Team Soulshine

Founder

Soulshine is the culmination of a years long dream to marry my professional life working in emergency mental health and my personal passion for music and festivals for a common cause. Nothing beats the live music experience or the community of people it creates.

I entered the mental health field in 2005, volunteering for a domestic violence and sexual assault hotline before quitting my full time corporate job in order to work at a domestic violence shelter. I worked in the service industry at bars, nightclubs and restaurants through grad school (and after!) before landing in the community mental health field in northern Virginia. There, I spent 12 years working with the local jail and state psychiatric hospital population and on the emergency services/mobile crisis unit. I am also certified and practice equine therapy with Veterans and First Responders.

I started attending Burning Man in 2002 and eventually joined the Black Rock City Emergency Services Crisis Intervention Team for mental health emergencies. At burns I learned the foundation of consent culture and its importance. Throughout my career I’ve produced my own events and worked in every staff or volunteer position imaginable at festivals and concerts. After all this time working in mental health and at festivals it became abundantly clear to me that the need for metal health resources, consent education and skilled crisis intervention is great and the availability of such providers is very limited. Thus, Soulshine was born.

I truly believe that normalizing mental health needs and early intervention creates a healthier world. Educating people about the nuances of consent and the importance of an enthusiastic YES made with the capacity to do so creates a dialogue that is based in inclusivity and respect for all. Creating a foundation of respect and communication will help us create a better future for all. Everyone deserves to feel free to let their soul shine!

Amanda Davis-Scott is a licensed professional counselor in Northern Virginia with specialties in individual therapy for military and first-responders and is working towards certification in perinatal mental health. She has been practicing since 2017 and has experience in crisis intervention with youth and adults. She has two young children and enjoys traveling, gardening, and music festivals such as Floydfest in Virginia and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Hello- I’m Khadijah! I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for 19 years and raised my two sons here. I work primarily for a large Community Services Board providing crisis intervention for adults and children and have done that for the past 10 years. Prior to that, I worked for a non-profit agency for 9 years supervising a residential program for adults struggling with mental illness and substance use. I thoroughly enjoy the work that I do, and I am currently under supervision as a Licensed Resident in Counseling for the Commonwealth of Virginia so that I can become a Licensed Professional Counselor.

I love live music because let’s face it, nothing beats the sound of real instruments and I love concerts/festivals because it’s cool to watch and participate in the bonding that occurs when people get together to enjoy their favorite artists or genres of music. I am typically an R&B/soul/jazz fan, but I love good sounding music. I remember listening to a contestant on a television show sing a song that I liked, and I looked up the original artist and it was someone named Allen Stone. I started to listen to Allen Stone music and realized I really enjoyed his voice. I started to watch for any local concerts he might be in and in November 2018 he came to the 9:30 club in DC. Now my regular group of girlfriends were not on the Allen Stone bandwagon like I was, so I went to see him solo, and I remember wondering if I was going to have a good time since I was by myself. Let me tell you!! It was a standing room only venue and I met so many cool people who enjoyed Allen Stone just as much as I did that I could sing and dance with. In fact, I forgot that I had arrived solo! That’s the power of music and festivals/concerts and that’s why I’m excited to be a part of Team Soulshine!!!

I'm excited that our first festival is bringing me home to Southwest Virginia. I grew up in Vinton, VA and went to college at Radford so it seems that the mountains are calling me home. I spent my first 4 years post grad working in mental health emergency services and more recently have transitioned into my newest role as an assessment clinician, determining eligibility for a local Behavioral Health Docket.

I'm a newbie to the festival world but not for long! Most important things to know about me, I love almost any dog I meet including my two hotdogs at home, I'm trying to master the art of a cut flower garden, and rehabbing house plants that somehow keep ending up in my possession.