Meet Our Team
MEET THE MOVEMENT
Transforming our world one woman at a time.
Denise Betty, BSN, MS Mental Health
Founder and Chief Executive Director
Denise Betty identifies as a wounded healer, a registered nurse by profession and a mental health counselor who specializes in using a holistic approach. As a born-again believer, she has harnessed the importance of adhering to biblical principles to achieve God’s plan for her life. Born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies she migrated to the United States some 30 years ago in search for a better life. During her earlier years living in the states, her life was impacted by many experiences, such as hardship, people, and trying circumstances. Today, these experiences have shaped her trajectory, profession, and have created the platform that she stands on. Throughout her studies, she has earned an Associate’s Degree, a Bachelor’s in Nursing, and a Master in Mental Health with spiritual and secular counseling.
After a traumatic life experience, she began the pursuit of a Counseling Degree at Alliance Graduate School of Counseling at Nyack College. It was during that second semester she had a Damascus Road experience that was an eye opener making her become spiritually awakened to the amazing calling on her life to use the platform of emotional and spiritual brokenness to help others (wounded healer).
She became the founder of SAS, a name that resonates from a place of personal loss. It is meaningful and reflective of Romans 8:28. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, those who are called according to his purpose. She is committed to equip, train, counsel, and minister to individuals about the importance of Mental Health and Spiritual Health awareness. She is a member and outreach minister at the Triumphant Life Church under the leadership of Apostle Isidore Agoha whose ministry has been a life saver for me and my household. The core principle of his ministry is staying under the word of God in order to receive all that God has provided for her so that she can not only be delivered but also thrive and live a triumphant life. SAS Foundation was also influenced by my three young adults, Celena, Jermaine, and Joshua who have been a source of strength throughout her journey.
Ava Ewan-Harris, BA, Dip Ed, MS Ed
Founder and Associate Director
Ava Ewan-Harris is a Jamaican Christian educator who migrated to the US in 2008. She is the holder of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and French and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education with a focus on foreign language instruction both from the University of the West Indies, Mona. After migrating to the US, she completed a M.S. Ed in Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from Lehman College and has since transitioned from teaching Spanish and French, to being an ENL teacher to middle schoolers. She considers teaching and coaching women into being the best versions of themselves her ultimate calling.
Although she left Jamaica in a flight from domestic abuse, she is using her experiences as a Christian woman to empower other women in understanding that through support and a close relationship with God, He is able to make them thrive beyond their wildest imagination. She is currently a doctoral student at Liberty University where she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a Christian worldview.
As a Christian, her roots were laid deep in the Apostolic faith from a tender age. A former member of the Frankfield New Testament Church of God in Jamaica she was a Youth Director/Minister for her church district. She has a deep love for young people and strives to impart God’s message to them through Sunday school instruction, Vacation Bible School, preaching, and mentorship. She is currently the secretary of the Women’s Ministry at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx under the trusted leadership and guidance of Apostle Isidore Agoha. She is a loving wife and mother to her three wonderful children, Roberta, Etienne, and Ana-Victoria.