theTYPEAhippie Podcast | ChiCast: Recent Episodes
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theTYPEAhippie Podcast | ChiCast is all about soulful, soul shifting and shaping conversations with a backdrop of chi.
So friends, can you believe we made it to 100 episodes? Just you and I and our theTYPEAhippie community. What a gift! One of my dearest, best girlfriends Christine Fuller interviewed me for this episode. It was so much fun and it reminded me on the good days and the bad that I have the best folks in the world in my life. My heart is filled with love and gratitude for the journey of this podcast and because I'm so damn grateful to have all of you amazing souls to live life alongside.
It is bittersweetness (my word) that this will be the last episode I'm recording and sharing with you for a little while. You see, I want and need to elevate my podcasting game. I want to uplevel theTYPEAhippie Podcast | ChiCast so that I can do right by you and serve you better. This means I am giving myself the space of grace to actually learn how to properly produce a podcast which will take time, money, energy and attention. But don't fret, I will be back soon enough! Sending you love and light!
To connect with me:
- Website: www.thetypeahippie.com
I came to know who Lolade Siyonbola was as many of you because she had the Yale Police Department called on her while she snoozed in a common room within the Yale Graduate School dorm. And the student who called the police on her, a white woman, had previously called the police on one of Lolade's friends, another black student. I wanted her to share why this matters and has to stop.
Bio coming soon.
I had the learned about 3N1 Fitness before I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Saudia and Michelle. Several friends knew I was in the market for a new fitness center/studio and they suggested 3N1 Fitness. I went to the studio's grand opening and met the pair and invited them to be on the podcast.
Dr Saudia Major, a native of South Carolina, is a Clinical Psychologist at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital and Clinical Instructor at the University of Michigan, specializing in Geriatric & Health Psychology. She has lived with multiple sclerosis since 2003. Dr Major uses her personal experiences of releasing over 100 lbs and living with MS to educate members of the community about behavioral techniques one can apply to obtain a greater quality of life. She has incorporated exercise into her life as part of her holistic disease management program. Dr Major is certain her exercise and nutrition programs have played a pivotal role in the effective management of her MS.
Michelle Buggs is a native of Illinois, Michelle excelled in basketball throughout high school and college. After graduating from Kent State University with a BA in Communications, Michelle became a Lifestyle Fitness Coach (LFC) as well as a certified group, TRX and spinning instructor. In 2006, she returned to competitive sports, competing in her first two figure competitions (genre of bodybuilding) with great success. Following her passion, Michelle competed in many shows over the coming years and earned her Professional status as an NGA Figure Athlete in 2013, and has gone on to place 1st in six of eight professional competitions. In 2017, she swept her season placing 1st in all three shows and defending two 1st place titles. Michelle enjoys sharing her love of fun and fitness with clients and the greater community.
To connect with Dr Major and/or Michelle:
* Website: www.3n1fit.com
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Email: info@3n1fit.com
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Facebook: 3N1 Fitness
I remember the first time I heard Anuja Rajendra speak. I thought, I must have her on the podcast. She spoke of being a mother to four, a wife, a businesswoman and that she was running for Michigan State Senate. And I thought, "Oh yes you are!" Fast forward several months, I received a mailer about Anuja Rajendra running for Michigan State Senate. I reached out and you get to hear our conversation.
As the daughter of immigrants, a mother, a small business owner, and an activist, Anuja Rajendra's unique life experiences speak to the fabric of Washtenaw County’s vibrant community. She's a problem-solver and she will bring a fresh voice to the Michigan State Senate.
Her father came to Michigan from India with little other than a dream of a better life for their family in 1970. He earned his PhD from Michigan State University and worked as an engineer. Her mother was a schoolteacher in India and later stayed home with her three children.
She was the first in her family to be born in America. But her parents struggled to make ends meet — something that many working families still know all too well today. So her grandparents cared for her in India for several years and she returned to Michigan at age six.
