Embodied Ancestry
Guest Facilitator

Julissa Contreras

Writer, playwright, poet, performer, podcaster, creative director, educator, and social impact strategist

Julissa Contreras (https://www.julissacontreras.com/) speaks truth to power, elevating necessary dialogue through reflective experiences and storytelling that create pathways for meaningful change. A writer, playwright, poet, performer, podcaster, creative director, educator, and social impact strategist, Julissa focuses on storytelling as a technology for societal shifts.   

Julissa is the creator + host of the Ladies Who Bronche Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@ladieswhobronche), cofounder of StoryQuo (https://storyquo.co/), and creator of the YouTube hit “Shit Spanish Girls Say. (https://youtu.be/LpaDBD84ET0)” Her off-Broadway debut, Vámonos at INTAR theater (Spring 2023) boasted 3 extensions and record breaking firsts within the NYC theater community. In the past 15 years, Julissa’s work has been produced and commissioned across a number of festivals, workshops, and residencies throughout the country. 

In the digital space, Julissa is regarded as a voice of curiosity, exploration, and truth and has been a featured writer for Mitu’s “the Kat Call” , Spotify’s “Lenny Says” podcast, and Skittlez Music TV. She has been a host for the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute across several programs, and a featured storyteller at Spotify, Poderistas, Revolve Impact, and more. As a Dominicana from the Bronx, Julissa tells stories about the intersections of life that socialized her, inviting audiences to meet her at the crossroads of truth.

Embodied Ancestry, Week 7

Storytelling as Medicine

Guest facilitator, Julissa Contreras, playwright and storyteller, will lead us in exploring the healing power of story as a bridge to memory, identity, and ancestral connection. Through her guidance, participants will discover how storytelling opens pathways for personal and collective healing, and how their own stories can become living medicine within the Embodied Ancestry journey.