Harvard-Trained Business & Lifestyle Expert Dr. Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy Added To The Congressional Record

Receives "Women Who Dare To Be Different" Award from Congressman Edolphus "Ed" Towns

New York, NY - On Saturday, March 15, 2008, Harvard-trained Business & Lifestyle Coach Dr. Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy received the "Women Who Dare To Be Different" Award from Congressman Edolphus "Ed" Towns and The Women's Caucus for her commitment to health literacy and community development. Dr. Kennedy was one of eighteen women presented with the honor in a four-hour ceremony at Fleur De Lis banquet hall in Ridgewood, New York. The awardees were presented with plaques and their individual achievements were added to the Congressional Record.

With an MBA from Harvard, a Ph.D. in World Religions, and training in Holistic Health and Yoga, Dr. Kennedy offers a unique multidisciplinary approach to crafting an authentic, healthy, and successful life. She left a lucrative media career at MTV Networks to become a social entrepreneur and health advocate. Now, her mission is to help people from all walks of life live better lives. She is President of Power Living Enterprises, Inc., a multifaceted lifestyle company (www.power-living.com), and Founder of Ta Yoga, which operates one of the first yoga studios in Harlem (www.tayoga.com). Dr. Kennedy is also Chair of the Board of Yoga Alliance, the internationally-recognized organization that sets the standards for yoga teaching in the United States. Recognized as a leader in wellness and empowerment, she is on the faculty of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is an ambassador for the American Heart Association.

After a life-threatening bout with Crohn's Disease and her subsequent recovery through an integrative healing approach, Dr. Kennedy has personal experience with transformation, and serves as a role model for healthy living. As a Holistic Health Counselor, she has worked with a variety of clients from senior executives and entrepreneurs, to people with specific ailments, ranging from Adult ADD, Asthma, Anorexia and Diabetes to Hypertension, Obesity, IBS and even Leukemia. She also offers stress management and corporate wellness programs to a variety of organizations. Dr. Kennedy is a sought-after motivational speaker and her work has been featured in media around the world, from CNN and Prevention to Oprah's book, Live Your Best Life! and ARD TV in Germany. She is the producer of the Power Living®: Mini-Escapes relaxation CD, and author of 40 Days to Power Living®: Think, Eat & Live on Purpose and The Power Living® Pledge: An Affirmation for a Purposeful and Powerful Life, as well as three case studies published under Harvard Business School Publishing.

"I am honored to be recognized by Congressman Towns, who is himself an inspiration for his commitment to the community," said Dr. Kennedy. "I am always amazed at the reception I receive. I could have continued with my career in media. However, the decision to take a leap of faith and use my voice to help others build successful lives has been the most blessed choice of my life," she added.

Edolphus "Ed" Towns (www.house.gov/towns) is currently serving his 12th term in the US House of Representatives. He represents the Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District encompassing the neighborhoods of East New York, Canarsie, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cypress Hills, Clinton Hill, Mill Basin, Midwood, downtown Brooklyn, Boreum Hill, as well as parts of Fort Greene and Williamsburg. Representative Towns is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee where he is on the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, the Health Subcommittee, and the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. Through his committee appointments, Rep. Towns has worked to enhance consumers' privacy protections on the Internet, develop innovative initiatives to reduce asthma, and bridge the "digital divide". Congressman Towns also serves on the Government Reform Committee where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement. His varied professional background includes assignments as an administrator at Beth Israel Medical Center, a professor at New York's Medgar Evers College and Fordham University and a teacher in the New York City Public School System. He is also a veteran of the United States Army and an ordained Baptist minister.

On Saturday, March 22, 2008, Dr. Kennedy will continue her work in promoting healthy living by leading two workshops for the 43rd SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) in New York at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. It is consistently the largest gathering of underrepresented minority medical students at any time of the year in any place in the nation.  Part of AMEC's mission is to address the needs of underserved communities and increase the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians. This year's conference theme is "Leadership in Medicine: Science to Service." That same day, she will be speaking at "The State of Women's Health in 2008" event as part of Healthy Eating And Living (HEAL) initiative sponsored by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. The event will be held at the Museum of the City of New York in honor of Women's History Month. 

Dr. Kennedy was born in Accra, Ghana; started school in Adelaide, Australia; grew up in St. Albans, Queens; studied and lived in Rome, Italy; and currently lives in Harlem, New York.

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