She has enormous gratitude for what this great state and country offered to her family. That’s why this was the only place she wanted to raise my children. She grew up in Okemos and graduated from public schools there. She was the vice-president of the local chapter of Young Democrats. She went on to earn both an engineering degree and an MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she played rugby.
Anuja's husband, Vijay Sankaran, was from New Jersey, but she convinced him to move to Michigan. They have lived in Ann Arbor for over two decades. They are the parents of two sons and two daughters we adopted after they were abandoned at a train station in India. Her children certainly provided her with plenty of material when she wrote the “Mom” column for The Ann.
In her career in both the private and non-profit sectors and as a volunteer and activist, she has tried to help nurture diverse communities. It has always been important to her to build spaces where people of all ages, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and genders have come together to find common ground and raise each other up.
Many people in Michigan and across the country are deeply frightened right now. The basic rights of women, LGBTQ folks, and people of color are under attack from the president, Congress, and our state government. Immigrants and refugees now live in fear that they or their loved ones will be hauled away and sent back to war-torn countries.
But even in these trying times, there is hope. It has brought out the best in people. She saw that when she took her eight-year-old son to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in January 2017. She saw that fighting to keep our kids safe as a member of Washtenaw County's Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
And that’s why, like so many women and people of color, Anuja was inspired to run for office for the first time in 2018. We need progressive, diverse, and inclusive leadership in state government. Washtenaw County should lead by example.
In the State Senate, she won’t be afraid to make bold decisions. Her first bill will be banning most concealed weapons in Michigan. It’s time for progressives to stop playing defense on issues and stand up for our values.
One of my core beliefs is that everyone must have a seat at the table. As a State Senator, Anuja will focus on inclusion to bridge and heal the diverse communities that make up Washtenaw County. And she will be proud to represent an area that she believes can be a model of progressivism, innovation, and intersectionality for all of Michigan.
We all have struggles. Like so many, her parents came here in search of the American Dream. They worked hard so that Anuja and her sisters could go to college and make a difference in the world.
Anuja has tried to honor their sacrifice by earning two degrees at U of M, working in the non-profit sector, starting a small business, and raising a family.
After the birth of her second child, she had a serious health scare. She was given too many opioids while recovering. This led to heart complications. Instead of nursing her newborn and taking care of her 18-month-old, she fought for her life in the Emergency Room. She was able to slowly recover, but had to have in-home nursing care for months.
Fortunately, she never developed an opioid addiction, but this experience gave her an understanding of what far too many families in Michigan are going through. And Anuha was shocked to learn that for all our medical advances, the U.S. still has one of the highest postpartum mortality rates in the world. The rates are even higher for women of color like herself. She could have been one of those statistics. And if her family didn’t have good health insurance, she probably would have been.
That was a very frightening time for her young family. And it ended up inspiring her to start her business, BollyFit, and focus on a humanistic approach to health and wellness as a way to create a more peaceful world.
A decade earlier, she started her first company, Moon-Baked Creations, at age 24. That was just after the untimely death of my sister. The Rachana Rajendra Bird Sanctuary at Michigan State University is named for her in a beautiful tribute. As Anuja was grieving, she decided to help people engage using art as therapy to improve mental health and community connections. She has always tried to emerge from challenges stronger and more determined to help others.
After selling her business, she decided to pursue an MBA at U of M’s Ross School of Business. She established herself as a student leader, serving as president and co-chair of multiple organizations and bringing elite business schools across the country together for a massive food drive. She co-authored a Wharton-published case study on public-private partnerships to help alleviate public health crises. She was honored to be chosen to deliver a commencement speech for her graduating MBA class at Crisler Arena in 2004.
She has years of experience working in the business and nonprofit sectors. She was a successful leader at American Power Conversion Corp., a Fortune 500 company, where she created a customer satisfaction program that was implemented nationally. As Development Director for the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, she achieved a record-breaking sponsorship rate, expanding not only the base, but the diversity of donors.
Anuja feels that her life’s work has been to decrease the toxic stress prevalent in society today and improve the lives of people in Michigan, especially underserved and immigrant populations. She has focused on empowering women and children to be healthier mentally and physically, and to realize their untapped potential. She has taken her work one step further by training other men and women so they can improve the health of their own communities.
