Can you recall a time where you felt truly supported or uplifted by someone? Can you relate to other people’s struggles and apply what they’ve learned to your own life? With everything going on in the world today, it is always so refreshing to hear someone speak about their challenges in a positive light. We all go through different forms of pain in our lives, but the one thing that unites us is our ability to address that pain, and use it as fuel on our journey through life.
Keda Edwards Pierre, a twenty-seven (27) year police veteran, has done a tremendous job of using the pain that she’s endured to drive her transformational leadership mantra of taking action and inspiring others. She walks the talk of powerful healing and living the life that we each desire, both from a professional and personal standpoint. Her healing journey, coupled with her diverse training and professional history, is the driving force behind her two-fold mission: to revolutionize how we deal with trauma and create safe and inclusive spaces for this healing work to be done.
We had the pleasure of sharing a few moments with Keda last week, and getting to know her on a more personal level. This gave us the opportunity to understand the mission behind her company, True II Soul, and her journey as a Black Female Police Officer. These conversations proved to be extremely important, especially given the times in which we are living, and the situations that humanity finds itself recently.
It’s no secret that the justice system has been under a lot of scrutiny around the world, and with the circumstances surrounding police brutality lately, we found it incredibly important to get the opinion of someone that has worked in this field. She says, “We seem to have this kind of weird interaction with police officers. So many of them were negative experiences and so I decided that I want to be at that point of connection, where the police and justice meet, and I had to really understand what I want to do and where I want to do it.”
“I had this compulsion to help. I grew up in an environment where if we can, we do… we just do it.”
For Keda, it was all about making a difference. This comes from a very strong gratitude and awareness of the of the opportunities that Canada offers as well as the values that her parents instilled in her since childhood, being a first-generation Canadian of Grenadian descent. She says, “I had this compulsion to help. I grew up in an environment where if we can, we do… we just do it. So, I was very attracted to law because I saw it burned so deeply in my own experiences. I felt like if I wasn't able to help myself, at least I would turn it outwards to help others.”
It’s not easy to focus on the world around you when you are facing your own struggles. It’s not easy to turn off the pain and suffering that you are feeling to focus your energy on healing others. If you manage to accomplish this though, you end up unlocking parts of yourself that heal both everyone around you, and everything inside of you. As a Life and Business Coach, and Founding Member of Immigrant Women In Business (IWB), Keda shares her powerful belief and strategies in seizing life’s precious moments to live the most vibrant life possible. Combining intuitive guidance, actionable discourse, and tried-tested-true methodologies, Keda provides a place where people can deal with both their personal and professional lives.
“My survival of all those tragic incidents taught me that nothing short of what I’ve experienced can ever take me down.”
As a retired police officer, Keda is passionate about the protection of the vulnerable. She speaks openly about being an adult survivor of childhood physical and sexual trauma. She expressed that, “My survival of all those tragic incidents taught me that nothing short of what I’ve experienced can ever take me down.” Her diverse experiences helped her truly appreciate the fundamental role that overall health plays in a balanced and successful life. True II Soul was born out of Keda’s personal and professional experiences, self-development, and the need for a support network for trauma survivors.
She says, “If we are blinded to what is happening within us, sometimes having that person who's on the outside reminds us of what we all truly need: guidance and support. One of the reasons why I chose this field, and became a certified coach, was because of the struggles that I had to go through myself. My coaching style involves using my intuition unapologetically. My life experiences give me the insight to understand my clients. With this understanding, I recommend a variety of opportunities, tools, and resources to help guide them as they choose their path. My coaching allows a safe space for people to delve into their emotions and release whatever is necessary.”
Through her experiences, Keda learned the necessary skills to connect with people around her, and lift them up. The creation of safe spaces allows for us to truly dig deep inside of us, and release any bottled-up emotions that may be causing us some grief. We asked her how she found the courage to speak out, and how she found her voice in this space. She says, “I was one of those kids where I always had something to say. For one, I screamed and yelled after my first breath as a newborn baby. So, growing up, I always had questions and I was curious about everything. My ability to speak out was my channel to deal with the challenges that I had experienced.”
“My survival of all those tragic incidents taught me that nothing short of what I’ve experienced can ever take me down.”
“I am very powerful no matter what it is that people have to say about my gender, my upbringing, my heritage, whatever, it doesn't matter. We are often brought up with the notion that we must rely on external validation in order to feel valuable. But what I’ve learned is that you don’t let external distractions derail you from the journey. I’ll check my side mirror from time to time, mindful of the rear view, and aware of everything that’s going on around my vehicle, but I never lose focus of my destination, and that destination is ahead of me.” As a coach, Keda reemphasizes the commitment to purpose, despite all the distractions out there.
Join us on this journey, every week for the March edition, as we share inspirational stories of immigrant women, highlighting their struggles, their accomplishments, and their plans for the future, in recognition of International Women’s Day 2021.
