Mahogany Honey Podcast

Paloma Valenzuela is a Dominican-American writer, Director and actress originally from the city of Boston. She is the Creative Director of the production company La Gringa Loca Productions, LLC. She is the writer/producer/creator of the comedic web series "The Pineapple Diaries". In 2017 the show was featured in Latina Magazine's "5 Web Series Every Latinx Needs to Watch Right Now". Her work has participated as Official Selection at film festivals such as the New Orleans Film Festival and Miami Short Film Festival among others. In 2019 Paloma was featured in Boston Magazine's "Boston's New Creative Guard" and selected as one of the WBUR The Artery 25, a series highlighting millennials of color making an impact in the Boston arts scene. In 2019 Paloma won Best Supporting Actress at the Premios IRIS Dominicana Movie Awards for her role as Lolita in the film "Un 4to de Josue" which is streaming on HBO. Paloma has collaborated with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as a museum Neighborhood Salon Artist Luminary. She is the recipient of the 2016 Creative City Grant and in 2019 she was granted the City of Boston Artist Fellowship. In March 2020 Paloma finished editing and launching the third season of "The Pineapple Diaries". She is currently planning for future projects and also has been working as a teaching artist teaching screenwriting and productions for organizations such as GrubStreet in Boston and the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston. She is currently directing a video series for the Gardner Museum called the "Luminary Lens Series". Starting January 2021, Paloma has joined the faculty at Brandeis University as Lecturer of English, teaching Screenwriting in the Creative Writing Department.

Episode Description: Here we explore a detailed storytelling journey into her path to becoming a Producer and Owner of La Gringa Loca Productions. Throughout the conversation we hope to give the listeners and viewers a take on highlighting Boston inner cities local talent and advocacy in film.

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Our current guest Diamond L. Delancy is a queer, black womxn dedicated to utilizing her Master's degree in Forensic Psychology to understand further the role of mental health and human behavior in the United States' criminal justice and legal systems. Her career experiences and expertise in event planning, public relations, and social justice organizing has shaped her to succeed as Brazen's Chief of Organizational and Cultural Strategy by providing her with the avenues to comfortably and creatively foster and facilitate learning and discussions surrounding social justice issues, oppression and intersections of identity. As a survivor of sexual assault, she primarily hopes to provide workshops for fellow survivors as well as create spaces for black folx to reconnect to and decolonize Black Spirituality and African Traditional Religions (ATRs).

Episode Description: Here we explore a detailed storytelling journey into her path to becoming a Co-Founder. Throughout the conversation we hope to give the listeners and viewers on your resilient journey thus far. A heavy focus on triumphs and trials to find healing and begin to embrace her current calling

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The real beginning of Mahogany Honey the Podcast started w/ My friend Jenny and I experimenting w/ audio back in July of 2018. I had an ingenious idea at the time to speak on all the different things we were experiencing at the time. I was a year into my grad degree in urban education and could not figure out how I creatively wanted to channel all my experiences and knowledge so I started to record conversations as an outlet. This was the first episode ever produced and broadcasted by your host.

Episode Description: Tune in as we take a plunge into the inception of your host experimentation w/ broadcasting audio via podcasting.

All the way from Birmingham, United Kingdom, Co-Founders of HeyGirlDreamer Amna and Kiran join in conversation with your host as they discuss how and what led them to start a nonprofit for WOC that supports personal and professional development of young women of color.

Here we discuss cross culture, changing paths to reach a purpose, breaking cultural traditions, and the different stages of entrepreneurship from start up to now scale up stage.

Guest Resource Links:

www.girldreamer.co.uk

Instagram: @heygirldreamer @aestheticallyamna

Twitter: @heygirldreamer_ @kirannotkeiran

Breaunna Dorelus is the Founder and Chief Cause Consultant at Connecting the Cause, a consultancy dedicated to helping volunteers and those that lead them identify and uproot harmful volunteer practices specifically towards Black and Brown communities. She is an advocate for voices of color to be heard, recognized and valued in the service and volunteerism sector and believes in keeping community centered in all aspects of the volunteer process. Breauna's work is built on the principal that transformational service must help instead of harm. Starting her decade plus stint in the nonprofit sector as an AmeriCorps member, she has continuously held positions in leading volunteers, creating programming, and spearheading community initiatives in the areas of humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, and ministry. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Georgia Southern University, and her Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Georgia State University (Summa Cum Laude).

