Amplify Good

TW: Aria and Husna discuss pregnancy and infant loss in this episode. 

Aria and Husna met at a time when they needed each other, and their friendship grew into a practice of mutual admiration and care. They talk about families, education, loss, holding space for the stuff in life that feels not great and amplifying- intentionally- the good stuff. 

Husna is a first generation Pakistani-American who has lived in NYS from birth. She spent her early life learning to navigate between disparate cultural identities. Like many children of immigrants, Husna grew up holding dear the value of a good education. 

Husna graduated with distinction from the University of Rochester earning a B.S. in biomedical engineering and secondary coursework in economics. She later returned to graduate school at Syracuse University and earned, cum laude, a Juris Doctorate and Masters in Public Administration. She practiced as a laboratory robotics engineer, patent and intellectual property attorney, and most recently mother of two boys and a girl. She currently owns and directs the Kumon Math & Reading Center of DeWitt, an academic enrichment program geared toward developing self-learning abilities in children. 

In her spare time, Husna enjoys creating art of all kinds. She loves to draw, paint, dance, cook, and make music. Always a student, nothing brings her greater joy than applying principles of learning to any new skill or hobby.

Link to: 

Kumon Dewitt: https://www.kumon.com/dewitt

The Egg- story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Egg_(2009_short_story)#:~:text=In%20popular%20culture-,Summary,(in%20the%20first%20person).&text=The%20entire%20universe%20was%20created,be%20born%20as%20a%20God.

 Keywords: education, anti-racism, pregnancy loss, infant loss, immigration 

Erin Richardson, PhD, Founder & Principal, Frank & Glory   Aria and Erin go old school in this episode, talking about how they met, the graduate school they went to, how museums can evolve and what it means to be conscious of the space we take up.     Erin has been working in museums since 1992. She’s witty, fun, smart, ethical, and deadly serious about museum collections as educational and cultural assets with high opportunity costs. It is not free to keep an artifact, artwork, manuscript, or publication forever. She challenges museums and libraries to think carefully about investing resources in collections that are relevant for, and representative of, their current and future audiences so that they may support the museum’s mission.   Links and resources mentioned: 

Frank and Glory: https://www.frankandglory.com/  Center for Brooklyn History: https://www.brooklynhistory.org/projects/muslims-in-brooklyn/   Keywords: museums, collections, deaccession, education, racism, cultural assets, anti-racism

Ricardo Adams 

Trigger Warning: Audio contains conversation about police violence against Black people. 

Ricardo (and his family!) is a person of Aria’s heart. He means a lot to her- he’s been a great friend, teacher, listener, leader and his influence on Aria’s life is exponential. Like, for real- Ricardo is one of Aria’s heroes and role models, and she’s full of love for him and his incredible family.

Ricardo Adams is employed by the Center For Youth, and is a resilient youth and public education advocate. He is a graduate of Parent Leadership Training Institute's famous "cohort 5". As a parent of two daughters in the Rochester City School District he is fully engaged in making a difference in the education system. Ricardo recently ran a successful campaign for Rochester City School Board. He is the President of the Board of the Flying Squirrel Community Space and has been the Head Tour Guide for the Reality Tour the past 14 years. Ricardo has worked in partnership with Aria Strategies since 2018. 

 Links and Resources:

Center for Youth: https://www.centerforyouth.net/

Flying Squirrel Community Space: http://thesquirrel.org/

Free the People Roc: https://www.facebook.com/ftproc/

National Parent Leadership Institute: http://parentswholead.org/

Parent Leadership Training Institute: https://www.greaterrochesterplti.org/

RCSD BOE: https://www.rcsdk12.org/boe  

Reality Tours: https://swaarochester.org/reality-tours/

Christopher Coles

Trigger Warning: Audio contains conversation about police violence against Black men and racially explicit language. 

