Shani Saxon, LMSW is the founder of Kids Turning Corners, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to addressing mental and physical wellbeing for adolescents and young adults. Shani also owns and operates a private practice and consulting office in East Lansing called Turning Corners Consulting, Inc., where she provides consulting services and emotional/behavioral counseling to individuals, agencies and groups. Shani also contracts as a field instructor at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University-School of Social Work in partnership with One Love Global, a local nonprofit that is committed to peace, justice and racial equity where she provides supervision to undergraduate and graduate students who are learning about policy through the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative.
Shani has contracted with the Upward Bound Program at Michigan State University to facilitate life-skills groups with local high school students transitioning to college. She presents an emotional wellbeing and transitioning seminar to incoming students enrolled in the Engineering Science Success Academy (ESSA), at Michigan State University since 2014. A passionate social activist of social justice, Shani is committed to helping underserved populations and communities achieve their potential through advocacy, empowerment, and inclusion. Shani previously worked as a Consultant for the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services- Child & Adolescent Health Centers department to manage a 2.1 million dollar contract where she assisted Directors from multiple sites to open thirteen school based health centers (SBHC) in Detroit and Muskegon, MI. Shani also serves on the Board of the Ingham County Women’s Commission addressing policies and issues that impact women and children. Through her own lived experiences and professional development, she recognizes that when individuals can become self-aware to their own unique potential and are given the chance to rise despite their differences, they will become empowered to become effective leaders and change agents for themselves and their communities.
Shani has earned both her BS and MSW degrees from Michigan State University. Shani’s research interest are social justice, child advocacy, sexual abuse and trauma. The majority of Shani’s ongoing research focuses on the disparities of mental health accessibility and experiences of Black women with severe mental health diagnoses. Shani is currently working on a research project with Dr. Marya Sosulski, Michigan State University Associate Professor, gathering the life histories of Black women living with serious mental health illnesses using ethnographic research and narrative analysis.