Nicole René Manuel is an international educator, social justice advocate, avid reader and yogi from Prince George’s County, Maryland. After earning her undergraduate degree from Howard University, she taught English in Daejeon, South Korea from 2009-2011 which was a remarkable experience for her. Upon returning home, she was committed to providing quality education to students in her own “backyard”. From 2012-2014, Nicole was a Teach for America Corp. member in Washington, DC. She taught English to middle-school students with special needs from 2012-2017. She has been committed to promoting educational equity in underprivileged communities for her entire career. In 2018, Nicole was honored with the “KIPP DC: Teacher of the Year Award” for her extraordinary work with her students. Nicole currently works in Education Administration within the District of Columbia Public Schools.
In Nicole’s spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her family and friends, traveling, writing, walking her dog, trying new foods, painting, watching documentaries or enjoying outdoor activities. Nicole is also a licensed realtor serving the Maryland and DC area. Nicole also has a love for animals. She adopted her dog, Romeo, from an animal shelter in South Korea in 2010. He is now 12 years young and still understands commands in Korean!
Meditation has been a saving grace for Nicole. She has always been interested in meditation, but it wasn’t until the COVID 19 pandemic that she committed to the practice. Like many, she experienced a lot of uncertainty and doubt during the global crisis. Daily meditation and journaling allowed her to experience hope, tranquility and peace during the most uncertain of times. As a person who is always going 100 miles an hour, meditation soothes her and gives her the tools to tackle day-to-day challenges. She is able to better manage her stress and view the world from a positive perspective when she is in practice. When she doesn’t meditate, she can definitely feel the difference. Meditation is like spiritual medicine for her. She is looking forward to sharing her love of meditation with beginners. There is so much power in stillness.
Assunta “Sunny” Clary is an educator, entrepreneur and first time author located in Washington, DC. Sunny made her way to the DMV area from New Jersey to attend Howard University to pursue a masters in education. Assunta currently lives and teaches within the District of Columbia. Her passion for mindfulness and education is what inspired her to create a journal to help aspiring meditators to begin their journey.
As a lifelong learner, Assunta is always looking for ways to improve her life and develop her skill set. After attending a 10 day silent meditation retreat, she realized that there was power in silence and wanted to share the gift with others. Assunta believes meditation is the gateway to know oneself. The knowledge and awareness acquired through the journey of meditation is priceless. The power that comes with the ability to self regulate and be in tune with your inner most thoughts is a daily gift to yourself.
Assunta’s journey with meditation began in 2018, She wanted to build her health and wellness so she decided to “give meditation a try”. After meditating independently for a year trying different classes around the DC area, in 2019 she committed herself to attend two meditation retreats. The second retreat was a silent ten day vipassana course: no phones, no books, just 100 hours of meditation. Upon returning home from the retreat her sense of self was heightened and she dedicated herself to meditating daily. As life started to get busy, Assunta realized the less she meditated the more she saw a shift in her emotions. After realizing the missing factor of daily meditation she was able to recognize that returning back to her practice was her saving grace. Assunta encourages others to give yourself the gift of silence, because you deserve it.
When Assunta is not meditating, she enjoys creating delicious charcuterie boards with her small business, Charcuterie Chique. Outside of teaching she builds connections and community, with women of color in the DC Metropolitan area with her book club, Traveling Minds. Traveling Minds was established in 2018 when she decided to combine her favorite activities traveling and reading together.
