The Jessica Moore Show

Meico Whitlock helps changemakers create work-life and tech-life balance so they can do their best work better while living their best lives. He is the founder and CEO of Mindful Techie, author of the Intention Planner, and a certified mindfulness teacher. Through speaking, training, and coaching, he facilitates transformative experiences that foster wellbeing in a hyperconnected and distracted world. He has worked with organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cigna, and Greenpeace, and has been a featured speaker on ABC News, Fox 5, and Radio One. He’s a former triathlete, loves salsa dancing, and makes the world’s best vegan chili! He holds an M.S. in Information Science from the University of Michigan and a B.A. Political Science and Spanish from Morehouse College.

Dali Rivera is the creator of the Anti-Bullying & Diversity Academy (#DABA), a series of online mini-courses and in-person workshops for parents, guardians, and educators to learn how and what to teach their kids about bullying and how to embrace others’ differences as well as their own in order to promote equality. Dali is also a U.S. Army veteran, speaker, parent to two young girls, and wife of a disabled veteran. She earned a master’s degree in Women & Gender Studies from Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Dali’s passion to stop bullying comes from her own personal experiences as a bullied child, from having become an advocate for her own daughter and for others. She has dedicated herself to research on the topic of bullying, diversity, confidence-building, and unconscious behaviors that play a role in bullying and how we treat others. You can learn more about Dali and #DABA at https://www.dalitalks.com. Follow Dali at:

 Short YouTube Link: https://buff.ly/3aEUNYj 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dalitalks/                                                                     Clubhouse https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@dalitalks

Yasmin Mistry is an Emmy-nominated animator and filmmaker. Her work has been displayed worldwide including showings at the United Nations and White House as well as at film festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca and DOC NYC. She is the recipient of grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Puffin Foundation, Riverside Sharing Fund, Artists Volunteer Center, and Harnisch Foundation, in addition to being a finalist for the 2018 & 2019 ITVS Diversity Development Fund. When not working as an artist, Yasmin dedicates her time to the foster youth of New York City. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate, she received the 2012 Advocate of The Year Award for her dedication to getting services for foster care children with special needs, and the 2018 CASA Hero Award for her advocacy work. Yasmin was inspired to create a documentary film series about foster care when she realized the voices of the children she worked with were not being heard and their stories never told. In 2012 she founded the Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP), which gives current and former foster youth a chance to tell their own stories. The films (which are created with the help of foster youth, foster families and social workers) have screened at over 140 film festivals and been nominated for more than 80 awards. 

Links: 

http://fostercarefilm.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/fostercarefilm 

https://twitter.com/FosterCareFilm 

https://www.instagram.com/fostercarefilm/ 

https://vimeo.com/fostercarefilm 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7mxgH9J18iv_-XEBaD4Gdg

For the past 6 years Alisha Washington has been the Health Educator for Greater Harrisburg Healthy Start in which she facilitates and presents education sessions for mothers and their families on various topics concerning maternal mental and physical health and well-being. For 5 of those years, she played a dual role as director of the Triple P parenting program which provided private sessions and seminars for families in need of educations on managing childhood behaviors. Many of her families were serviced by the Social Service department and foster care system. Alisha holds a master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development from Capella University, a bachelor’s in Psychology from Morgan State University (HBCU), and certification in Applied Behavioral Analysis, also from Capella University.

For the past 6 years Alisha Washington has been the Health Educator for Greater Harrisburg Healthy Start in which she facilitates and presents education sessions for mothers and their families on various topics concerning maternal mental and physical health and well-being. For 5 of those years, she played a dual role as director of the Triple P parenting program which provided private sessions and seminars for families in need of educations on managing childhood behaviors. Many of her families were serviced by the Social Service department and foster care system. Alisha holds a master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development from Capella University, a bachelor’s in Psychology from Morgan State University (HBCU), and certification in Applied Behavioral Analysis, also from Capella University.

Tamrah Barber’s vision is to empower teens and give them the tools to discover their magnificence, unleash their full potential, and master their mindset! As a certified professional coach, transformational trainer, philanthropist and speaker, Tamrah has dedicated her life to nurturing the inner genius of the teenage soul.   Tamrah is a wife, mother, and a seasoned business professional.  She is also the President & Founder of Extreme Teen Leaders, Inc and has over 20 years of experience developing youth programs. In addition, Tamrah has over 20 years of experience in information technology and business development and has completed extensive leadership development and personal effectiveness training. By leveraging her professional and life experience, Tamrah is committed to giving back to youth in the community. Through the XTL360 Teen Leadership Program, teens from all over the world embark on a journey to discover their significance. Tamrah completed her bachelors’ degree at University of Maryland University College, and is a strong proponent on STEM education. Through the XTL360 principles of discipline, integrity, responsibility, enrollment, commitment, and teamwork teens are empowered to accomplish the extraordinary and are held to a higher standard she knows they are capable of attaining. Background, Expertise & Achievements     •    Over 20 years experience in IT consulting and business development for large corporations     •    Over 10 years experience managing custom software development teams     •    Experienced technologist and business solution strategist for State & Local government sector     •    Over 10 years experience coaching executive leadership and highly skilled technologists     •    Nonprofit business owner and founder of leadership and personal effectiveness training for youth     •    International livestream speaker and content developer Accreditations & Degrees     •    Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration, University of Maryland University College     •    ICF Certified Professional Coach (PCC)     •    Nonprofit President & Founder     •    Certified Transformational Trainer & Leading Edge Speaker     •    Presentation Delivery & Orals Coach 

Links: 

https://www.instagram.com/teen_interventionist/

Hi! My name is Rachel Rowlett, I am an undergraduate Social Work student at Arkansas State University and will be graduating in May. I have been with Christians 4 Kids since August and I love working with our organization! 

