Britt Happens

Contrary to popular belief, the cannabis industry is not over-saturated , there are plenty of opportunities to participate, and you don't need to consume the plant to jump in the business! Tune in to hear Paul Saunders, brand strategist, investor, and co-founder of Mezz, discuss how he successfully builds brands, thriving in the budding (pun intended) cannabis industry (and why it's just the tip of the iceberg!), how he told his Caribbean parents he was entering the weed business, and much more!

As the co-founder of Mezz Brands, Paul Saunders secured funding to help elevate the cannabis community and culture, by providing consumers with a safe and effective way to enjoy products. Mezz Brands originated in one of the largest legal cannabis distribution states, Colorado, in Denver specifically. Since its launch, Mezz has sold more than 100,000 units across over 100 U.S. dispensaries.

Whether for wellness, or recreational purposes, Paul and his team have worked diligently to remove the stigma of cannabis use, by creating the Mezz Lifestyle. The Mezz lifestyle enhances your consumption experience through art, music, tech, fashion and cultural moments. Paul continues to lead cannabis culture in a cutting-edge movement that provides people with the opportunity to learn and understand cannabis products, consumption, and its benefits. #Mezz #MezzLife #BrittHappens #BrittanySharpton #PaulSaunders #Brooklyn #Art

Host: Brittany Sharpton

Excited to welcome Dr. Steve Gallon III, Vice-Chair and elected District 1 School Board Member for the Miami-Dade County Schools (M-DCPS) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the 4th largest school district in the nation. Tune in to hear how he rose from the streets of 1980s Liberty City to impactful community servant, lifelong educator, and successful entrepreneur. We discuss bridging the achievement gap, what makes M-DCPS so unique, how Dr. Gallon successfully manages to stay true to himself in a cut throat and highly critical political area, what's on his current reading list, and much more!

Dr. Gallon is a lifelong educator who served as a teacher, assistant principal, elementary and high school principal, district administrator, and Superintendent of Schools. He started his career as a classroom teacher. He has taught at the elementary, middle, and senior high school levels. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English Education from Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida and became the first of his six siblings to graduate from college. Dr. Gallon earned a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision, both from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. He also participated in postdoctoral leadership institutes on School Reform and Management at Harvard and Stanford Universities.

Dr. Steve Gallon III rose through the ranks as a professional educator and over the next 25 years, distinguished himself in the field of education, specifically in the area of supporting improved teaching, learning, and leadership in urban educational settings. He became an assistant principal and was later appointed principal of Holmes Elementary. In his third year, after marked improvements in student outcomes and community involvement, the school was removed from the State of Florida’s List of Critically Low Schools. He then became principal of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, where he would serve for seven years – earning the third longest tenure in the school’s 60-year history.

On November 8, 2016, Dr. Gallon was decisively elected as the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District 1 School Board Member. In 2020 Dr. Gallon was re-elected unopposed to another 4 year term. In April 2021, he was voted Chair to National School Boards Association Council of Urban Boards of Education's (CUBE) Steering Committee.

Host: Brittany Sharpton

Excited to welcome back, Crystal Wagar, the first African American woman to serve as the Mayor of Miami Shores Village! During her first visit on #BrittHappens in 2019 (listen HERE), Mayor Wagar had recently began her term. Fast forward to mid-way through 2021, and we had a colorful and honest discussion about the challenges of running a city through a pandemic while also being a mom, the historic #GeorgeFloyd movement in the Shores, new projects and #economicdevelopment in her city, white allies to combat racism, and much more!

Equally humble as she is hilarious, Crystal, who hails from Des Moines, Iowa, is a devoted mother of 2 beautiful girls, wife to the former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, Kirk Wagar, a most hospitable friend, attorney, public servant, and has a Rolodex more impressive than Simone Biles’ triple double.

In the private sector, Crystal worked at two prominent South Florida law firms prior to opening her own boutique advocacy firm, the Connor Group Miami. Incredibly intelligent, accomplished, poised, and hella fun, what’s most admirable about Crystal (in my opinion), is her spirit of authenticity and staying true to who she is in.

When Dave Salvant, Co-Founder & President of Squire Technologies, and Songe LaRon founded tech startup Squire in 2016, they wanted to help barbershops achieve greater success by streamlining operations. What they didn’t anticipate was a global pandemic hitting a few years after launching that would immobilize their customer-base for months on end.

Now, after seeing their net revenue drop to “zero” in March 2020 when barbershops across the country were forced to close, the Black-owned tech company has tripled its valuation from $85 million to $250 million with the help of investors in its latest round of funding.

