Panelist Information
Dr. Marty Casey Moderator
Dr. Marty K. Casey a Global Peace Ambassador has built a fulfilling and impactful career that traverses entertainment and community service, an anointed singer, gifted actress, writer, producer, and director. No matter what hat she is wearing her noteworthy goal is pointed–
“To heal our community, to provide a response and outlet for inbred trauma.”
The first African American woman to serve the St Louis Public School with her Anti-Gun Violence Program. Her portfolio of contributions and body of work continues to evolve, as she combines her passion for the ARTS with her compassion for her community!
Dr. Casey asserts “Hurt people hurt people. Healed people heal people.” She has set out to support individuals, families, and communities heal with her latest development of UnGUN Institute©, focused on disarming Trauma in individuals, to heal from collective trauma events which plague the black communities.
For many years now, Dr. Casey has leveraged her passion for Art, combining it with her compassion for Activism, which led her to coin the term “Actrivist” to best describe her mission. ShowMeArts Academy/Foundation (501c3) was established in 2014 as a response to the unrest of Ferguson, it was the first arts organization to be established to address collective trauma of the community.
After more than three decades as a performing artist on major global stages, Dr. Marty K. Casey has transformed her craft beyond the world of entertainment to show the restorative power of the arts to heal hurting people. In 2020, just days before a forced lock down caused by a global pandemic, Dr. Marty performed her one-woman show in the Big Apple for the largest non-profit nation-wide, AARP Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Marty brilliantly used the story of her own trauma-ridden life to give hope to a sold-out crowd. This performance shined light on arts efficacy as a tool for mitigating trauma impact. Following her New York show, the close of theatres throughout the world brought an abrupt halt to Dr. Marty’s live performances, a pivotal moment that prompted Dr. Marty to relaunch her artistic focus to address a more pressing societal need: trauma impact resolution.
Featured on the cover of the St. Louis Business Journal, Dr. Marty is lauded as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Businesswomen in St. Louis. In 2021, she received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award signed by President Joseph R. Biden. Dr. Marty actively serves on the Grants Council for PurposeEarth.com in alignment with her mission to heal communities through the empowerment of recovery through expressive arts. In 2023, Dr. Marty K. Casey was placed on the Wall of Fame at her high school Webster Groves High School in Missouri. She was the first female of her 1989 class to be voted to receive this prestige honor. Dr. Marty has also recently received her second doctorate accolades.
Globally recognized as a transformational trauma coach, Dr. Marty K. Casey remains committed to equipping as many people as possible with strategies, tools, and techniques such as STOP! Breathe. Think! With 24 billboards throughout St. Louis for her Safe Summer Initiative partnership with OutFront Media. Dr. Marty’s life mission is to eradicate harmful responses to trauma that wreak havoc on families, communities, and the world, at large.
Dr. Cynthia Bennett Panelist
Dr. Cynthia R. Bennett is CEO/Founder of JADASA (Journey Against Domestic And Sexual Abuse), a non-profit domestic violence advocate agency. She is the Chief Editor of TJo (This Journey Online), a digital magazine; and author of ‘A Healing of Your Memories’. Dr. Bennett is a survivor of domestic abuse who spearheads community-based events such as, Race Against Abuse; Dignity Drive; JADASA Joy Christmas Toys Outreach, Utilities Dollar Help Day; and JADASA LiVE social media podcast. Her organization, JADASA, collaborates with shelters, churches, communities, and civic groups to provide training, empowerment, and resources to survivors.
Dr. Bennett is a 2022 Women of Achievement Honoree; she is a national and international speaker; she has Certificates in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Training; spearheads statewide presentations on advocating with faith-based institutions. The JADASA Agency is a member of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Assault. Dr. Bennett holds a BA & MBA in Business from Webster University, Certificate in Project Management from St. Louis University and Doctorate in Business Administration/Leadership from Provident University. Her passion is to educate, empower and encourage women to rise and transition into a wealthy and healthy space. For more information about Dr. Bennett and JADASA, visit the website at www.jadasa.org
Sherrita Allen Panelist
Sherrita Allen, is a Licensed Professional Counselor who received her Master’s degree in Counseling from Webster University in St. Louis, MO. She has 27 years of experience working in social services, trauma, and crisis. She has a wealth of experience ranging from direct care in residential facilities, foster care case management, victim advocacy, and individual, group, marriage and family therapy. She is certified in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Workplace. She has trained and educated other professionals through professional development courses at Washington University, Webster University, and other social service agencies. Sherrita has also provided consultation and training with Missouri Children’s Division in sex trafficking victim response training and in Missouri and Illinois, in needs assessment and strategic planning related to sex trafficking and behavior management.
Sherrita is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Fraternity. As a counselor, her work has an emphasis on treating traumatized children, adolescents, and families who have been exposed to various types of traumas and sexually maladaptive behaviors. She had been exclusively counseling survivors of sex trafficking since 2014 but currently added working with victims of crime at the Crime Advocacy Center. She is in private practice with MO Behavioral Health Counseling Associates and an adjunct professor at Webster University. Sherrita is trained in EMDR, DBT and is pursuing certification in TF-CBT and grief & loss.
Keaton Strong Panelist
Mr. Strong has spent the last 22 years in multiple roles of law enforcement from College Campus Safety, Multiple functions in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department most important Human Trafficking, Missouri Attorney General’s Northwestern District Human Trafficking Investigator, and the Bel-Ridge Police Departments (Captain of Crimes Against Persons) before he took on another life experience that serves him perfectly.
Mr. Strong currently holds the position as the Crisis Intervention Specialist for the Ritenour School District where he was awarded Employee of the Year his first year in the school district for his service to youth in trauma and is the Co-Owner of Executive Services and Transportation LLC. where they provide educational services for Law Enforcement and secured Transportation for high-level executives, entertainers, and acquired businesses.
Before all of this, he was a Paramedic in the North St. Louis County Area and remains a Humanitarian for service.
Mt. Strong continues his fight for Human Trafficking, by providing continuous instruction and professional development in numerous areas of Human Trafficking, De-escalation, Juvenile Behavior, and Trauma to multiple entities in St. Louis and surrounding areas.
Mr. Strong has received awards from the US Attorney’s Office of Eastern Missouri for Human Trafficking Investigations, the Safety Award for the Covering House, and numerous awards in Law Enforcement including several Chief’s letters for his work and dedication. Mr.Strong dedicates his time to the service of others, but in his downtime continues his love for being a Florist and put smiles on the face of people that way.
Samantha Wayant Panelist
Samantha Wayant received her MSW from Washington University and has worked in the field of social work for over 13 years. Starting her career in child welfare, investigating over 500 cases of child abuse and neglect, Samantha later became a forensic interviewer, before joining the YWCA Metro St. Louis 7 years ago. Samantha’s career with the YWCA started as an advocate, and she later was promoted to a supervisor, Director of Crisis Intervention, and currently holds the position of Community Engagement Manager. With having an extensive background in crisis work, and working as a member of a multidisciplinary team , Samantha’s current position of being the liaison between the hospitals, police departments and advocates in the St. Louis region works well for the YWCA. Samantha coordinates and leads the St. Louis Regional Sexual Assault Response Team meetings, supervises the Sexual Health and Disability Education Program, sits on the Board of Directors for the St. Louis City Family Violence Council, is a member of the State of Missouri Attorney General’s Office Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Working Group and Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, St. Louis City Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, and multiple other community groups.