Riss: Who's That Lady

I thought now would be a good time to clear up some confusion about who's posting what on the KINKY N' FREE blog :-)

Lately, it's been moi, Karissa, the Program Curriculum Director of The All for Love Foundation, and the current Director of the KINKY N' FREE program.

Let's see...I am a woman with a passion for empowering other women and girls to achieve their personal best. I went natural the first time in 2004. I wanted dreadlocks, but Mom vetoed that decision until I was 18. This is my fro after transitioning for about a 1 1/2 years:

When I went off to college, I wasn't quite sure how to take care of my hair at the time so I decided to relax it (if only I could go back *sigh*). Fast forward to 2008.  After earning a bachelor’s degree in  journalism and women’s studies from the University of South Carolina, I joined Teach for America-Houston and embarked on a journey to teach the finer points of life and literature to ninth grade students. I was a broke, recent college grad in a big city. Read: no money for the $80 relaxer I thought I needed. So, I started rocking half wigs:

That pic makes me laugh! Please excuse my closed eye :-)

One weekend I started watching natural hair vids on YouTube and suddenly realized that underneath my synthetic friends I was...*gasp* natural! I started watching videos on how to make your curls pop. The shingling technique blew.my.mind! I went out and bought some EcoStyler Olive Oil Gel immediately. Then, I got in front of the mirror and snipped away until I ended up with this:

I was sort of in love...sort of terrified that I had left my moon face for the world to see. But, I got over that (read more about how here http://kinkynfree.tumblr.com/post/29737406699/twaterror) 

Eventually, I straightened my hair and wound up with this bouncy goodness:

And with that I was sold...I've been hooked on my hair ever since. And of course that comes with crushing on other folk's hair as well (like Jaz's mane!) and wanting to educate other women about the freedoms of wearing our hair natural. The first pic in this post is most recent and I did those braids myself with a little help from a friend. 

Over time, I have sharpened my teaching skills and currently work as an instructional coach for the Houston Independent School District. My experiences as a presenter and coach have primed me to successfully guide young women to the answers that can open the doors of confidence, empowerment, and purpose. You could say I'm eager to share my experiences and cautionary tales in order to help others out of hopelessness and heartache. In addition to my work with KINKY N' FREE and with HISD, I am an author and poet with several projects in the works.

You can check out more of my personal writing at www.blissfulriss.blogspot.com. In the meantime - happy reading!

Riss