The Celebration

Social Enterprise maverick Christy Innouvong co-founded Thailand based non-profit Courageous Kitchen - which empowers refugees with food education. In this week’s episode we talked about Christy’s journey to Bangkok, discovering her roots, learning more about her family history and the way Courageous Kitchen has transformed lives. Christy’s work and recipes have been featured by Bangkok 101 Magazi...

Poet and editor Alex Sullivan is studying the ways religion and and culture interact, with a focus on postcolonial and diaspora studies. So it was no surprise when our conversation this week went into the areas of interfaith work, and big vocabulary words like intersectionality. This is also Alex’s birthday week so we couldn’t resist talking about cool magic spells, and some really terrifying thin...

This week’s guest on T.H.E Celebration is Isoke Luqman, founder and CEO of Gardens For Life. Her company is an Atlanta based organic, pesticide-free vegetable garden service that aims to create equitable and sustainable food networks in the city. Isoke is a Racial Equity Fellow of Partnership for Southern Equity, a non-profit that advances racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the America...

This week’s guest is our Expression Session feature - poet, actor and womanist Jessica Raquel. Jessica is a proud 2018 Florida A & M (FAMU) graduate. She is passionate about genuinely telling the narratives of Black Women through acting and poetry and has performed in venues across the world - most recently at Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. During our time together Jessica shared about wo...

Our guest this week is trailblazer and representation activist Michón Neal. In Michón’s own words ze is “ an autistic BlaQueer impossible alien Othergender Dragon what tattoos trees with the queerest most sinister ink and hurts all over, all the time.” Michón shared on a wide range of personal topics with me; we talked about hir projects in the Metanoiac portal, Cuil Press and the importance of me...

In this week’s episode, I interview workplace drama researcher, international leadership speaker and consultant Cy Wakeman. Cy’s philosophy is grounded in reality, and she’s helped organizations and individuals all over the world learn to ditch the drama and turn excuses into results. We talked about how you can bypass your own ego and really see your privilege. We also discussed going beyond the...

On this week’s episode I interview actress, comedienne and my good friend Travina Springer. Travina is hilarious, so we spent most of the interview cracking up. But that didn’t keep us from really exploring our inner lives - in between my learning how to say the word comedienne, we talked about loving yourself, our creator, and Travina's 'love' of being single. I am a huge fan of the way Travina a...

Dennis Amadeus is a writer, educator, performance artist and community organizer. With his passion to teach and inspire young people, Dennis has travelled across the nation performing and conducting art-based workshops. Led by his activism, Dennis has also organised community fundraisers and book drives to support many causes, including sending 1000 Books to Swaziland, Africa to build a community...

Cielo Oscuro aka Kiki from Kiki and the Mxfits is a non binary trans femme based in South Central Los Angeles. Cielo’s focus on style means that she’s been able to shine a spotlight on QTPOC from different social and economic backgrounds, and created a more inclusive space in mainstream fashion. Cielo’s short film about being Trans in High School - Kiki and the MXfits - went viral, and re-ignited...

Koi Core is a Woman of Color and a dedicated Yogini, who absolutely believes that representation in Yoga matters In this week’s episode we have a deep and spiritual conversation about yoga, connectivity, community, misconceptions and being your better self. Settle into a comfortable position of strength as you enjoy this week’s episode of THE Celebration.

In this week’s episode I interview Brittany Chung, the CEO and Founder of the nonprofit Elevation Society. Elevation Society works to unite humans to solve issues like bullying, depression and suicide, through showing every individual their life is worth living. During my interview with Brittany I learned that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people between the ages 15-24. I alw...

In this week’s episode I interview Syrian American author and poet Dania Alkhouli. Dania is also the feature for this Sunday’s Live and Online Expression Session. Dania’s second book “Oceans and Flames” was published last year and paints moving images of being a survivor of Domestic Abuse. Dania tapped into her resilience and overcame the violence, and now she speaks out on the significance of emp...

In this week’s episode I interview Nikka Karli - Soul Medicine Woman, Oracle of Truth and Freedom Catalyst. Nikka has over 20 years of experience in yoga, fitness, creativity and leadership. She helps women on the precipice of greatness become exquisitely untamed, awaken their sensuality, and manifest their soul’s desires. That’s why she is the go-to mentor for those who are ready to set the world...