Instagram: @christians4kids 

Facebook: Christians 4 Kids

Markeisha Hall is a IEP Coach, Certified Autism Travel Professional, Parent Empowerment Partner, and CEO of Hallegacy, LLC. After 11 dedicated years of facilitating over two dozen IEP meetings annually as a member of the Assessment Team, Markeisha knew she needed to be a Special Education Teacher and advocate to help parents be more impactful members at the table. As a classroom teacher of special needs students exclusively, Markeisha knew first-hand the value of parents being an integral partner in their students' educational journey. More recently, Markeisha became more intimate with this reality when her family adopted their youngest son. During the adoption process, he was diagnosed with Autism. Having to employ her professional skills into her immediate family, Markeisha gained a new vantage point of being empowered to lead her child with special needs educational experience. Without hesitation Markeisha knew she was meant to take a bold leap into helping empower parents as her life’s work. Markeisha is now bringing her IEP process mastery and special needs expertise into consulting services to help parents take the lead on their students' educational roadmap, create more inclusive educational and recreational experiences, and shift from awareness to empowered action. Markeisha provides a cohesive, streamlined approach with a child-centered focus that allows parents to navigate the many facets of the IEP process as a collaborative advocate for their child. Through her signature system, Markeisha empowers families to confidently advocate their child's educational journey, master the IEP process, partner with schools to create more effective learning opportunities, and experience inclusive recreational activities. 

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/hallmarkeisha 

https://www.instagram.com/markeisha_hall/ 

https://expert-writer-2426.ck.page/

We are Jason and Amanda Palmer. We have been together for 20 years. Our experience has involved raising biological kids, step kids, extended family, adopting 4 kids, and fostering about 20 kids over our 2 decades together. After our second son was born we were not able to have any more kids biologically. Amanda was always a mother at heart. As a young girl, at 5 years old she was tasked with taking care of her newborn brother due to her mother’s struggle with addiction. Years of taking care of kids and experiencing the pain of not having a mother present in her life for most of the time; she wanted to help kids who didn’t have the love and support she craved for so many years. I (Jason) was raised in a quasi-cult and was disgusted by the “Holier Than Thou” mentality I saw when I left the church coupled with a complete disregard for the church’s charge to care for orphans. After a few years, we began researching adoption, specifically international adoption (this was during China’s “One Child Policy”). After a bit of research it was apparent it was cost-prohibitive for us at that time. Our Adoption Journey Begins A chance encounter with the licensing worker at our local Children’s Division left us feeling pulled toward Foster Care. Everything fell into place so quickly that we were licensed and taking in children quicker than we would have imagined. Our first placement was a brother and sister who had a deceased father and an incarcerated mother. She did not work her case plan and ended up losing her Parental Rights to the State. We were advised by the Judge that it was time to file a petition for adoption if we were interested. There were biological family members who were aware of the situation and they would have “first preference” due to being family (if they wanted to file). No one else filed a competing petition and our petition for adoption was granted. We continued to foster kids and considered adopting another child, but the right opportunity never presented itself. More kids... Then we found out that a distant step-relative of Amanda was in foster care and we had taken care of him off and on for the first year of his life already. It was a no-brainer. Of course, we wanted him to be in a place where he would be comfortable with people he already knew. Then we were contacted by the Children’s Division about an addicted infant that needed a place, and we agreed to take him in too. Neither of these two boy’s families chose to follow their case plan and eventually signed off their parental rights and they were legally available for adoption. We had already been the place where they had been for most of their lives so we decided to file 2 petitions for adoption and that rounded us out at 7 kids. What We Are Doing Now. Along the road, we decided to create a podcast about foster care and adoption. It has been a weekly podcast called Foster Care: An Unparalleled Journey that we have hosted for a little over a year now. We have had the honor to talk to current and former foster parents and kids as well as adoptive parents and adoptees as well. We have even gotten to talk to professionals who help kids from hard places in order to create a supportive environment for everyone involved. We continue to keep our home open for kids in foster care but I am pretty sure we are done adopting… for now.

Links:

 https://fostercarenation.com [email protected] https://linktr.ee/fostercarenation https://www.facebook.com/groups/fostercareuj https://www.instagram.com/fostercarenation/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/foster-care-an-unparalleled-journey/id1489772654 https://open.spotify.com/show/4zGv5CG8W7g7K6m5sycNKM https://patreon.com/fostercarenation