Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Calvina Ellerbe.
Hi Dr. Calvina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Southwest Atlanta. My ten siblings and I attended inner-city public schools in the area. My parents emphasized education even though they were not themselves college-educated. To say I felt unprepared for college is an understatement, but I was undeterred and motivated to persevere. Success did not feel optional. During undergraduate, I remember sitting in a Sociology of the Family class and learning that 60% of African American children are born outside of marriage. What struck me the most was the deleterious outcomes associated with this family formation outcome. I was completely shocked. This lesson was my watershed moment. My anecdotal experience of having married parents made it hard for me to believe this was true. It made me take the time to really think about my other friends outside of my immediate family members and I started to realize that my family experience was not the norm. My purpose became clear, I decided at that time that I was meant to work to improve this experience in my community and education would be the best way for me to do that. This is one of my favorite things about education, it broadens your awareness beyond your present circumstances. I began doing research my junior year of college and winning awards for presenting my research. I graduated with two bachelor’s degree one in Sociology and another in Psychology already knowing that I was going to the number one Sociology program in the country University of Wisconsin Madison. I was nervous to move so far away from Atlanta but was committed to improving outcomes for members of my community. To further strengthen my skills, I also studied at the Witherspoon Institute at Princeton University with some of the top family scholars in the country. Studying at a top University was difficult, but I finished first in my cohort and earned my PhD in Sociology and a PhD minor in Counseling Psychology at 28 years of age. I went right into the Academy as a college Professor at this time. As a professor, I have shared my passion for learning and have won eight teaching awards over nine years as a professor. I have also contributed some important research to the field. One such study challenges the idea that African American fathers are not present in the lives of their children as much as other races of men. We found that unmarried, nonresident black fathers demonstrate more engagement with their children than white and Hispanic fathers. Thankfully this important work is gaining some traction as it was recently cited in Psychology Today. It is important to have an accurate narrative concerning black fathers.
While achieving high educational success and developing as a family demographer, I was determined to develop a strong family of my own. Building a stable black family was my first contribution to healing my community. I married at 26 years old two years before completing my PhD. We had our first child at a year and a week after getting married. We could not have been happier as we chose to have a beautiful home birth. At my graduation, I had my husband and my nine months old baby girl. We now have five exceptional children, all born at home who are themselves award-winning and gifted. Approximately two years ago, my husband (a successful entrepreneur) and my students encouraged me to develop Ellerbe Essentials LLC to support others outside of the academy. The focus of my business is to improve family legacies through education. We provide individual and relationship coaching, parenting coaching and birth education. We also provide motivational speaking and corporate training.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Like so many others, I have been belittled, underestimated and misunderstood. I often lacked the cultural capital to be immediately recognized as capable. Growing up in metro Atlanta, I didn’t know others who had attained the level of education that I was acquiring, therefore, I was not equipped with the experiences or communication style that was characteristic of others in that environment. Some family members struggled to understand why I was spending so much time in school instead of joining the workforce after undergraduate. Others saw a small woman 5’1 weighing only 105 pounds and decided I couldn’t have much to offer. Still, others decided that I couldn’t possibly have earned the high marked that was the norm in every class I took. My gratefulness to them all for reminding me to be more willing to put on display my many talents runs deep.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Ellerbe Essentials LLC?
Dr. Ellerbe launched Ellerbe Essentials in order to strengthen families and relationships through education. Ellerbe Essentials helps individuals recenter and get back to the basics. Ellerbe Essentials provides a birth and parenting courses as well as individuals and couples’ coaching. Ellerbe Essentials is unique in that the resources and services it provides are guided by both experience and research. Dr. Ellerbe is the difference. She is not only an award-winning educator, she has also developed the personal success that she is helping her clients achieve. Dr. Ellerbe believes results matter!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have learned to lead with love. True sacrificial, fully present, finding value in the simple existence of another love. I used to be so focused on the rule and performance that I would struggle to see the need of the person in front of me. I have become a person that can be fully present with the person in front of me at almost every given moment. I often avoid feeling mom’s guilt or feeling disconnected because sharing space with another is divine and deserves to be honored fully.
Pricing:
- Dr. Ellerbe presents The Bradley Method $697 (12 week course)
- The Essential Detoxifying Feast $14
- Purposeful Parenting $1097 (12 week Course)
Contact Info:
- Email: drellerbe@ellerbeessentials.com
- Website: ellerbeessentials.com
- Instagram: @drellerbe
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ellerbeessentials
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGXOk_IwOHK3RFnfrjZTphQ
Image Credits:
Telless Photography and Uppity Production
