Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chaneé Jackson Kendall. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chaneé , appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The roots of Intentional Relating go back to 2012, when I first began identifying and living as a polyamorous person. My existence and openness about my lovestyle at a relatively young age was an anomaly. I was a Queer Black woman trying to build a life based on liberatory love, but every model I saw was a whitewashed MFF triad dynamic that didn’t reflect my values, my community, or my desires.

By 2014, I was building my own polyamorous family, brick by brick. But I was also wrestling with deep loneliness. There were so few Black folks, let alone Queer Black women, visibly and publicly navigating polyamory. There was no book to consult that reflected my lived experiences, and influencers of similar experience were few and far between. I realized I wasn’t just searching for tools—I was searching for possibility models.

In 2017, I began teaching classes to offer what I couldn’t find: culturally rooted, freedom-based relationship education for people like me. In 2019, I co-founded Black Poly Pride, the first celebration of its kind, and when the pandemic hit, I shifted into hosting virtual events to keep the Black polyamorous community connected during lockdown.

In 2021, I stepped fully into coaching, helping folks one-on-one (and in polyam configurations) as they navigated the joys and growing pains of non-monogamy. And in 2022, I launched the Intentional Polyamory cohort—a 5-week course that’s now evolved into an 8-week immersive experience. To date, I’ve hosted six cohorts, each filled with brilliant, brave humans ready to do love differently.

What I have learned, is that this work isn’t just about non-monogamy. It was about decolonizing how we relate to ourselves and one another. It’s about shifting from power- based relational models, to co-creation. And that’s what led me to birth Intentional Relating.

Today, Intentional Relating is a home for everyone—poly, monogamous, questioning, fluid—who is ready to engage their relationships with intention, liberation, and love. What excites me most is helping people build relationships that honor their truth- not the “truth” they were handed, but the ones they are reclaiming.

And yes; this is a problem few are solving. There are very few relational frameworks that center Blackness, Queerness, and freedom.And those that do, offer very little real life; tangible advice about how to make relationships work.

At Intentional Relating, we focus on building resilient communities by way of self work and culture- building,. I built this because I needed it. I teach it because we all do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Absolutely. My name is Chaneé Jackson-Kendall (she/her), and I’m a Black polyamorous educator, coach, and community organizer. I’ve been openly polyamorous and kinky for over a decade, and for me, this is more than identity, it is my vocation. I co-founded Black Poly Pride in 2019, the first and only Black polyamorous conference for Black people, by Black people. We created that space because we needed somewhere that held our joy, our culture, our pleasure, and our complexity all at once. It was sacred. And it showed me what’s possible when we gather with intention.

My path into this work started with a deep ache; to see people whose expereinces and desires reflected mine, with a commitment to liberation. There were very few folks talking about polyamory as something rooted in autonomy, ancestral wisdom, and care.

So I started speaking up.
I started teaching.

By 2017, I was offering workshops and education so that others—especially Black and queer folks—could have the tools and possibility models I never had. During the pandemic, I led the Black Poly Pride team in launching the “Are Black People Allowed?” virtual event series, holding space for us during a time of collective grief, uncertainty, and transformation.

In 2022, I launched Intentional Polyamory, a virtual learning and coaching platform where I support people in building polyamorous lives on purpose. Since the first cohort in 2023, I’ve facilitated six transformational cohorts, including one specifically for therapists, counselors, and helping professionals who want to expand their relational literacy.

Through Intentional Polyamory—and now Intentional Relating—I offer:
• 1:1 and couples coaching
• Live virtual classes and workshops
• An 8-week signature cohort program
• A private community space (via Mighty Networks) for ongoing support and growth

My work is not about “teaching polyamory” in a generic sense. I help people of all relationship styles: monogamous, non-monogamous, and questioning to unlearn scripts, build skills, and co-create relationships rooted in liberation, consent, and care.

I offer culturally grounded, spiritually informed, body-aware coaching that centers Black and queer people—but welcomes all who approach with humility and an open heart.

What sets my work apart is that I don’t separate the personal from the political. I’m not here to give people rules or rigid scripts. I help them uncover what’s true for them—and build their lives around that truth.

I’m most proud of the community I’ve built and the clients I’ve walked with—people who’ve transitioned gracefully out of partnerships, restructured their entire family systems, moved through jealousy with love, and created agreements that actually work. And I’m proud of the parents, like myself, who are building intentional polyamorous families that center kindness, structure, and joy.

At the core of everything I do is this belief:
Love is a sacred act. And we deserve to do it in ways that honor our full humanity.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the most profound pivots I’ve had to make in my professional life happened in 2020, with the cancellation of Black Poly Pride.

In 2019, we hosted the inaugural Black Poly Pride in Dallas, Texas—the first conference created by and for Black polyamorous people. It was more than a success; it was sacred. For so many of us, it was the first time we experienced joy, visibility, and community all in one space—without code-switching, without shame, without being the “only one.” We danced, we cried, we loved on each other. That weekend affirmed that Black, queer, polyamorous joy deserves to be centered.

So in 2020, we were planning to go even bigger. We moved the celebration to Washington, D.C., a more accessible city for many East Coast folks, and had ambitious plans: multi-day programming, wellness offerings, workshops, parties, and a deeper dive into what liberation in love could really look like. We had fundraisers lined up, vendors booked, venues secured—and our hearts were all in.

And then… COVID hit.

Within weeks, everything we’d planned began to unravel. Fundraisers were canceled. Flights had to be refunded. Contracts needed renegotiation—and ultimately, couldn’t be fulfilled at all. The emotional toll was immense—not just for our team, but for the entire community that had been counting down the days with us. And financially, it was devastating. Like many small, Black-led orgs, we were operating on a shoestring budget and faith. Having to cancel everything and figure out how to recover without losing our footing was a logistical nightmare, that took a huge emotional toll on our entire team.

But here’s the pivot: Instead of collapsing, we shifted. We started hosting virtual events for the Black polyamorous community—intimate, healing, affirming spaces during lockdown. We leaned into mutual aid, online panels, and collaborations that allowed us to keep the mission alive, even if we couldn’t gather in person. And for me personally, this pivot was the beginning of deepening my one-on-one coaching work and planting the seeds for what would eventually become Intentional Relating.

That moment taught me that community doesn’t disappear when plans do—it transforms. That celebration is sacred, yes—but so is survival. And sometimes, the most liberating thing we can do is adapt with care, even in grief.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Hands down, the best source of new clients has been referrals from the people we’ve helped. Whether it’s a couple who finally found language for their needs, or a polyamorous newbie who felt seen for the first time, our clients have become our biggest advocates.

We’ve been incredibly blessed to operate with very little traditional marketing or sales tactics. No funnels. No pressure campaigns, just transformational care, intentional community building, and word of mouth.

In communities like ours, the currency is trust. And when someone experiences intentional, liberation-centered support, they naturally want to share that with the people they love. Over the years, we’ve seen friend groups, chosen families, and entire polycules show up to work with us because one person said, “Y’all, this is the space we’ve been looking for.”

It’s an honor to let the work speak for itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktree.com/chaneespeaks
• Instagram: @ChaneeSpeaks
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ChaneeSpeaks
• Twitter: @ChaneeSpeaks