S2E2: "Let Your Light Shine No Matter Who Gets Blinded by It" with Angelina Simmonds

Our guest for this month's Feature Friday, as well as first guest of season 2, is Angelina Simmonds!

 

From North Preston, Angelina spent much of her early life as an athlete including basketball and competitive swimming. Competing provincially and nationally, and holding records in Nova Scotia. Driven to uplift women and girls through empowerment
and confidence-building, Angelina founded Black Girls Pillow Talk (BGPT) in 2023 to create nurturing and encouraging spaces for young Black girls to share their lived experiences, prompt the healing of intergenerational trauma, experience joy, and thrive
together. BGPT blends self-care with community care through activities that can include physical movement, hair care, mentorship, confidence building, and knowledge sharing.

Building on her passion for empowering youth, Angelina pursued studies in Women and Gender Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, fueling her commitment to addressing intersectional challenges. She applies her knowledge as a consultant at A
Team Coaching, a family business designed to help inform more equitable futures by transforming cultures, mindsets, and systems. Angelina also assists individuals in navigating the justice system as a Justice Navigator at the African Nova Scotian Justice
Institute. Her role encompasses prevention and mitigation in areas such as criminal law, youth justice, mental health, addictions, and social justice issues. Before this, Angelina held positions at Acadia University, Halifax Partnership, and Black Cultural Centre.

 

It was a pleasure hosting the impactful Angelina Simmonds on our podcast episode this month!

 

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Angelina Simmonds

 

3:25 - What made Angelina take an interest in competitive swimming

 

11:30 - Discussing the education system in Halifax and beyond

 

16:50 - Advice that Angelina would give to her younger self

 

18:40 - The impact of Blacks Girl Pillow Talk

 

31:55 - Angelina on A Team Coaching

 

39:30 - Angelina’s advice for people who want to get involved with things like Black Girls Pillow Talk and A Team Coaching

 

52:10 - Angelina on the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute

 

1:04:10 - Angelina on how her work impacts ANS youth

 

1:17:05 - ONE word checkout