Shukura Taylor is a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle content creator that focuses on fashion and beauty from a black women’s perspective. Though all women are welcome, she often focuses on the beauty and fashion issues specific to black women. Self-confidence, feeling and looking your best, as well as finding your own personal style are weaved into the ethos of Shukura’s brand.    She holds degrees in Education, Counseling, and is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology. While studying at the Fashion Institute of technology, she learned the ins and outs of the business of fashion, how to spot trends, and the importance that the fashion industry has on the economy. It wasn’t until she graduated from F.I.T, with a BA in Fashion Business Management, that she realized the role that fashion and beauty played in the confidence of women across the world and how black women were being left out of the story, so she decided to design her own narrative.    Shukura was a teacher for over 15 years and learned so much about leadership, organization, and self-discipline. She also learned many things about herself during this time. Paramount among them, was that with God's help she could do anything. Though she loves children, the practice of teaching, and the joy that she gets from shaping young minds she felt compelled to use her fashion degree and pursue her other passion.    Shukura stepped out on faith, stepped away from teaching, and got a job as a secretary in a law office. This job allowed her to still make a living, fund her YouTube channel and brand, and lean into the plans that God had for her. Then, the pandemic hit, her office shut down and she was out of a job, but that didn’t stop her. She was raised to know that all things work together for the good of them who love the lord. So, she persisted. She put in thousands of hours working on her brand and now has two streams of income and is working on many more. She believes that what God has for her is for her and she will continue to persist, prevail, and push on. Follower journey on IG, Facebook, and You Tube @simplykura or her website http://simplykura.com/

Kym Hampton has lived one dream through basketball and continues to pursue others. Having completed a 15 year professional basketball career not only in the WNBA, but Spain, Italy, France and Japan, the transition should be a natural one. The multi-talented Ms. Hampton currently works in community relations for WNBA team, the New York Liberty. She also serves as an ambassador for the WNBA, NBA and New York Knicks. A high school basketball and track star from Louisville Kentucky, Ms. Hampton was inducted into the Dawahares KHSAA Hall of Fame in 2005. She attended Arizona State University on a full athletic scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Kym will go down as one of the most decorated players to ever wear a Sun Devil jersey. To date, she remains the all-time leading scorer and rebounder (male or female) in ASU history. During Kym’s 12th season in Europe, the WNBA was formed. Ms. Hampton was the 4th pick in the Elite first round draft, by the New York Liberty. Kym was voted starting center in the WNBA’s inaugural All-Star game. During Kym’s three year tenure, she started every game for the Liberty until a knee injury curtailed her career. Ms. Hampton has also remained close to the sport as a Color Analyst and Motivational Speaker. She has shared her inspirational message with children, adolescents as well as adults. Her mission is to show others (especially girls and youth) the powerful effect sports can have on one’s life. Since leaving the sport as a player, Ms. Hampton has augmented her motivational speaking career by working as professional plus model, actress and singer. For more information about check out her personal website www.kymhampton.com.

Our special Mother's Day episode takes a look at what it means to BE MORE than a mother with NYC DOE Site Supervisor Vanessa Thomas-McKinney This show focuses on what it takes to raise children in today's society, thoughts on the connections between motherhood and womanhood, and why mothers are truly superheroes in disguise. Follow Vanessa's journey on IG @queenbvt56.

Michael is Senior Director and Head of Brand and Content Marketing at Mailchimp. 

Michael previously lead Brand & Experience Strategy at Publicis Sapient. He directed ideation and insight creation across EMEA and APAC, he inspires creative performance, elevates branded experiences, manages client relationships and motivates creative staff.

From New York to Sydney, Singapore to London, Michael has helped brands like GE, Toyota, AT&T, Unilever, Heineken, Standard Chartered, GSK and Opera Australia use insights strategically — helping them stand out and tell their stories to the world.

An experienced brand consultant, Michael was previously Associate Creative Director at POSSIBLE, and Associate Director at Interbrand.

Prior to Interbrand, Michael earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from The New School in New York.

He believes in the creative power of words. When chosen carefully, they have the ability to truly transform a brand—creating real, emotional connections with audiences.

