PDX Story Project

My guest on this episode is Candace Molatore. Candace  is a Self-Love Advocate, Branding Consultant and Photographer based in Portland, OR. With a passion for building community, Candace uses her photography and writing skills to broadcast the message of self-confidence, body positivity and inclusivity online. She shares her interests, inspiration, tips and everyday life with her audience regularly through social media. With a modest but strong following behind her, Candace continues to spread the message of inclusivity and self-love with high-quality visuals, a strong work ethic and a mission to make everyone feel empowered in their own skin.

You can find Candace on Instagram at Instagram.com/hey.candace, or  at her website candacemolatore.com

My guest on this episode is Michelle Smith. Michelle is an author, speaker, certified mental health and addictions counselor, and founder of Recovery is the New Black, an online community for women to come as they are, test-drive a sober life, and experience the freedom of mindful living.

Michelle is passionate about supporting women with tools and resources around substance abuse, mental health, bereavement, eating disorders, trauma, and codependency. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two children.

You can find Michelle on Instagram at instagram.com/recoveryisthenewblack_

My guest on this episode is Branden Harvey. Branden is an entrepreneur, photographer, storyteller, and the founder of GoodGoodGood, a company focused on helping people have more hope and do more good. He's helped brands like Disney, Square, Southwest Airlines, and (RED) tell meaningful stories with heart all over the world. He's been written about and featured by media including The Washington Post, Seventeen Magazine, Fortune Magazine, and Mashable.

You can learn more about GoodGoodGood, and get a free issue of the Good Newspaper by visiting goodgoodgood.co

Branden can be found on Instagram at instagram.com/brandenharvey

On this episode, I talk with Jerry Benedetto. If you’ve been active on Instagram in the last year or so, you may know Jerry as the man behind the Instagram account, Jerry’s Pizza. What started as a quest to make pizza that tasted like what he had growing up in Chicago, turned into thousands of pizza fans, and a waitlist a year and a half long.

Jerry and I talk all about growing up in Chicago, why he started making pizzas in the first place, and what’s next for some of Portland’s best pizza.

You can find Jerry on Instagram at @Jerryspizzapdx

On this episode, I talk with Kurt Kroon & Sarah Swartzendruber. Kurt and Sarah are co-pastors at Cascade Church in SE Portland. Cascade is a faith community who's vision as a church is rooted in a belief that all people should be given safe space to be.

This episode obviously is heavy on religious content, so if that's not your thing, or you're not interested in that, no judgment. This may not be the episode for you. But I hope you'll stick around as we talk about our faith journeys, planting an affirming church in Portland, and the things that COVID has exposed for the American church as a whole. 

You can contact Kurt & Sarah, and even schedule a virtual coffee with either one of them, at Cascadepdx.org

*Also, at the time this was recorded, my home was undergoing some renovation, so there are points in the episode where you can hear faint sounds of hammers and saws. I did my best to edit them out. Sorry about that!*

My guest on this episode is Art Williams. Art is the Founder and Co-Owner of The Influential Grooming Lounge, a locally owned barbershop committed to influencing the community not just with a haircut, but with the actions of involvement. Art is also a husband, father, and speaker, dedicated to helping young people discover their dopeness, and use it to positively influence others. 

You can find Art on:

Twitter: @dopeinfluencer

My guest on this episode is Jelani Memory. Jelani Memory is a husband, father, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of A Kid’s Book About, an independent publishing company that makes kids books that matter, because kids are ready. They have over 25 books in their catalog, and just celebrated their first birthday as a company, so they’re just getting started. Jelani lives in NE Portland with his wife and 6 children.

A Kid's Book About

Web: akidsbookabout.com

Instagram: @akidsbookabout

Twitter: @akidsbookabout

My guest on this episode is Jacobsen Valentine. Jacobsen is a chef, photographer, activist, and lover of people. He is the founder and executive director of Feed the Mass, a non-profit with the goal of bringing people together through food. They started as a non-profit cooking school, and since the onset of COVID, have been feeding over 1,500 people a week, all for free, all with locally sourced, healthy ingredients, all donated by local individuals and restaurants.

He’s also the founder of Empowerment Central, a co-working space specifically for the BIPOC community in Portland.

We talked all about growing up in Hawaii, what prompted a career in cooking, and how that led him to start devoting his life to meeting the needs of the people of Portland.

Feed the Mass

On this episode, I talk with Sunia Gibbs. Sunia is an artist, musician, activist, and co-pastor of The Groves church, a faith community in SE Portland focused on loving God, loving neighbor, and seeking anti-racism. We talked about lament in modern worship music, decolonizing Christianity, divorcing whiteness, and what Jesus really meant when he said "Love your Neighbor." 

You can find Sunia's art work on Instagram at instagram.com/suniacibbcreative.