From the Dark Shadows to a Vibrant Light: Poems for the Victims and Survivors (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781499565454)

Ashari P Wallace is from Los Angeles, California and holds a B.A. in Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies (CAFS) and a minor in Women and Gender Studies (WGS) from California State University of Bakersfield. She received her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Simmons College. Ashari has been working with children and adolescent/young people, ages 4 months and up for over 8 years, in the capacity of a youth volunteer worker for her church's Children's Church; a program leader for an after-school program; a teacher's assistant at a child care facility; and during college working as a resident's assistant for students in the dormitories. Wallace's most recent work was as a school counselor for Youth Build Charter Schools of California (YCSC) and Outreach Concern Inc. Wallace worked with transitional age youth (ages 16-24) at YCSC and at Outreach Concern Inc. she worked with students from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. In this role, Wallace was responsible for helping students identify and positively cope with academic, social, emotional, and/or behavior issue to help students thrive in the academic setting. She will continue working with women, children and adolescents, and transitional age youth (TAY) and help individuals cope with trauma in a positive and healthy manner. Wallace is interested in an ongoing career working with and advocating for children, adolescent, young adults, their families and women. She will continue helping young people thrive socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically through individual and/or group coaching/therapy, mentorship, and advocacy. One of Wallace's main goals is to help young people realize their strengths and resiliency through previous and present adversities while helping them continue to succeed in life. She also plans to continue writing books as a form of personal expression, advocacy, and education with hopes to touch on various social issues that affect the populations she works with.