Aniki Shani Coates is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Know Good & Well, a holistic wellness venture rooted in therapeutic horticulture, urban agriculture, culinary arts, and nature-based wellness. Her work is deeply shaped by her Southern-born parents, Raymond and Geraldine Middlebrooks, her upbringing in Gary, Indiana, and her unwavering faith in God.

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Growing up, Aniki experienced firsthand the power of nature, food, and community through her father, who cultivated a garden that nourished both body and soul. His generosity and belief in the healing power of food profoundly influenced her understanding of wellness and service. Following his death from congestive heart failure in 2020, Aniki committed herself to honoring his legacy by helping others care for themselves and one another through nature-based practices, food, creativity, and holistic wellness.

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Aniki is a Certified Horticultural Therapist, Master Urban Farmer, Beekeeper, and Environmental Literacy Educator, with training and certifications from the Chicago Botanic Garden and University of Illinois Extension. She also trained as a professional chef at Washburne Culinary Institute, with a focus on plant-based nutrition, and works as a Culinary Nutritionist emphasizing food literacy and the relationship between food and mental and physical well-being.

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Her career spans therapeutic horticulture, urban agriculture, inclusive workforce development, social enterprise, environmental education, culinary nutrition, and community wellness. As Therapeutic Horticulture and Community Liaison for Windy City Harvest, the urban agriculture branch of the Chicago Botanic Garden, she developed and delivered horticulture-based programming for justice-involved individuals, veterans, children with traumatic brain injuries, and residents and employees of communities seeking garden education, training, and programming. She has also served as a Farm Coordinator and Social Enterprise Leader, working alongside adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and creating opportunities for learning, participation, and economic empowerment.

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Today, in addition to leading Know Good & Well, Aniki serves as Senior Manager of Horticulture & Wellness at Bethel New Life and Program Director of the Austin Food Ecosystem Initiative, where her work connects horticulture, food access, environmental literacy, wellness, education, workforce development, and economic opportunity across Chicago’s West Side.

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Through Know Good & Well, Aniki designs and facilitates experiences that use nature, horticulture, food, art, and creative expression to support wellness and human development. Her work has reached individuals and communities in hospitals, daycares, schools, senior living residences, recovery centers, veterans' communities, and programs serving people with developmental disabilities and those who are justice-involved. She has developed healing spaces, curricula, and programs for communities affected by PTSD, sexual abuse, substance abuse, anxiety, stress, depression, acute trauma, and restorative justice.

At the heart of her work is a simple conviction: people are worthy of care, capable of healing, and deeply connected to the natural world.

Through Know Good & Well, Aniki creates opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves, cultivate self-worth and hope, reduce stress, support their well-being, and discover greater purpose through meaningful connection with nature, food, creativity, and community.