Esther D. Coleman, ESQ

Esther DeAnn Coleman is a proud native of Jacksonville, FL.  At an early age, Esther became disillusioned with the images of children and teens being thrown into the juvenile justice system and resolved that she could be a part of the solution to this burgeoning problem.  After a harrowing tri with Youth Leadership Jacksonville to the county jail, where the students were allowed to speak with several teen inmates who were housed in the jail, Eshter's plans to become an attorney and legal advocate were solidified.  She knew at that point that the only way that she would be able to help those in her community fight the allure of crime and to fight against other civil injustices would be to be well versed in the tool that was being used against them - the law.  Esther found that the law would be a perfect utilization of her analytical skills and her gifts of language and creative expression.

Esther attended the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where she became president of the school's section of the Nation Council of Negro Women; and completed internships at the Florida State Senate and the Levin College of Law's Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida.  After moving to D.C. to matriculate at the Georgetown University Law Center, Esther nutured her interest in constitutional law by interning at the Advancement Project and the D.C. Office of the Corporation Counsel.

Esther's desire to empower her community through knowledge of law continues to be the motivating factor for all of the work that she does.  Esther is striving to continue to work with community based groups to create and facilitate their public policy platforms and to address the legal issues that the groups that they serve face.  Esther has a particular interest in advancing the rights of women and youth and works closely with small business startups.  She currently is principal attorney at Executive DC Legal Services and compliance manager for a behavioral health provider; on the board of directors of Mother's Outreach Network, and Words, Beats and Life, Inc.; as a trustee of the Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, DC; and regulary volunteers with Capital Caring, the Washington Area Lawyers forthe Arts and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service.  Esther works to use her talents to inform and encourage others to discover their own power and voice.

Xuan Stevens, Ph.D., ABPP

Xuan Stevens, Ph.D., ABPP, is the Program Director and co-founder of Standing in the Gap Community Development Coporation, a cross-sector coalition building agency to make meaningful and sustainable progress on health, educational, and social issues related to female adolescent and young adults from financially disadvantaged background in the areas of building strong physical and psychological wellbeing, strengthening educational attainment, and establishing career aspirations. She also holds a position as a Licensed Psychological Consultant for Ultimate Thinking Psychological Consultants, PA and Psychcare LLC., by providing residents in a long term care facility with psychotherapy services, documenting clinically significant changes in their psychosocial functioning, conducting evaluations to determine psychological functioning of individuals to manage functional capabilities and to exhibit social and behavior patterns necessary for successful occupational and daily performance and functioning, administer initial diagnostic evaluations to identify and to recommend client's treatment needs, and providing crisis intervention services.  Dr. Stevens, a graduate from the University of Notre Dame, received a Ph.D. and Masters of Arts from the Counseling Psychology Program. Dr. Stevens completed her thesis and doctoral dissertation studying the effects of parenting practices and adjustment on children outcomes in underserved populations. She pursued further commitments to the profession by becoming a Board Certified Psychologist in Clinical Psychology. The opportunity to become board certified ensured that the care that she provides her clients is competent and effective and provides her with a chance to consolidate all of her learning experiences. Dr. Stevens’ research interests included investigations with children, adolescents, and families from financially disadvantaged backgrounds who have had legal involvement and studying prevention and programming for substance use problems within a college population. She also enjoys implementing program development and evaluation strategies for underserved populations. Dr. Stevens has extensive experience writing, conducting research, and presenting research articles at conferences locally, regionally, and nationally. 

Dr. Stevens has been the recipient of several grants and awards. She held an Adjunct Professor position in the Psychology Department at FIU, senior clinical associate position in private practice, and a University Psychologist position in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center at Florida International University.

LASHAWNDRA L. STORR, SPHR, SHRM-SCP