Teen G.E.N. Talks

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guests Julien and Kiersten Saunders, the Atlanta based co-creators of the lifestyle blog Rich & Regular. Together, they paid off $200k in debt in five years and were able to walk from their corporate jobs before turning 40. Now they are adding authors to their resume as their debut book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away hit bookshelves everywhere. 

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Teresa Flores, interdisciplinary artist who is the official Artist in Residence for the City of Los Angeles. Teresa paints the story of her past of when she fell in love with art and the journey she had to take, leaving her home to acquire her Master of Fine Arts. Listen in to hear more of the experiences Teresa went through as the path of being a teacher found her through workshops, integrating her heritage into her work, running a gallery, and balancing her passion of teaching and art.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Maryl Fleisher, program supervisor of GLAC, holding a BA in Theater, former operations assistant at New Victory Theater, Camp Manager of Camp Broadway, and On With The Show. Maryl recounts how her passion for theater was ignited with musicals in high school, which led her on the path of an arts magnet program. Listen in to hear more on the connections Maryl’s journey helped her make from New York to across the country with Camp Broadway, On With the Show, the Getty, Mondavi Center of Performing Arts and here in the GLAC family!

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Mai Imai, who got her Journalism degree from Syracuse University and is the owner and founder of Paper Treats, an online Japanese stationery shop. Mai shares how her gravitation towards books when she was younger found her love for writing, and her brother’s love for sports would influence her to pursue Journalism in University. She didn’t accomplish her goal as a sports journalist, taking her on a different path and it wasn’t until she started her family and her daughter grew that the development of the road back to reconnecting her roots would start the path of PaperTreats.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest John Parra, an award winning artist, illustrator, author, and educator. John shares how from an early age his parents influenced his love of storytelling with his father’s stories and his mother taking him to the library along with movies and TV shows.

Listen in to hear what was the spark for John pursuing illustration and transitioned from being influenced to create art to being the one now influencing artists.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Carlos Cruz, an artist with a major in communications, program manager of Gameheads, former Impact Manager of City Year Cleveland, and volunteer moderator and public speaker at Latinx in Gaming. Carlos shares how he first got into communications which helped pave the path for him to find Gameheads through a chance encounter at Latinx in Gaming. Listen in to hear more about his passion for the gaming industry for the kids in his community as well as the new adventures he experiences every day at Gameheads and how helping the kids in his community is a learning experience.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Kenneth Hughes!  Kenneth has worked with the Coen Brothers, Michael Bay, Anthony Russo, Jim Carrey, Madonna, and Meryl Streep. He has appeared in countless films, tv, theater, and commercials, and has won awards and screened in festivals including Cannes & Sundance. He is president of Trees of Shade, Inc and president of the Unified Everything Project. He has directed and produced music videos, commercials, films, stage, and is a Professional Dodgeballer (no...really).

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest and fellow library staff, recent real estate agent, and holistic health coach: Tatevik Hakoyan! Tatevik shares her journey as a librarian and how the pandemic made her realize how much she loved to help people, influencing her pursuit in both real estate and health. Listen in to hear more on what Tatevik has learned more about herself as she pursued her passions further while balancing them with her personal life.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Joey Clift! Joey is a comedian, TV writer, and enrolled Cowlitz Indian Tribal Member. Writing credits include Spirit Rangers on Netflix, New Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network and Molly of Denali on PBS. He was named one of Uproxx’s “26 Native American Comedians To Follow in 2020” and his animated digital short How to Cope with Your Team Changing Its Native American Mascot was released by Comedy Central in October 2021. Most importantly, he created the LA Underground Cat Network, which is a 15,000-member strong Facebook group for Los Angeles comedians to share pictures of their cats.

In this week's episode, Melissa and Desiree interview special guest Stacy, personal trainer and fitness instructor at YIP Fitness, which has online workout programs for Women.  Stacy wants to help her mother — and women everywhere — stay functional and happy as long as possible. Stacy has been a personal trainer since 2014. After being certified with NASM (National Association of Science Medicine), she adheres to a tailored science-based training program to empower individual clients to use their time and energy efficiently. Today, Stacy strives to help more women age well and maintain strength. She has introduced more basic exercises and positive nutrition habits to her own mother and now has her sights set on helping all women 50+ around the world.