Female Trouble

Jessica Anya Blau is insatiably curious about people. The author, who splits her time between Baltimore and New York, credits that curiosity with leading her into conversations and situations that sometimes inspire her books. Jessica is the author of four novels: “The Summer of Naked Swim Parties,” “Drinking Closer to Home,” “The Wonder Bread Summer” and, most recently, “The Trouble with Lexie.” Jessica talked about unlikable characters, feeling like an outsider and her unlikely path to becoming a published author.

With a passion for music and the environment, Meagan "Ducky Dynamo" Buster defies the notion of doing or being only one thing. At first managing and promoting artists, Meagan eventually started creating music herself as DJ Ducky Dynamo, and can be found bringing the sounds of Baltimore Club music across the country. She makes up half of the DJ duo Turnt, with Shawn Smallwood, and is also an organizer for the Baltimore City Green Party. Meagan talked about her loyalty to Baltimore, weather forecasting, the legacy of DJ K-Swift and connecting art and activism.

For Maria Thompson, education is the family business. With a background in textiles, Maria has worked as an administrator at Tennessee State University and served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Oneonta. In July 2015, Maria became president of Coppin State University, a historically black institution in West Baltimore with a history of educating nurses, teachers and other professionals. Coppin has struggled with financial problems and poor graduation rates, and Maria talked about taking on that challenge. She also discussed representation, becoming Coppin’s president in the wake of the Baltimore unrest, and drawing inspiration from the university’s namesake.

Everyone has a story. What’s yours? That’s the motto of the Stoop, a Baltimore storytelling series created and hosted by Laura Wexler and Jessica Henkin. Since its founding in 2006, hundreds of ordinary people have shared their 7-minute personal tales in front of a live audience. Ranging from hilarious to heartbreaking, the stories, centered around a common theme, aren’t scripted or memorized. Jessica, an improv comic who works in education, and Laura, a writer and producer, also host the Stoop Storytelling Series podcast. They talked about the inspiration for the Stoop, some of their favorite stories over the years and building a community.

FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture is an activist collaboration based in Baltimore that uses art actions to inspire difficult and honest conversations about sexual and domestic violence. Two of the people leading those conversations are Saida Agostini, FORCE’s Chief Operating Officer, and Shanti Flagg, Studio Director. One way FORCE upsets the culture of rape is with the Monument Quilt, a public art project that collects stories of survivors and their supporters, stitched together on red fabric. FORCE also is known for pulling pranks on Playboy and Victoria’s Secret to promote a culture of consent. Just a warning, in this episode we discuss sexual and domestic violence, and there’s some explicit language.

You might hate McMansions -- but do you know why? Kate Wagner does, and in wanting to educate people about the oversized, cheaply made and poorly designed beacons of suburbia, started a blog last year called McMansion Hell. On the blog, Kate translates architectural language into humorous criticism of McMansions using real estate photos, obscuring identifying details of the homes’ locations and residents. She also includes educational posts on the site, and contributes to outlets like 99% Invisible and Curbed. McMansion Hell quickly gained a large following, but was thrust into the spotlight in June when real estate marketplace Zillow sent Kate a cease and desist letter for using its photos. Kate maintained that the parody photos were fair use, and Zillow didn’t pursue further legal action. Kate talked about using architecture to approximate power, “House Hunters” and how the residential is political.

Wendy Osefo aims to bring a voice to spaces where it would otherwise go unheard. The professor, media personality and political commentator regularly appears on cable news shows like “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and “Fox ---- Friends,” where she often goes head-to-head with opposing interviewers and pundits. Wendy became increasingly sought after as a commentator after penning a widely read op-ed for City Paper on election night titled, “Donald Trump did not win. Hatred did.” As a visiting assistant professor in the Doctor of Education program at Johns Hopkins University, Wendy examines how race and class influence the educational trajectories of non-dominant students. Wendy also founded The 1954 Equity Project, which helps minority college students navigate academia. Wendy talked about her first-generation identity, holding people accountable and subverting expectations as a nontraditional educator.

Krystal Mack has led several lives -- most recently, that of a pastry chef and business owner. Krystal is the owner of Blk // Sugar bakery, which she has described as a food and lifestyle concept from the black feminine perspective. Blk // Sugar serves up treats like macarons, lavender honey pie and activated charcoal brownies, in addition to teas and other desserts. Before opening Blk // Sugar, Krystal was riding a tricycle around the city, selling pies and ice pops as the owner of PieCycle and KarmaPop. At the time of this recording, Blk // Sugar was located in R. House, a food hall that opened last year in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood, but Krystal has since left R. House and is laying plans for the business’ next move. She talked about that decision, and about the confidence to step away from the things she loves. Krystal also discussed appropriation, the intersection of identity and business and why she started baking.

Donna Woodruff is the new athletic director at Loyola University Maryland, and the first woman ever to hold that job. Loyola, located in Baltimore, is a NCAA Division I school, and at that level, about one in ten athletic directors is a woman. Before coming to Loyola, Donna spent 13 years at Stony Brook University, and also worked as an athletic administrator at Villanova University and the University of Pennsylvania. Donna is no stranger to the field; as a student athlete at Penn, she earned three All-Ivy League selections as a lacrosse player, and two as a field hockey player. Donna talked about fostering an inclusive environment as an AD, the challenges facing college athletics and what it’s like to be a first.

Ramona Diaz has always been an observer. Inspired by her upbringing, the Baltimore-based filmmaker tells character-driven stories that often highlight the diversity of the Filipino experience. Ramona’s documentary credits include “Imelda,” about the former First Lady of the Philippines; “The Learning,” which follows Filipino teachers in Baltimore City; and “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey,” which tells the story of the band Journey finding their new Filipino lead singer, Arnel Pineda, on YouTube, and Arnel’s first tour with the band. Most recently, Ramona directed “Motherland,” in which the viewer is a fly on the wall in Manila at one of the busiest maternity hospitals in the world. That film won the Special Jury Award for Commanding Vision at Sundance this year; Ramona also was awarded a 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship. Ramona talked about representation in filmmaking, drawing universal experiences out of minutiae and the stories she’s interested in telling.