Cha with Laura and Leah

Mamas 4 A Free Palestine was founded by a Palestinian mother who has been tirelessly dedicated to educating about and raising funds to support Palestine.  Mamas 4 A Free Palestine is featured in the award winning documentary “ Souls Not Numbers ,” which focuses on the devastating effects that generations of ethnic cleansing and occupation have had on the children of Palestine.  Please consider sup...

Thimali Kodikara is a multimedia artist and founder of impact media consultancy, OneLoudBellow. Thimali achieved global prominence as showrunner of the groundbreaking feminist climate solutions podcast, Mothers Of Invention – co-hosting the show with the first woman president of Ireland and former chair of The Elders, Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins. Thimali’s direction has brought Black,...

Frederick Joseph is a three-time New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from Yonkers, New York, whose work spans poetry, nonfiction, children’s literature, and young adult fiction. He is the author of the acclaimed YA novel This Thing of Ours, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, was nominated for The Georgia Peach Book Award, and was named one of the...

Karen Attiah is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and global thought leader whose work explores the intersections of race, culture, gender, and international affairs. She was born and raised in DeSoto, Texas, and began her journey in media and advocacy at 19 through an internship at the Dallas Public Defender’s Office. A formative summer in Spain studying Spanish ignited her lifelong commitm...

Leila Hegazy is an Egyptian Italian American singer-songwriter, social media creator, teacher, and political organizer in New York City. Her album We Are the Resistance is a gift to the Palestinian liberation movement, and she plans to donate all proceeds to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund . Leila was part of the Global Al Sumud Flotilla in 2025 and shares all about her experience with us. Th...

Irvin Weathersby Jr. is a Brooklyn-based writer and professor from New Orleans. He teaches at Queensborough Community College and at City College of New York in the MFA in Creative Writing program. His writing has been fea­tured in  Guernica ,  Esquire ,  The Atlantic ,  EBONY , and elsewhere. He holds an MFA from The New School, an MA from Morgan State University, and a BA from Morehouse College,...

Mahogany L. Browne, a Kennedy Center's Next 50 fellow and MacDowell Arts Advocacy Awardee, is a writer, playwright, organizer, and educator. She received fellowships from All Arts, Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Baldwin for the Arts, Carolyn Moore Writing Residency, Cave Canem, Hawthornden, Poets House, Mellon Research, Rauschenberg, Wesleyan University, and UCross. Mahogany's books include Vinyl...

Jenn was initiated in the mountains of Gyerong-san (Phoenix-Dragon Mountain) and seven years of direct apprenticeship under her elder. Her work considers story as an active force carried through people, objects, and landscape. She examines how cultural memory survives displacement and how myth continues to shape contemporary identity. Her projects have been presented through exhibitions, performan...

Afeef Nessouli is a journalist and humanitarian aid worker. From March to June 2025, he spent 9 weeks in Gaza with Glia international, and as a reporter with The Intercept. He has recently been awarded a Pulitzer grant from the Pulitzer Center. Afeef formerly produced The Wall Street Journal's daily news podcast "The Journal" with Spotify, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, an assortment of CNN show...

Anita Kopacz is an award-winning writer and spiritual advisor. She is the former editor-in-chief of Heart & Soul Magazine and managing editor of Beauty Cents Magazine. When s not writing, you can find her on the dance floor or traveling the world with her children. Anita lives in New York City with her family. She is the author of Shallow Waters and The Wind on Her Tongue. Cha with Laura and L...

Niza Disla is a Bronx-born strategist of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican ancestry (Mayan & Taíno lineages). She has over 20 years in executive leadership, including building global partnership operations at Marvel + The Assemblage, with experience spanning entertainment, tech, nonprofits, and hospitality. After traveling to nearly 50 countries and a year-long backpacking journey connectin...

Robert Jones, Jr. (formerly known as  “Son of Baldwin” ) is a Brooklyn-based  writer and public speaker . He is the author of  The New York Times bestselling novel,  The Prophets , which won the  2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction , and was a  finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction . His work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Essence ,  Variety ,...