Listen. Christopher sent Aria the shortest bio ever- but when you’re Christopher Coles, do you really need a long bio? He’s incredible- a thinker, doer, philosopher, poet, activist, friend, father, teacher, learner. He means a lot to Aria and she’s so excited for you to listen to this chat- one of her favorite parts is when Christopher shares his thoughts on the historical implications of cross-racial friendships.

Like Christopher says, he and Aria have been from Day One. They are out in these streets together, fighting for freedom, liberation and justice. Christopher aka Bakari Poet aka Black Socrates is a mentor and teacher to Aria and her husband, Chris, and they feel incredibly grateful that Mr. Coles occupies space in their lives. Goodness shines out of him, and Aria is so excited to share his goodness with all of you. 

Christopher Coles, goes about the world as an American thinker, Sign Language Interpreter, Abolitionist, activist and Spoken word poet. 

A native Rochesterian who believes in the empowerment of the community through its collective social, political and artistic cultural engagement- which continues here within our city and globally across communities.

Resource links:

Learn more about Christopher here: 

https://outalliance.org/rochesters-son-the-spiritual-activism-of-christopher-coles/

https://www.wpr.org/black-protest-leaders-white-allies-its-our-turn-lead-our-own-fight

Black Socrates: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Personal-Blog/The-black-socrates-394374011381745/

Letter from Birmingham Jail: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/letter-birmingham-jail?utm_term=&utm_campaign=DSA&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_grp=75449327748&hsa_src=g&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=333182733493&hsa_acc=4949854077&hsa_kw=&hsa_cam=1635938820&gclid=CjwKCAjwiaX8BRBZEiwAQQxGx9nqF_Yhyk20xngHt6B9_-aCNKgcMfG3qYv8_739w-407dWojVfJehoCTVYQAvD_BwE

Keywords: activist, activism, Black Liberation, Freedom, Justice, abolition, abolitionist, abolitionism, LGBTQIA+, erudite, spoken word, poet, ASL, sign language, interpreter, philosopher

Dante J. Worth, Success Mentor

Aria had goosebumps the entire time she chatted with Dante- he is the REAL DEAL y’all!!!

Thank goodness to Aria Strategies LLC Project Associate, Carrington Reynolds, because he introduced Aria and Dante, which (no surprise) led to Aria’s utter infatuation with Dante’s entire way of being and doing in the world.

Dante is the epitome of someone who creates equity, inclusion, equality, and justice through every endeavor he takes on. Dante has shared his deepest pain in his breakout autobiography to date; Free To Be Me: I Am Not My Issues in 2014. He shares an exploration of his life; peeling back the layers of mental and emotional abuse, rejection, and uncertainty. Through the looking glass of truth, he shares his journey to peace and freedom, recounting real-world situations that are his own but shared by many silent victims. In 2018 he unveiled his follow up book; Turning Your Wounds Into Wisdom.

Through his multimedia outlet Audacious Believer TV, Dante humanizes community leaders from all walks of life. His YouTube Chanel and Social Media focus on drawing out the stories of the most influential citizens. He is at ease with National treasures such as Garth Fagan and Thomas Warfield, Successful artists, Not for profit leaders, Politicians, First Responders, Athletes, Influencers, and Business Leaders. He draws out their history and passion which has driven the thought leaders’ success. Dante uses his voice and writing to intercede for those who may feel the most marginalized in this world. 

Resource links:

To learn more about Dante Worth at www.danteworth.com

Watch Audacious Believer on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/Danteworth/featured

Dante's Books

Turning Your Wounds Into Wisdom

Free To Be Me: I Am Not My Issues

Melanie Funchess, Member, Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group

Melanie Funchess is an incredible thinker, doer, and guide. She serves as caregiver, friend, mentor and teacher. Aria met her at a work function and quickly became totally OBSESSED by Mel’s work in the community. You can find Aria anyplace Melanie is speaking, leading and guiding freedom work in Rochester. Melanie’s philosophy of justice continues to influence Aria’s professional and personal foundational philosophies.