A backend management tool, the Squire app allows barbershop owners to manage bookings, implement loyalty programs, offer a menu of services and accept contactless and cashless payments, a feature which is extremely popular in the current coronavirus climate. The company makes a profit by charging a monthly fee for its services, which ranges from $30 to $250 per month based on the barbershop’s size and needs.

Dave Salvant is the Co-Founder & President of Squire Technologies. Squire Technologies is Y Combinator back company that focuses on providing software systems to barbershops. Prior to starting Squire, Dave worked at AXA, where he assisted in the launch and sales strategy of various financial products that has now amassed over $9 billion in sales. Dave was a consortium fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Business school and is a graduate of the University at Albany.

Host: Brittany Sharpton

Very excited to usher in Women's History Month with my next guest, Theresa Therilus, Esq., the City of North Miami's very first woman and Haitian-American City Manager!....and maybe Florida's future governor?!?!

I first met Theresa at a Black Ivy League event I co-hosted about 6 years ago. She was extremely poised, super sharp, witty, and refreshingly grounded.

Just before joining the City, Theresa served as Interim Director of procurement for Santa Clara County in California where she led the county’s $6 billion+ budget Prior to that, she became the youngest-ever Senior County Administration Official for Miami-Dade County, was Florida’s Assistant Attorney General, and also represented professional athletes as an NFL agent. A diverse and impressive resume to say the least!

Subscribe and tune in as we discuss Ms. Therilus' interesting career path, building capacity for minority participation in development, Black banking, the legacy she hopes to leave at NoMi, why she eats challenges for breakfast, and much more! #BrittHappens #BlackGirlMagic

There will be haters, doubters, non-believers, and then there will be you...proving them all wrong! My childhood friend, former Miami Northwest Express Track Club teammate , and Olympic medalist Bershawn Jackson aka Batman's personality has always been as big as his talent LOL!

Tune in to hear what motivated this track and field super star turned sports agent and founder of his very own track club to block out the noise of naysayers and dominate for *years* in a sport that said he was just too small to succeed  #BrittHappens #GutsOverFear #DontBelieveMeJustWatch

Jackson first came to prominence while running for Miami Central High School, where he set the still standing FHSAA (Florida High School) record in the 300 meter hurdles at 36.01 in 2002. He then continued to run at the college level at Saint Augustine's University and set a Division II National Championship Record of 48.50 in the 400 m hurdles in 2004. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bershawn "Batman" Jackson won a bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles. He also has three medals (two gold, one bronze) at the World Championships and one gold medal at the World Indoor Championships.

Straight out of Duval County Jacksonville, FL, Thrill Da Playa has held it down for the Sunshine State ever since the early 90’s as a member of the world renowned 69 Boyz of the coveted Quad City Family. Tune in for this informative and super enlightening conversation with Van Thrill Da Playa, one half of the legendary Miami bass Grammy award winning rap group, the 69 Boyz. In addition to answering my burning questions about lyric confusion, we discuss how he’s navigated the music industry through a global pandemic, reinventing himself as an artist while staying true to who he is as a person, the most challenging part of his career, what being a MILF really means LOL, and much more!

Born Van Bryant, Thrill excelled in sports at a very early age. In fact, it was at Flethcer Sr. High School that the name “Thrill” was given to the All Star wide out. After graduation and a brief stint in the U.S. army, Thrill returned to Duval to seriously pursue his musical career. After co-penning and co-producing mage hits for 95 South: Whoot There It Is (5 million sold), Dis-N-Dat: Freak Ma Baby (Gold LP Gold Single), Tootsie Roll, 199Quad (6.5 Million sold), Quad City Djs: Come On Ride Da Train (Platinum), as well as the theme song to the Micheal Jordan Bugs Bunny Classic Space Jam, the theme to Eddie Murphy s Dr. Doolittle, Reah Pearman’s Sunset Park, and countless other soundtracks.

69 Boyz is an American Miami bass and hip hop group originating with Thrill from Jacksonville, Florida and Fast and Slow from Orlando, Florida, United States. The group was initiated Thrill Da Playa with the assistance of producers C.C. Lemonhead and Jay Ski (of Chill Deal, Quad City DJs and 95 South), and consists of rappers Van “Thrill Da Playa” Bryant, Barry “Fast” Wright.

