Your Story Our Fight by Lupus LA

Season SIX Episode THREE of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Mercedes Ibarra. Mercedes Ibarra is a professional Flamenco dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in Los Angeles.  She is also an interspiritual minister who officiates ceremonies such as weddings, baby blessings, quinceañeras, and life celebrations.  She was diagnosed with Lupus in 2015, after spending about 20 years looking for an answer to her mysterious symptoms.  Although Lupus often makes life difficult, Mercedes likes to work with it to create her art and to inspire others to work with life's challenges to empower themselves, create beautiful experiences, and celebrate the nuances of life.

Season SIX Episode TWO of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Somaja Dixon. Somaja Dixon is a Commercial Operations assistant at A+E Global Media and Lupus advocate who is passionate about sharing her story. Living with lupus, she aims to raise awareness and create space for honest conversations around chronic illness. She is currently working on a book about her journey and hopes to inspire others through vulnerability, strength, and authenticity.

Season SIX Episode ONE of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Ayanna Dookie. Ayanna Dookie is a stand-up comedian, storyteller, and lupus warrior whose work blends sharp observational comedy with deeply personal stories. She has been seen on Comedy Central and TruTV and heard on NPR and SiriusXM. Through comedy and storytelling, Ayanna shares her experience living with lupus with honesty, humor, and the hope that others feel a little more seen along the way.

Season FIVE Episode SIXTEEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Lianna Treitler. Lianna is a USC graduate and a current law student at USC Gould School of Law. She was diagnosed with lupus during her junior year of college in 2021 which progressed to lupus nephritis and an eventual kidney transplant in 2025. Lianna is passionate about designating chronic illness and expanding resources and support for both lupus patients and kidney transplant recipients. She plans to go into health law to change the broader policy and decisions behind our healthcare system.

Season FIVE Episode FIFTEEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Katherine Antequera. Katherine Antequera is a luxury client experience leader, speaker, and advocate living with lupus for over two decades. Diagnosed at just 13, she has transformed her journey into a platform for resilience, confidence, and empowerment—using beauty, mindset, and faith as tools for healing and self-expression. Through her story, Katherine inspires others to embrace their strength, redefine beauty on their own terms, and live boldly despite chronic illness.

Season FIVE Episode FOURTEEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Brett Kohler. Brett Kohler is a musician and lead singer and guitar player for the up and coming band The Detours. He was diagnosed with Lupus in his late 20's, a moment that changed his life forever. Music is what helped Brett get through the early stages of his diagnosis and ultimately led him to learning guitar and places now in music he never thought he would be. He hopes his story can bring hope to people when they need it most and he is looking forward to getting more involved in the Lupus community. 

Season FIVE Episode THIRTEEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Joselyn Williams. Joselyn is 53 years old and has been diagnosed with SLE Lupus and Lupus Nephritis since 2012. Joselyn is currently a Branch Manager at a library, where she enjoys serving the community in any way she can.

Season FIVE Episode TWELVE of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes AlexAndriA G. Porter. AlexAndriA is a Master of Nursing student at the Duke University School of Nursing, published scholar, and multidisciplinary leader whose work bridges healthcare, advocacy, and the arts. She serves as the 2025 Cohort Representative, Student Liaison for the Clinical Resource Team, and President of Nurses Amplifying Voices (NAV), advancing equity and student engagement in nursing. With a background in psychology, business, civil rights advocacy, and clinical care, she brings both analytical rigor and compassionate leadership to her work. Despite being diagnosed with a lupus adjacent disorder, she is trained in acting, musical theater, and dance—including at the Joffrey Ballet School—she values storytelling and creative expression as powerful tools for connection, healing, and amplifying voices.

Season FIVE Episode ELEVEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Rene Santos. Rene is from Pasadena, California, and was diagnosed with lupus at 13 years old. This experience  shaped his resilience and perspective on healthcare early in life. Growing up, Rene played basketball through high school and into college. Today Rene stays committed to fitness and overall wellness. Living with lupus has fueled his passion to advocate for others facing similar challenges and to raise awareness within the community. Rene is currently working toward becoming a Physician Assistant and will be attending Charles Drew University starting in August 2026. Through his journey and future career, Rene hopes to make a meaningful impact by serving underserved communities and providing compassionate, patient-centered care.

Season FIVE Episode TEN of the Your Story Our Fight® podcast welcomes Dr. Aly Cohen. Dr. Aly Cohen is a board-certified rheumatologist, integrative medicine, and environmental health expert in Princeton, New Jersey, and she educates the public about the harmful toxins in our lives and their impacts on health. She delivers speaker engagements, appears as a guest expert on news outlets and podcasts, and authored the best-selling book, “Detoxify: The Everyday Toxins Harming Your Immune System and How to Defend Against Them” (Simon & Schuster, 2025). She is a published medical author and editor, legal medical expert, and also creates environmental health curricula for schools and physician training programs, such as the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, and the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Cohen earned her undergraduate degree in medical anthropology and human evolution from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her medical training at Hahnemann University Hospital School of Medicine in Philadelphia and interned and residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. She further specialized in rheumatology and autoimmune diseases at Montefiore Hospital/Albert Einstein University Hospital in the Bronx, New York.