Yumi is a second-generation diasporic Japanese Okinawan interdisciplinary artist and the author of several books including I Think I Am In Friend-Love With You and There is No Right Way to Meditate . Her comics have appeared in The New Yorker, The Believer, Bitch, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2014, The Rumpus, and other publications. Yumi’s multimedia art installations have been exhibited...

Named one of Variety's Top Ten Comics to Watch and New York Magazine’s Vulture Comedians You Should Know , comedian Jenny Yang tours her unique blend of personal storytelling and social commentary through her standup comedy and hit monthly stage show SELF HELP ME, a competitive self-care comedy show . She has been featured at Just For Laughs Montreal , headlined at San Francisco Sketchfest , and h...

Poppy Liu is a bilingual, first generation Chinese American actor who brings their identity as a migrant queer person of the API diaspora into art and entertainment. Poppy is best known as Kiki in the critically-acclaimed HBOMax series Hacks  for which she was SAG-nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Poppy has been named the 2022 HBO APA Visionaries Ambassador,...

Blasian March Founder Rohan Zhou-Lee is an award-winning dancer, writer, speaker, curator, and community organizer. In 2024, they co-curated the Critical Connections exhibit with the Pace University Art Gallery and the George Stephanopoulos photo collection of the Civil Rights Era. In 2023, they became the first mixed race Black Asian admitted to the Open City Fellowship for Journalism at the Asia...

Sarinya is the founder of Angry Asian Womxn - an organization centering safety, wellness, and community for women/femmes/gender expansive folks affected by anti-Asian ra cism and/or Isl amophobia. She was also the first ever Asian woman firefighter in the FDNY.  Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diaspo...

Yeldā is a Brooklyn-based artist, author, and activist, known for women's rights and mental health advocacy. She is bilingual and multi-disciplinary. Her work focuses on identity, safety, and community. Yeldā is a celebrated voice of the Afghan diaspora, sharing stories of her culture and upbringing. Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations w...

Mo is a Palestinian artist, author, digital creator, and father. He has been tireless in educating all of us on what is and has been happening in Palestine for 76+ years.  Welcome to 차 with Laura and Leah! Cha is a podcast and video series featuring conversations with our friends over tea. We are two diasporic Korean women who were inspired by Nina Simone's quote, “An artist’s duty is to refl...

Solonje is lovingly known as the W33d Auntie, leading the fight for can nabis equity by putting community first. Solonje is a Brooklyn-based humanist, pleasure activist, and entrepreneur committed to carving out intentional space for marginalized voices in the world of w33d.  Raised by Caribbean immigrants in the suburbs of Newton, Massachusetts, Solonje learned from an early age how to turn the t...

Sammy (they/them) is a multifaceted individual: a queer artist, writer, healer, sex worker, community organizer, caregiver, and friend. From a young age, Sammy took on a caregiving role when their mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, moving in with relatives as her condition progressed. Seeing their mother struggle with her health, Sammy naturally came into a role of caregiving, grounding themse...

Bianca is an award-winning sociologist, speaker, and author of Unassimilable. She is completing her PhD at Rice University, where she researches the intersections of race, religion, and politics. She is published in top academic journals and has been featured in major media outlets. Over the last decade, Bianca has served Asian American community organizations and taught Asian American Studies. Th...

Kalaya'an is a Queer, Hard of Hearing, Filipino American human rights defender, street medic, and community safety and mutual protection trainer. He is an award-winning facilitator of holistic safety and security, as well as a recognized expert in disaster preparedness. They currently reside on occupied Lenape land. Kalaya'an serves as the Director of US Programs at Nonviolent Peaceforce,...

Fred is a Yonkers, NY raised three-time  New York Times  and  USA Today  bestselling author. His books include a poetry collection,  We Alive, Beloved  and his most recent title, a YA novel,  This Thing of Ours . Fred's writing and philanthropic work go hand-in-hand and he has been recognized by many organizations including Forbes 30 Under 30, Comic-Con, and The Root100 and has worked with for...

Janea Brown is a liberation marketing strategist currently founding Earthlings Undone, a collective connecting frontline movements with content creators through proven systems. After building a successful influencer career (193K Instagram, 195K YouTube) working with brands like IKEA, Nike, Target, Janae walked away from her $400K annual income to investigate alternatives to oppressive systems. Hav...