Teen G.E.N. Talks

In this weeks episode, Melissa and Desiree had the pleasure of talking to Grace Shim! Grace grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma as one of two Korean-Americans at her high school (her sister was the other one). Today, Grace writes books with Korean-American protagonists that she wished she had read about as a teen, including the acclaimed The Noh Family. When she’s not plotting (the writing kind, not the world domination kind), you can find her wearing a Korean sheet mask, baking French macarons, and unintentionally killing house plants & succulents. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three kids.

In this weeks episode Melissa & Desiree had the pleasure of talking to Tina Gustafon! Tina is a Northern Arizona Master Gardener with nearly a decade of gardening experience and a Master’s in Environmental Studies. Tina wants to share her love of gardening by helping people create edible gardens everywhere. She believes gardens will improve our sustainability, environmental footprint, and food sovereignty for both humans and pollinators.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Chad Lucas, newspaper reporter, communications adviser, freelance writer, part time journalism instructor, parenting columnist, and award-winning author. Chad's childhood love of reading influenced him to write to initially publish a book but as he grew older turned towards journalism to make a living.

Love of writing from reading a lot,  trying to get published at a young age, but turning to journalism to help make a living, he learned many different writing skills along the way and eventually the process of publishing, writing characters, putting trust in an artist to convey your ideas, and his inspiration to continue writing.

In this weeks episode, Melissa & Desiree had the pleasure of talking to Maynard Okereke, or better known as the Hip Hop M.D. Maynard graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Civil Engineering.  He is an award winning Science Communicator, having received both the Asteroid Award for "Best Streaming Content" and the People of Change Award for his community outreach efforts.  His passion for science and entertainment, along with his curiosity for new innovation has taken him through an incredible life journey.Noticing a lack of minority involvement in the S.T.E.M. fields, he created Hip Hop Science with the goal of encouraging minorities and youth to pursue more advanced career paths.  His background in engineering, acting, business, and credible work within the music industry as an artist, make him uniquely qualified to engage on a wide variety of topics from an entertaining perspective.  This is highly reflected in his weekly vlogs and daily social media posts which provide both humorous and informative #SciComm content.

In this weeks episode, Melissa & Sarah had the pleasure of talking to Jasmine Maria Vargas. Jasmine is a beauty and lifestyle content creator that shares videos ranging from beauty tips and makeup looks to makeup reviews and affordable fashion. She is also a wedding makeup artist and when she is not running two businesses she loves a good thriller or romance book.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Ruth Chan! Ruth is an illustrator and author who spent her childhood tobogganing in Canada, her teens in China, a number of years studying art and education, and a decade working with youth and families in underserved communities. She now writes and illustrates full-time in Brooklyn NY. 

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Raffi Wartanian, writer, musician, and educator. Raffi shares how his involvement with theatre and production and attraction to creativity, art and, music during his childhood influenced him to pursue writing in college to kickstart where he is now. Listen in to hear more on the different mediums of writing he pursued during college that influenced his expression of narratives, the build up to how he became an educator and how acting helps him perform for his students, and what he learned by visiting and connecting with his roots.

In this weeks episode, Melissa and Desiree had the pleasure of talking to Zeke Peña. Zeke is a Xicano storyteller and cartoonist from El Paso, TX. He illustrated the award-winning books My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Kokila, 2019) and Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide (Getty Publications, 2017). His studio work is a mash-up of political cartoon, border rasquache and Hip Hop culture that addresses identity, politics, ecology and social justice. Zeke is currently writing and illustrating a story for young readers about growing up in the desert.

In this weeks episode, hosts Melissa and Desiree interview Kristin Donnelly! Kristin is the author of Modern Potluck and works with many other authors to help them write their books. She is also a recipe developer and copywriter and lives in New Hope, PA.  Listen on to hear Kristin talk about her journey on how she went from being a food editor for FOOD & WINE to creating her own cookbooks and everything in between. 

In this weeks episode, hosts Melissa and Desiree  had the pleasure of talking to Sallie Anne Rodriguez. Sallie is a Latina writer, researcher, and former head of U.S. Hispanic marketing for Citibank, where she supported diversity initiatives. She studied Communications at Loyola University in New Orleans and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Miami.