Ms. Melanie Funchess has served as an advocate for families and youth for over two decades. She has worked extensively in the areas of family engagement and empowerment as well as community building. She presents, trains, and consults locally and nationally in the areas of cultural competence, culturally responsive practice, implicit bias, family engagement, community partnership building, racial trauma and healing, and mental health in communities of color. Her two decades of work experience also include the areas of Education, Developmental Disabilities, and Community Health.

Ms. Funchess is involved in several national and community-based coalitions and organizations such as The Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch Council for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The National Network to End Disparities in behavioral healthcare (NNED), African American Leadership Development Program (AALDP), African American Health Coalition (AAHC), Black Women’s Leadership Forum (BWLF), Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group (BAG), Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), Community Task Force for School Climate (CTF), Roc The Future Parent Engagement Community Action Network (PECAN). She also served as a Commissioner of Schools for the Rochester City School District.

She is a devoted wife and mother of four children (two boys and two girls). Her mission is to use her knowledge of systems and communities to create opportunities for youth and families to be empowered and successful and to break down the walls that separate us and build bridges to unite us as one community where every child is our own, we have front porch neighborhoods, and we use language that respects everyone.

Resource Links:

Carl Bell- Protective Factors: https://www.cct.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/carl-bell-youth-violence.pdf

Free the People Roc: https://www.facebook.com/ftproc/

Greater Rochester Black Agenda Group: https://blackagendagroup.org/

Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute: https://www.greaterrochesterplti.org/

Roc the Future: https://rocthefuture.org/

Brian Lee Whisenhunt, Executive Director, The Rockwell Museum

Aria and Brian’s friendship is so new that Aria mispronounced his last name in the first take of their podcast interview! They only met a few years ago but (to Aria, at least) it feels like they’ve been hanging out and working on projects together for a bazillion years. Both museum nerds (sorry, Brian), they met at a Museum Association of New York conference and have been tracking on each other ever since. 

Brian Lee Whisenhunt is a fourth-generation Okie and the first member of his family to live this far north since the mid-1740s. His culinary roots are Southern and country cooking he learned from his grandmothers, highly educated and adaptable women who were raised in rural Oklahoma and West Virginia, and he loves to prepare recipes from the repertoire of both. A vegetarian for over 20 years, Brian enjoys creating twists on old recipes and is always interested in learning about new cuisines, ingredients and culinary history as evidenced by his every-expanding cookbook collection currently numbering over 200 volumes. 

In addition to cooking, Brian is an artist who creates collage and assemblage works from found images and objects. He is passionate about seeing what people create, whether it’s art, food, fiction, poetry, interiors, fashion, design…anything! He and his husband Mitchell compete professionally as entertainers and love to throw dinners and other parties for friends and family. They are obsessive collectors with a variety of interests including mid-20th century German porcelain, 1970s dayglow Japanese banks, cookbooks (see above), art in a variety of media, Pyrex, decorative tins, figurines of the Saints to name a few. They love exploring the amazing parks and trails in New York State and can be spotted on most weekends hiking somewhere with their dogs Stella Josephine Parker and Nova Delphine Parker, the Parker Sisters. When not in the kitchen or out on the trails, Brian serves as the executive director of The Rockwell Museum.

You can learn more about Brian Lee’s good work here:

https://rockwellmuseum.org/

You’ll have to wait til he announces a show before finding out more about his art! 

Tamara Leigh CEO of Blaque/OUT Consulting & Editor and Creator of Blaque/OUT Magazine

Tamara and Aria met when they were both young moms at RCSD School #10, Dr. Walter Cooper Academy. This is where they practiced advocacy, empathetic listening, organizing, and planning. Their oldest kids are the same age and they navigated mothering kindergarteners at the same time. Since then, more kids have joined their families and they are still figuring out what it means to mother at each age and stage. The skills they developed as young mothers helped them both navigate the good work they do today. 