And so in 2007, Anuja started BollyFit, a fitness and dance studio in Ann Arbor. We have mobilized thousands of Michiganders to feel healthier through grassroots community organizing. She also helped Meryl Davis and Charlie White, two Michiganders on Team USA, win a silver medal for ice dancing at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with a program that bridged cultures.
BollyFit has grown to have a global presence with our empowerment skills training. Anuja has been asked to give speeches about her experiences to several groups, including TEDxDetroit and in a commencement address for Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Learning is a lifelong process and Anuja has always enthusiastically sought out opportunities to expand her knowledge and the efforts of my community.
Helping others has always been a top priority for Anuja. She was appointed to the Governor’s statewide council on physical fitness and the State of Play task force formed by the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation and Aspen Institute on the health and nutrition of Michigan’s youth and underserved populations. In 2015, she received a Congressional Award and was inducted into the Michigan Indian Women’s Hall of Fame for my contributions to health and wellness in Michigan.
She haas volunteered for many schools, libraries, and community service organizations. She has collaborated with nonprofits, small businesses, and schools, such as Beaumont Hospital, Ann Arbor Active Against ALS, and Mitch Albom’s S.A.Y. Clinic, to serve Michigan communities. Anuja is a mentor with Walker’s Legacy, assisting women entrepreneurs. She is also an Ambassador for University of Michigan’s LEAD Scholars Program to support diversity and people of color.
Anuja has been active in progressive and Democratic causes, starting with her time leading the local Young Dems chapter in high school. She has volunteered for Democratic campaigns, including those of John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Working at the grassroots level has always inspired her and she's been proud to organize for groups like Moms Demand Action and the Ann Arbor Advocacy Group.
When Anuja decided to run for State Senate in 2018, she was so humbled by the support she received from people from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti and everywhere in between. She knows she is not a household name. She's also not a longtime public official or a party insider.
She's a mom, a small businesswoman, and a problem-solver. And she thinks working people and middle-class families in Washtenaw County are looking for change. They want someone who believes our diversity is our greatest strength and in giving everyone a seat at the table.
She is running for State Senate because we need a new way and a fresh, inclusive voice. That’s what we need in Washtenaw County if we want to make real, meaningful, and progressive change in our state.
Anuja believes in the best in people. And she will never give up. That’s why she wants to be your State Senator.
To connect with Anuja:
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Instagram: @anuja.rajendra
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Twitter: @Anuja_Rajendra
I came across Professor Jessica Kapp when I found out about a watchlist and that Dr Kapp was on said watchlist. I reached out to hear her side of the story.
Jess Kapp earned her PhD in geology at UCLA in 2004. Her research combined field mapping with U-Pb geochronology to study the history of the Nyainqentanglha mountain range in southern Tibet. Early on she discovered a love for teaching and is currently a senior lecturer and the associate department head in the department of geosciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she teaches introductory geology and historical geology. She and her husband, a fellow geologist, have two young sons, ages 12 and 10. Jess writes fiction and non-fiction, and is currently finishing a memoir about how the death of her father, finding geology, and her high-altitude field adventures in Tibet changed her life.
To connect with Professor Kapp:
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Website: www.jesskapp.com
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Faculty Profile
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Facebook: Jess Kapp
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Twitter: @Jess_Kapp
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Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jess-kapp
I met Professor Lilia Cortina through our work at the ADVANCE Program at the University of Michigan and I was always impressed with her talks and the research she does on gender harassment and its implications in academia.
Dr Cortina's research centers around the victimization of individuals (especially women) in the social context of work. She focuses in particular on the process by which sexual harassment unfolds, investigating women’s experiences of gender disparagement, unwanted sexual overtures, and sexual coercion in organizations. Dr Cortina also studies non-sexual abuses in the workplace, particularly incivility – i.e., low-level injustices that can accumulate over time to have a significant negative impact on victims.