On this week’s episode I interview Elle Barnett - Speaker, Creative Media Expert and founder of Elle Train Media.  Elle is known for successful campaigning and producing awesome projects for developing businesses.  As a social media expert, Elle shared lots of great free tips on media management and optimizing social needs such as things to watch for on Instagram, how to grow your audience, and be...

On this week’s episode, I Interview Emelda De Coteau, founder and CEO of Pray With Our Feet (Formerly Live In Color). Emelda’s focus is on empowering women in three core areas: faith, activism and inspiration. I've had the honor of getting to know Emelda over these past months and I have to say, she is one of the most authentic and inspiring people I’ve met in 2018. I am very excited to share this...

On this week’s episode, I celebrate the 2 Year Anniversary of the Live and Online: Expression Session. What better way to mark this milestone than to bring back my first poetry guest, Walter “Wally B.” Jennings. To make this even more epic, Wally brought the 2018 Heard Em Say Poetry Slam Team to join us. The interview I share with Wally and the Heard Em Say Team is powerful, relevant, and necessar...

EID Mubarak my friends! Today marks the end of the sacred month of Ramadan. As millions of people around the world celebrate this special day, I’d like to invite you to consider: “What are you courageously celebrating in your life?" This week’s episode is a relaxed and intimate conversation between Adaora and I on that very subject. Through our poetry, thoughts, and reflections we explore what cou...

On this week’s episode, I sit down with fashionista, Muslim Journalist, and my good friend Intisar Seraaj. I LOVE spending time with Intisar! We always have such rich conversations filled with both deep topics and hilarious side notes. This week’s episode is exactly that! Two friends coming together to talk about about Ramadan, courage, self-love, being kind to yourself, our love for Lupita Nyong'...

On this week’s episode, Sahar Pirzada and I have a courageous conversation on sex, rape culture, and feminism. Sahar is currently the Programs & Outreach Manager for HEART. HEART is a a Muslim-led organization that promotes sexual health and sexual violence awareness in Muslim communities through health education, advocacy, research and training. Both Sahar and I talked about our journey and how w...

Art, Culture, and Dopeness. That’s this week’s episode with visual artist Marium Rana. Oh, and we talked about Black Panther, AFI, Ramadan and fasting, racism, the impact of art, creativity and courage, being yourself, and tons and tons of brilliant quotes from Marium. We laughed A BUNCH and we even talked about the bald eagle American pride tattoo that I have. Here’s just a snapshot of Marium’s a...

This week marks the beginning of Ramadan. For those observing, it is 30 days of fasting, reflection, prayer, and community. There are many spiritual and health benefits to fasting. But sustaining from food and water aren't the only ways to fast. On this episode, I invite you to consider joining me in fasting from these five things: 1. Comparison 2. Control 3. Social Media 4. Self-Doubt 5. Over-Ach...

I honestly had such a FUN time on this week’s episode. If there was a laughter barometer, we would have broke it! I sat down with the filmmakers Shaan Dasani and Mikki del Monico to talk about their new project Agent of Change. Agent of Change is about a secret agent who is on a mission to save the future of food, and as a transgender man, save humanity: one gender stereotype at a time! Plus we to...

I am so excited to share this interview with Dj Ace Vedo. Prepare yourself to be inspired and to enjoy yourself! Dj Ace Vedo is a Pro Dj Hailing from the boogie down Bronx, NY. Nominated as one of “Tampa Bay’s best Club Dj’s” in 2015 & 2016, Dj Ace Vedo has cultivated an eclectic sound that gets any crowd moving. It was a pleasure getting to learn the origin story of how Ace Vedo become Dj Ace Ved...

I am really excited to share this one with you. This week’s episode is unique and explores a new format. I sit down with intersectional inclusion expert, artist and digital nomad Claudia Alick. Rather than an interview, Claudia and I had a back and forth conversation. Both of us asked each other questions and explored the answers together. During our dialogue, we covered topics such as: Claudia's...

This week’s episode is pure magic and power. I interview spoken word artist and community advocate Destinny Fletcher. Destinny’s mission is to engage the community through womanhood, self-awareness, and body positivity. Destinny spits 3 dope poems during this interview and shares the origin story behind her mantra, "To Be Black Queens By Any Means.” Plus we talked about: What inspires you to be yo...