The driving force behind one of the South’s leading party rap groups, 69 Boyz, Thrill da Playa spun off a less successful solo career during the late ’90s while still keeping the Boyz going strong. Born Van Bryant, the rapper/producer grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and spent a little time overseas in the Army. Upon returning from Germany, where he had been stationed, Thrill hooked up with producer C.C. Lemonhead, who knew Bryant from his days of high-school football (where the artist originally earned his nickname). Thrill contributed to Lemonhead’s solo album, Bass to Another Level (1993); and the producer best-known for 95 South’s “Whoot (There It Is)” returned the favor, overseeing the debut 69 Boyz album, 199Quad (1994), and its enormously successful club hit, “Tootsee Roll.” The song made an impact across the States, infiltrating even the pop mainstream as a novelty hit. The follow-up album, The Wait Is Over (1998), took several years to prepare, and by the time it did drop, the fervor over “Tootsee Roll” had subsided. Following The Wait Is Over, Thrill began his solo career with The Best of Home Bass (1999), which compiled some of his previous work for the underground label. After another 69 Boyz album, 2069 (2000), Thrill issued a pair of solo releases, Dunks N D’s (2001) and The Return of the Big Bronco (2001).

Indeed, anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm, but rough seas require creative, transformative leadership...a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor! Most of us want a leader with passion and energy to make things happen; but we also want to know that when crisis hits, our leader will take decisive action in a calm and professional manner.

If "Cool, calm, and collected" was a person, you'd be looking at my next very special Britt Happens podcast guest and friend, Mr. Esmond K. Scott, City Manager of North Miami Beach, FL.  Esmond is as hilarious as he is shrewd, worldly, super sharp, and charmingly unassuming.

North Miami Beach is the epicenter of Northeast Dade, a hidden gem , and mini paradise within our diverse County.  Located midway between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and adjacent to the Golden Glades Interchange where I-95, Florida's Turnpike, and the Palmetto Expressway meet, North Miami Beach is truly at the "Crossroads of South Florida".  A City bursting at the seams to take off and finally gain its own identity and personality, not to be confused with the plethora of other municipalities with similar names.  The central location and easy access has made North Miami Beach one of South Florida's best known regional shopping areas and one of its most popular sites for office users.

Tune in as we discuss Mr. Scott's vision, challenges, and plans to further elevate his City to the destination of choice in South Florida!

Tune in for a much-anticipated,  super lively, and enlightening chat with the man behind THE read of 2020! Louisiana activist, Gary Chambers, Jr., became a household name in the advocacy world this past June when a video  of him brilliantly calling out East Baton Rouge School Board Member, Connie Bernard, went viral and shared by the likes of LeBron James, Madonna, and millions of others.

That moment at the school board meeting was only one of several instances over the years where Chambers used his voice and media platform to speak truth to power.

Gary is also considering jumping in the Congressional race for U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond’s soon-to-be vacated seat—provided he can raise the necessary money through crowdfunding.  As we know, Congress is full of Connies -- both men and women.  And plenty of them are Democrats. Few people are more willing to go to DC to not only calling out and effectively address injustices, but fight for everyday people -- those most often overlooked and left out..."We built this joint for free and we're done begging you to do what's right!" Let's get it!! KEEP PUSHING!

Nancy Dawkins is a force to be reckoned with, a walking legacy who does not take no for an answer, and the wittiest 96-year old I know! She is a community activist, an education advocate (and former educator of 35 years), Liberty City pioneer, and one of my most favorite people!

She along with her late husband, Miller Dawkins, who served as a City of Miami Commissioner for years, moved into their Liberty City home over 60 years ago. Since then, Mrs. Dawkins has worked tirelessly to make her community a better place.

In 2017, the City of Miami named Northwest 50th St from 12th to 17th avenues as ‘Mrs. Nancy S. Dawkins Way,’ for all of her hard work and dedication to the community. Dawkins grew up in South Florida and graduated from Dillard High School in 1941. She then went to Bethune-Cookman University and graduated with her associate’s degree, then went to Florida A&M University to receive her bachelor’s in home economics and elementary education. She later got her master’s in education from Indiana University in 1962.

One of Dawkins’ major accomplishments includes starting the Northwest Chapter of AARP in Miami.

“It was important for me because of all the benefits that AARP offered,” Dawkins said. “I was a member of AARP in an integrated group and it was not convenient for me to go to their meetings. [Former County Commissioner] Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler and my husband encouraged me to start one in the neighborhood.”

The AARP chapter allows its members to receive benefits for seniors. Dawkins said businesses and politicians come and inform them of what’s going on and benefits they can receive.

Dawkins currently speaks to young people and encourages young girls to take up engineering and technology. She’s also an active member of Mt. Zion AME Church.

Dawkins has not slowed down. She wants to help anyone that she crosses paths with and the younger generation.

“I encourage young people because you are going to be the people to carry the country on while we’re gone and look out for the senior citizens,” Dawkins said. “My motto is to do all I can while I can, and if there is anything I can do to help someone while I pass, my living will not be in vain.

I thank the lord for longevity.”