"There's more to me than you can see"

It is only human to hide behind a mask. In this episode, Lisa speaks with Ashanti Branch, Educator, Mentor and Founder of the Ever Forward Club, who has spent decades mentoring young men of color, building trust, and bringing confidence and empathy into their lives to help them achieve their true potential. Through his more recent project, the Million Mask Movement, we learn how sharing “our masks” help us to gather a deeper understanding of ourselves, others, and how connected we really are when it comes to the masks we live in.

Ashanti Branch is a master in building healthy relationships in schools, a pioneer in education reform, and in youth mental health, with over 18 years of experience. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club (EFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to seeing marginalized students graduate high school by providing them with emotional tools and mental health support. Ashanti is a keynote speaker, advisor to the US Surgeon General, a Fulbright Fellow, and 4x Tedx Speaker and has created the global #MillionMaskMovement

Resources from today's episode:

Million Mask Movement: millionmask.org

Ever Forward Club: https://everforwardclub.org/

Sticks and Stones E70 with Ashanti Branch(SPECIAL EPISODE)

A young man reflects after his first ‘Taking off the Mask’ workshop. "I Remember I Went Back" | Taking Off The Mask | Branch Speaks https://youtu.be/qIPbNrGoxxs

TEDx Marin - The Masks We All Wear

Wisdom 2.0 - Ashanti Branch and young men from The Ever Forward Club speak about growing up as young men today - https://youtu.be/8bPOd2Esbrk

Ashanti Branch speaks about young men's emotional toolbox at Big Ideas Fest 2014 - http://youtu.be/sGzauoDEEVk

The Ever Forward Club's work is featured in a documentary by The Representation Project called "The Mask You Live In" that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival http://youtu.be/hc45-ptHMxo

VuIbamN4hT2LEnff2wVm