This week I'm talking with Tyde-Courtney Edwards, an incredible woman, who has worked to transcend her own pain, through the healing power of dance. She has now founded her own ballet company, Ballet After Dark, to help other black women trauma survivors do the same.    Ballet After Dark is an immersive dance class and therapy program. Through social media, Tyde-Courtney received several requests to start her program worldwide, and now Ballet After Dark just launched their first international studio, in Mexico.   B.Monet, a renowned American filmmaker, heard of Tyde-Courtney’s story. As a result, she reached out, and together they created the beautiful, award-winning short film, Ballet After Dark. This film was produced by Queen Latifah, and is now streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime and screening at the Lunafest Film Festival across the country.   Tyde-Courtney is offering women an innovative, transformative, and positive way to cope with the grief of trauma. Listen in to hear more about my amazing guest this week, Tyde-Courtney Edwards. 

Maebe A. Girl is the first transgender woman to hold office in the United States, and she is fierce! When Maebe decided to run for the Silverlake Community Council in California, she wanted to represent who she was, and acknowledge her whole identity.  With that, Maebe decided to run with her drag queen stage name, Maebe A. Girl.

 

What I loved most about my conversation with Maebe, was her irrepressible enthusiasm, and dedication to servant leadership. Her mission is to Protect. Advocate. Legislate. Primarily, Maebe is focused on solving homelessness, and LGBTQ rights. 

 

LGBTQ youth represent as much as 40% of the homeless youth population.  Maebe is actively working with organizations like The Trevor Project: 

 

“The Trevor Project exhorts policymakers to fully fund programs that support homeless youth and to legislate environments of LGBTQ inclusion and affirmation.” 

 

In March 2020 Maebe ran for congress against Representative Adam Schiff. Although she did not win the nomination, she came in third place, and missed second place by only 1,114 votes. Don’t count Maebe out for another congressional run!

 

In a completely unique and wonderful way, Maebe combines her natural joie de vivre with a strong dedication to advocating for homeless people, and the LGBTQ community. Her empathy and deep understanding of these issues is what sets Maebe apart as a council member.

 

Maebe A. Girl is asking us to “Go out and vote, and take a really honest look at who the candidates are...what would inspire you to support this candidate?  What is the change you want to see in the world?”

 

I believe these are the questions we need to ask ourselves at this incomprehensible time in America. I believe we need to vote for a president who is compassionate, integrous, and resolute in upholding equality for people of color, and the LGBTQ community. Now is the time to stand up for the marginalized and underrepresented people in our country. 

 

Vote.

 

To check your voter registration, to register, to find out how to vote by mail and get reminders, visit Vote.org.

Find Maebe A. Girl on: 

Instagram

Find out more about The Trevor Project. 

And watch Maebe A. Girl’s feature in Behind The Drag

I am beyond excited to tell you about my fabulous guest this week, Director Lisa Donato. Lisa’s first feature film, Gossamer Folds, was just selected for Geena Davis’s Bettonville Film Festival. Gossamer Folds, set in 1986, is about ten-year-old Tate, who is uprooted and moved unwillingly to the suburbs of Kansas City. As his parent's marriage unravels, Tate finds solace in the unlikely friendships of his next-door neighbors: a retired college professor and his transgender daughter, Gossamer.

 

Lisa Donato has directed so many fantastic short films including: There You Are, starring Jen Richards, now screening at the Lunafest Film Festival across the country.  Foxytrot, Spunkle, and a docu-series, Behind the Drag are a few more of the irresistible films that Lisa has created and directed. Join me for the ride!

 

Lisa also co-wrote Signature Move with Fawzia Mirza, a hilarious dramedy about 2 seemingly mismatched lesbian lovers, now on Amazon. 

 

Lisa Donato is a film director, screenwriter, and activist who is dedicated to centering the stories of people and communities relegated to the margins. She lives in Austin (Texas) with her wife, niece, and siamese rescue cat. When she's not making movies and videos, she's making playlists on Spotify or photographing nature and water reflections. She's a taco enthusiast and I often thinks about how she could feasibly bathe in a giant tub of mashed potatoes.

