Since birth, my life experiences have contrived to provide me with a cornucopia of human interactions that have made my resumé ideally suited for serving others as a Guide, Doula, Griot or Mentor.
Make it stand out.
Dream it.
It all began as a young boy dreaming aloud in the innocent manner prepubescent youth do, answering the eternal question that inevitably arises. "What do you want to be when you grow up ?" Many items were offered from that mental buffet. I chose not to dine.
Build it.
The question never left my thinking nonetheless and surfaced more robustly while attending Cornwall College high school. Early on in that educational system, a choice had to be made, science or arts. I chose science, medicine being significant on my career radar. A visit to Dr. Eldemaier, a recently graduated dentist whose explanations slaked my curiosity, coupled with the ease of the dental visit, which differed significantly from my other horrendous experiences, set my career aspirations irrevocably on a different trajectory.
Grow it.
When I boarded the Pan Am flight from Montego Bay to Montreal, Canada the spring of 1965, my bridges were burnt. Armed with less than one year of financial sustenance, my passport, letter of acceptance from Sir George Williams University, my medical prerequisites, plus a one-way ticket, my student visa was secured. A stranger in a strange land somehow navigated his way to the YMCA and wondered downtown Montreal in amazement.
Sell it.
My undergraduate years were idyllic. I loved the challenges related to the educational process. It was the heady times of the 60's, the Beatles, Motown, Black Power and the Vietnam war. But my focus encompassed a unique mixture of Science and the Arts, at which I excelled.
Style it.
I attended McGill University's Dental school by invitation. After graduation, I spent a year at The Eastman Dental Center in Rochester, New York, with thoughts of specializing in Oral Surgery. Got married instead and moved to Vancouver, Canada, to become the first black dentist to open a practice there for more than 100 years. I also became one of the earliest practitioners to decline using ‘Mercury’ Amalgam Fillings, Fluoride and Root Canal Therapy for extensively diseased teeth as Holistic Dentists.
Share it.
As part of the ongoing training of being a Holistic Dentist, I studied Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Nutrition, Craniosacral Therapy and Energetic medicine. These helped in finding the root cause for some of the health challenges with which many patients presented. Training in Personal Development, Health and Wellness Coaching, Meditative practices, various iterations of Men's work and current Gender Medicine certification provides a solid foundation for the services I am presently offering.