The Platinum Mask

Kamilla Fayz is the founder of IKAT wear and a big cultural ambassador of her country, Uzbekistan. She also works for a non-profit organization which helps people from around the world learn more about American culture by means of cultural exchange.

You can learn more about IKAT wear here: www.ikatwear.com and more about Uzbekistan here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiJVQZmLaHE

Also more about cultural exchange and how you can host an international student, here:  https://chinet.org/for-host-families/ 

Or how you can travel like a local on a budget internationally here: https://chinet.org/travel-the-world/

Follow her story on IG: @Kamilla Fayz

Gabrielle Dawn is the Founder of Saint Goodness. She is a holistic lifestylist and has always had a passion for cooking, community, apothecary, yoga, and holistic living. As a certified Yoga Instructor, Herbalist, and Life Coach she folds these gifts into assessing and curating the best solution for the needs of our clients. 

Gabrielle Dawn is a spoken word artist and motivational speaker and has been blessed to express and perform verbal artistry in Germany, Uganda, South Korea, and the U.S. Currently back home in Dallas, Texas she is still delivering a word to the good people! 

Her work is about equipping people with the insight to break yokes and heal through the gifts of plant medicine, spoken word, movement in yoga, stillness of meditation, and verbal expression.

She is the chef behind Saint Goodness, her custom delicious tea blends and herbal infusions that are good for the soul. Yoni steam blends for womb health and healing, and tinctures for guts health! 

The mission of Austen's Autistic Adventures is to “Bring the World to Autism and Autism to the World." Every day they go out together, practicing being out in the social world.  Adults with autism will find something to keep them engaged and learning, all year, all their lives. 

Sarah Phillips is the Executive Director of Rescue Her, an anti-trafficking organization that exists to empower survivors of sex trafficking to live in freedom. She graduated with a degree in Community, Family, and Addiction Services from Texas Tech and is also trained in Therapeutic Arts, Trust-Based Relational Intervention, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the SERVE model: a brain-based approach to complex trauma. She spent almost 2 years living in Chennai, India establishing Rescue Her’s first safe house for underage survivors of trafficking. After moving back to the DFW area in 2015, Sarah has led the development of Rescue Her’s crisis response for adult victims of trafficking, as well as established the Empower Program – a long-term advocacy program for survivors. She is passionate about raising up leaders in the anti-trafficking field who have the knowledge and support necessary to empower adult survivors of sex trafficking to live in freedom.

DFW Rat Rescue is a small animal rescue dedicated to helping the rats of the Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX area and the people who love them. They know that they may be small, and rats may not live very long, but every rat deserves a happy, fulfilling life and DFW Rat Rescue is here to help make that happen. DFW Rat Rescue is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization run 100% by volunteers, fosters, and donations. They are based in Rhome, TX with fosters throughout the area.

Ashley Sharp spends her career in public service- as Executive Director of Dwell with Dignity, Ashley has helped the organization reach new heights, including being awarded 40 Under 40 by the Dallas Business Journal, Social Innovator of the Year and the Best Place to Donate by D Magazine, and attaining national recognition through their innovative Decade of Dignity dining series. She has also served Interfaith Family Services as the Chief Development Officer, was the Manager of Patron Relations at the Nasher Sculpture Center, and worked with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to her professional career, she currently serves on the KERA Community Advisory Board, Mayor’s Star Council as the Engage Dallas Chair, is a graduate of the inaugural class of the UT Austin Lyndon B. Johnson’s Women’s Campaign School, is a Professor at the University of Houston, and was a finalist in the United Way’s Social Innovation Accelerator. Ashley is a past president of the Business Council on the Art’s Leadership Arts Institute and has been part of the International Rescue Committee, Dallas Summer Musicals, and Junior League of Dallas. She holds a BA in Arts Administration and an MPA in Public Affairs with a concentration in Nonprofit Management, both from the University of Texas at Dallas, as well as a degree in Social Impact Design from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Adaire Byerly is your distinctive on air, MMA/ combat personality covering events with interviews and is a leading representative for African-American women commentating in the sport. Adaire's involvement in MMA began 10 years ago wanting to learn self-defense as an effort to recover from an abusive relationship. Through training she not only learned her strength as a competitive athlete by training with professional fighters and coaches, she also fell in love with the technicality, communication and entertainment of the sport.

Adaire has a diverse background in fashion, film entertainment, and media. Recognized as an international Model, she has been Published in numerous magazines, including Vogue later earning her eligibility as a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

She is licensed and certified in numerous studies focusing on brain and behavioral sciences and implements this knowledge in her teachings to elevate organizations through her company, Entertainment Mindframe as seen in Forbes. Adaire's various knowledge & expertise allows her to bring the sport a rare perspective through understanding psychology and human behavior, allowing the audience to have a unique, educational, fun and exciting experience.