Watch Gossamer Folds here.

www.lisadonato.com

imdb.com

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Vimeo

In her story, Mutale connects us to the “unfavorable and limiting conditions,” of post-colonial Africa, which forced her emigration. This is the homeland she is seeking to restore within herself, through narrative storytelling. Her story provides some perspective on the far-reaching impact and devastations of the racist ideologies and practices that began when Europeans first set foot on the African continent, in the 15th century. Elevating the voices of people of color is vital, and Mutale’s story is one that informs and inspires. Mutale makes a call to first listen, and then to take action; for a better world and a better future.

Mutale Bingley was born in Botswana, Southern Africa. At the age of 19 she immigrated to the United States, originally arriving as an International Student. Mutale had very little in the way of financial resources, but despite this she understood that her only option was to succeed. Going back home, where she had left an alcoholic father, was not an option at the time. She wanted more than what her home life had given her. She hoped to begin a new life and find her dreams in America.

Mutale is a social worker at Veterans Affairs and lives in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters.

Find Mutale on:

Linkedin

 

Books:

"When She Was White", by Judith Stone

"Between The World and Me", by Ta-Nehisi Coates

My guest today is Victoria Maxwell, aka the Bipolar Princess.  In Victoria's one woman, international performance, "Crazy For Life", she talks about her own experience with having bipolar disorder in a hilarious, honest and moving way. 

Victoria was diagnosed with BP in her twenties, and struggled with her diagnosis and treatment in the beginning. No one wants to be nutbar, looney, loopy, or wacko.  These are some of the many words we have for crazy, as Victoria has said. Shortly after Victoria had a psychotic episode and ran naked down a major Vancouver street, things began to be more clear. It was an eye opening experience.  For literally everyone. 

There is so much stigma around metal illness, and even more misunderstanding about bipolar disorder. Talking with Victoria was such a weight off my shoulders. In her sharing her story, I was able to tell my own. 

Tune in for the season one finale episode. It's a doozy. 

www.victoriamaxwell.com

Find Victoria's Mental Health Resource & Tips Free Guide here.

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Please also subscribe to Victoria's newsletter to download the Escape the Vicious Triangle of Anxiety, Depression and Perfectionism guide.

Faith Alpher is my guest today, on this very poignant day, Juneteeth, 2020. 

In Faith's one woman sold-out show, Black Girl. Funny World, Faith portrays 25 different characters. It’s Intimate, humorous and heartwarming, showing traces of her life story and the many challenges she has faced and overcame. She has performed throughout the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area.

When I thought about all the questions I wanted to ask Faith, I realized that everything I wanted to talk about was in her show.  We talked about her experience in Catholic school, about being in an interracial marriage and having white in-laws, about hair (of course, HAIR!), and about Black Lives Matter.  

This was a very special interview for me. Faith's words and laughter went straight to my heart. Faith is the person who changes your life when she tells you her story. 

This is a heart broken wide open moment.

Listen in.

 

Watch Black Girl. Funny World here.

Visit Faith on her website here.

Find Faith on Instagram and Facebook.

 

BOOKS:

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business by Kindra Hall

My guest today is Sheba Simpson

Sheba is running for New York City Council, 9th District, Harlem, where she has lived for most of her life. Sheba is here to fight for affordable housing, excellent education for children, and much needed services for seniors.

Due to the skyrocketing rents in Harlem, Sheba and her family were forced to live outside of New York for seven years. As a mother of three children and a grandmother of five, Sheba knows firsthand how difficult it is to raise a family in the most expensive city in the five boroughs.  She has had to make the hard decision to feed her children or pay rent. She understands the stress one feels as they may be evicted because rent money has to be used to pay a medical bill or car repair. Fortunately, Sheba was able to move back to Harlem, to fight for affordable housing. Sheba is also advocating for programs that would build on the skills that Harlem’s children naturally possess. She has over twenty years of experience as a Special Education teacher, as well as administrative experience in New York City Public Schools.

Sheba knows seniors need resources and quality care. Harlem can no longer wait to provide the most vulnerable population with the resources they deserve. Growing up on the West side of Harlem in the eighties, Sheba witnessed how the crack epidemic devastated families by addiction, and incarceration.  She held on to the idea that when she grew up, she would help her community be a better place.  Together, Sheba believes in building a diverse, safe and welcoming community in Harlem. 

