Chanel Barnes-Osula

Learning & Coaching Consultant

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Chanel hails from a community where members knew each other’s names and histories. These experiences shaped Chanel’s trajectory as a professional and a self-identified connector. In addition to her community roots, Chanel has more than 15 years of experience in public health and scientific research in community, federal, and nonprofit organizational settings.

I want people to be encouraged and supported to be all of who they are from their first thought, sound, and movement.

Chanel currently serves as a master facilitator for CommonHealth ACTION’s (CHA) equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) curriculum, conducts qualitative data collection through key informant interviews and focus groups, and provides EDI strategy insight and analysis. Her research and development of innovative and engaging tools and resources provide support for all components of CommonHealth ACTION’s client services.

Prior to joining CHA, Chanel spent several years serving as a research specialist with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore, MD. She also previously managed the participant experience for Kaiser Permanente Institute for Equitable Leadership, a three-year leadership development program that invested in a cohort of leaders and organizations to advance systems change in Baltimore City. In that role, she led program design and implementation and served as the lead manager for the cohort.

Chanel earned a Master of Health Science in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a Master of Arts in Psychology from the Catholic University of America, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Morgan State University. Inspired by discovery, movement, and healing practices, Chanel is a registered yoga instructor and certified meditation teacher, who is passionate about offering space where people feel supported to be in alignment with their unique energy and the beauty of who they already are.