UnstuckAF

Erika Higgins Ross is a writer, marriage and family therapist, and activist who lives in Western Massachusetts. Higgins Ross has maintained a therapy practice for many years, focusing on couples, families, teens, and adult clients, primarily sharing Narrative Therapy, DBT, and mindfulness strategies. Higgins Ross is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, a Peyton Evans writing residency at the Studios of Key West, and was a Warner Brothers Fellowship finalist. She has read her work at Nuyorican Cafe, Public Theater, Rogue Machine Theater’s Rant n Rave and Schooled, and as part of the L.A. reading night No One Likes a Yappy Skirt. Her work has been published in Your Teen Magazine, Juice Magazine, Mommy Poppins, LA.com, and Stagebill. Higgins Ross was a founding member of the all-girl band Big Panty. She is currently working on a novel set in NYC in the 70s, 90s, and 2019 and teaching mindfulness and writing workshops through NEAFAST and public libraries. 

Cornelius "CJ" Harris is a Black man, husband, father, semi-pro shower singer & therapist who is also trained in trauma-focused treatment, therapeutic mindfulness and grounding techniques. Motivation to get into the field has everything to do with identifying ineffective, unproductive and/or harmful cycles/patterns, while collaboratively working toward creating new, more effective and productive patterns through healing.

If you want to learn more about AlignRelationships, we will be sharing details soon and steadily in WeAlign (wealign.alignp.com), our new online community that is growing by the day. 

Interested in coaching for yourself, your team or your organization? Contact Jodi Matas at [email protected] to start the conversation,.

Daphne Pierre Bishop has nearly 20 years of experience advising and defending small to Fortune 500 companies in all types of industries against the gamut of employment-related claims. That gives her a unique advantage in helping companies prevent, investigate, and resolve employee and institutional misconduct. Combining her litigation and counseling experience, her practice now focuses on providing internal investigation services as a neutral third party investigator or a strategic advisor. Clients rely on her extensive experience to ensure that employee complaints are promptly and thoroughly investigated, so that should a claim arise out of an investigation they minimize their overall legal risk.

But as impressive as her career achievements are and have been, it was in her personal life, facing a breast cancer diagnosis, that she showed off her signature combination of toughness and grace. Learn how she's decided to care not only for her body, but for her mind and spirit, committed to adding longevity to her impressive list of achievements.

Visit our new online community, WeAlign! If you've enjoyed UnstuckAF, you're going to love interacting with and learning from people like you, people ready to get Unstuck... "AF."

Even as a girl in the Bronx, Cecilia Luckie has always wanted to help people. It makes sense that she describes being a police officer not as her job, but as her calling. 

As a "Black woman cop," Cecilia brings a specific and uniquely informed perspective to the conversation around how we could police better.  In this conversation, she shares some of the realities of life as police officer, a Black woman, and a member of the relatively small but rising group of officers who are both. 16 years into her distinguished career she takes a moment to share her insights into how we can police better.

For privacy reasons, Kam has chosen not to share additional details with our audience.

ANTHONY E. WRIGHT (He, Him) has served as Executive Director for Health Access, the California health care consumer advocacy coalition, since 2002. Health Access has led state and national efforts to win consumer protections, fight budget cuts and invest in our safety net, and advance coverage expansions and comprehensive health reform for a more affordable, inclusive, and equitable health system.

Wright led California’s coalition efforts to help pass the Affordable Care Act, and the state laws to implement and improve it. He has co-chaired the #Health4All campaign that won expansions of coverage to children, young adults, and seniors regardless of immigration status, and led other successful efforts to pass first-in-the-nation patient protections to ensure timely access to care, to stop hospital overcharging of the uninsured, and to provide additional affordability assistance to middle-income families, and best-in-nation laws to win prescription drug price transparency, stop surprise medical bills, and more.

With a background as a consumer advocate and community organizer, Wright has also worked for New Jersey Citizen Action, the Center for Media Education, The Nation magazine, and in Vice President Gore's office in the White House. He has been widely quoted in state and national media, and consistently listed in Capitol Weekly’s annual Top 100 in California politics and policy.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Wright graduated from Amherst College magna cum laude in both English and Sociology. He lives in Davis with his wife Jessica, and his son Jefferson.

Learn more about health-access.org 

Follow Anthony on Twitter: @AEWright

Whether discussing the campaign trail or his yoga mat, Reggie Hubbard brings perspective and presence all his own. In his own words, he is a "Committed yogi. Lover, fighter and speaker/seeker of truth and justice for all. Citizen of the world." (IG: @oreggieglobal)

Hear how he redefined strength for himself and found a source of true power.