Dialogue Theme: 

- What happens when we forget about staff/volunteers and apply more emphasis on funders and board members/

- What does it look like to serve effectively

- How to place Community at the center and volunteer management

- How does one transition from volunteer to employee?

- Why are we so hesitant to negotiate salary as bipoc?

- Are the lines blurring between nonprofits and for profit when it comes to management style?

- How to revoke access to performative allyship

- Confronting possessive attitudes of 9-5 in leadership

- Many of us who work on passion projects/ side hustles – do you feel like your “allowed” to have individuality outside of your 9-5?

- Uprooting harmful corporate practices

Social Activist and Founder of Brazen Collective, Yareliz Mendez-Zamora is a daughter of revolutions. Born and raised in Miami, Yareliz grew up listening to her family’s immigration stories and constantly draws inspiration from them. Her family comes from La Tierra de Lagos y Volcanes– Nicaragua. She recently graduated from the University of Miami with her Master's in Education and Community and Social Change. She earned her Bachelor's from the University of Florida with a BA in English and History, as well as a Minor in Latin American Studies. She is involved with Latina Rebels, was a coordinator of the Latin@ Diaspora in the Americas Program, a Student Government Senator, interned at the Broward Public Defender’s Office, was an ambassador at La Casita and more. Currently, she works as a coordinator for a statewide non-profit.

Episode Themes: The Path to Becoming an Entrepreneur as a WOC. Throughout the conversation we hope to give the listeners tools on how to overcome barriers to find motivation and begin to embrace their purpose.

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Social Activist, and Creative Owner of WokeWednesdays, Gerson Sanchez joins me in conversation as we discuss his journey in completing his Doctorate Program and how he became Founder/Host of WokeWednesdays. WokeWednesdays is a media movement dedicated to addressing social justice issues. Throughout the conversation we discuss personal academic struggles, how he finds support, uprooting and addressing toxic masculinity, and how he alchemized his education and personal experiences in creative ways.

Episode Themes: Navigating Higher Education, Intellect vs. Emotional intelligence, and so much more

Meet Ricely, a Afrolatina, Jesus loving, and marketing videographer who is the current creative owner of The Glo Media. Tune in as she joins me in conversation on how she found her purpose and our take on branding, marketing, and social influencing. Ricely values helping others tell their story in today’s digital era. She believes your brand is more than just a product or service, your story is what sets you apart & her goal is to help you tell it. ⁣

Episode Description: Tune in as we discuss collaboration, building trust and healthy work relationships, the importance of being organized and maintaining it, , learning how to identify micromanaging and building economic equity in urban areas ⁣

⁣Learn more about Ricely and her services in social media content creation and creative storytelling via @theglomedia and our upcoming episode streaming via most listening platforms and youtube.⁣

Resource Links:

Instagram: @ricelyestela & @theglomedia

Website: theglomedia.com

Social Activist, Creative Owner of Solidarity&Co. and Host of The Mix of BGM - Podcast Mo Pirela, joins me in conversation in unpacking gatekeeping in corporate America, managing intersectionality of a black womxn, and the realities of what it is like to “step out in faith” when there are no seats available at the table.

Dialogue Themes: The reputation behind the word bitterness, Gender Equity and Inclusion, Queerness in Corporate Communities, Intersectionality in Feminism, and The Danger of Idolizing those in Leadership Positions

Join us in conversation while we go on this rollercoaster ride of the tried and true as newlyweds during 2020's pandemic. Michaelle Syleus, a current Licensed Mental Health Clinician in practice and her spouse Ricardo Alexander do life together through the peaks and valley. As big-hearted Disciples of Christ, they hope to make a difference in lives of others through their personal journey.

In this episode we learn what it was like to get married during a pandemic. Throughout the conversation we hope to give the listeners tools on how to navigate marriage in this day and age as millennials.