Create Healing Spaces for All

We help individuals heal and organizations transform.

Whether you’re seeking personal support or collective change, at And Still We Rise, our consulting and therapy services are designed to challenge oppressive systems, center the needs of marginalized communities, and create culturally affirming spaces where people and organizations can thrive.

About ASWR

Founded by Dr. Natasha Holmes, And Still We Rise (ASWR) is a liberation-focused collective providing equity-centered consulting and trauma-informed therapy. We work with individuals—and within the systems where people live, work, and learn—to address the impacts of systemic oppression and build toward healing, justice, and lasting change.

Our consulting helps mission-driven organizations move beyond performative DEI efforts, while our therapy services center the needs of those most impacted by marginalization. With deep roots in both clinical and organizational expertise, we bring care and strategy together to support transformation on every level.

ASWR’s Equity-Centered Consulting

We help organizations move from intention to impact.

Strategic Planning

We help organizations align their mission, equity goals, and day-to-day practices through intentional, justice-centered strategic planning. Whether you’re launching an initiative or reimagining your future, we bring a trauma-informed, liberation-focused lens to every step—centering the people most impacted and building toward sustainable change.

Leadership Coaching

Our coaching supports leaders in deepening their capacity to lead with equity, accountability, and care. We work with individuals and leadership teams to unlearn harmful norms, navigate complexity, and embody values-aligned leadership that fosters belonging and transformation at every level of the organization.

Facilitation & Training

Our interactive trainings and facilitated sessions go beyond check-the-box DEI. We co-create learning spaces that foster reflection, dialogue, and growth—grounded in history, power analysis, and real-world strategy. Participants leave with tools, language, and clarity to shift both mindset and practice.

Culture Change

Changing systems means changing culture. We support organizations in examining the implicit values, behaviors, and structures that sustain harm—and in building cultures rooted in equity, healing, and collective care. From assessments to long-term transformation plans, we walk alongside you in reshaping how your organization works, relates, and leads.

ASWR’s Liberation-Focused Therapy

Our therapists center the needs of marginalized communities—offering care that honors identity, context, and lived experience.

Why ASWR?

Our roots in mental health give us a unique lens: we understand both the personal and systemic impacts of oppression. That’s why our work brings together clinical insight and strategic consulting to create healing, equity-centered environments across sectors.

Led by a team of therapists and equity practitioners, we design innovative spaces that cultivate belonging, uplift underrepresented voices, and advance organizational change with intention and care. Through workshops, coaching, and facilitation, we offer practical tools to help individuals and institutions thrive—together.

Partners in Collective Healing and Liberation

What Our Partners Are Saying

  • It was a 10/10 experience. [And Still We Rise] was so nice and helpful! All the students involved had such a great time and we learned so much!

    Gaina, Framingham BSU

  • “And Still We Rise has been a welcomed partner…to provide guidance and services to BIPOC families following a racially-motivated hate crime. They were able to quickly pull together a team of professional in the direct aftermath to support the families in this tragedy. Further, we continued our work with And Still We Rise in leading workshops focused on affinity groups to explore means to improve solidarity. The team at And Still We Rise has been engaged, attentive and very professional.”

    Meredith, Winthrop Department of Public Health & Clinical Services

  • Roberta Holmes has been extremely helpful and has gone above and beyond to create workable solutions for our needs at Mount Holyoke. And Salwa has met the needs of one of our students in a way that very few others could have. We look forward to continued work together.

    Beth, Mount Holyoke College

  • “Very very wonderful! Thoughtful, kind, supportive, responsive.”

    Amelia, Pause Wellness Center

  • Dr. Cesar is passionate, and absolutely unrivaled in connecting with my BIPOC students. She developed lessons to teach them self awareness, build community, and improve their overall understanding and comfortability in their Black/Brown skin. I am so grateful for the work of ASWR. EVERY school district needs an ASWR provider!

    Andre, BART Charter Public School

  • “We recognized early on that there was a major gap in culturally responsive mental health care. The staff of And Still We Rise spent the time explaining their approach to health and wellness and delivered exactly what our community needed.”

    Meredith Hurley, Public Health, Town of Winthrop

  • “They create safe spaces where individuals feel supported in addressing the mental and emotional toll of their work.”

    Michelle Curry, OSPI

  • “We are better because of our collaboration. ASWR’s feedback and recommendations have been direct, specific, and incredibly helpful.”

    Dr. Lisha Cabral, Easton Public Schools

  • “ASWR demonstrated exceptional expertise in navigating complex conversations around power, privilege, and systemic oppression.”

    Octavio González, PhD, OUT MetroWest

  • “They connect quickly with diverse groups and adapt content in real time. Every member of their team reflects integrity and deep alignment with values.”

    Kelly Lynch, Found in Translation

  • “Students left with increased confidence, connection, and sense of belonging.”

    Andre Lynch, MCLA / BART Charter School

  • “ASWR helped me understand I’m not going through life alone—and that I can lean on my peers.”

    Student, ASWR Affinity Group at BART Charter School

  • “They have demonstrated the highest level of inclusivity, cultural sensitivity, and mutual respect. ASWR has been a phenomenal partner.”

    Ishmael Moyo, Gov Service Group

Whether you're looking to transform your organization or care for your own healing, we invite you to build something different with us.

And Still We Rise Named One of Boston Business Journal’s 2025 Best Places to Work