Episode 238

Photo credit: Entrée to Black Paris

Dr. Monique Y. Wells, A native of Houston,Texas and a 32-year resident of Paris, France. Through her entrepreneurial work as a veterinary pathologist and toxicologist, travel professional, writer, speaker, and mentor, she embraces and harnesses the power of education to change lives.
While working in Paris she began researching the history of African Americans there and offered self-guided tours of locations associated with African Americans in Paris.

This led to her discovery, in the pauper’s division of a cemetery outside Paris, of the unmarked grave of the distinguished artist Beauford Delaney, an American modernist painter well known for his work with the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s and ’40s.

Delaney moved to Paris in 1953 and continued his production of brilliant figurative and abstract expressionist paintings, including several self-portraits and portraits of James Baldwin. He suffered from mental illness and spent the last four years of his life in a psychiatric institution in the French capital. Fascinated with his story, Monique founded Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, and raised funds for a tombstone to mark his grave. She continues her research and work promoting the legacy of Beauford Delaney.

Monique worked for 13 years in the corporate world before combining her passion for life sciences, literacy, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education, the arts, travel/study abroad, and women’s empowerment under the umbrella of her U.S. non-profit organization, the Wells International Foundation (WIF). She is currently recruiting a select group of high achieving women leaders for membership in WIF’s L³ Alliance.

Founder and CEO, Wells International Foundation
https://wellsinternationalfoundation.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WellsInternationalFoundation (https://www.facebook.com/WellsInternationalFoundation/)
Most Charitable Marginalised Community Education & Support Organization – South-Central USA (https://www.acquisition-international.com/winners/wells-international-foundation/) – 2022 – Acquisition International
100 Phenomenal Black Women Fundraiser Award – 2021
10 To Know Global Game Changers in Women’s Empowerment – 2018 – The Introducer Magazine
Black Women in Europe Power List (https://blackwomenineurope.com/2016/12/07/monique-wells-black-women-in-europe-power-list-2016-a-list-of-our-own/) – 2016
http://walkerslegacy.com/latest-buzz/the-list-12-global-entrepreneurs/?utm_source=12+Global+Entrepreneurs&utm_campaign=OCT-15+Newsletter&utm_medium=emailThe List: 12 Global Entrepreneurs to Watch (http://walkerslegacy.com/latest-buzz/the-list-12-global-entrepreneurs/?utm_source=12+Global+Entrepreneurs&utm_campaign=OCT-15+Newsletter&utm_medium=email) – 2015 – Walker’s Legacy
Visit our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU4szgNs5VG1F_4RF8dLFw) channel!
Enjoy highlights of our 2019 International Women’s Day event – The Successful Woman (https://the-successful-woman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Event_Highlights_2019_TSW.mp4)
Watch me present WIF during my Talking about Success (https://www.jackcanfield.com/pages/success-tv-talking-about-success-5/) interview with Jack Canfield!