To connect with Professor Cortina:
* Faculty Profile
- Website: The Cortina Lab
First off, I love Anthony Guillen for so many reasons - his authenticity and vulnerability, his love for humanity and makeup and his humor. We met through a mutual friend and I'm so grateful.
Anthony Guillen resides in Phoenix, AZ. He was born in South Central LA and prides himself with being a child of Salvadoran immigrants. Anthony has a Bachelors and Masters in Social Work and is fluent in English and Spanish. He is a passionate, gay, social activist and a lover of people. He is a therapist and works with children and families in a community health agency. Anthony believes that all people are enough, loved and worthy. He believes every child deserves to be loved and is entitled to it. Anthony dreams of being on the board of education in Arizona and attaining a PhD in Education Development. Anthony prides himself on expressing his gender fluidly and living as he truly is. Some of Anthony’s favorites include singing, arts and crafts, make-up, coffee and flower printed button-ups. Anthony aims to shed light on discussions of the LGBTQ+ community, privilege, trauma, immigration and gender expression. To connect with Anthony: * Instagram: @anthonythebrownie
A collective of students developed a misguided guide on budgeting whom many thought was tone deaf and insensitive. Several students "clapped back" with a guide of their own which is how I came to know Lauren Schandevel.
Lauren Schandevel is a rising senior at the University of Michigan studying Public Policy with a minor in Community Action and Social Change. Originally from a working-class suburb of Detroit, Lauren's activism on campus is devoted to empowering and advocating for lower-income students. To connect with Lauren: * Facebook (for our organization): AffordabilityUMICH * Email: schandla@umich.edu
Elena Brower is one of those people that you just feel grounded, safe and seen around. She has come from a place of lack and worry to fully own a place of abundance and gratitude. She's humble, loving, tolerant and has a quiet strength about her that is contagious. She's generous with her time and energy and is authentic and vulnerable which always opens the door wider for others to be as well.
Mama, teacher, author, speaker and Presidential Diamond leader with dōTERRA, Elena has taught yoga since 1999. Her first book, Art of Attention, has been ranked number one in design on Amazon, and has now been translated into six languages. Elena's second book, Practice You: A Journal, is a bestseller from Sounds True, now being incorporated into teaching curricula worldwide for all ages.
Her Elevate Mentorship Program is beloved for adding analog creativity to online coursework. Elena has contributed to Yoga Journal, Yoga International, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Well and Good NYC, Positively Positive, and more. Listen to her Audio Courses on Sounds True, and practice with Elena on YogaGlo.com.
To connect with Elena:
- Website: https://elenabrower.com
I have known Rushika Fernandopulle, MD for nearly seven years and I worked for Iora Health for almost six years. He's a man of integrity, humility and seeks to provide support for humanity and he's a lot of fun. When I lived in Las Vegas, NV I always looked forward to his visits to the Las Vegas practices because his insight was unique, practical and humane.
Rushika Fernandopulle, MD is a physician who has spent more than ten years involved in efforts to improve the quality of healthcare delivered to patients. He was the first Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement, and served as a Managing Director of the Advisory Board Company. He serves on the faculty and earned his AB, MD, and MPP from Harvard University. He completed his clinical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
To connect with Iora Health:
- Website: www.iorahealth.com
Robyn Donaldson is an amazing human. I heard great things about her before I even had the pleasure of meeting her. She is brilliant, humble, intelligent and feels a great sense of duty serving others especially when it comes to grief.
On a normal weeknight in 2013, Dr Robyn Donaldson’s husband did not come home from work. He had been killed in a motorcycle accident less than a mile from their home. Adjusting to life without her husband of two short years and partner of seven was far from easy. They had bought a house together earlier that year to fit their growing family. They had been planning to get pregnant to add to their current family of two daughters from his previous marriage. Now, these things would never happen, and nothing would ever be the same.
Through Robyn’s work as a psychologist in private practice, she had developed significant expertise in supporting people in loss, and yet all of her experience did not make her own grief any easier to manage. As she worked to absorb the emotional and financial impacts of her husband’s death, she threw herself into her work, even accepting the nomination as president of her local psychological association.