For nearly 40 years of existence, Diego Cepeda has led a life of constant adventure.  He holds 4 nationalities all in one body -- two of them North America and two South America.  He has lived all over the place between way north Canada, the real OC - Orange County, New York, Memphis, Michigan, Chicago, and Texas!  It was during his middle school days Diego befriended Sean Thomas and had to settle on being the second best athlete, second best leader, and second best on the dance floor.  The friendship has continued for about thirty years, which seems like a really long time to have a friend.  As a kid he had visions of being an anthropologist, architect, astronaut, chemical engineer... and finally settled on hotel management by the time he graduated high school in Memphis, Tennessee.  To learn the ropes of the hospitality industry, Diego attended Michigan State University, learned what good basketball and hockey look like, and post-graduation went to start his career in Chicago.  Diego spent a nib above 9 years in Chi-Town mastering the world of food, starting with working as a room service manager serving celebrities at a top ranked hotel, The Peninsula Chicago, followed by being the head restaurant manager on a dining cruise ship , and then during the recession transitioning to doing market research for the food industry while starting up a European bakery with a truly unique French chef. Towards the end of three years of operating the bakery, Diego wrote a movie script about the stressed days as an entrepreneur intermingled with the chef's unbelievable life happenings. After selling his interest, Diego pursued business school.

Diego had decided enough of an agitated hustling life, and time to go back to school to master marketing. Diego arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan in August 2012 as the start of life changing experience at the University of Michigan, where he pursued an MBA.  2 years later after gallivanting, throwing international parties, studying to the wee hours of the night at the dead silent law library, working in a casino in Santiago, Chile, and recruiting, Diego landed a marketing role at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas.  At Dell, Diego met his wife Tong Zhang, and they live a happy Texan life with a mini dachshund Bebe.  For the last 7 years, Diego has hopped around from Dell to a few other software companies delving into all corners of marketing, and now is happily product marketing at Snow Software. To contact him directly email him at [email protected]

MCK is an entrepreneur, obsessive note-taker, and Bic pen connoisseur who creates spaces and practical tools for people of all walks of life that make it easy to ask and receive good questions – the key to finding our answers. He accidentally created The Bounce Conversation Framework, a 20-minute conversation tool he developed while overcoming a difficult relationship. And now facilitates The Bounce Exchange (TBX) community and Bounce Exchange workshops to connect people - who otherwise wouldn't meet - for honest conversations so they can better understand themselves, build better relationships, and act with confidence. Since 2015, he's brought together folks across 25 countries for over 2,000 Bounce Conversations. MCK thinks of himself as a Third Culture Adult having spent most of the last 15 years living in China after growing up in Upstate NY and going to Brown University (where Sean changed his life). He loves connecting with folks who are different from him and hosts a weekly sharing event based on his favorite piece of Chinese wisdom, "When three people go walking, my teacher must be there." And believes in the mantra, "QSATA" - that questions are the answer. Join us (I'll be there) for a special Bounce Exchange workshop on April 24 from 7:30-9:30 pm. For more details and a chance to sign-up go to www.qsata.com/bemoretoday/ You can also connect with MCK on LinkedIn (type in MCK Michael Keefrider) and look for "The Questions Guy," Instagram www.instagram.com/mck123_ or on Clubhouse @mck123

Welcome to our special Easter Edition of the Be More Today Show featuring Pastor Edsel B. Cadet. 

Co-host: T Farrell, Host of The Words 4 Life Podcast

Music: "End Your Pain Not Your life" featuring Pastor Edsel B. Cadet (composed by T Farrell)

Pastor Edsel B. Cadet was born and raised in Queens, New York, and is a graduate of Stony Brook University of Long Island, New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In the midst of his undergraduate studies and while preparing to enter law school, he experienced the call of God to ministry.   His posts as Vice President of the Stony Brook Gospel Choir and Coordinator of Friday Night Live at the Beraca SDA Church served to spark his love for God and passion for ministry.  Shortly after completing his studies at Stony Brook University, he was enrolled at Andrews University’s Theological Seminary where he received a Master of Divinity degree.   While at Andrews University, he served as the Administrative Pastor of New Life Fellowship, the Host of Sabbath School University on the Hope Channel, one of the Founders and President of Andrews University Adventist Youth (AUAY), as well as one of the lead student Chaplains for the University.   He is currently the pastor of the Cambridge SDA Church in Everett MA, where they have been blessed to acquire a 2.3 million dollar worship facility and they have experienced wonderful growth as the attendance has doubled since 2017. Edsel has a passion. for mental health and he is currently pursuing a master's in clinical mental health counseling with a concentration in couples and family therapy and an emphasis in African, African American, and Caribbean Mental Health.    Edsel is married to his best friend Nyasha, and together they love to make a difference in their community.  He is the co-author of the new book “Still Thirsty” which can be found on his personal webpage https://www.edselbcadet.org/

Ankoor Shah, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H is a general pediatrician and currently the Principal Senior Deputy Director at the D.C. Department of Health. As Senior Deputy Director of Department’s Community Health Administration (CHA), he leads the public health responsibility for improving health outcomes in the District across five broad areas: chronic disease prevention and control; perinatal and infant health; child, adolescent, and school health; nutrition and physical activity; and primary care access and quality.

