MEET JULIA SUMAYA CONSIDINE PIERCE MPH, MDIV
Julia is a health educator devoted to women's and girl's health and wellness, centered on sacred self-care. She has shared her expertise in the public school system, where she taught puberty and sexual health education in addition to teaching health at the local community college. Julia earned a Master of Public Health degree from UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her graduate research was a collaboration with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to determine how the Healthful Living Essential Standards are taught, who teaches them, what resources are used, and what additional support is needed. This qualitative research examined all the health standards, focusing on reproductive health and safety. Her research earned an Impact Award from the UNC Graduate School, which acknowledges research that benefits the people of North Carolina. She self-published her research as a book on Amazon, Sex Education in North Carolina Schools.
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Additionally, Julia earned a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Sufism. Her MDiv research included interviewing female Sufi teachers from across the globe about the interplay of female reproductive health and spirituality, which inspired a series of books accompanying girls and women across their lifespans. The first in the series, My Body is Sacred: Tales of Health and Wellness for Little Girls, will be published in May 2025.
​​Julia began her studies of Shadhiliyya Sufism and Sufi healing in 1998. She has offered Sufi healing and teachings for over two decades, fostering spiritual growth and transformation for her clients. She is also a Healing Tao associate qigong instructor, inspired by Taoist practices that enhance female reproductive health. Julia is on the faculty of Her Mystery School, an international immersive program where she teaches Baraka: Women's Health and Sufism. She lives deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and bustling clan.