As time passed, Robyn felt less and less support in her grief. Although many in her life showed love and concern, people needed to get back to the routine of their own lives. Others confessed that they felt ill-equipped to help someone in grief, and seemed to vanish for months or years. Speaking to fellow grievers, she discovered that this is all too common and makes processing grief even more challenging.
In trying to adjust to her new reality, she wanted to find a way to help others who were going through similar situations. She joined forces with Laine Campbell and Keith Brings to help create a comprehensive set of community service and gift offerings that would help people support each other more deeply in times of loss. It is her hope that SolaceClub will make it easier for both people who are suffering a loss and for people who feel uncertain as to how to help others in grief.
Dr Donaldson completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2011. Once licensed, she started a private practice which she continued 2 years prior to being offered a staff position with the Counseling and Psychological Services department at UNLV. In addition to her clinical work, Dr Donaldson served as Treasurer for three years and then as the President of the Nevada Psychological Association (NPA) from 2015-2016. Dr Donaldson also received an award for outstanding contributions to the NPA. She currently serves on the NPA’s Executive Board as Past President. Dr Donaldson’s husband died unexpectedly in late 2013. Since that time, she has been determined to use her own experiences with and clinical knowledge of coping with grief to help others who are struggling.
To connect with Dr Donaldson:
- Website: https://www.solaceclub.com/
Lisa Boehm is one of those souls who makes you think every time she shares, whether online or off. She has done significant self-work and is always continuing to grow as a human. Speaking with her is refreshing and she utilizes her privilege for good and she speaks truth to power. Always.
Lisa Boehm is a freelance beauty stylist in the Pacific Northwest. Lisa believes that telling the truth can be an act of love. Like James Baldwin said, “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” Lisa aims to help those she works with find their power, hoping to help deepen relationship between self and body, and facilitate self-love.
Onawa LaBelle, PhD is one of those people that inspires others without trying. A noticeable cornerstone of her life is gratitude and service. She always remembers the folks who believed in her before she could believe in herself and she pays it forward daily without fail.
Onawa LaBelle earned her PhD in the Personality and Social Contexts Program in the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan. Drawing heavily upon Positive Psychology, Onawa's work broadly aims to better understand the link between social processes, health, and well-being, with a special interest in underrepresented and at-risk populations. She investigates this link in three ways: First, by examining associations between individual differences in adult attachment styles and health. Second, by extending this work to explore links between attachment, gratitude, and positive outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic growth, social support, health) among people in recovery from Substance Use Disorder. Third, by exploring the role of gratitude and other positive psychology processes (e.g., prosocial behavior, self-efficacy, self-esteem) in the health and wellbeing of people in long-term recovery. Since earning her doctoral degree, Onawa plans to continue conducting research and teach at the University of Windsor in Windsor, ON.
To connect with Onawa:
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Research lab: www.onawalabelle.com
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Onawa LaBelle research lab contact form
Jen Ross it one of those people with whom you immediately feel connected. She has a warm and affirming presence that allows you to feel that your best self and living your freedom is possible.
Jen Ross is a Body-Centered Psychotherapist, Spiritual Teacher, Modern Day Shaman and Social Justice Advocate. She serves as an archaeologist of the soul and a doula to your transition. Jen has been in the field for over 20 years and she currently runs her psychotherapy practice out of Boulder, CO and online. She holds sacred space for others to unwind chaos, connect to their centers, step onto their paths, heal their lineages, and peel back the layers of their lives so that they can live a truly free and purposeful life.
To connect with Jen: * Email: jen@liveyourfreedom.com * Website: www.liveyourfreedom.com * FB: @LiveYourFreedom
Jake Conroy is an insightful soul. He's very concerned about how his actions impact the environment and humanity. He also is willing to hold companies - large or small - to a higher standard which they do not like as evidenced by his story.
