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WEL+ is open to people of all backgrounds committed to supporting the leadership of black and brown women and gender expansive folks.

warriors for embodied liberation

WEL is an invitation only offering of Universal Partnership (UP) and led by master trainer, coach, and facilitator, rusia mohiuddin. A 2-year, certified embodied leadership and coaching training program, WEL centers the leadership of black and brown women, femmes, and non-binary peoples to coach, teach, and heal in our communities and movements.

our work is funded & supported by Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.

embodied coaching creator & teacher

rusia n. mohiuddin is a master trainer, facilitator, coach, and strategist who pioneered the integration of somatics into an organizing framework. drawing from her experiences in life and in movement work, she has developed a coaching and training model specifically designed to serve women of colour.

embodied coaching™

this model of coaching centers humanity & is driven by practices of change that acutely align with who & how we want to be in the world. embodied coaching integrates both how unique experiences shape individual as well as integrating a model of how we tend to change, intentionally & unintentionally.

embodied training & facilitation

WEL students engage in, practice, learn to facilitate and train on a growing number of core methodologies, specifically created for the WEL community. This work serves first as a grounding in lived experiences of transformation, then as a springboard for people to take those experiences to create models & methodologies of their own to use in their own communities.

BEAT-wel Leadership Council

purpose

Being Embodied Authentic Teachers (BEAT) is a convening of wel cohort leaders to harness the collective wisdom of the wel community and to ensure that, as wel grows, the community remains connected and accountable to one another.

BEAT-wel leadership council members also play an active role in assessing and recommending Year 2 student-teachers for certification.

roles & responsibilities

BEAT-wel reps will serve on the leadership council and be called upon to shape future programming and structure. The primary roles of BEAT-wel are as follows:

  • Participate and support in decision-making for Year 2 students performing their finals;
  • Engage in fundraising activities for special wel community events and/or programs;
  • Work with other BEAT-wel representatives to design and pilot points of engagement for transitioned cohorts; and
  • Ensure our wel community is living and embodying our collective values both internally and externally.

process

Each BEAT-wel rep may nominate themselves and another person to serve with them. Each rep must have one nomination from wel community member from their cohort, the cohort before theirs, or the cohort after theirs.

WEL COMMUNITY OF CERTIFIED COACHES, STUDENTS, & STUDENT-TEACHERS

️ Statement on Confidentiality

We intentionally do not share participant names for the WEL and WEL+ programs. The work we do together is deeply intimate—rooted in healing, embodiment, and leadership transformation—and often involves exploring lived experiences and trauma in personal and vulnerable ways. To protect participants’ privacy and the integrity of our container, we share collective demographic and impact data rather than individual identities. For certain purposes, our communities have agreed to share a roster of students upon request.

Years Active

2015-Present

Total Participants: As of 2025, over 83 leaders have completed or are currently in the wel track.

Gender Identity

  • Primarily women and gender-expansive people

  • Inclusive of trans and nonbinary leaders across generations

Racial & Ethnic Representation:

  • Majority Black, Latinx, Asian (including Southeast Asian and South Asian), and Indigenous participants

  • Broad representation of mixed-race and Afro-Latine organizers & executive directors

  • Intergenerational participation—from emerging youth leaders to seasoned movement elders

Geographic Reach:

  • Participants span 10+ states, with strong anchors in New York, New Jersey, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, and New Mexico

  • Deep concentration in the Bronx and New York City, reflecting Ma Mukti’s home base and community partnerships

Organizational Representation:

  • Draws from 45 organizations, including long-standing community-based groups, national coalitions, and grassroots networks engaged in racial, gender, climate, and housing justice
  • Many participants serve as directors, founders, strategists, healers, and educators

Key Themes Across Cohorts:

  • Healing justice and sustainability in organizing & consulting

  • Intergenerational leadership development

  • Somatic and embodied practices as tools for social change

  • Deep community organizing in housing, education, climate justice, and economic justice movements

APPLICATION PROCESS WILL OPEN IN MARCH 2026... BY INVITATION ONLY FOR COHORT 9!

Warriors for Embodied Liberation (WEL) is a 2-year teacher training program for individuals looking to cultivate skills and certification on embodied coaching™ and training, specific to the developed model of embodied leadership and embodied organizing™ as innovated by its creator, Rusia Mohiuddin, the principal of universal partnership.

The WEL program includes 24 daylong trainings and 24 (50 minute) coaching sessions. Sessions will be a hybrid of in-person & virtual monthly engagement between February 2023 to January 2025.

The cost of the yearlong program is as follows:

  • $3500.00 per year, for self-pay; or
  • $4700.00 per year, for institutional support.
everything you need to know to…

make a grounded decision.

WEL is a rigorous cohort-based teacher training program. to complete the program and certification process requires a grounded understanding of the expectations and requirements.

This is a practice-driven program.

Attending all sessions, for the entirety, is a critical aspect of the training, practice, and cultivation of the wel community. It is rare for anyone, who missed 1-2 sessions, to achieve certification in a 2-year period.

This application processes are designed by teacher-students entering their 2nd year of the program.

interested? email us

application process

  • complete application
  • schedule interview
  • complete interview
  • applicant notification
  • cohort 8 sessions begins with May 30th, 2025

decision-making process

  • WEL cohort 7 (C7) invites & reviews applicants/applications
  • C7 will determine which applicants to interview based on application
  • Paired C7 teams interview applicants
  • C7, based on interview teams’ recommendations, make a collective decision on applicants to invite into C8
  • C7 makes final recommendation to teacher & facilitator, rusia, to determine cohort 8 participants
  • Invitations sent out to those selected to join WEL Cohort 8

timeline

  • Application available week of February 7th, 2025
  • Application deadline by March 14th, 2025 no later than 5pm
  • Info Sessions February 24th – March 7th, 2025
  • Interview period: March 17th – April 2nd 2025
  • Finalists selected and notified: April 30th, 2025
  • New Cohort starts May 30th, 2025

things to consider

  • applicant understands requirements & expectations
  • organization (if applicable) is aware of & supports applicant’s participation in WEL
  • applicant plans & creates availability for the full application process & all sessions
  • timely availability of applicant to complete & engage in process with cohort 7
objectives

during and after the program, participants will…

  • Formally be certified as an Embodied Coach™ and Embodied Trainer/Facilitator;
  • Cultivate a client base to coach using UP’s Embodied Coaching methodology, principles and values;
  • Develop sharp skills in:
    • Supervisory and managerial excellence;
    • Authentic embodied leadership skills that inspire others to bring their best selves forward in their life and work;
    • Focus on generative problem-solving;
    • Develop effective collective and group work; and
    • Increase effectiveness and efficiency with acuteness that honors their work and their humanity.
    • Design and facilitate embodied leadership retreats, such as #practicingJUSTICE 1.0 (daylong versions);
    • Integrate embodied leadership practices into their work using innovative and personal styles; and
    • Develop grounding relationships, throughout the program, to serve as a support community moving forward.
certification requirements
190
training/learning
100
grounded practice
55
accrued coaching hours
50
accrued training hours