Uncomfortable Conversations on Predators in Business, Community and Culture

Aleesha Barlow is a survivor of child sexual abuse, at the hands of her maternal grandfather. The abuse started as early as she can remember, and lasted until her teenage years. At age 6, she told her aunt what her grandfather was doing. Her aunt said that it was wrong, and promised the abuse would stop. Her aunt then told Aleesha's mother and other sister, and together they confronted their fathe...

Kathy Garland is a storyteller, memoirist, and essayist, who uses personal essays and memoir to de-marginalize women's experiences with an intent to highlight and humanize specific issues. Her work can be found in varied anthologies, as well as her personal blog kwoted.wordpress.com. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @kegarland. kegarland.com kwoted.wordpress.com navigatingthechange.com writinge...

Jeremy Indika speaks out on child sexual abuse by using his own story to break down stigmas and help us understand how such a thing can happen. He wants to change the culture on how we talk about child sexual exploitation and abuse, and what we plan to do to prevent it from happening entirely. www.jeremyindika.com Thank you for reading Conversations You Can Feel . This post is public so feel free...

Tazima Parris is a Sex Coach & Pleasure Mentor for high-achieving women 35+ who overthink, over-give, and end up overwhelmed. She creates space for women to prioritize pleasure and go from resentful to radiant. Tazima uses communication tools and practices from her 25+ years of research and experience to help women increase their sexual confidence, clearly communicate needs, and hold healthy bound...

Jeff Dase has been committed to the students and communities of Illinois since 1998. Mr. Dase became the Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion March 6, 2023, after serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for Decatur Public Schools since July 2019. Previously serving as a teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Chief of Schools and High Schools Netwo...

Dameun Strange is a sound artist, multi-instrumentalist, and award-winning composer conceptual electronic and improvised electro-acoustic works focusing on the African diaspora's stories and themes, often exploring surrealist and afro-futurist ideas with unique impressionism. Dameun is compelled to express through sound and poetry, the beauty and resilience of the Black experience, digging into a...

Roberta Blevins is a former “Hun”, who left the MLM world in 2017 and began publicly educating and speaking out against it. In her time in MLM, she was involved as a consultant for 3; It Works!, LuLaRoe and Modere, and a customer of many. Since leaving MLM, she has educated herself on the systemic structure of the business model, the psychological manipulation, the seedy underbelly and governmenta...

Bernadette Pleasant is a fiery sensual Speaker, Somatic Healer, Sacred Grief Ritual Facilitator, Founder of The Emotional Institute and Femme!, a mind-body wellness program. With certifications in Somatic Healing Modalities and Sensual Movement, Reiki, and Integrated Energy Therapy—and studies in African, Tribal, and Free Dance—Bernadette promotes emotional freedom through movement and empowerment...

Gerette Buglion is author of An Everyday Cult, a memoir which shows how her innocent quest for meaning left her open to manipulation by a controlling teacher. Gerette’s current work is in Cult Recovery and Education. Her signature writing course called, ‘Writing to Reckon’ offers a safe space for cult survivors to tell their stories. She is co-founder of #iGotOut.org whose mission is to encourage...

Technologist turned Health and Wellness Coach, Ironman Derrick Q. Milligan holds certifications in Power Plate, GoSwim, Total Immersion, Professional Tennis Registry, Complete Health Improvement Project (CHIP), inerTRAIN and Heart Zones Systems. He is a passionate board member of two nationally recognized nonprofits: Curt’s Cafe and Tri-Masters Sports Initiative Programs. He combines Dr. Csikszent...

Rafer Weigel is the founder of WMG Communications—a content marketing firm. Weigel is a 3 time Emmy Award Winning journalist whose career began in print journalism at the Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Times. He then became a sports anchor at CNN Headline News and later ABC 7 Chicago before transitioning to news. Weigel was a news anchor at Fox 32 and was the reporter credited with breaking th...

Dr. David Freeman spent 16 years as a Systems Engineer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he developed and fielded advanced technologies in support of national defense. He holds Master’s and Ph. D degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and attended the North Carolina A&T State University for his undergraduate studies. He has spent the last 8 years...

Allen Vandever is a contemporary Artist and Activist based out of Chicago. He is a father, husband, and a son. Family and friends are very important to him. He live his life with the goal of making every year worthy of a good movie or a great book. He takes risks, embraces adventure and lives life to the fullest. And as a result, he has many wonderful stories. Founder of Childhood Fractured, a non...

Ulysses "Butch" Slaughter is an artist, an alchemist and an “Alpha Black” who uses the power of forgiving to persistently pursue “radical, relentless, reconciliation” through all of his epic life journeys. For more than four decades, Ulysses has courageously answered “the call” to illuminate dark and difficult human relationships with unwavering determination to synthesize polarities and amplify p...

Vandee Crane, also known as Chante Washte Washagya Wi (Canté Waŝté Waŝagya Win); Lakota for “Good Strong Hearted Woman”, was raised by her Maternal Osage Nation Grandmother, Eleanor Grace Crane, a WWII Army Veteran, Nurse, and Artist in Ancestral Seminole Territory of Central Florida. As a child survivor of familial trafficking, she became a Child Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking Survivor Lea...

Bio: April Preyar, is a criminal defense attorney, who was recently voted "Best Lawyer of 2021" in the Chicago Reader. Preyar has been practicing law for 22 years. She graduated from Duke University and George Washington University Law School. She is the creator of JustUs Junkie , an educational platform which uses videos, workshops, and her original board game, Trials & Triumph, to teach law in s...

As a child survivor of a religious yoga cult, and the current host of the Uncomfortable Conversation Podcast: The Untold Stories of the 3HO/Kundalini Yoga Community, Gurunischan shares why she started this new podcast platform and how LISTENING has helped her discover the predators in her body — the false cultural conditioning that led to a firmly rooted identity in appropriation and “Otherness”....