, visit www. transformativechanges.org/events.
2.) If you are interested in donating, visit www. transformativechanges.org/support
3.) If you are interested in supporting us by shopping, visit our online store, www.transformativechanges.org/store

Contact Info:

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