Show Notes: EpicsPodcast.com/episodes/MichaelDumlao

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Are you the black sheep in your family who chafes at traditions and seeks examples of how to redefine them?

Then do I have a guncle for you!

This week we are all graced by the presence of Michael Dumlao. Michael was born in the Philippines, raised in Australia, schooled in California, and now resides in Washington DC with his husband Daniel. He is an expert in advancing diversity, equity, and social justice, serves as a senior advisor for leaders in government, defense and intelligence AND is the author of his new book The Wisdom of Guncles!

I can not tell you how much I enjoyed my conversation with Michael. He shared a lot about his unique journey from the Philippines to Australia to the US and the racism and homophobia he encountered along the way. He taught me about what it is like for a person like him to walk into a new space having to assess how safe he is to be his true self in that space. I am still so struck by that because it is a process that I have never had to do because of who I am and I have been oblivious to the stress that others experience with a seemingly mundane moment. I didn’t know about the “code-switching” that people like Michael have to do in everyday experiences. Code-switching is when someone changes the way that they speak, act or interact with others who are different from themselves. This is something that I don’t think I have ever had to do so it was a very informative conversation for me, not to mention so much fun.

To continue to follow along with Michaels Epic story follow the links below to his website, socials and to his book, The Wisdom of Guncles! Now remember, if you buy The Wisdom of Guncles from the link below or on Michael’s page on the Epics website, you are not only supporting Michael and you are not only supporting the podcast but you are also supporting a local bookstore near you!

Show Notes: EpicsPodcast.com/episodes/AnnaBattista

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This week I am joined by Anna Battista! Anna was born with Cystic Fibrosis, or CF which is a chronic illness that causes Anna to fight for every breath that she takes leading to her needing not one, but 2 lung transplants! This is such an important story to hear because we may not have put BREATHING on our list of things that we should be grateful of and not take for granted!

Anna comes on to the podcast to discuss her life with CF, teaching me what the illness does and what it is like to live with, telling the stories of her 2 lung transplants and how a life with CF has affected how she lives her life every day.

instagram.com/anna_the_lemon instagram

www.annathelemon.com

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cff.org

Show Notes: EpicsPodcast.com/episodes/KyraDawkins

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My amazing guest this week is Kyra Dawkins! Kyra is the author of the book “The We and the They”, storyteller and avid reader and learner. In our conversation, Kyra talks about her experiences falling in love with words and language, dealing with racism as a black woman and why she wrote her book “The we and the they”. She shares her unique insights on the perspectives of our humanity as it exists in our individuality as well as a part of a greater collective. 

Buy The We and the They: https://bookshop.org/a/40214/9781641379526

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Show Notes: EpicsPodcast.com/episodes/KimberlySmith

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This week my wonderful guest is Kimberly Smith. Kimberly is a Resilience & Life Transition Coach and the founder of Encompass Coaching. I got to have a great conversation with her about the life she has led: all of the transitions that she experienced, and how she found herself fighting with the pressures of society's expectations and “rules” that are put on women and mothers. She is incredibly insightful, thoughtful, and fun to chat with!

Encompass Coaching: EncompassCoachingServices.com

Kimberly's IG: Instagram.com/Kimberly.Brooke.Smith

Encompass FB: Facebook.com/EncompassCoachingServices

Show Notes: EpicsPodcast.com/episodes/TravisCreasy

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On episode six of the pod I bring to you my conversation with Travis Creasy. Travis is a fellow podcaster, a husband, father, and a deeply caring person, a man who simply loves life. That is what we have in common (I would like to think, at least). Where Travis and I are different is that he was born raised and lives in the south, has a funnier accent than I do and had a rare aggressive form of leukemia.

Travis was diagnosed in the fall of 2018 when he had a white blood cell count ten times the healthy amount. He then had to spend weeks in the hospital where he had to have 86 rounds of crippling treatment. While he considers himself lucky to be alive, Travis does not take his life for granted.

Travis describes himself as a Tigger because of his bubbly personality, but I think he’s more like Tigger because he’s the only one like him. While there may be so many things that are different about us, such as the complete lack of significance that Crimson Tide football has in my life, I was able to learn a lot from Travis.

This is the heart of the Epics Podcast. I believe that those who may be so different from us in so many ways have a lot to teach us when they are vulnerable and share their stories with us. Hearing Travis’ story was inspiring, but he is not content to just inspire others. He wants to encourage all us to be an encouragement and inspiration to those around us.