Jake Conroy is a long-time activist, designer, and writer based in San Francisco, California. As a co-founder of Ocean Defense International, he helped lead the first ever disruption of a whale hunt in US coastal waters, putting himself between the hunter and the hunted. He also helped build the foundation of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA (SHAC USA), one of the most successful grassroots animal rights campaigns in history. Due to his involvement with SHAC USA, he was a co-defendant in the SHAC7 case and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison. Jake is currently working at an international environmental non-profit campaigning against corporate polluters. He can also be found speaking around the US, and working on the projects he helped co-found— Bite Back Magazine, theAnimal Defense League San Francisco, and the blog Plant Based on a Budget.
To connect with Jake:
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Website: www.jakeconroy.com
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Twitter: Jake Conroy
Additional resources:
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Rainforest Action Network (look up "rising tide")
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Seattle Burrito Coalition
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5 Calls
I got a chance to speak with Scott Strode and I was blown away with how such a seemingly simple idea could have such a huge impact on recovery. And it makes sense, right? We were created for community and that's what he's created with The Phoenix. I'm looking forward to checking it out next time I'm in Denver or Boston!
Scott is the founder and national executive director of The Phoenix. Phoenix offers a unique approach to combat addiction by fostering a sober, supportive, physically active community for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. Phoenix is based on Scott’s own experience and his discovery that a healthy, active lifestyle has a transformative effect on long-term sobriety. Scott also realized the critical component of surrounding oneself with a new sober supportive network of friends. Phoenix is unique in that its programs are free to anyone who has at least 48 hours of continuous sobriety. This removes a significant financial barrier to sobriety. Free programs include yoga, climbing, cycling, running, CrossFit, boxing, and socials. Since 2007, Phoenix has served over 24,000 individuals in 11 cities and 9 states with plans to expand into new communities in the near future. Scott was named a Top 10 CNN Hero in 2012, received the “Advocates for Action Award” from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and was a TEDxMileHigh speaker in 2016. Scott’s passion in life is to help others rise from the ashes of their addiction and live a full life of sobriety in long-term recovery.
To connect with Scott:
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Email: scott@thephoenix.org
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Website: www.thephoenix.org
Additional resources:
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The Meadows
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How the War on Drugs Has Changed Tunes
I've known Tia Clinton for almost two years and she's one of the amazing ones. Her light radiates and draws you in. She works hard for the things she wants. Her brilliance, intellect and drive is inspiring and Tia is funny AF. You'll always have a good time with her.
Bio coming soon...
When I spoke with Michael about his story, I was struck by his zest for life, his humility and his general positivity. His story is a 'fall from grace and get back up and do some good in the world' type. Definitely another story of redemption as a result of not drinking. Whenever I'm in the Pacific Northwest, I will definitely do my best to meet him.
Michael King is the National Director of Outreach & Engagement with Facing Addiction, a national non-profit organization dedicated to unifying the voices of the 45 million Americans and their families directly impacted by addiction. Michael's work with Facing Addiction includes national coalition building, oversight of resource development, as well as grassroots and community organizing engagement. Prior to working for Facing Addiction, Michael worked for over a decade in the political arena, managing political campaigns in numerous states. His work included Presidential, United State Senate, and Gubernatorial elections. He served as both the Director of Communications and Campaign Director for the Washington State Democratic Party, as a political consultant for a Seattle based firm, and as the Executive Director of Washington state's Senator Democratic Campaign Committee. Additionally, Michael served as a co-chair of Faces & Voices of Recovery's Public Policy Committee, and is a 2018 JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction fellow. He's the proud father of two young children and a person in long-term recovery from alcohol and gambling addictions.
To connect with Michael:
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Twitter: @michaelking1981
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Facebook: Michael King
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Email: mking@facingaddiction.org
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Website: www.facingaddiction.org
Mariel Hufnagel is a humble soul filled with grace and dignity, but it wasn't always this way. She has an easy way about her that makes people feel comfortable in her presence. She is inspiring, down to earth and lots of fun.