You can find Sheba on her website at: 

ShebaForCityCouncil.com

And on:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin

 

 

 

Today I am thrilled to interview Sally Colón-Petree, Director of the exhilarating film, “Women Like Us”.  In her film, Sally chronicles the the interviews of Catt Sadler, with powerful women leaders like Ida Betty Odinga, First Lady of Kenya and Dianne Hudson, Executive Producer of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Women change makers who will inspire you to step into your own leadership and create expansive change in your own community.

Sally is an award winning Puerto Rican Filmmaker from Chicago who relocated to Los Angeles in 1996 to pursue her career in the entertainment industry. Soon after arriving in LA, Sally was hired by MTV Networks as a contestant coordinator. She then went on to pursue acting and was featured in several television shows, national commercials and hosted television for several years. In 2004, Sally launched Dream On Productions, a Los Angeles based, female-driven boutique Production Company. Her first project was the reality show, “Tour TV”, followed by several films, music videos. In 2014, Sally made her directorial debut with the feature documentary, “Women Like Us”, featuring Catt Sadler, Sherri Shepherd and music by Grammy nominated artist, MOBY. In 2017 WLU premiered at the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival.  Since the premiere, WLU has been screened in over 100 theaters across the country, starting conversations about gender equality, with Gathr Films as the distributor. Sally is in post production on her second feature documentary, “Puerto Rico Se Levanta”, (working title), chronicling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the resilience and history of the Puerto Rican people, and has started writing her first script based on a true story. 

My guest today is Lisa Dennen-Young.  Lisa is the one to help you reach right into your soul, and find the words you are longing to say.  To speak your truth.  Lisa holds the space for you to reconnect with yourself, and align your voice with what you value most.

Epic-ally Expressed is about knowing how you want to show up, and then doing it.  Epically expressed is following through on what you believe in; in a very vocal and upfront way.  This may be in conversations with friends, or on social media.  Being an ally means that you are always an ally, that you are always communicating within your integrity. 

Lisa Dennen-Young, MA was the first woman of color (WOC) to graduate as a forensic linguist in the United States. For 10+ years she’s trained global audiences about diversity/equity/inclusion, cross-cultural communication, and expression across professional and personal relationships. 

Lisa mentors womxn to be epic-ally expressed leaders: living unapologetically themselves as their highest leadership. Her blend of fun and light-hearted depth includes dance, vocals, songwriting, spoken word, sound healing, rhythmic play, poetry, love coaching, and multilingual presenting. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese, with working knowledge of French, Turkish and Italian.

Free Gift: Upleveling Your Leadership Through Allyship 

Follow Lisa on:

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As a white woman, looking inward to my own white privilege is difficult. The conversations here are uncomfortable, and absolutely imperative if I am to "be the change I want to see in the world", as Mahatma Gandhi said so poignantly.

At times in this interview I felt awkward.  I searched for the right words.  But that's how it's supposed to be. By leaning in to the discomfort, I'm learning about my own biases and assumptions.  One thing I'm understanding now is, I don't even know what I don't know.  And thankfully, Myisha is here to guide me in this process of unpacking, creating awareness and living into the work of anti-racism.  

Myisha T Hill is a mental health activist, speaker, and entrepreneur passionate about the mental wellness and the empowerment for women.

In 2018, Myisha became curious about white women and privilege after ending a relationship with a co-worker that negatively impacted her mental health. This led her to identify her own internalized oppression and racism. Not interested in throw-away culture, she decided to seek out safe ways that white folks are showing up for Black, Brown and Indigenous Women of Color.

During Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, Myisha began her Check Your Privilege interview series inquiring into the work some white women are doing to show up safely for BIPoC and move beyond passive ally-ship to action driven co-conspirators.

Myisha works with organizations and community groups taking white people on a self-reflective journey exploring their relationship with power, privilege, and racism.

To learn more about Myisha's work, please visit her website at: www.checkyourprivilege.com

And find her book on Amazon at: Check Your Privilege