TrailBlazers Impact

We are often too afraid of what the future holds when what we thought we wanted doesn’t happen, right? The disappointment and the inability to pick ourselves up and find another passion that might fulfill us in the same way as our original one palpable. Allison Shapira had always dreamed of being an opera singer from a young age, and when her dream was crushed by a teacher in college who believed ‘she wouldn’t make it in the industry’, she found it hard to pick herself up. Later she found her range was misdiagnosed, and she is discovering music in a new way. An opera singer turned keynote speaker, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and world-renowned expert on public speaking and presentation skills, she is helping others find their voice. She now has a new genre and has performed at legendary folk venues such as Club Passim and Caffè Lena, and she is a member of the two-woman band Joan & Joni, a tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, which she performs with fellow musician Kipyn Martin.

Exercising loyalty and community love comes easy for Leslie Andrews because it was instilled at an early age. She learned to be courageous and resilient in facing life’s adversities, including being widowed at a young age, and viewing the world. Leslie Andrews is described as a Master Relationship Strategist and Community Connector.  She has a documented track record as a corporate executive, a fundraiser, a civic leader, an entrepreneur, a community activist, a public speaker, and a global citizen. She has served her Detroit community in many roles and spent 9 years at the United Negro College Fund, as director, engaged in fundraising for needy Black students. She discusses the impact it made on the lives of the students.   

Marcia Blum is an amazing person. She is a retired social worker and mental health therapist. Listen as she describes pioneering open adoption, finding your birth parents, hospice care, and grief programs. Listen to her gift to listeners as she gives us 4 end-of-life reflections to help a dying person. She tells about her efforts to end sex trafficking and help survivors. Another passion is elderly mental health. She continues to work tirelessly to help Omaha citizens and has worked in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She has been in the front lines of hospitals, adoption agencies, State legislatures, universities, and hospice agencies.

RÚNA MAGNÚSDÓTTIR, (Runa Magnus) created the antidote for divisive and black and white thinking in the #NoMoreBoxes Movement.  We all unconsciously box people, creating automatic perceptions and resulting conflict. Find out how a change in a little four-letter word can change your world. She believes that life doesn’t exist in Black & White. But instead in shades of grey and glorious technicolor. Find the 5 C’s that will help change your world. Listen to her experience at the Impact Leadership Global Summit held at the United Nations headquarters.

Visualize yourself standing on the stage, wondering who will be crowned, and then . . . they call your name. Neelam Chahlia tells us what it is like to win Mrs. Washington America and then to go on to the nationals. She created history by being the first Indian-American woman to win the state title and the first woman of Indian origin to be at the nationals, Mrs. America.  Her role represented hope and the symbol of equality for all  women of all color and ethnicities. She is proud that a woman of color, an immigrant can represent a US state. As a first generation American, she has melded both cultures. Being a member of a military family, she was exposed not only to various regions She has met people all over the world and considers herself a global citizen. She has earned her Doctorate degree and received awards for her healthcare research findings.

What's happening to children reaching an age to leave a foster home? What do we do with kids when there is not a good place to go?  Ruth White is the Executive Director of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare. Children need better homes where they’re protected either with their families or with people who will genuinely take care of them. Young adults coming out of foster also require a stable place to call home so they don’t become homeless. She champions young people in foster homes who have reached an age of majority and normally have to leave. However, many colleges during COVID allowed young people to stay, including foster students. She describes the benefits of the family unification program and her passion to help children.

In Episode 4 of TrailBlazers Impact, Shaune Arnold describes her emotional escape from an abusive household into the foster care system when she divorced her parents at age 14. From parental abandonment to foster care with sheer determination and grit, Attorney Shaune Arnold shares her journey. In Part 2, this episode, Shaune Arnold describes her extraterrestial encounters which resulted in her taking and passing the Mensa test. Mensa is the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. These episodes will keep you spellbound!

Teaera Strum is the COO of Strum Contracting in Baltimore city, she was selected as the Baltimore Business Journal 40 under 40 in 2019. She was recognized for her business and civic accruement contributed to Baltimore, Maryland. At the age of 36, Teaera has accomplished much including substantially growing Strum Contacting with the knowledge she acquired from the many professional development programs and trainings she participated in. Teaera also accredits the Coalition of 100 Black Women as having contributed to preparing her with business negotiation skills. 

Meet Cassandra Williams, the CEO and president of WET PR (Write, Edit, Tell it), a public relations firm in Beverly Hills, California. It has a unique approach to enhancing the image of people in the realm of the entertainment industry.  Cassandra was an opening act for Joan Rivers and talks about her experience of being fired. That experience framed her decision to open her business, WET PR, with a “for real person” helping others become successful.  At an event they coordinated, Shaquille Rashaun "Shaq" O'Neal, an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA on TNT, was the Chairperson of the event. He is widely considered one of the greatest players in National Basketball Association history, and Cassandra felt it was one of their most successful events. She also helped a famous young lady change her image from the reality show persona to who she really is – and she’s one of the top rated persons in reality TV today. She talks about her unique approach to being a publicist. Nan and Cassandra talk about racism and her dreams for the future.

The future is uncertain and unpredictable, just like nobody would have predicted COVID-19. But a successful B2B marketing expert like Christine Crandell knows all too well what will fail in the business world and what will excel, especially in what she refers to as “The New Normal.” With more than 25 years of marketing and leadership experience, Christine Crandell, President at New Business Strategies, is a recognized B2B thought leader, advisor, speaker and author on enterprise marketing strategy and customer experience. She has created measurable value for over 100 business-to-business (B2B) private and public companies in North America, Australia and Europe as a recognized expert in customer experience, transformation and strategy.  Her clients realize, on average, 40 to 50 percent increases in revenue and ROI.