PowerShift | A Seat at the Dinner Table

Please join us for a meal! No, seriously, we'll be eating, Chicken Curry with Rice & Salad.

Can't wait to see you at the table!

Akmal Ali is President and Founder of the United Nations Association of Fiji. In the five years of its existence, the Basic Diplomacy Training Program run by UNA Fiji has gone from strength to strength under President Ali’s leadership, with over 300 people having been trained. Mr. Ali is a passionate believer in the concept of leadership through the art of diplomacy with the spirit of leaving no one behind, and he continues to grow UNA Fiji through his vision. With over 21 years of experience in working with stakeholders from local, national, regional, and global levels, Mr. Ali is a strong advocate for global citizenship education and specializes in the areas of Pacific Development, Human Development, Humanitarian Work, Governance, and High-Level Political Advocacy. He serves as the Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the Royal Commonwealth Society of Fiji (RCS), and is the UN Representative and Special Advisor on the Pacific for PEAC Institute, as well as serving as an Adviser for Reverse the Trend New York.

He has been employed at the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) since 2015 and is currently the Networking and Capacity Innovation Officer. In this role he works with the national liaison units (NLUs) of PIANGO in 24 Pacific countries and territories, translating the relevant international and regional commitments to the national and grassroots agenda. He works closely with START Network helping to design the Pacific Hub (Humanitarian Hub). He is also entrusted with networking and maintaining partnerships on behalf of PIANGO with partners and stakeholders at all levels. He has represented PIANGO and the Pacific in several high-level international meetings, such as the UN HLPF 2019 and the G20 Summit 2020, and is currently serving as a member of the C20 International Advisory Committee for the G20 Summit Italy 2021.

While Mr. Ali has successfully passed numerous training and certifications a few to highlight are; The Induction Course to Diplomatic Service in 2015 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Public Service Commission for the Government of Fiji. A Trainer of Trainers Certification in Leadership Development Program in 2016 by LEAD | Centre For Not For Profit Leadership, New Zealand. Funded by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, United States of America (USA). He has further completed Dan Dorrs: Diploma Advanced Leadership Training and also the Mastery of Being and Facilitation, the USA in 2018. If not working, Mr. Ali loves to cook, socialize, and entertain friends and guests by hosting dinners at his home.

No, seriously, we'll be eating, Dal & Rice. Grab a snack and listen OR if you feel adventurous and want to cook, the recipe is here: https://bit.ly/PowerShiftDalAndRice. Want to take the night off from cooking? Here are delivery options near you: https://bit.ly/PowerShiftDalDelivery

Can't wait to see you at the table! Rebecca + Ashok

Dr. Ashokakumar (Ashok) Mahendra Patel, M.D. is a global humanitarian, educator, and lung doctor at Mayo Clinic. He is committed to demonstrating that health and education are achievable bridges to peace and sustainable development. Through interpersonal service-learning and multi-scale community empowerment for over 40 years, he remains open to serving humanity and exponentially learning alongside all for the benefit of the next seven generations. His most treasured legacy includes the priceless and timeless moments with extended family, friends, peers, and emerging servant leaders at all levels of social collaboration... From local to global and beyond. His philosophy and intentions are best understood through those who resonate with the essence of what it means to strive as a lifelong service learner, inspiring healer, transdisciplinary educator, alchemist, and altruist.

Join Rebecca Irby + Pedro Serrano Thursday, June 24th, for a meal and meaningful, intimate talk on the Pride Movement, where it started, and learn about those who were there at its beginnings.

H.E. Leon Kaulahao Siu is the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Hawai’i and serves as a key strategist and a spokesman for the Kingdom. He has been involved since the early 1970s in each stage of the movement to reinstate the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent country. His duties as Foreign Minister are to normalize and resume diplomatic relations with other states and international bodies, including reviving existing treaties and agreements. Minister Siu was nominated for the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in promoting independence for West Papua.

