The Celebration

Today, I talk to educator Amreen Karmali about the power of education and founding The Real Talk Project. Amreen and I mostly discuss gender justice, allyship, intersectionality, and approaching difficulty with creativity and love. We also ponder ideas of shame and guilt and how they play into both approaching patriarchy and patriarchy itself. Amreen Karmali has been an educator and organizer for...

Today, my guest is Muslim-American sketch comedian Summer Adhal. Summer is interested in authentic stories and using comedy to relay them. We unpacked a whole load of topics during this episode, including the Muslim-American experience, being a woman on the comedy scene, hijab, and perhaps even Summer’s cat. Since this coming Wednesday, March 27, is Muslim Women’s Day, this is particularly timely...

This week, I’m joined by poet-entrepreneur Lady K. We talk about one of Lady K’s passions, ART, and its ability to act as self-care, activism, and expression. Lady K is a fourth year student at the University of Florida double majoring in African American Studies and Political Science, with a specialized tract in International Relations and a minor in Arabic. Upon graduation, she will attend law s...

This week’s episode is a live Q&A session from my Inner-Power Group Coaching session. I really believe there is a ton of value in this one, and a lot of questions you may have are likely to be answered. We cover: The best way to start a podcast How to grow your audience as a musician How to create products that sell Efficient ways to create content Ways to connect with new clients If you are passi...

My guest this week is double-duty social worker and fitness guru Sumiyah S. Mshaka. Sumiyah and I talk about a bunch of complex social phenomenon including trauma, experiential change, and social work. Sumiyah is a LCSW and group fitness instructor who comes from a family with a legacy of social justice. After graduating from the UCLA MSW program in June 2004, Sumiyah began her extensive career in...

On this week’s episode of THE Celebration, I interview Minister Kat the founder of KittyRose Lyfestyle. Minister Kat and I discussed the power of prayer in our day to day activities, its manifestation and how taking a leap of faith can help us break new ground and boundaries. She believes that the practice of self love and trust will ultimately propel us to follow our dreams. She left the corporat...

This week, we are joined by Los Angeles community leader Umar A. Hakim. We draw on Umar’s expertise and experience to discuss self-awareness, leadership, and transforming a charitable cause into advocacy and action – especially in non-profit and activist circles. A native of the city of Compton, Umar is the Executive Director of the ILM (Intellect, Love, Mercy) Foundation and holds degrees in both...

On this week’s episode, I interview spoken word artist Abstract C.I.M. Abstract and I tackle self-love and self-respect as the key to fulfillment and happiness. We also talk about the importance of knowing yourself and being self-reflective, and how Abstract incorporates it into her poetry. Abstract C.I.M is a spoken word artist and speaker. She has won and placed in several poetry slams and compe...

On this week’s episode I interview activist, facilitator, and my good friend, Lloyd Wilkey. I have had the honour of working with Lloyd over the past 6 years. Lloyd has had a huge influence on the way I view dialogue, facilitation, youth development, and conflict mediation. During our interview, Lloyd shared his experience of being both a Black Lives Matter activist and at the same time training a...

On this week’s episode, I interview Los Angeles based Arielle Miller Cohen - registered Yoga Teacher, Lifestyle Coach, blogger and writer. Arielle and I talk about the importance of personal accountability, internal motivation, and cultivating a growth mindset. We also discussed how to break free from limiting beliefs and live your truth. As a health and wellness enthusiast, she believes strongly...

Tira Yasmine is a poet, author, life coach, jewelry designer and entrepreneur. In this week’s interview she shares how her grateful attitude has helped create what she calls her “recipe for magic”. Part of Tira’s magic recipe is being a firm believer in God, which has resulted in inner power and peace. This power and peace has propelled her into being an ardent change agent. She uses her art and w...

On this week’s episode I interview author, poet and activist Shelby Birch from her Peace Corp assignment in South Africa. Shelby shares some of the highlights and surprises of her service. She also reflects on her activism, and how overcoming challenges, has helped shape her worldview and aided her in becoming her best self. Shelby brazenly tells her story through her writing, and her strong belie...

