It's Personal Podcast

Shelly Anand was born and (mostly) raised in Georgia by immigrant parents from India. Besides writing amazing books, Shelly is a civil and human rights attorney for immigrants and workers from marginalized communities. On this podcast, Shelly talks about how her name changed over time. She talks about her families transition to America, and what those ups and downs looked like vividly. She also ta...

Lanesha Tabb is a rockstar Momma and Educator! On this podcast, Lanesha talks specifically about how she became a Kindergarten teacher for so many years, and how this passion came about. Later Lanesha tells us about the role faith has played in her life growing up, and how she fosters these traditions in her life currently. From early morning Sunday school, to afternoon service, Lanesha did it all...

Debbi is an award winning author who writes amazing books for children. Some of her titles include Keep it Together, Keiko Carter, and the upcoming companion novel Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai, the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series and many other books for children. Did you know that Debbi has a degree in Zoology? Did you know that Debbi once brought a pet snake home to her family! Debbi shares it...

Namrata Tripathi stops by with a special guest! You have to listen to find out who it is! We start our chat talking about the many hats that Namrata wears daily. This leads us into leadership, and her role as a VP & publisher at the amazing Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. We spend time talking about Namrata's experience being a mother, and what this looks like (during covid-19), and h...

Neha Sobti drops by and chats with us about the many roadblocks in the current work that she does for schools and educators. Neha is an educator/admin/organizer/writer working out of New York City. Her work is rooted in a love for making change and moving the dial a little, each and every day in hopes of creating spaces that are equitable. Neha's work is non-stop, so we ask about her healing proce...

Rajani LaRocca was born in Bangalore, India, and immigrated to the U.S as a baby. She later spent her childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. On this podcast, Rajani shares what her day looks like as a primary care physician. Yup! She not only writes amazing books. She also has been taking care of humans as a physician since 2001! Rajani talks about family traditions and finding joy during this time (a...

Amélie has always loved to write. Born in Paris and raised in a multicultural community in Beijing, Amélie has multiple identities that have made her who she is today. On this episode, Amélie talks about living in multiple places and how these communities have impacted her growth as a professional. She also shares what it means to be a financial professional and a writer (She's super busy!) at the...

I am not really sure what Dr. Sonja Cherry Paul can't do. I mean, not only is she an amazing person, she really has an awesome story and provides so much to the world. Her work focuses on anti-bias and anti-racist pedagogy. She develops a curriculum (Heinemann) for educators and schools. She's co-founder/facilitator of Institue for Racal Equity in Literacy and is currently working on an adaptation...

Brandy is such a joy! During this podcast, the award-winning author chats about her early writing experiences growing up, and how it felt taking on a less traditional path in regards to her carreer. Brandy has writing a variety of books for young people. Her books have been chosen for many awards and placed in libraries around the world. But what else does she like to do? Find out some of Brandy's...

Brittany K. Barnett is an attorney, author, and entrepreneur. Her memoir, A Knock at Midnight, was published by The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, on September 8, 2020 (via website: https://www.brittanykbarnett.com/about) On ItsPersonalPodcast Brittany shares deep insights on her grandmother, and her influence on the family. She shares what family means, and grandma's...

Remy Lai is an author/illustrator for kids! She lives in Brisbane, Australia, where you can often find her exploring the woods with her two dogs, Poop-Roller and Bossy Boots! On this podcast you can listen to Remy talk about her childhood growing up in Singapore (Born in Indonesia). She also shares some of the ups and downs of being on more untraditional career paths as her siblings and family mem...

Lamar Giles writes for teens and adults across multiple genres, with work appearing on numerous Best Of lists each and every year. He is the author of the acclaimed novels Fake ID, Endangered, Overturned, Spin, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, Not So Pure and Simple, and The Last Mirror on the Left as well as numerous pieces of short fiction. He is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and reside...

Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom is a Swedish-Korean comic book artist-illustrator and graphic designer. Based in New Zealand, with her partner and two children. On this podcast, Lisa talks about the things she misses, family traditions, movies, and once giving up on art. Something I truly love about this chat is Lisa's perspective on motherhood and work. We talk specifically about family dynamics and work-l...

Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator behind more than 40 books for young readers! (stole this from his website) And he's literally in millions of classrooms around the world. In this episode of #ItsPersonal, Jarrett chats about his love for being a dad and what that looks like during these unconventional times. Of course, we talk about his family's love for ani...

Nidhi Chanani shares some exciting news about PASHMINA and how it will be created into a Netflix movie! She also talks about how it all went down! We also get to find out one of Nidhi's secret hobbies. I bet you can never guess? She now enjoys this more than ever and often shares it with her family and friends. Lastly, have you ever wondered how Nidhi got into art? And why she creates the work tha...

Dapo Adeola is a British–Nigerian illustrator. He's published a variety of books and has worked with a variety of authors. His work covers important topics such as stereotypes and race. On this podcast, Dapo shares it all. We take a trip down memory lane and talk about his road to creating books and sharing them with the world. He explains with great detail some of the ups and downs of the process...

Amelia, Anti-Bias & Anti-Racist Organizer, and founder of Sankofa Learning Center. A space for Black children and families to re-imagine education chats life, work, and free time (when she has it). In this episode, Amelia talks about her childhood growing up in a single-parent household, catholic school, being a momma, and dancing for fun. She also shares a tip on how to get out of a tiff with a l...

Oronde Kkairi is one of my favorite artists. His style and work make my soul happy. His mixture of colors, and use of 80s-90s references of djaying, hoops, and kicks, is music to my ears. In this episode, we go inside the mind of the artist to understand, how being an artist happened, and the steps it took to get where he is today. We talk teacher influence and mentors that look like us (Black). W...

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter, B.Ed, M.Ed, PhD(c), is an educator, academic, writer, speaker and supa Momma! Her academic work focuses on anti-Black racism and Indigenous epistemologies. She shares a lot of her work online, and has done workshops with a variety of organizations. On this podcast, Alyssa talks about what it is like to be Black, growing up in Canada. She shares her family history, and what sch...

The legend Javaka Steptoe drops by to talk about teacher influence, what's next, and family. Javaka is one of the most humble beings I've ever talked to. He's an American author and illustrator, won the 2017 Caldecott Medal as well as the American Library Association for his picture book Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean- Michel Basquiat. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Javaka was the...

Vanessa Brantley Newton shares a little bit of everything. We start with how Art came to be in Vanessa's life, and who influenced her along the way. Later we chat about her hobbies. Apparently, we should be called her Chef Vanessa because she is mean in the kitchen. We talk favorite dishes and how Vanessa the foodie came to be. Vanessa digs into her past and how school has influenced her today. Sh...

Tyler is one of my favorite cousins! Why? He is humble beyond many, and his heart for others is bigger than the stars. I remember watching Tyler growing up, and I noticed a very talented young man (though I'm not that much older). He is the definition of "following your dreams" because that is what he's done for his entire life. Tyler is an advocate around the world for mental health and wellness....

Jade Yasmeen is one of a kind. Her work touches your heart with every detail on the canvas. When first introduced to her work, you would guess that it is a photograph, based on the details and realism, Jade is that good of a creator. Jade stops by to chat about her favorite movies and a new love for cooking (when time permits in her busy schedule). She chats about the bloodline of artists in her f...

I want to be Mike Curato's best friend! Not only does he draw extremely well, but he also loves ICE CREAM. Mike breaks down his love for ice cream with his top 3 favorites, and how they should be made. He also shares a tip on where to find the best scoops in Massachusetts! Mike talks about his different experiences in private school vs public school. He shares moments of bullying and how this has...

Dulce-Marie Flecha is one of my favorite people/educators online. Why? She is as real as they come. She is often sharing resources or exploring her own writing through her medium page. In this episode, Dulce-Marie talks about her love/hate for puzzles and the educational twitter world. We chat back and forth about the idea of "family" online, and if it truly means what people believe for it to mea...