Resources and additional materials:

Ceyenne Doroshow is the founder and executive director of G.L.I.T.S., where she works to provide holistic care to LGBTQ sex workers while serving on the following boards: SWOP-USA, Caribbean Equality Project, SOAR Institute, and NYTAG.

As an international public speaker, her past presentations have included The Desiree Alliance, Creating Change, SisterSong, Harm Reduction Coalition, and the International AIDS Conferences. She was a featured emcee for Toronto PRIDE and MOMA/PS1’s Sex Workers’ Festival of Resistance, lifting her voice as a trans woman of color.

Known for her skills in the kitchen, Ceyenne co-authored the Caribbean cookbook Cooking in Heels, while incarcerated on prostitution charges. She is currently working on her second book, titled Falling Into the Fire.

Grab a snack and listen OR if you feel adventurous and want to cook, here's the recipe: http://bit.ly/CeyenneShepherdsPie. Vegetarian? We have you covered: http://bit.ly/PowerShiftVegetarianPie. If you're like Rebecca and don't cook:) delivery options here: https://bit.ly/PowerShiftShepherdsPie.

Stick around from 7 to 7:30 for dessert where we’ll be joined by G.L.I.T.S.!

Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society — We approach the health and rights crises faced by transgender sex workers holistically using harm reduction, human rights principles, economic and social justice, along with a commitment to empowerment and pride in finding solutions from our own community. The first issue we address is that of immediate need/crisis support for transgender sex workers, including community members from the NYC area, across the US, and globally through supporting asylum seekers from our priority communities. The next issue we address is health care and health resilience for transgender sex workers. We need to address this issue because our community is hyper-marginalized and has a profound need for safe sex supplies and free/low-cost health to address both trans-specific and holistic needs. We currently work on housing since so many in our G.L.I.T.S. community are without stable housing, deepening the cycle of disenfranchisement. G.L.I.T.S. also advocates and educates to ensure the health, wellness, and inclusion of transgender people in our society and to address the stigmatization and criminalization of trans people because of anti-prostitution/anti-sex work laws.

[ Guest visit postponed due to family loss. We will be joined by Ceyenne on April 29, 2021 ]  

Dear PowerShifters, 

At this dinner table, we will be joined by Neda, a Fellow at WCAPS | Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security, a platform devoted to uplifting women of color in foreign policy. 

We welcome you to join us for dinner.

Want to take the night off from cooking? Here are delivery options near you: http://bit.ly/ManousheDelivery

At this dinner table, we will be joined by SirRoan Smiley, founder of We Are Earth (WAE), a regenerative urban farm co-op, featuring high yield vertical farms in collaboration with GROWBOX™. WAE serves as a social and food justice nexus that concentrates on decentralizing farm operations and ownership in which marginalized community members will be the primary growers, distributors, and producers of nutrient-dense foods and wellness products.

Come and join us as we learn SirRoan's story as a music creative, and now an advocate for social and food justice, only on MIDHEAVEN.network

This week, we're visiting with Cynthia Leung and eating Congee with Char Siu. The recipe is here: CONGEE WITH CHAR SIU. If you want to learn how to cook it, go for it OR just grab a snack and come listen in. Vegetarian or vegan? No problem! GLUTEN-FREE/ VEGAN RECIPE HERE!

And if you’re like Rebecca... You can automatically find takeout options near you here: CONGEE NEAR ME. We recommend ordering by 4P to ensure your meal arrives for our 6P meal.

Stick around from 7 to 7:30 for dessert where we’ll be joined by Jennifer Zhang, Executive Director of #TheWorldIsWatching!!

NATALIA BONILLA is an award-winning international journalist, communications consultant & experiential producer with more than a decade working in over 12 countries. Her consultancy work provides feminine leadership, business strategy, communications solutions to international female-led and sustainability-driven enterprises to increase their social impact worldwide. She holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of York, a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico and a Pg.Dp. in Conflict and Peace Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Bonilla has produced three documentaries and currently edits the positive social impact magazine Lumina.