In this episode, I am talking with environmental anthropologist, ethnobotanist, and bi -national indigenous studies scholar due to her extensive work in Canada and the United States, Dr. Jessica Dolan. Please join me as I talk to Dr. Jessica Dolan about her expertise and lessons involving different facets of her work.

MORE ABOUT DR. JESSICA DOLAN

Jessica Dolan, PhD is a bi-national scholar in Canada and the United States, who currently works with the National Park Service Region 1, Office of Native American Affairs. Her work over the last 20 years has primarily been with Indigenous communities in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, on projects dedicated to restoring, regenerating, and strengthening Indigenous sovereignty and biocultural stewardship. As an ethnobotanist, much of her work centers on research and writing related to cultural uses of plants -- for traditional medicines, Indigenous and traditional food systems, food forests, gardening, producing resources for identification and caretaking of plant communities, and collaboration for education and restoration of Indigenous knowledge systems, community health, and treaty rights within their homelands. An example of her work is found in the Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey: https://gibsurvey.ca. She is working on the manuscript of a field guide that accompanies that digital atlas, called "Kanonhkwa'tsheranákere, Where the Medicines Live." She also sometimes teaches anthropology, ethnobotany, and Indigenous studies, through courses or workshops. You may contact her through her website: https://www.jessica-dolan.com.

MORE ABOUT BEHIND THE PROJECT

Behind the Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project, is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

In this episode, I am talking with Nydia Simone, founder of Blacktina Media and Dorothy’s Corner. Please join me as I talk to Nydia Simone about her expertise, experiences, and lessons amplifying Afro Latino and Afro Caribbean narratives within film, media, and art alongside her work in preserving the legacy of Dorothy West who was the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NYDIA SIMONE'S WORK

IG- @blactina

Tik Tok - @blactina

Website: blactinamedia.com

Youtube: @blactinamedia

MORE ABOUT NYDIA SIMONE

Nydia is a Geechee - Panamanian, cultural producer, writer, and filmmaker dedicated to preserving and amplifying Black literary heritage on Martha’s Vineyard. Inspired by the life and literary impact of Dorothy West who was one of the key figures of the Harlem Renaissance who later made the island her home, Nydia founded Dorothy’s Corner, an intergenerational community space where residents, visitors, and emerging writers gather to eat, listen, read, write, and engage with the legacy of Black history connected to the Vineyard.

Through Dorothy’s Corner, Nydia creates grounded, place-based programming such as the Gullah Geechee Dinner Party, reading corner and writing workshops. These gatherings honor the past while nurturing the next generation of creatives, making Black storytelling accessible, communal, and deeply rooted in the island’s history.

Beyond the Vineyard, Nydia is the founder of Blactina Media, a company that amplifies Afro-Latinx and Caribbean narratives across media, history, and the visual arts. Frustrated by the lack of representation she saw on screen, she began writing her own films and television shows. When she encountered closed doors in traditional industry spaces, she turned to social media as a creative medium to celebrate these histories and cultures. That work has grown Blactina Media into a global platform with over 87,000 followers. Her efforts have been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and Vice, and she has moderated and hosted panels for Telemundo, Bese, NAHJ, We All Grow Latina, and more. Whether on Martha’s Vineyard or across digital media, Nydia’s mission remains the same: to build living, lasting spaces for Black nuanced storytelling.

MORE ABOUT BEHIND THE PROJECT

Behind the Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project, is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

Learn more about Kate Belew or how to write with her by visiting:

https://katebelew.com/

https://www.instagram.com/k8belew/

More about Kate’s book, Word Witch, can be found here:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kate-belew/word-witch/9781668652107/?lens=balance

More about Kate Belew:

Kate Belew is an author, poet, and Witch. Her work exists at the crossroads of creativity and magic. She has taught and facilitated circles and workshops worldwide since 2017. She is dedicated to the spirit of poetry, the sacred wild of the planet, and seeks enchantment in all she does. She is a forever student of the plants and the stars. She has an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and is an initiated Green Witch. Her first book, Word Witch: How to Call Upon and Cultivate the Creative Magic Within You, was published in October 2025.

More about Behind The Project:

Behind the Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project, is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

Within the original trailer for this micropod, I did not go into details about the specific project that inspired this venture. Some years ago, I approached Philip Brady to pitch a project. Within this short episode, I am bringing everyone behind the curtain of what actually launched "Behind the Project." It involves becoming a co-editor of the critical anthology, Sign & Breath: Voice and the Literary Tradition (Etruscan Press, August 2025), doubt, and continuing to let this process unzip the lessons that I did not realize that I needed.

I hope you enjoy!

MORE ABOUT Sign & Breath

Also learn more here or by visiting the various Sign & Breath trailers on YouTube. To learn more about my co-editor for this anthology, Philip Brady, and his work, click here.

Sign & Breath is a new critical anthology that takes a different approach to exploring these questions: What is poetry? What defines voice? Featuring a range of contemporary artists, many of whom work across different mediums and genres, Sign & Breath introduces the reader to one page that sings in any genre – prose, fiction, poetry, spoken word, hybrid forms, and song – across diverse traditions. Within that work, we were in conversation with over 40 national writers and artists — including U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, 2 National BookAward Winners, an Ohio Governors’ Award Winner, NEA Fellowship Winners, the Poet Laureates of Virginia, Idaho and Vermont, and Guggenheim Fellows — who were all asked to contribute "the page that sings” from among their work.

More about Behind The Project:

Behind the Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project, is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

Learn more about Liz Rhaney by visiting:

https://www.lizr.art/

https://www.instagram.com/n19thwk/

Most recent project and performance that took place in March 2026 with the project, Vigorous Tenderness.

More about Liz Rhaney:

Liz Rhaney (she/they) is an installation and experiential artist. Their work includes education, filmmaking, writing, music, and DJing under the name BLK Plutoh. Liz is originally from Savannah, Georgia. She comes from a family of artists and musicians with Gullah and Geechee ancestry. They earned their BFA in Graphic Design from Armstrong State University (now Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University) and their MFA in Studio Art from Maine College of Art. Themes in her work include the intersection of science and art and connecting with cultural memory. They currently teach STEAM classes at Hyde School in Bath, Maine.

More about Behind The Project:

Behind the Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project, is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

Lauren is a creative at heart. Whether she is selling world antiques at her shop in Mendocino, California or singing her heart out at the local open mic in Vermont, she endeavors to bring authenticity and full expression to her work. She's been semi-nomadic for years, only recently settling down in a small seaside town on the windswept North Coast. Here she's dedicated her time to crafting community and a web of people who reflect her own deep dives into the joyous (and harrowing) journey that is life. You might call her an inside-out type of person; she is someone who moves from the cultivated quiet within to turn up the volume, full out. At the time that this is being posted, Lauren has hit the road. If you still want to check out ‘The Talisman Outpost' on Insta, click here.

You can still explore Lauren’s original music by visiting her SoundCloud.

Original soundscape for the podcast, Behind The Project is "Urban Dawn" composed by Damon Honeycutt.

Welcome to Behind the Project!

Behind The Project is a short run micropod that features conversations with creatives and professionals who share their lessons learned across their various projects. This show was inspired by the many lessons and self-discovery prompted by the many projects that Shanta Lee Honeycutt has led and implemented. This trailer introduces me, the host of this micropod and what you can expect with this show.

Original Composition "Urban Dawn" by Damon Honeycutt