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Stazi Melissa Simmons-Gomez was born in New York in the late 1970s, and her life stands as a powerful testament to endurance, spiritual resilience, and the strength of reinvention. A survivor of childhood neglect, emotional and physical abuse, and sexual assault beginning at the age of three, she later became one of the many women impacted by the Dr. Nikita Levy and Johns Hopkins Hospital scandal a tragedy she transformed into advocacy, empowerment, and purpose. Her story has been featured on CBS This Morning, The Dr. Oz Show, The Washington Post, and The Baltimore Sun.
Raised in chaos and dysfunction, Stazi spent her early years navigating life with an abusive and emotionally absent mother. It was only later that she began to recognize the patterns this upbringing created—patterns that surfaced in her adult relationships with narcissistic and emotionally harmful partners. Through courage, self-awareness, and compassion, she began breaking generational cycles and reclaiming her identity.
Despite entering foster care as a teenager, experiencing homelessness, and becoming a mother while still in high school, Stazi remained determined to redefine her future. She graduated from the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in 1995 as a violinist and later studied Pre-Law and Philosophy at Morgan State University, where she also sang second alto in the university choir. She was inducted into The National Society for Leadership and Success and nominated for Marquis Who’s Who in America 2024.
A survivor in every sense, Stazi has overcome a learning disability, spinal meningitis, domestic violence, and a near-fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver. Her faith, intuition, and unwavering perseverance have guided her through each chapter of her journey. Professionally, she built a successful career in Information Technology, supporting federal agencies in roles including paralegal, data analyst, IT project manager, and Scrum Master. She currently supports the federal government as a contractor, positioned as an IT Project Manager and Scrum Master for Infrastructure Operations. She also holds certifications in cybersecurity, Scrum, risk management, and service management.
Today, as a proud mother of six and grandmother of three, Stazi uses her voice to advocate for women, single mothers, and people of color in technology. Her memoir, Resilient by Design, is more than a recounting of trauma it is a spiritual roadmap of healing, awakening, self-love, and legacy-building. It stands as both a tribute to the woman she has become and a beacon for those still finding their way.
Through God, discernment, and divine strength, Stazi learned that true love begins within and that her spirit is not up for negotiation.
I wrote Resilient by Design to show that trauma does not have the final word—for women or for men.
This book exists to give voice to survivors who learned to function through pain but were never taught how to heal from it.
It challenges the idea that resilience is accidental or reserved for a few, and instead presents it as something that can be built intentionally through truth, boundaries, faith, and accountability.
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