COMMUNITY CONSORTIUM
ABOUT OUR TEAM
Dr. Marjorie Dejoie-Brewer
Dr. Marjorie Dejoie Brewer is the owner of MAD Fit, a medical consulting and Wellness & Health business and currently holds the position of Medical Director of hemoglobinopathies in Global Medical Affairs and Global Strategist at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Medical Director for the Sickle Cell Association of Delaware. She serves as Co-Chair of the Mental Health and Wellness initiative for the Sickle Cell Consortium, a medical consultant to SCDAA National, an ambassador to SICK cells and group leader for Meditation for Leadership. Prior to that she held the position of Director of Patient Advocacy for Global Product Development in Rare Disease at Pfizer and Clinical Research Outreach Liaison for Hydroxyurea and Transition at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her groundbreaking work as a primary medical consultant for the Mayor’s “Fun, Fit, and Free” program, a key part of the Mayor’s Commission for Health, Fitness and inclusion, allowed her to apply her training in medicine, exercise physiology, and alternative medicine in an integrative, community-based, preventative format with the primary goal of making Philadelphia a healthier city. From there, she molded a career in Functional Medicine, which utilizes a fusion of the principles of medicine, prescribed exercise, bio-psychosocial elements, stress reduction, nutrition, yoga, and alternative medicine in the holistic treatment and care of patients with rare diseases and clients. Herself a patient of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), Dr. Dejoie is a firm proponent and practitioner of comprehensive and preventative health and wellness planning. This became the mission behind her consulting firm “M.A.D. fit" established in 2002. Building on this foundation, Dr. Dejoie opened a wellness center, “Bonne Santé” in the fall of 2003, dedicating herself to making this world a better place by making it healthier, one person at a time.
Over the past 10 years, she has developed relationships and collaborations with various organizations and health initiatives in the rare disease space. Current and past initiatives include but are not limited to organizations such as The American Red Cross Advisory Board, Everylife Foundation, Global Genes Diversity and Inclusion initiative, Clinical trials outreach and recruitment PCORI, Rare Disease Summit, American Heart Association, Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill, Susan G. Komen Advisory Board and the Lupus Foundation of America. She puts an emphasis on engaging with advocacy groups and working in the community through different platforms so that patients and their families feel connected, educated, and that they are at the center of the conversation along the healthcare journey.
Heather Avant
Heather is a sickle cell warrior, sickle cell advocate, photographer, and independent business owner thriving in Dallas, Texas with her husband Jason and three-year-old son Jett. She was born and raised in Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, Michigan where she went on to pursue her B.F.A in Photography at Eastern Michigan University.
She was diagnosed with sickle cell SS while in utero after her brother, then age 1, was diagnosed during a newborn screening. Heather has been advocating for sickle cell since the young age of 6, and has been an outspoken member of the sickle cell community ever since. Her photography has been published in medical journals and placed in clinics and hospitals across the US.
With a bit of inspiration from her husband and a lot of nurturing from friends and family, Heather decided to venture out on her own as a Photographer, Artist and Advocate. In 2016 her company Artfully Avant LLC was born.
She is currently, the Chairperson for the Community Input Panel for the NHLBI Cure Sickle Cell Initiative as well as the Co-Chair of The University of Texas Southwestern, Community Advisory Board. Heather also serves as a mentor to young women living with sickle cell. She also works with the sickle cell mental health and wellness initiative to help those living with sickle cell to understand that the mind is harder to heal than the body. Getting back to her fine art roots she is currently shooting a series for exhibit and publication called “The Unbreakable WARRIOR Project.”
Clayton Andrews
Clayton Andrews is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 13 years of combined experience in community and mental health. His experiences include serving as a Forensic and Behavioral Health Counselor, Treatment Team Facilitator and as a Clinical Supervisor for substance abuse services with the Georgia State Prison System. His primary focus is the enablement and development of self-sufficiency, development and growth in mental health. Clayton’s objective is to become a positive influence, advocate and mentor to his colleagues, peers, and clients especially those in the Sickle Cell Community and advocating for and building up young men.
Clayton is certified in the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) for mental health wellness, recovery and maintenance and is also a member of the Walden University Psi Chi Chapter. Clayton’s therapeutic approach utilizes empowering, person-centered approaches, along with some cognitive-behavioral and some confrontational approaches. Clayton places emphasis on assisting one’s personal growth through positivity, mindfulness, and compassion.
Clayton prefers to emphasize client strengths while challenging them to open themselves for positive change. He coordinates efforts in advocating mental health for individuals with Sickle Cell Disease. He is additionally dedicated to the promotion of men’s mental health.at patients and their families feel connected, educated and that they are at the center of the conversation along the healthcare journey.
Dr. Carolyn Rowley
Dr. Carolyn Rowley is the Founder and Executive Director of Cayenne Wellness Center (a non-profit organization dedicated to health and wellness). In her role as Executive Director, she specializes in nutrition (known for her 3-4-4 nutritional program), health psychology, and treating patients and their families with sickle cell disease. She also began another non-profit organization in 2005, as a result of her missionary experience in Kenya, East Africa (The Machao Orphanage Foundation - www.machaoorphanage.org).
Dr. Rowley holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University, a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, a nutrition certificate from Trinity College and is working on obtaining a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree.
In 2007, Dr. Rowley was awarded Person of the Year at the NIH (National Institute of Health) / Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. 35th Annual Convention held in Washington, D.C.
As a result of travels to Kenya, Dr. Rowley desires her legacy to be a collaboration with the U.S. and Kenya to create a surveillance program, newborn screening, access to treatment, and best practices for the management and treatment of sickle cell disease.
She enjoys cooking with hopes of opening her own restaurant, featuring international vegan cuisine. She enjoys landscaping and her home won the 2011 award for Best Sustainable Landscape in California. She enjoys travel, with her favorite country being New Zealand. Most of all, she desires peace, genuine and real conversations with real people. And of course, she loves music - jazz - and has taken up lessons to play the bass (guitar and upright). On her bucket list is to sing backup, live in another country for a period of time, and perform her one-woman play on the life of Nina Simone.
Where there is music, art, beach, waterfalls, and sun, you will find Dr. Rowley enjoying a few of her favorite things. Her faith is what has sustained her, makes her whole, and daily orders her steps.
A. Doyinsade Awodele
A. Doyinsade Awodele is a first-year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago pursuing a dual MD/MPH degree with a concentration in Global Health Medicine. As a first-generation Nigerian immigrant, where there’s a severe burden of Sickle Cell disease (SCD), she has witnessed first-hand the suffering caused by SCD and is passionate about SCD research, initiatives, education and so much more.
Amanosi Agbugui
Amanosi Agbugui is a first year Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) student in clinical psychology at William Paterson University of NJ. At birth, she was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease but was later cured in 2011 by the Bone Marrow Transplant, in which her little brother was her donor, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. For the past six years, Amanosi has organized annual 5k walks in her community every summer to raise awareness and funds for the disease.