Mental Health Life Coach
Xiomara is a counselor scholar-practitioner who advocates through humanitarian, health and human services, and mental health advocacy efforts that represent her profound passion and commitment to those issues. As a social entrepreneur her goal is to promote social policy that protects the wellbeing of all people and works for social welfare initiatives that effect positive social change through altruism.
Xiomara is the Founder and Principal of XAS Consulting, LLC (XAS), a practice she founded to provide professional mental health life coaching. Through coaching, XAS helps people achieve and sustain a healthy, well balanced lifestyle and state of mind. Once she completes her licensure she will expand her practice to include clinical mental health counseling services, forensic services, and mediation services. Xiomara will specialize in anxiety disorders and mood disorders to help treat individuals with these conditions. She will also work with the family court system reviewing child custody agreements and with divorcing couples through mediation on out of court settlements.
Xiomara is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Get-Right! Organization, Inc., a nonprofit organization. Get-Right’s mission is to empower families, children and young adults to cultivate healthy lifestyles that promote positive mental health and physical health by educating families about mental health and physical health issues; teaching children how to effectively cope with mental health and physical health challenges; and supporting mental health and physical health education initiatives and projects in all communities across America.
She is also the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of You Are Strong! Center on Veterans Health and Human Services, a nonprofit organization she is in the process of launching, whose mission is to combat negative stigma and provide streamlined information about health and human services for U.S. veterans.
With both nonprofit organizations she is able to influence positive social change through special projects that are near and dear to her heart.
Xiomara is also currently a contributing writer for the Examiner.com as part of their Health and Fitness channel.
Xiomara is currently working on completing her graduate studies and licensure in mental health counseling with a specialization in forensic counseling at Walden University and earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Phoenix. She attended The United States Air Force (USAF) University – Community College of the Air Force, is a graduate of the USAF Military Training Center, the USAF Technical Training Center, and the United States Army Training Center.
CATALINA Magazine awarded Xiomara the 2010 Deloitte Groundbreaking Latina Leader of the Year award for her work which consistently promotes a positive image of Hispanics and their culture, and to promote her accomplishments as one of the nation’s leading Latinas. She was also awarded the Northern Virginia Family Service Special Foster Care Certificate of Approval and Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of valuable contributions as a Therapeutic Foster Parent. Xiomara is a recipient of the Campaign Air Force Training Ribbon, the Campaign Army Service Ribbon, the Army Achievement Medal for Meritorious Service, and the Department of the Army Certificate of Achievement for Meritorious Service.
Xiomara was featured as a leader on the Fabulosamentelatina.com Success channel and as a Personal Consultant on their advice channel. She was also featured on the Aol Latino Icons channel as a Latina leader. Xiomara was named “Latina de la Semana” by El Tiempo Latino and was featured in the Latinas Today section of Latina Style Magazine. Her reputation has attracted media commentary by such outlets as the Sun Sentinel, Catalina Magazine, and Careerjournal.com/The Wall Street Journal Executive Career Site. She’s also been sought after to review books written by Hispanic authors such as Profound CrossRoads by Anthony Ramos.
She is currently a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Florida Counseling Association, and the South Carolina Counseling Association. She is also a member of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) and the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. She serves on AMHCA’s Public Awareness, Advocacy and Marketing Committee, as AMHCA’s Graduate Student Committee’s Secretary, and is a Student Regional Representative for outreach to students, state leaders and advocating on behalf of AMHCA. In addition she is also a member of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors.
Xiomara is a current member of the FemFessionals Charleston, SC chapter. Her prior professional affiliations include membership in the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, the American Society of Association Executives and the Florida Society of Association Executives.
Xiomara has over twenty years of experience in the nonprofit and health and human services sectors where she developed her expertise in the helping field. She also developed her skill and knowledge in creating and implementing programs in communities that target humanitarian work.
Her passion for humanitarian issues began as a child born and raised in New York City and grew through her volunteerism. Xiomara left New York and served a military tour of duty with the Air Force Reserves and the United States Army. There she was selected to serve in a prestigious position at The Pentagon in Washington, DC where she worked directly for the Brigadier General at the United States Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Personnel Programs Analysis Office, and Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. Through that experience she polished her skills on how advocacy interconnects with humanitarian and health efforts.
Her budding curiosity in advocacy landed her a position at the Academy for Education Development (AED), a nonprofit organization working globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic development, the foundation of thriving societies. At AED she worked in the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research supporting the Director in their mission to create and strengthen the infrastructure that supports the positive development of all youth.
At the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO) she worked closely with the President and CEO and the Vice President of Policy and Research on a wide range of advocacy issues with Congress, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. She also supported organizational initiatives with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other philanthropic foundations on behalf of COSSMHO. Xiomara served as COSSMHO’s liaison with other national nonprofit organizations on outreach efforts and for The National Hispanic Health Network, a 30 Community Based Organization HandsNet electronic communications system. She also worked tirelessly to promote the President’s book on Latina’s health, The Latina Guide to Health, a consumer’s health guide for overall health and wellness for Latinas.
Her evolution into the humanitarian world progressed as she moved on to MANA, A National Latina Organization where she worked with members and chapter leaders on empowering Latinas through leadership development, community service and advocacy.
Following that she managed a $980,000 budget at NLGJA, an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues, and to advance their mission in opposing all forms of workplace bias and providing professional development to its members. There she developed the National and Regional Leadership Development Institutes designed to meet training needs in fiscal management and program development and implementation for NLGJA’s leadership. These series of trainings ultimately led to the crafting of goals set forth in NLGJA’s Strategic Plan. Xiomara was instrumental in acquiring the $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to fund this initiative.
She then managed close to a million dollar Department of Labor grant at the National Student Partnerships, an organization whose mission is to combat poverty and expand opportunity for all people in the United States.
Before founding XAS, Get-Right!, and You Are Strong!, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Society for Hispanic Professionals (NSHP) where she strengthened NSHP’s infrastructure and solidified NSHP as a viable and noteworthy presence in the Hispanic professional community.
Xiomara served as a member of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National Youth Media Campaign’s Partnership Development Expert Panel. She also served on the Senate Republican Conference Task Force on Hispanic Affairs Advisory Committee. She was a participant in the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse Treatment Month Planning Group, and the Social Security Administration’s Outreach Planning Group. Xiomara was appointed to serve on the Arlington, VA Multicultural Advisory Commission, was a member of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation’s Latino Survey Planning Group, served on the Arthritis Foundation’s Speaking of Pain Advisory Council and Diversity 2000 Committee, and was a member of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation, Inc. Xiomara also served on the HandsNet Editorial Board, the Newspaper Association of America’s Diversity Committee, and was a member of the Center for Media Education’s Children Media Policy Network.
She also served on the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League’s (SMYAL) Board of Directors, served as a SMYAL Youth Group Facilitator, and as an appointed member of the Whitman-Walker Clinic’s Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Services Board of Directors on behalf of SMYAL. She also served on the Bridge Builders Fund Board of the Directors and the Gente Latina de Ambiente Board of Directors. Ms. Sosa was a Cultural Competency Trainer for the Mautner Project for Women with Cancer, a member of the Potomac Executive Network, and the Women’s Health and Wellness Network.