Advocate and Activist, Tamara Leigh has dedicated her life to championing for the BIPOC, QTPOC and LGBTQ+ Communities. Starting her career in Public Relations with the formation of Roc Candy Media, an urban PR firm specializing in media management, brand development and event coordination in Rochester, NY in 2010, Tamara coordinated events for thousands of people and was honored to do PR for The Avenue Blackbox Theatre, City of Rochester and Rochester Black Pride. Leigh went on to become the Director of Operations and Public Relations for Out Alliance and the Editor of Empty Closet Magazine (the longest continuously published LGBTQ* publication in the nation). Tamara has spoken and provided educational services around the topics of Black Lives Matter, Queer and Trans Rights and the Intesectionality of QTPOC at rallies, in Board Rooms, and for classes and companies nationwide. In 2020, Leigh launched Blaque/OUT Consulting and Blaque/OUT Magazine to further educate and create space for Black and Brown Queer Voices. Leigh is a proud mother of two young Black sons and all of her work is centered around creating a world where they will be seen, heard, respected, protected and judged by the content of their character.

You can learn more about Tamara’s good work here:

www.blaqueout.org

FB: Blaque/Out Consulting

IG: BlaqueOutMagazine

Deborah Washington, Creator

Aria and Deb met at Aria’s kids’ elementary school what feels like a million years ago but was only- probably- 5 or 6 years ago. Deb looked like a princess- she had on a smart summer suit, her hair was in beautiful long braids, and she was a vision to behold. Aria had been packing fitness kits in the 5 million degree gym, and was hot, sweaty, grimy and tired. Deb was gracious and kind; Aria was out of sorts and embarrassed. That beginning led to a deep friendship that has meant deep learning and support for both Aria and Deb. 

Deborah Washington is a Middle School Principal with over twenty years experience in the field of Education. Her passion for learning was the motion behind the launch of Education Matters, a weekly broadcast discussing various topics in the field of education. Besides education, she also enjoys acting and writing.

You can follow Deb’s Education Matters Facebook Lives at https://www.facebook.com/deborah.solomon.68

You can learn more about the North Star Players here: https://www.facebook.com/TheNorthStarPlayers/

Meredith Horsford, Executive Director, Dyckman Farmhouse Museum​​  

Meredith and Aria go WAY back. Like, way way WAY back! And Meredith is our inspiration for this podcast. She showed up at DFM, started making moves and we were like, "SHE IS AMAZING! Why isn't she talking about everything she is doing?" And so, the first seeds of our idea to talk with the people doing good work were planted. 

Meredith Horsford is the Executive Director of the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance. Her responsibilities include fundraising, preservation of the historic building and collection, and fostering a strong relationship with the community through public programming and community engagement initiatives as well as working closely with the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Board. She is currently spearheading a research project focusing on the people that were enslaved on the Dyckman Farm. This information will be a significant part of future interpretation and programming at DFM. Meredith also serves as Vice President of the Greater Hudson Heritage Network Board of Directors, an organization that provides professional development and hands-on workshop opportunities to museums. 

Previously, Meredith served as the Executive Director of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy. In this position, she was responsible for the preservation of the historic structure of Gracie Mansion and fundraising for the Conservancy. In addition, Meredith oversaw all public programs and nonprofit operations, as well as worked closely with the Mayor’s Office and GMC Board of Directors. Meredith also served as Deputy Director and Director of Property Stewardship & Acquisitions at the Historic House Trust of New York City, overseeing all Parks related administrative functions for HHT regarding all of Parks’ 23 historic properties. She also worked closely with the Executive Director on HHT Board relations and policies, Board governance issues at membership organizations and audit and investment practices. Finally, she supervised the quantitative assessment project, coordinated all legal agreements and new property acquisitions, and worked closely with the staff and board members that operate those sites. 

Meredith holds a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Delaware, a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the State University of New York College at Geneseo, and a certificate in Grantmaking and Foundations from New York University.

You can learn more about Meredith’s work at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum here: https://dyckmanfarmhouse.org/