I wanted to start 2019 with a unique episode, and that’s exactly what we’ve got for you here. You were all given a chance to submit questions at the end of 2018. I didn’t get a chance to read these questions before Adaora Nwandu posed them to me in our interview. We had a great time doing this episode, as no one holds me more accountable than Adaora, and she’s hilarious as she does it. You get to...

This is the last day of my year of courage. Over the last 12 awesome months, I’ve shared thoughts on courage from my various interviewees, culminating the last two weeks with discussions that were purely about courage. With the wonderful insights we received, we move into 2019 brimming with courage - to fulfill our own hopes and dreams. To be courageous leaders for ourselves and our communities. W...

Welcome to Part 2 of the Courage Talks. If you experienced last week’s episode and many of my previous work this year, you’ll know that this is my Year of Courage. I have tried to explore the definition of courage beyond just heroic and dangerous acts of valor. While this is certainly courage, I also wanted to highlight what courage looks like in our everyday lives. This year I have been asking gu...

If you regularly tune into my work, you’ll have heard me say many times that this is my Year of Courage. We often associate courage with heroic and dangerous acts of valor alone, such as saving someone from a burning building or putting yourself in harm's way. While this is certainly courage, I also wanted to highlight what courage looks like in our everyday lives. Throughout this year I have aske...

Slam's life quote is "Sometimes a Nightmare Can Lead to a Dream".
 In this week’s interview Slam shares how the quote, as well as writing and poetry, have motivated and helped Slam in life. It has also led her to her dream; working with kids in the foster care system and helping people all over. Florida native Slam Anderson was born the fourth of five children raised by a single mother. Slam spent...

What is your definition of success? How has your definition consciously or subconsciously been influencing your decisions? For many of us, success has been defined for us by our parents, our society, and our culture. Without realizing it, we have been consciously or subconsciously striving to achieve a bar of success we may not even believe in anymore. Let’s end 2018 intentionally by determining f...

Empathy, communication, and providing value are the cornerstones of a successful business. In this week’s episode, I share with you an empowering tool you can use to create content, and copy language to connect with your audience. Rather than trying to guess what your customers, audience, or community wants to hear, why not use their own words? That’s what is at the heart of the 3 Star Review mark...

Having a vision for your life is a powerful motivator. Have you intentionally taken the time to reflect upon the standards you hold yourself to? This week’s episode is an interactive workshop that walks you through the process of creating ideals and mottos you want to live by. For example, a few of the Ideals to Live By that I created for myself are: Courage Over Fear. Creativity Over Regurgitatio...

On this week’s episode of THE Celebration, I interview Mary Vin Rose from the Cable TV series ‘Healthy Living in the Bronx.’ Mary advocates for self-love and mental health, and she uses her platform to highlight people and organisations assisting people in the Bronx to live their healthiest lives. During our time Mary shared on how to be courageous and follow your dreams despite fear. It is so cle...

In this week’s episode we interview entrepreneur and author Isaiah Swift. His book “Unlock Your Greatness” 8 Ways to be Successful in High School and Beyond teaches students how they better prepare for the real world after they graduate, and provides them with valuable insight as to how they can find volunteer, internship and scholarship opportunities in their community. A Virginia native, Isaiah...

This week on THE Celebration, we interview Goddess Adina, whose mission is ‘to hold a space so sacred that all that enter it find themselves busting self wide open to see a whole new array of possibilities’. Goddess Adina is an Author, Performance Artist, Yoga Therapist and Healer. She was generous enough to share her thoughts on the difference between faith and religion, change being your only co...

On this week’s episode we welcome Asiya and Jameela, aka the epic hosts of the Sugarcoat Free Podcast. These black Muslim millenial women navigate topics like mental health, pop culture, love and religion while spreading inspiration and really bad jokes. During the interview we explored self-care, being Muslim, loving ourselves, as well as being courageous, open and true. They dropped wisdom you c...

We bring this week’s episode from India - where we have the pleasure of interviewing Indian born, Florida based queer activist/poet/scholar Sam(ira) Obeid. Sam’s work has sent her to the heights of the national slam poetry competitions at Women of the World Poetry Slam and Southern Fried, as well as other national venues. In this week’s episode she tells us about her journey back to India, and we...