“We continue to empower a generation of well Black women. I feel so confident in my soul that we are empowering and creating and supporting one of the healthiest generations of Black women in the world with the work that we’ve been doing over the last 16 years at the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness,” says Lisa Peyton, the founder and president of The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, a Madison-based non-profit organization launched in 2012 that is committed to eliminating health disparities and other barriers impacting the lives of African American women and girls.
The organization is getting ready to host its signature event, Black Women’s Wellness Day, an annual gathering of women (and some men) from all walks of life that offers a powerful mix of information, inspiration, and empowerment. This year’s celebration will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in downtown Madison. One thousand attendees came to the event last year which featured powerful keynote speakers, expert panels, and inspiring artists. The event has come a long way since its origins 16 years ago.
“The first-ever Black Women’s Wellness Day was in 2009, three years after my mom passed away, and it was hosted in a very small public library room in Bowie, Maryland. So when you do that reflection and you see what Black Women’s Wellness Day has grown to become now hosting 1,000 people — we hit that mark at last year’s event — it is quite amazing to know that that legacy continues to grow. We continue to be relevant to Black women,” Peyton says. “We continue to attract women who support our mission and our vision and whose lives we’ve touched, and women who are informing their health and the health of Black women in Wisconsin and everywhere. That’s what Black Women’s Wellness Day represents …the transformational power we have to elevate our health and our lives on every level. That message keeps resonating with women year to year.
“It’s nice being able to see our reach continue to grow. Last year was so exciting because we had a significant number of attendees return to Black Women’s Wellness Day,” Peyton continues. “Every year, the number of new attendees increases and there are still women in the greater Madison area who are coming to Black Women’s Wellness Day for the first time. We have significant growth in women statewide who are traveling to Black Women’s Wellness Day and those who are coming from beyond Wisconsin, from the East Coast, the West Coast, and from the South.”
The small Black Women’s Wellness Day has grown into a large regional and national event.
“In fact, this year, we have a cohort of our National Wellness Ambassadors driving here from Delaware. We have people coming from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and even one has flown in from Spain,” Peyton says. “It gives me great joy to know that we continue to serve the needs of women locally and in Wisconsin, but our message and our impact has grown beyond the boundaries of Wisconsin.”
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The two keynote speakers for the 16th Annual Black Women’s Wellness Day will be Michele Lopez and Dash Hudson. Lopez is an internationally known celebrity stylist, designer, speaker, influencer and creator of the ‘Refer Her Movement’ which she launched in 2023. Hudson is a father, speaker, author, entrepreneur, mental health advocate, popular Instagram influencer and creator of Sessions With Dash.
“We have two incredible and amazing keynote speakers who have really built strong, powerful profiles in the social media world,” Peyton says. “As always, our goal through our speakers at Black Women’s Wellness Day is to really offer very inspirational messages that are transformational for our guests with folks who can convey messages of personal transformation as we look to push women to relook at their lives across mind, body, spirit, and to look at generational healing and to really walk into the fullness of their power to direct and create and live their lives in a way that is serving their highest good … them operating in their very best self.”
Not only will Hudson be delivering the keynote during the luncheon but he will also be featured in a workshop where folks can get even more up close and personal with him as he continues that discussion in an afternoon, Peyton says.
There’s plenty on the agenda for Saturday. For a full listing of workshops and presentations, click here. Dozens of the most knowledgeable and experienced names in health care in Madison, in Wisconsin, and beyond.will be featured event speakers and guests at the event. A handful of the speakers at the workshops will be male at Black Women’s Wellness Day, and Peyton says she is “very proud to add the voices of men and fathers to this discussion and have their presence at the event.”
“It takes healthy Black men and healthy Black women working together to create healthy Black communities,” she adds. “So it’s exciting to have these male voices, and we want to send a very clear message that Black men are welcomed at Black Women’s Wellness Day and this is the year that they really should be present along with anyone who considers themselves allies, supporters, and advocates of Black women’s health.”
As always, Black Women’s Wellness Day is intentionally a safe space for Black women.
“It’s a safe space for Black women to convene, to let their guard down, to rest, relax, and be in fellowship and sisterhood together,” Peyton says. “But that never means to the exclusion of others who feel passionate about being supportive in this space. So whereas we’re always going to center and elevate Black women in the space, men are welcome, especially if they are committed to this work of supporting Black women.”
You can register for the 16th Annual Black Women’s Wellness Day here. Peyton says that this event is for everyone and she would love to see them break last year’s attendance record. “Anyone who has ever stepped foot in Black Women’s Wellness Day knows it’s a dose of energy and positivity that sticks with you year-round,” she says. “So you can come into the door carrying heavy burdens and troubles and all the things that we all manage on a day-to-day basis, and I promise you that by the end of the event, you will feel reinvigorated to face your life in a whole new way.”