Dear Mama 2026 Facilitators
Dr. Amber Gunner
Dr. Amber Gunner is a People & Performance Consultant, keynote speaker, and TEDx presenter who helps organizations build cultures where people feel safe enough to speak up, ask for help, and contribute at their highest level.
With over a decade of experience in education, employee engagement, and organizational development, Dr. Gunner has partnered with global corporations, manufacturing firms, healthcare organizations, and ERGs to strengthen trust, communication, and performance at every level.
Participants consistently describe her sessions as grounding, validating, and immediately applicable, offering language and tools they can use right away in real conversations, under real pressure.
Dr. Gunner holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and certifications in Psychological Safety, Trauma-Informed Care, and Parental Burnout, and is an ICF Executive Coach.
Quentin R. Jiles, LCSW
Quentin R. Jiles is a licensed clinical social worker and founder of The Imago Dei Firm, a Houston-based private practice focused on men’s mental health and couples work. His work centers on the men nobody worries about: the providers, the protectors, the ones holding it together in public while struggling in private. Through Quentin’s His Invisible Struggle framework, he helps men put language to what they carry so they can lead their families from their callings and not their wounds.
In 2024, Quentin was one of only three therapists invited to the White House for the first-ever Creator Summit on Mental Health. He starred in Peacock’s Emmy Award-winning series The Traitors, finishing in the final 3, and has been featured on NBC LX, Black News Channel, TV One, CBS, and Revolt. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University and reaches over 640,000 people across social media, where he translates mental health into plain language men actually use. He is a husband, a father, and a man of faith who believes that healing fathers is one of the most direct ways to protect mothers, children, and the community.
Mike A. Miller, MDiv
Mike Miller is a graduate Marriage and Family Therapy graduate student intern from Harlem, New York, now calling Houston home. He will complete requirements for his Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Liberty University in August 2026. He also holds a Master of Divinity from Andrews University, and completed his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY.
Mike brings an integrative approach to counseling, drawing from the full range of his educational and professional experiences to walk with clients toward holistic healing. His passion lies with couples, families, and individuals, with a particular focus on Black male mental wellness. He works from a systems lens—honoring both the complexity of the whole and the significance of each part that shapes it.
With training in both theology and mental health, Mike thoughtfully integrates faith and spiritual values into the therapeutic process when desired, supporting clients in ways that honor both their emotional and spiritual wellbeing. He adopts a narrative framework, recognizing that the stories we carry can sometimes stand in the way of the people we long to become—especially in seasons of stress, transition, and transformation.
Mike is a husband and father of four, committed to fostering emotional health and spiritual growth within families.
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton is an award-winning literary artist, director, performer, and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, TX. She authored Newsworthy (Bloomsday Literary, 2019) and Black Chameleon (Henry Holt & Co., 2023), which won the Carr P. Collins award for Best Nonfiction through the Texas Institute of Letters (2024). Mouton has contributed to Glamour, Texas Monthly, and ESPN's Andscape. A former Resident Artist with The Kennedy Center, Rice University, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture, her recent upcoming works include a children's book (Hush Hush Hurricane, Kokila) and an multi-site immersive art installation, The Call Me Mother Experience, dedicated amplifying the Black Maternal Health issue.
Dr. Karen Opara
Dr. Karen Opara is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist based in Houston, Texas. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she earned her medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. She went on to complete her residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, where she trained for four years at both Memorial Hermann and LBJ Hospital. Dr. Opara currently practices with Houston Methodist Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates, providing comprehensive care focused on women’s reproductive health.
Onyi Oriji-Dor, LCSW-S, CCTP
Mrs. Onyi Oriji-Dor is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and Clinical Supervisor with 10 years of experience in the mental health field. Onyi serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Behavioral Health and Resource Access & Impact at MyCHN (Community Health Network), the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Texas. MyCHN operates 14 clinics across Brazoria, Galveston, and Harris Counties, offering a wide range of healthcare services, including therapy, psychiatry, primary care, pharmacy, dental care, and specialty services such as OBGYN, pediatrics, and oncology. She is also the founder and Clinical Director of her Group private practice, Mérité Counseling and Consulting Services.
With a special focus on motherhood and family dynamics, Onyi is particularly passionate about supporting mothers at every phase of their journey. Whether it’s navigating the early stages of motherhood, adjusting to parenthood, or managing the pressures of balancing family and personal growth, Onyi offers compassionate and informed guidance. Onyi’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves access to compassionate, culturally sensitive therapy in a safe and supportive environment. She is passionate about empowering mothers, parents, and individuals to navigate life’s challenges, cultivate healthier relationships, and achieve their fullest potential.
As a mother of two young children, ages 2 and 5, and a wife, Onyi’s own experiences in motherhood deeply inform her empathetic approach when helping other mothers and families. She understands the unique challenges and rewards that come with raising children and strives to create a nurturing space for mothers to explore their needs, build self-nurturing practices, and find fulfillment in their roles. Above all, Onyi is dedicated to helping her clients find their unique paths to healing, growth, and well-being.
Rashad A. Sanders
Rashad A. Sanders is a mindfulness educator, counselor-in-training, yoga instructor, author, speaker, and founder of the Mindful Muscle Method, an integrative approach that combines breathwork, movement, meditation, and mental wellness. With more than 20 years of experience in health, fitness, education, and community-based wellness, Rashad helps individuals strengthen the connection between the mind and body, regulate the nervous system, and develop practical tools for navigating stress, transition, and personal growth.
His professional journey has included serving as an elementary physical education teacher, athletic wellness practitioner, meditation instructor, and facilitator for youth, athletes, parents, educators, and underserved communities. He currently serves as a Wellness Ambassador for The Black Man Project and leads guided meditation experiences at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He is also completing his graduate training in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lamar University, where his work focuses on integrating evidence-based counseling practices with mindfulness, breathwork, and body-centered approaches.
Rashad’s work is deeply informed by his own journey through divorce, fatherhood, grief, reinvention, and spiritual growth. Over the last several years, he has transformed personal adversity into a commitment to helping others heal, reconnect with themselves, and move through life with greater awareness, confidence, and emotional clarity. As a single father, he is especially passionate about supporting men, young people, athletes, and families navigating change.
Known for his grounded presence and relatable teaching style, Rashad creates spaces where people can slow down, breathe, reflect, and feel safe enough to be honest with themselves. His message is rooted in the belief that the mind can be trained like a muscle and that healing is not only something we think about—it is something we learn to embody.