Travis' Podcast: www.benandtravis.com

If you have made it this far, congratulations! This is the fifth episode of the pod and it is a special episode for me. For this episode I interviewed Michael Milton who is the co-founder of Pandemic Donuts and was my first interview IN PERSON! Michael graciously invited me down to their bakery for the interview which was so much fun, but was slightly louder than recording at my desk behind a locked door to keep noisy children out. Every once in a while you may hear some background noise from the coffee shop next door, but that is an acceptable price to pay for the joy of hearing Michael’s story face to face.

Michael started Pandemic Donuts with his girlfriend Gabrielle Henning after they both lost their jobs due to COVID. One thing that I really like about this story is that we all have a COVID story. It effected us all in different ways and it’s important to hear some of those stories that were different from our own to try and better understand how this pandemic impacted so many of us.

Michael was so much fun to talk to. Not only was he open and vulnerable with their story, but he is clearly someone who wants to make the most out of every day and is determined to enjoy life.

I found their story and approach to opening this business during a pandemic inspiring and insightful. It was fun for me to pull the curtains back on a local business that my family supports. (we get their donuts every week!!)

Pandemic Donuts delivers their delicious donuts (and delicious gluten free donuts) to your door if your door is in the Denver area, and their creative flavors change every week!

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!

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I am so pleased that Augustine Tanner joined me for the fourth episode of the Epics Podcast. Augustine is a black queer man from Chicago, Illinois and currently lives in the UK where he is about to be ordained in the Church of England.

Augustine and I had a great conversation about the dynamics culture and race as well as many other factors that have affected his life.

As a preacher and speaker he has spoken at several LGBTQ+ events such as the Stonewall National Workplace Conference, Pride, Glory Festival Manchester and has featured numerous times on radio for the BBC.

While Augustine does tell his story through a lens of Christian faith and references stories from the bible, I encourage you to listen even if that is not a faith that you believe in yourself. While his story may have a Christian spin, the wisdom that he shared is universal and important for everyone.

He is such an enjoyable man to talk to, capable of bringing joy into our conversation while also proving quite  thought provoking and challenging.

Augustine’s story is very unique and one that I was able to learn a lot from, I hope you can too!

More from Augustine HERE

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Theresa Mitchell is the founder of Jhene Productions and executive producer of an upcoming documentary Life After Loss which is being created to bring light and truth to the struggles faced by black and brown women as they quietly suffer through miscarriage, infant loss, and infertility.

After suffering 3 miscarriages Theresa finally had her rainbow baby! Through these experiences she felt alone and isolated, thinking that her journey was one that few could understand. As she came to find out that this is an all too common story among black and brown women, she used her recovery and healing to find her voice and advocate for all these women who feel alone in their suffering.

Theresa so kindly shared her story with me and started such an important conversation with me about the disparity of care that black and brown women experience in our healthcare system as well as what she believes we can do to make a difference moving forward.

I was so moved by Theresa and her dedication to validate the feelings and experiences of so many women that are all too easily dismissed. Her mission to save as many babies and mothers from experiencing an inequitable level of care is one that we all need to learn more about and get behind.

If you want to know more about Theresa and what she is doing, take a look at her website here.

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Nick Elio is the Family Ministry Pastor at Denver Community Church (DCC) in Denver, Colorado. With a life spent in youth ministry and leading youth he has seen teenagers go through all sorts of struggles and ask some really hard questions.

In our conversation we discuss how DCC’s stance on full inclusion of LGBTQ affected his students and how the church has often done more harm than good to members of the LGBTQ community.

Nick was very generous in sharing his wisdom with me while we discussed what our motivations are when teens, children or really anyone approaches us with hard questions and vulnerability.

I really enjoyed chatting with this good friend of mine and I feel that the insights that he shares on this episode are really valuable as well as applicable to so many relationships in our lives!

Check out his podcast HERE

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On the very first episode of the Epics Podcast I was very fortunate to be joined by a friend of mine, Dr. Rev. Jose Silva.

Jose is the CEO of the Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health, and is the only person of color leading an infant mental health organization in the country.

Jose is a friend of mine who’s story I sought out right away for the podcast. When he was 14 years old, he witnessed his best friend being murdered seconds after having the gun pointed at his own chest. He is an individual who speaks with so much passion that you can hear as he is sharing this story on the podcast.

Jose has used that terrible moment in his life to catapult him into a lifetime of advocating for others and lighting fires under those who have gotten too comfortable.

We shared a conversation that touched on race, mental health and the experiences that children of color have at a young age in our school systems.

There is a lot that we have to learn from Jose’s story, I hope you enjoy the episode!

If you want to learn more about  the Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health you can visit their website: http://coaimh.org/

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