Learn more about Active Peace Yoga: https://activepeaceyoga.com/

As a  violinist and composer, Tamara has captivated audiences all over the country with her musicality and poise. She has appeared at the esteemed Carnegie Hall in New York City, traveled and studied abroad in Paris, France, participated in legendary music celebrations such as nationally recognized Harlem Week and The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. ​

While watching Tamara minister live, audience members commented, “It’s thrilling not only to hear Tamara, but to see her,” as her dynamic and energy-filled presentations enthrall her audience.

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Tamara is not only a gifted musician, but she has earned a Doctor of Ministry degree, a Master of Arts degree in Music Therapy Allied Health from New York University, and concurrently remains committed to public education with a Master of Science degree with distinction in Education Administration and Supervision. Realizing that the vehicle of music transforms lives, she has made a commitment to use her gift to bring hope to the darkest of places and to the people who so desperately need change.​

Whilst Tamara was born and trained classically in the United States and abroad, her strong Caribbean roots, and its influence frames her music. This influence, coupled with her classical training, is found throughout her music, and provides a diverse sound that is beautiful and exceptional.

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Dr. Thomas is a wife, a mother of three awesome children, a licensed minister/ordained elder, and an education administrator in North Carolina.  

To learn more about Tamara and hear clips from Holding On: https://www.tamarathomasmusic.com/

JGo is the Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer at Written Out Loud, a storytelling program for kids and adults. JGo has spent more than 18 years in education, teaching, designing programs, and coaching athletics at every level up to high school, and location-wise from D.C. to Morocco. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Learn more about https://www.writtenoutloud.org/

On "John Henryism" (I guess I was kinda close...): https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3193-before-their-time?page=1

Robinne Lee is a Los Angeles-based writer, actor, and producer. A graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, Robinne was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. As the daughter of Jamaican parents of African, Chinese, and British descent, Robinne has long had an affinity for travel and the arts. Her past endeavors include working as an Editorial Assistant for ELLE Magazine, both in New York and Paris, writing celebrity profiles for the now defunct youth culture magazine, TELL, and running a music management company.

Robinne has numerous acting credits in both television and film, most notably opposite Will Smith in both “Hitch” and “Seven Pounds,” Don Cheadle in “Hotel for Dogs,” and Jennifer Garner in “13 Going on 30.” Robinne played Christian Grey’s trusted COO, Ros Bailey, in the Fifty Shades franchise. Most recently she starred in the SYFY series, “Superstition.”

Robinne's debut novel, The Idea of You, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2017, and developed somewhat of a cult following that has led to its success with a wider audience. Vogue Magazine recently dubbed it “the sleeper hit of the pandemic,” citing it as “electric, triumphant to read.”  Robinne also narrates the audiobook.

An inactive member of the New York Bar, Robinne has served as a producer on various independent films and regularly speaks on panels and writes for trade magazines regarding the roles of women and actors of color in the industry. 

Robinne currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Learn more about Robinne's "sleeper hit of the pandemic": https://www.vogue.com/article/idea-of-you-book

And learn more about Robinne: https://www.robinnelee.com/

Kareem Cook is a founder and Managing Director at Towerview Capital Management (TCM), a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts of middle-market companies focused on preventative medicine, healthier products, and healthier lifestyles. Having acquired Naturade in 2012, a leading nutraceutical company that sells vitamins and supplements, he has assumed the position of Chief Marketing Officer within the company. Influenced by obesity, diabetes and heart disease in their own families, Kareem and co-owner Claude Tellis have repositioned Naturade to address the diet related illnesses epidemic in underserved communities by providing “Whole Foods quality products to a Walmart consumer.” They have been profiled in Fast Company, Forbes, Ebony, Black Enterprise and many other publications for the work they are doing to address the health crisis. Naturade’s products are currently distributed in Costco, Target, Walmart and 15,000 additional stores including Whole Foods Market (Sept 2021)

Prior to founding TCM, Kareem co-founded Healthy Body Products (HBP), a healthy beverage and snack distribution company based in Los Angeles. HBP was the first company to place vending machines exclusively serving healthy snacks and beverages in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). HBP was instrumental in the banning of junk food in LAUSD and later in banning the sale of junk food in the state of California. Within two years of the company's founding, HBP was awarded the contract to supply all of the high schools and middle schools in Los Angeles, totaling over 130 schools. Kareem and his partner Claude Tellis (Duke ’95) were invited by President Bill Clinton and Governor Mike Huckabee to present to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in Arkansas on HBP's story and best practices.

Kareem earned his BA from Duke University in 1994 and his MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 2000.

Links:

www.naturade.com

https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/supplements/news-supplements/naturade-on-a-mission-with-magic-to-effect-change/

https://wholefoodsmagazine.com/supplements/news-supplements/naturade-on-a-mission-with-magic-to-effect-change/

Instagram: @naturadelife @livevegansmart @kareemcook9