Like so many of us that were re-discovering ourselves through the existential crisis of the pandemic, The Dirty Shirts singer/songwriter Nick Santa Maria was doing the same and found himself diving headfirst into soaring guitars, disco beats, and sequined mod-inspired threads. Having found himself off the road for the first time after years of playing as a sideman for other artists, Nick finally had the time to return to writing songs of his own, constructing what would become the soundtrack to his new reality. The lockdown gave him time & perspective into what he truly wanted to do with his life, and rather than building someone else’s temple, he’d build his own. 

After reconnecting & writing a handful of songs with childhood friend & fellow studio/touring musician Cameron Moreland and experimenting with a heady spectrum of soundscapes, The Dirty Shirts was born. What arose married the nostalgia of the Warped Tour era of music they grew up playing with the shimmering atmospheres and image of the glam rock and pop music they’d come to love.

The combined music and aesthetic that The Dirty Shirts have cultivated, dubbed “Dance Floor Rock n Roll”, was a response to the drudgery we universally felt from exhaustive quarantines. Nick writes to remind people of the uninhibited times and badass music of the past, with the hope of debaucherous times to come. Songs that remind us of blaring music with your friends, shouting the lyrics deep into the early hours, and not worrying about the vaccination status of your Uber driver.

Proudly wearing influences from The Strokes to Gorillaz, with hints of David Bowie on their sleeves, The Dirty Shirts hit the ground running with live shows throughout their native Texas in March 2021 after the long awaited release of vaccinations. Soon after, they released multiple singles and a music video, and recorded their debut full-length album with Grammy-winning producer Tre Nagella, which they released on May 6, 2022. With a string of national tour dates planned for 2022, a love for the past, a hopeful eye on the future, and a drink in hand, The Dirty Shirts are bringing their soundtrack for the new normal (if there ever was one) to the masses. 

Dr. Chandler David Schexnayder, a proud 2017 graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana's Doctor of Pharmacy program, is a servant-leader deeply committed to improving patient care, developing pharmacy trainees, galvanizing his colleagues, and empowering his communities. As a pharmacist and author, Dr. Schexnayder connects his experiences and creativity to the amplification of the lives of the present and the future. Chandler's words to live by are Evaluate, Attack, Triumph - E.A.T.

Dr. Schexnayder is a residency-trained specialist who is board-certified in pharmacotherapy, ambulatory care, and diabetes care and education. As a Home-Based Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Dr. Schexnayder utilizes his training and his prescriptive authority privileges for medication management of chronic disease states for geriatric Veterans with multiple comorbidities. In addition to his patient care responsibilities, Chandler also participates in formulary management, pharmacoeconomics, research/quality improvement, and preceptor development. Dr. Schexnayder, previously a resident at his institution, is passionate about his role as the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program Director and is dedicated to the growth and preparation of current and future pharmacy residents.

Dr. Chandler Schexnayder believes he has an obligation to be a servant-leader for his community. Currently, Chandler serves as the Head of Community & Capital at Pharmacy Initiative Leaders, Inc. (PILs) - a non-profit organization with a vision to exponentially increase the diversity, inclusion, and equity of healthcare and elevate minoritized communities. In this capacity, Dr. Schexnayder leads over 80 Ambassadors to guide professional students, curate educational content for the masses, and impact one another. 

Even before finding pharmacy, Chandler Schexnayder's first love has been writing. With his stories, Dr. Schexnayder aims to move and energize the thoughts and minds of his readers and the people they connect with. Dr. Schexnayder is a freelance medical writer and provides didactic and interactive presentations to various communities with his company, SchexLevel Education LLC. As a contributing author for "I Wear A White Coat", Dr. Schexnayder gave an authentic look into his arduous journey towards his goals and dreams. With his future narratives, Chandler hopes to change lives one page at a time.

arlo is a central TX based songwriter with an anchor in NYC. The debut release of his 2018 self-titled LP record was co-written and produced by Houston-based producer, Eric Jarvis, at "crushpad productions." The 10-song true story and expression of love then loss was a dramatically vulnerable Americana Pop record written and recorded by Aaron Long (arlo) alongside Jarvis. This began a relationship with the powerhouse music producing duo, brothers Kristian Bush and Brandon Bush (Sugarland, Dark Water) and renowned Atlanta-based studio engineer Tom Tapley (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Train, Wallflowers) and plans were set in motion to record the follow-up EP in Atlanta, which is set to be released in Summer 2022. 

arlo’s anticipated follow-up EP “Lonely Soldier” is set to release in 2022 alongside plans to tour support and develop another batch of dramatic love songs.

Hand-picked heavy hitters Benji Shanks (guitar) and Travis McNabb (drums) joined the ATL sessions, and together the team sculpted a carefully realized and economically structured blend of Americana Pop Rock that soars and snaps. Goes well with ELO, John Lennon, Beatles. 

Follow up singles "Goodbye Picture," "Rain Parade" were released in 2021 along with John Lennon International Award and International Songwriting Competition Finalist "Ingenue." Debut single "New York, Queens" was also a finalist in a separate category the same year. arlo has been featured in numerous music and community platforms including "Rising Star" and "Voyage Magazine."