How I Arrived Here...
I came to this work by living the cost of carrying too much and learning, slowly and honestly, that I could no longer live divided from myself.
For years I moved through the world holding multiple roles and responsibilities, often in silence. I knew how to push through. I knew how to rise to the moment. I knew how to support others. But I did not always know how to honor myself in the process. I said yes when I needed rest. I held things that were never mine to hold. I ignored what my body was trying to tell me.
On the outside I looked strong, capable, and steady. On the inside I was often exhausted, stretched thin, or quietly unraveling. What looked like resilience was sometimes depletion. What looked like success was sometimes disconnection.
It took time for me to realize that nothing was wrong with me. I was not broken. I was simply taught to override myself. My anger, my tenderness, my truth, and my needs had been pushed beneath performance, and it was costing me my wellbeing.
Letting those truths rise changed me. I began listening to my body. I began honoring what I felt. I began choosing a life that did not require me to disappear inside it.
That journey deepened as I entered my own season of midlife, where my body, pace, and needs began shifting in ways I could not ignore. Perimenopause asked me to slow down, to listen inward, and to treat myself with a softness I had not been taught. It asked me to be honest about what I could no longer carry and what I truly needed to feel whole.
This work is shaped by that lived experience. I know what it is to move through a demanding world while trying to stay connected to yourself. I know what it is to lead, care, create, and hold so much while your body is asking for something gentler, truer, and quieter.
Today I walk with Black and Brown women who have carried a great deal in their own lives. Women whose bodies are shifting. Women who have held families, communities, work, and expectations. Women who are ready to move through this season with more honesty, more presence, and more room to be themselves.
I offer a steady, human space to listen to what is happening within you and around you. Not to fix you. Not to shape you. But to be with you as you honor this season of your life.
You do not have to move through perimenopause, menopause, or midlife alone. Your experience is real. Your needs are allowed. And you deserve support that meets you where you are, without pressure or performance.
Official Bio
Dr. Gigi Burke is a Wellbeing Partner who walks with Black and Brown women through the shifting seasons of perimenopause, menopause, and midlife. Her work centers presence, body listening, and gentle support, creating space for women to honor what is changing within them and around them without pressure or performance.
Gigi’s approach is grounded in years of experience across healing, education, leadership, and organizational life. She has held roles in counseling, higher education, nonprofit and corporate consulting, sustainability, public health, and entrepreneurial leadership. These experiences have shown her how often Black and Brown women are asked to carry more than is sustainable, and how rarely their needs, emotions, and bodies are given room to breathe.
Her own journey through burnout, self-silencing, and later perimenopause and midlife taught her that nothing is gained by abandoning oneself. Wholeness is the ground we stand on, and wellbeing is what allows us to stay connected to it with care and gentleness. This understanding shapes the way she walks with women today.
Gigi holds a PhD in Adult Education and Organizational Development from the University of Georgia, graduate training in counseling, and a background in psychology. She is also a certified somatic practitioner who brings a healing-informed, body-centered approach to every space she enters. Her work weaves together relational presence, somatic awareness, and a deep respect for the lived experience of Black and Brown women.
Her wildest dream is to help shape nourishing, sustainable environments for communities living and working on celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, Europa, or Titan.
When she is not working, you will likely find her exploring new worlds, savoring delicious food, and soaking in the quiet wonder of nature.