In a world that often demands we choose one path, Dr. Wendy Ward was determined to forge multiple. Dr. Ward is an anesthesiologist whose life took a transformative turn, leading her to found Mpower Productions, a life coaching company and self-empowerment academy for youths.
“I couldn’t imagine that, even though I do good work as a physician, that I was only designated to do that one thing,” said Dr. Ward about an earlier phase in her career. Her calling was never just about medicine, she says; it was about creating change on a deeper level.
Mpower Productions, which she calls “CPR for empowerment,” focuses on stress management, resilience building, and helping others recognize their unique strengths.
Dr. Ward’s story of self-discovery started long before she entered medicine. Growing up on President Street in Crown Heights, known as Doctors’ Row, she was surrounded by the likes of Shirley Chisholm, Reverend William A. Jones, and Josephine English, all of whom had an unshakable commitment to their communities. Her father, a doctor, and her mother, a teacher, instilled in her the values of service and community engagement.
“It was just expected that you serve and give back — that’s just the way it was,” she said.
As a young girl, Dr. Ward dreamed of becoming an entertainer, athlete, and storyteller. She honed her basketball skills with the neighborhood boys, sparking a passion for sports that would later secure her a college basketball scholarship. She also developed a love for storytelling, poetry, and music — gifts that now shape her work with Mpower Productions.
About eight years into practicing medicine, she realized something was missing. She wanted to serve on a greater scale. Medicine was one channel of impact, but she felt called to reach beyond her role as a physician. She began to identify as a healer rather than only a doctor — terms she didn’t see as synonymous — and delved into holistic modalities to complement her Western medical training. The vision was to fuse science and spirituality to create transformative experiences that resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Ten years ago, she founded Mpower Productions. It wasn’t simple. “Historically, doctors are the worst business people on the planet,” she said. So she educated herself on the basics of building a for-profit business. When her business partner couldn’t continue due to personal challenges, she forged ahead on her own.
“The first empowerment event I ever had after I incorporated Mpower Productions and ‘teaching people to fish,’ I funded the whole thing myself with my doctor money,” Dr. Ward said. “If I wouldn’t invest in myself, why should anybody else invest in me?”
Her work now focuses on helping clients, primarily youths, acknowledge and activate their inner greatness, manage stress effectively, and pursue lives that are not only fulfilling for themselves but also beneficial to their communities. Her clients range from local schools to individual clients based as far away as Europe.
“Don’t reduce your dreams to accommodate reality,” she said she often tells young people in her workshops. “Instead, elevate your reality to accommodate your dreams.” Dr. Ward has made it her mission to encourage others to view failure as an event, not an identity.
Her own experiences facing racism, sexism, and envy as a Black female doctor in the 1990s have taught her that “an obstacle is something that you see when you take your eye off of the goal,” she says.
Some of this mindset stemmed from basketball in her youth, when she faced her own physical disadvantage as an undersized player. “I’m 5 foot 4, but everyone I played against would say I played like I was 6 feet tall,” she said. She outpaced her opponents by outthinking them and investing in endless hours of practice. This same grit and determination would later drive her to become an anesthesiologist and, eventually, an entrepreneur with Mpower Productions.
Dr. Ward recently hinted at a “global empowerment mission” that she’s working on, a vision that blends her talents in sports, music, and multimedia to create an accessible, engaging platform for people worldwide. But she’s not stopping there; with her roots in underserved communities, she’s committed to making sure her work reaches those who need it most.
“I was raised to level the playing field,” she said. “Everyone deserves access to opportunities, to support, and to a future they’re proud of.”
Whether she’s speaking at schools or mentoring young people, Dr. Ward’s presence is anything but conventional. Known for her energetic approach, she delights in surprising students by donning a throwback New York Knicks jersey and dribbling a basketball during her presentations, which instantly transforms her from “the boring doctor” to someone relatable and inspiring.
Through her journey, Dr. Ward has come full circle. She is both the doctor her parents envisioned and the mentor and storyteller she has always known she was meant to be. With Mpower, Dr. Ward is not only pursuing her own purpose but is helping others realize theirs.
“This second part of my second act is the most important, and it’s the most impactful,” she said.
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