Who We Are
The team:
ConnectWellEd’s Alison “Ali” Cohen (she/her) and Dr. Rehema “Dr. K” Kutua (she/her) are lifelong students of friendship. They love co-facilitating trainings that support people in building strong, courageous connections.
Alison and Rehema met during their first year at Harvard College and feel deeply grateful for their nearly two decades of close friendship— thank you, freshman math class and waaaaay too many hours of tutoring and problem sets! After many years of long-distance friendship, Ali and Dr. K currently live a few blocks away from each other in Washington, DC. Due to the varied friendship experiences they had as young adults, the two of them are passionate about exploring anything and everything friendship-related with human beings of all backgrounds, ages, and personalities. These are the questions that keep them up at night:
As human beings, how do we cultivate healthy, life-giving connections—especially friendships!—that we can rely on during times of joy, times of sorrow, and every moment in between? And how do we do so across lines of difference?
About Alison Cohen
When Alison, aka Ali (she/her), isn’t passionately facilitating sessions about friendship, she works as a high school instructional and leadership coach. She also teaches trauma-informed mindfulness practice to human beings from many walks of life and mentors meditation teachers-in-training in Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield’s global Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP).
Alison is a Mindful Schools certified instructor and a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher; she is also trained in restorative practices. As a former high school teacher and school mindfulness program director, Alison loves accompanying young adults on their journeys of self-awareness—and learning from their wisdom! Along the way, she has seen her own experience mirrored back to her: that loving friendship is an essential pillar of well-being.
Learn more about Alison on LinkedIn.
Favorite quote about friendship:
“‘Radical…means ‘of or relating to the roots’…[radical friendship] is the kind of friendship that has the potential to heal us at the very ground of our being…the kind of friendship that forges bonds so strong that systems of oppression can’t break them…that helps us gather enough power and love that we can profoundly transform ourselves and the world…Our people, as it turns out, are all around us. We find them by becoming the kinds of friends that we ourselves would like to have.” - Kate Johnson, Radical Friendship
About Rehema Kutua
When Rehema (she/her), aka Dr. K, isn’t passionately facilitating sessions about friendship, she works as a board certified community pediatrician, serving an ethnically and socio-economically diverse population in Washington, DC. In addition to her clinical work, she mentors and teaches medical students and resident physicians. Since becoming a certified professional coach, Rehema uses her coaching skillset to promote holistic wellness across all sectors.
As a pediatrician and former high school teacher, Dr. K is dedicated to ensuring young adults have the tools they need to shape their lives with intention, purpose and joy. She knows that the ability to cultivate and sustain healthy friendships is critical in achieving this.
Learn more about Rehema on LinkedIn.
Favorite quote about friendship:
“If we have a friend, or small group of friends, [...] who embraces our imperfections, vulnerabilities, and power, and fills us with a sense of belonging, we are incredibly lucky.”
- Dr. Brené Brown
“Just to see them work so brilliantly together...a work of art!””