Dallas Business Podcast

37. Ivy Awino, Dallas Mavericks Arena DJ & In-Game Personality: Leading with Vision in Mind, Uniting People & An International Dream for Africa

 As an international DJ, Poizon Ivy has a love for diverse music, incorporating all genres into her sets and radio mixes. Born Ivy Awino in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Dallas, Texas, Ivy mastered both the piano and cello before discovering her love for yet another instrument; turntables. 

In a few short years, Ivy rose in ranks, setting off the city’s largest concert stages at Milwaukee’s Marcus Amphitheater and the recognized “World’s Largest Music Festival,” Summerfest, opening for some of the most notorious names in music: Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B, J. Cole and Juicy J to name a few. She is now one of the most in-demand Midwest DJ talents, performing and hosting throughout the Midwest region.

 In 2016, she joined the Dallas Wings as their in arena DJ during the WNBA’s historical 20th anniversary season. As if that wasn’t enough, she became the Dallas Mavericks’ first female team DJ in franchise history, and is the 2nd female DJ in NBA league history to accomplish that feat.

Going from on air, to arenas, to clubs and main stages, DJ Poizon Ivy has lent her services to major brands and corporations including Atlantic Records, Red Bull, Adidas, and the Milwaukee Brewers. 

She’s spun for non-profit organizations and events: Skylar Diggins “Shoot 4 the Sky” Basketball Camp Tour, Snoop Dogg’s Youth Football League, and Obama for America.

When she’s not honing her skills, DJ Poizon Ivy is advocating for various causes and working with non-profit organizations that enable young women pursuing careers in music, young mothers, and organizations that aide health issues affecting young women. DJ Poizon Ivy’s personal vision includes branding herself as a curator of music, fashion, entertainment and all things female empowerment.

“When it’s all said and done, the only thing that should matter is how well you do the job; not your gender,” says DJ Poizon Ivy.

Dr. Michael J. Sorrell is the longest-serving President in the 151 - year history of Paul Quinn College. During his 15 years of leadership, Paul Quinn has become nationally celebrated for its ability to expand the boundaries of higher education to better serve the needs of under-resourced communities and their students. 

Included among Paul Quinn’s numerous accomplishments during President Sorrell’s tenure — improving graduation rates by more than 25%; reducing student loan debt by $30,0000; building the first new buildings on campus in 50 years; renovating every building on campus; creating the Urban Work College Model; winning the HBCU of the Year, HBCU Student Government Association of the Year, and HBCU Business Program of the Year awards; partnering with PepsiCo to transform the football field into the WE over Me Farm; and establishing all institutional fundraising records.

Dr. Sorrell is one of the most celebrated college presidents in America.  Among the honors that he has received are the following: the President George W. Bush Institute’s Trailblazer Citation; being named him one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine; winning Education Dive’s Higher Education’s President of the Year award; being the only three-time recipient of the HBCU Male President of the Year Award; and having been listed by Time Magazine as one of the “31 People Changing the South”. However, his most prized honor is having been named Father of the Year in the City of Dallas.

https://paulquinn.edu/

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton

Jeremy Strick has been the Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center since March 2009. Mr. Strick oversees collections, exhibitions and operations at the 2.4-acre museum located in the heart of downtown Dallas’ Arts District.

Prior to the Nasher, Mr. Strick served as Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, California, for more than nine years. Throughout his tenure, MOCA received international acclaim for its exhibition program, which included such landmark shows as Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective (2008); Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave (2008); Andy Warhol Retrospective (2002); Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure (2002), among many others.

Mr. Strick also served as a senior curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, and held curatorial posts at the Saint Louis Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. He pursued graduate studies in Fine Arts at Harvard University and received his Bachelor of Arts (History of Art) in 1977 from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Additionally, he has curated numerous exhibitions and has written and lectured extensively about modern and contemporary art.

www.nashersculpturecenter.org

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton

Froswa’ Booker-Drew, Ph.D., is a Network Weaver who believes relationships are the key to our personal, professional, and organizational growth.
She founded Soulstice Consultancy, LLC, providing DEI, leadership training, and capacity-building services. Formerly the Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas, Froswa’ was responsible for grantmaking, educational programming, and community initiatives. More than 70% of organizations funded were led by people of color.