During the District’s COVID-19 pandemic response, Dr. Shah has critically served in a myriad of functions, including advising reopening metrics, supporting safe functions within childcares, schools, and universities, coordinating access to care strategies across the District’s healthcare systems, and directing the District’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program.

Dr. Shah previously was a Medical Director and Community Pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital. He was named a ’40 under 40’ leader in minority health by the National Minority Quality Forum.

He graduated magna cum laude from Emory University; afterwards he continued to complete his medical and public health training at Emory School of Medicine and Emory Rollins School of Public Health. He received his MBA from the George Washington University School of Business. He finished his pediatric residency and chief residency at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Dr. Shah is board-certified in General Pediatrics and Clinical Informatics.

#pediatrics #ballerstep #mph #mba #dc #doh #covid19 #community #bemoretoday #ordinarypeople #extraordinarythings #40under40 #forevertrue #emoryuniversity

David Lee Bruton Jr. is a former American football strong safety and special teamer. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. He was also a member of the Washington Redskins.

Bruton attended Miamisburg High School in Miamisburg, Ohio. As a senior, he recorded 54 tackles, three interceptions and broke up seven passes on defense, while catching 10 passes for 200 yards on offense. He earned All-Division I-II all-area honors from Dayton Daily News and won all-district honors on defense.

Bruton played four seasons for Notre Dame, playing as a starter in his junior and senior seasons. Bruton finished his career with 214 total tackles and seven interceptions. His best season came as a senior, when he finished second on the team with 97 total tackles and had a team-high four interceptions. In Bruton's final college game, he had an interception in the Hawaii Bowl, helping Notre Dame win its first bowl game since the 1993 season. Bruton graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 with a bachelor's degree, majoring in political science and sociology.

Bruton was selected in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Before the 2009 season, Bruton signed a four-year contract with Denver. Bruton made his first career start on December 20, 2009 against the Oakland Raiders where he recorded 4 tackles. Bruton finished his rookie 2009 season with 14 total tackles. During the lockout he has taken a job as a substitute teacher in Miamisburg Ohio.

Bruton provided the Broncos with depth at the safety position, yet he was mostly used on special teams and was considered one of the best special teamers in the league. Bruton had been the Broncos' special teams captain for the 2013–2015 seasons.

On February 7, 2016, Bruton was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.

During the 2011 NFL offseason, Bruton served as an elementary and high school substitute teacher in his former school district in Miamisburg, Ohio. He obtained a one-year license to substitute teach from the Ohio Department of Education. Bruton was selected as the Broncos' 2015 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. He was recognized for his community and charity efforts including work with his charity, "Bruton's Books". For more information about this amazing organization click on https://brutonsbooks.org/

Episode 51 of the Be More Today Show will feature Multiple Sclerosis fighter Bianca Isabella Humpert.

Bianca Humpert was born on December 10, 1991. She had a happy childhood full of laughter and smiles. After some troubled teenage years, she departed for Syracuse University, the sunless city that offered no vitamin D opportunities. At age 20 she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and spent the next few years understanding nothing about this auto immune condition and did everything her doctors recommended. After getting sicker and sicker even to the point of being deathly ill, she decided that she had enough; there had to be a better way. She decided to come off all medication no matter what that would mean. She changed her diet and excluded meat, dairy and refined sugar. With those changes, along with a newfound faith in God, everything changed. Living practically disease-free she was finally able to take a job as a kindergarten teacher. At this point she felt practically disease free. Unfortunately, the stress that came along with her beloved job affected her health greatly. Now she remembers what it is like to have MS and she has spent the better part of the last year in recovery mode. Unable to walk or see properly with shaky hands, she is relying on God for a soon recovery.

#bemoretoday #bmtshow #multiplesclerosisawareness #ordinarypeople #extraordinarythings #walkingbyfaith #getupandmove