In this powerful episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with Josephine Ampaw-Greene —a licensed family therapist and former educator—to explore what it truly means to sustain wellness while navigating the demands of education and racial battle fatigue. Josephine shares her unique journey from paraeducator to residential school teacher to therapist and business owner. She opens up about the importance of pausing, setting boundaries, embracing joy, and why "being well means not pretending to be well."
Together, they unpack how career identity intersects with self-worth, how to support educators experiencing racism-related stress, and what families can do to create restorative spaces for their loved ones working in schools.
Key Topics Covered:
How to decide how much of your identity belongs to your career
Creating trauma-informed practices that center joy and authenticity
The impact of racism-related stress on educators and their families
The role of community and family in educator wellness
Practical regulation tools for teachers, like the “ice cube trick”
How Josephine builds a teaching practice that launches therapists of color
Why leaving education isn’t a failure—it’s a transition toward wholeness
