We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Eboni Lunsford Calbow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Eboni, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Not everyone is gifted with the entrepreneurial spirit, and sometimes, using yourself to fill a gap comes from pure necessity. I struggled to find the support, funding and mentorship that I needed to both enter the social work field and complete all the steps for graduate school and independent licensure. Once I was able to reach this level of freedom in this profession, which says that its foundation is in the pursuit of social justice and equity, I realized that being able to eliminate barriers that would increase the number of BIPOC in behavioral health, which increases the benefit to our community. So I started my group practice, Elixir Austin, to pursue community impact grant donors and venture capitalists to help fund BIPOC practitioner work and increase our current and future pipeline.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The mission of Elixir Austin is to increase the behavioral health provider pipeline, and increase the number of BIPOC practitioners in social work that complete the independent licensure process through eliminating barriers, providing clinical supervision and professional development and direct services to the community. Elixir Partners are BIPOC professionals in social work, and Elixir Partner Allies are non-BIPOC professionals in social work that are aligned with and work in support of the social justice mission of Elixir Austin. Elixir Austin’s greater vision is to amplify voices of color in whole health, including behavioral health, through intentional collaboration with the community and leaders of color in the behavioral health space.

Elixir Austin’s motto: Be kind. Be well. Be powerful.

What sets us apart from others is that we are practitioner focused, with specific focus on our BIPOC practitioners progression their way through the profession. Most group practices are about clients, and I am most proud that Elixir Austin ensures that practitioners have what they need to host and support their own clients, rather than relying on another agency for independent practice. Many times, the challenge is that BIPOC practitioners have the capability, but owning and running their own agencies for consultation and private practice are both cost prohibitive and out of educational reach. I have only been able to overcome those challenges because of how my eclectic background in business, social work, culture and education come together, and I recognize that my path is not necessarily the path that we have all been afforded the ability to pursue. Like an authentic social worker, I am placing my knowledge and expertise in the gap, because I do believe that the way to overcome challenges is through supporting each other and focusing on the marginalized, even within the profession.

The lessons that I have learned along the way have been to trust others to lift you, focus on those willing contribute their skills and build your community. If you are doing right things in the right way, your people will find you. My brand evolved from these philosophies and support, and I want the world to know that my story and my path to leadership needs to end with my generation-the challenges that I have faced never needed to exist or to persist.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always have a great time in Houston! Special shoutout to some of my oldest and dearest friends (Quana Smith + Cindy Carter, both social justice warriors in the Houston community), who always shows me a good time. I love staying at CityPlace when I need to do work now and make time for having a good time later. We love all the food around Rice Village, meeting up downtown for great events (and asking folks if they live inside the loop, LOL), checking out the housing along all ends of Post Oak and meeting up across the suburbs, like Missouri City. We are regulars at the Houston Rodeo, and I am always game to make the drive down to Galveston. Galveston is also the home of a group of close friends, golden hearted folks who own small businesses, work in healthcare, education and nonprofits, and are making waves for equity in the corporate environment. I think the rule of thumb in Houston is never to sleep on that city…or its neighbors!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely the success and where we are in life is thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others! I have to shoutout all of the above: my family, my former teachers and professors, my friends, my peers and colleagues in social work + education + healthcare, and all adjoining professions and all of the mentors that elevated me. Special shoutout to my clinical supervisees, who are BIPOC behavioral health professionals carving their own way in schools, health systems and more.

Website: elixiraustin.co

Instagram: @elixiraustin

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebonicalbowlcsw

Twitter: atxdoctorebby

Image Credits
Goldman Sachs: One Million Black Women -Black In Business

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