MEET THE TEAM
Dr. Nancy V. Brown is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Wellness Institute. Originally from Costa Rica and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, she now calls Georgia home. Her multicultural background and bilingual perspective shape the compassionate, inclusive way she connects with individuals, families, leaders, organizations, and communities.
A Board-Certified Christian Counselor, Ordained and Licensed Minister, Licensed Chaplain, Author, Business Strategist & Visionary Consultant, and International Speaker & Trainer, Dr. Brown brings more than 25 years of leadership, community service, and professional experience to her work. Her background includes crisis response, hospital chaplaincy, trauma recovery, peer and family support, workplace wellness, leadership development, community advocacy, and organizational consulting.
Dr. Brown supports individuals and families navigating trauma, grief, relationship challenges, substance abuse recovery, life transitions, and other complex circumstances. She also works with businesses, churches, organizations, and community groups through consulting, training, speaking, leadership support, and visionary strategy.
Bilingual in English and Spanish, Dr. Brown is committed to culturally responsive, heart-centered support that helps people recognize their strengths, move forward with greater clarity, and pursue healing, hope, and wholeness.
Whether working with an individual, family, business, organization, or community, her goal remains the same: to help people recognize their value, rediscover their strength, and move toward healing, hope, wholeness, and purposeful change. Her work is more than a profession, it comes from the heart.
Joanna Petit-Frere is a Trauma Recovery Coach, Life and Purpose Coach, Sales and Marketing Strategist, and Speaker with more than 20 years of leadership experience. She brings a compassionate, encouraging, and purpose-driven approach to her work, helping individuals move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and direction.
As part of the Grace Wellness Institute team, Joanna supports individuals who are navigating life transitions, personal challenges, trauma recovery, and the process of rediscovering their purpose. Her coaching approach focuses on helping clients recognize their strengths, overcome barriers, establish meaningful goals, and take practical steps toward creating the life they envision.
Joanna’s extensive leadership experience also allows her to support individuals who are pursuing professional or entrepreneurial goals. With a background in sales and marketing strategy, she understands the importance of vision, communication, confidence, and strategic planning.
She enjoys helping others identify their strengths, develop their ideas, and move from vision to purposeful action whether they are rebuilding personally, growing professionally, or developing a business. At the heart of Joanna’s work is a commitment to helping people recognize that their past does not have to determine their future. She believes that with the right support, encouragement, and strategy, individuals can heal, rediscover their purpose, and confidently build the life or business they envision.
At Grace Wellness Institute, Joanna contributes to our mission of providing compassionate, trauma-informed, and individualized support that promotes Healing. Hope. Wholeness.
Monieke McNeil is an accomplished community leader, researcher, advocate, and Executive Research & Program Evaluation Consultant with Grace Wellness Institute. Born and raised in Massachusetts, with strong roots in the Boston community, Monieke brings a deep understanding of community, family, advocacy, and the importance of culturally responsive support.
She holds a Master of Public Affairs and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience, with a strong background in community research, program evaluation, stakeholder engagement, resource development, and identifying the underlying needs that affect individuals, families, and communities.
Monieke specializes in evaluation research methods, helping organizations better understand the populations they serve through surveys, community feedback, data collection, stakeholder engagement, and needs assessments. She has a unique ability to take information gathered directly from communities and translate it into meaningful findings that can support program development, strategic planning, resource allocation, and stronger community-based solutions.
Her leadership extends beyond research. Monieke has served on numerous community boards and advisory boards, contributing her experience and perspective to initiatives focused on strengthening families, improving access to resources, and addressing community needs. She has also served in a leadership capacity as Vice President with the Socio Economic Development Foundation of Boston, Inc.
At Grace Wellness Institute, Monieke brings both professional expertise and a heart for advocacy. Her areas of service include mental health advocacy, special needs parent support, substance abuse family support, community and stakeholder engagement, and resource development.
Her perspective as an African American woman with deep roots in Massachusetts also informs her commitment to ensuring that community voices are heard, represented, and reflected in the programs and resources designed to serve them.
As a parent and advocate, Monieke brings a compassionate perspective to families navigating special needs and other complex life circumstances. Her approach combines research, lived understanding, community connection, and practical problem-solving to help identify gaps, uncover needs, and strengthen programs and resources.
Monieke’s work reflects a commitment to ensuring that community voices are heard, respected, and used to help shape meaningful programs, informed decisions, and sustainable solutions.