She co-founded HERitage Giving Circle, one of the first Black women Giving Circles in the State of Texas, and co-founder of Power in Action-Dallas.

She hosts the podcast, The Tapestry, and is the author of 3 books for women, Fly Away, Ready for a Revolution: 30 Days to Jolt Your Life, and Rules of Engagement: Making Connections Last.

Her latest book, Empowering Charity, published by Baylor University Press, is currently in the top 100 of three categories on Amazon.

 drfroswabooker.com

Froswa' Amazon book store

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton

Daniel Maté is an multi-award-winning lyricist and composer for musical theatre. With his father physician and renowned addiction expert,     Gabor Maté, he is the co-author of the recently published The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture, and the forthcoming Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents and Their Adult Children, based on the popular workshop of the same name. He hosts a YouTube program called Lyrics To Go, and runs Take A Walk With Daniel, the world's only "mental chiropractic" service. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

danielmate.com 
walkwithdaniel.com

Amazon: The Myth of Normal : TRAUMA, ILLNESS & HEALING IN A TOXIC CULTURE

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton 

Commissioner Peirce and I discuss America’s economic inventive structure, regulatory framework around DeFi, and individual choice. 

Hester M. Peirce was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Securities and

Exchange Commission and was sworn in on January 11, 2018. Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the

U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where she advised Ranking Member Richard Shelby and other members of the Committee on securities issues.

Commissioner Peirce served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. She also worked as a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) and clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt on the Court of Federal Claims.

Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.

https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/peirce-2021-10-08

https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw.html

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton 

Natalie Smolenski leads business development for Hyland’s blockchain-based content services solutions. She was the founding business development executive for Learning Machine, a Texas-based startup specializing in blockchain-anchored digital records, which exited to Hyland in 2020. As Chair of the Board of the Texas Blockchain Council, she works to advance public policy friendly to blockchain technology and the blockchain industry.

Natalie is a trained anthropologist whose independent research focuses on the intersections of identity, technology, and government. By bringing a scientific perspective to distributed digital technologies and social transformation, she helps audiences from all backgrounds understand how individuals connect to form communities and build the infrastructures of the future.

Natalie and I discuss the sound money use case captured by Bitcoin, value, and how to cultivate a society that knows how to think.

www.nataliesmolenski.com

valued.nataliesmolenski.com

Twitter: @NSmolenski

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliesmolenski

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton 

Temi Coker is an absolute force of creativity, depicting layers of his Nigerian culture with colors, patterns, dimensions, and textures. He doesn't just create art. He creates powerful experiences that move and challenge beauty standards. His work is a movement.

Temi and I discuss the changing NFT landscape and the success he has had in the blockchain space in a short amount of time. We also discuss his Nigerian roots and the stories he enjoys bringing to life on the canvas.

www.temicoker.co

behance.net/cokerstudio

@temi.coker

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton 

Jimmy Song is a Bitcoin developer, educator, and entrepreneur. He's an open-source contributor to many different Bitcoin projects and is the author of Programming Bitcoin from O'Reilly, The Little Bitcoin Book, and Thank God for Bitcoin. Jimmy has been a lecturer at the University of Texas and an expert witness in legal cases involving Bitcoin. Jimmy writes a weekly newsletter, Bitcoin Tech Talk, and has a podcast, Bitcoin Fixes This.

Jimmy and I discuss the fiat money treadmill, why altcoins are a bad investment, the Bitcoin-powered church of the future, and Jimmy's latest book: Thank God For Bitcoin.

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton


https://twitter.com/jimmysong

https://jimmysong.substack.com

https://jimmysong.medium.com

https://programmingbitcoin.com

Merrick Porchéddu is the founder and CEO of Artist Uprising™, which bridges the gap between creatives and commerce. An experienced entrepreneur and graduate of Belmont University's College of Music Business, Porchéddu and her company connect artists to businesses and vice versa.

Merrick and I discuss pivoting from a technology app to a service-based business, NFTs, and the Impact of Organizing Dallas’ First Digital Art Event.

"Artists need money. Businesses need creativity. The relationship is a must, and we are here to be the handshake and the resource channel for the magic to happen for both sides," Porchéddu says.

 www.artistuprising.com

STUDIO: www.artistuprisingstudios.com

CREATIVE AGENCY: www.belmontcreative.co

Host, Earlina Green Hamilton