About
BIO
April is a dedicated community activist, who throughout her adult life, has sought and found methods for those in our community to find a voice, and express themselves in positive ways. Throughout her adult life, She has founded, organized, directed, and served in many roles as a part of a wide variety of programs aimed at raising individual awareness and an improved level of self-consciousness through hands-on environments. She has done this through many organizations, one of which is “Just Us Rites of Passage.” As co-founder, Ms. Snell helped organize and actively worked with this very successful program, which each year drew together a group of at risk young teenage women (ages 12-16). To help them begin to view their community in a positive light, to instill high self-esteem and a positive work ethic, and to improve positive family interactions. The girls learned life survival skills such as making and using a budget, paying bills, and managing funds. The program also encouraged the young women to see themselves as smart, capable, in control of their attitudes, and fully able to get the help they might need to pursue a higher education, if they so desired.
Just Us Rites of Passage continues to thrive and evolve under the direction of founding member Maria P. Jones, now president of "Just Us Productions"; empowers youth and young adults by giving its students the invaluable tools to create audio and film productions encouraging students to produce ficticious/non-fiction films and documentaries that tell the stories about their communities.
Ms. Snell has worked both as staff and as a volunteer, with “Give Me Shelter,” a radiothon hosted by a local radio station within the District of Columbia WHUR 96.3FM. Ms. Snell served as the stations Public Affairs Liason and through a combined effort of radio personalities, staff, volunteers and the local community raised over $155,000 in efforts to stop the silence of domestic violence.
Another example of Ms. Snell's passion to uplift the lives of community is her work as a “Doula.” A Doula is a woman who assists another woman during labor and provides support to the mother, the infant, and the family before and after childbirth.
April was ordained in 2003 and has been very active with our church / center, the National Spiritual Science Center of Washington, DC since 1994. Here she also puts to work her love for humanity, her gift for organization and her fund-raising abilities. She is also the creator of the “Whole-istic Living Network" which encourages whole-istic practitioners to gather in efforts to educate the community on the value of combining whole-istic and allopathic medicine for increased well being. Through these education campaigns, funding is raised in supporting non-profit organizations that align in similar mission and visions promoting mind, body, and Spirit welleness.
She is valued as a member of our Board of Directors not only for her creativity, her organizational talents, and follow through capabilities, but also for her ability to listen to all sides of a question, cut through debate and find a positive alternative/ win-win solutions to whatever situations may arise.
Reverend Kathryn DeFrantz Gibson