Mariel battled with alcohol & drug addiction, bipolar disorder and bulimia nervosa for all of her teenage years – leaving her bankrupt emotionally, financially, physically and spiritually. Mariel is formerly incarcerated, a convicted felon, formerly homeless and a sex trafficking survivor. Mariel entered recovery in May 2007 and has maintained abstinence-based recovery since then.
Since 2012 in an effort to bring a face and a voice to recovery – as well as demand the civil rights of those who suffer, those who have lost their battle and those in recovery – Mariel has immersed herself wholeheartedly in mental health, addiction and criminal justice reform work. Mariel believes in health equity, person-centered systems of care and the importance of recovery support services. Mariel graduated Kean University summa cum laude with her Bachelors of Arts in Public Administration and is currently seeking her Masters of Arts in Public Administration with a concentration in Non-Profit Management. Mariel attributes much of her personal and professional success to returning to school, and believes that education is the great equalizer. Mariel has previously worked as an Advocacy Organizer with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence – New Jersey (NCADD-NJ) and as the National Chapter Manager for Young People in Recovery (YPR). Additionally, Mariel has been recognized locally and nationally with numerous awards and featured in countless media outlets; and is recognized nationally as a dynamic and passionate advocate, servant leader, trainer and motivational speaker.
She is driven by her deep desire for all people to be able to access and maintain recovery regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation or criminal record. Mariel is also a certified yoga teacher and a marathon runner; and during her spare time can be found traveling, drinking black coffee, or laughing and snuggling with her amazing husband Anthony.
To connect with Mariel:
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Instagram: @marielharrison
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Facebook: Mariel Samantha Hufnagel
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Twitter: @HarrisonMariel
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LinkedIn: Mariel Hufnagel
Taryn Strong is an amazing soul, bursting with life and positive energy. A firm member of the badass brigade, she advocates for multiple pathways of recovery for women. Her energy is contagious and is a source of solace and hope for women across the globe. As a recovery advocate, she hosts events all over the world specifically dedicated to creating a space for women to recover.
Taryn is grateful to be in recovery from drug addiction, self harm, disordered eating and codependency. Taryn was raised by recovering parents (Dawn is her mom) so recovery has been a part of her everyday life for a long time. She completed her 300 hour yoga teaching training program in her home town of Victoria, British Columbia in 2007 after falling in love with yogic philosophies and the power of transformation through the mind/body/spirit connection. Taryn received her “Yoga of Recovery” certification at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm and her “Yoga for Trauma” certification in 2014. She has since developed a unique “Yoga for Recovery” program which integrates yoga and meditation with spirituality and recovery principles from a wide variety of recovery pathways (including but not limited to the 12 step pathway). In addition to teaching yoga classes across Victoria and leading the Yoga for Recovery program for She Recovers Retreats, Taryn’s latest role is as the creator and artisan of She Recovers Malas. For more about Taryn have a look at her video.
To connect with Taryn:
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Website: www.sherecovers.co
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Facebook: SheRecovers
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IG: @tarynstrong
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IG: @sherecoversla
Talking with Fay Zenoff was so much fun and time flew by. She's grounded and very spiritual person. It's clear her recovery has settled into every cell of her body and her soul radiates this peace that is contagious. I look forward to meeting her IRL when I finally make my way to NorCal.
Fay Zenoff is the driving spirit behind the emergence of the Center for Open Recovery (COR). Since being hired as the Executive Director for The National Council on Alcoholism and other Drug Addictions-Bay Area, in 2014, she has led the evolution of the 60-year old, San Francisco-based, non-profit – from that of a local direct-service provider to become a nationally recognized recovery advocacy organization focused on ending the stigma of addiction and championing life in recovery.
Fay’s work, views, and personal experiences have been the subject of articles and interviews in the New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week, The California Report, KQED’s Perspectives, Lauren Schiller’s Inflection Point, The Fix, Facing Addiction’s docu-series Out of the Shadows/Addiction Across America, Marin Magazine and others. She has been a speaker for private and public organizations, and an interviewed guest on radio shows and podcasts. She is the 2016 recipient of Constellation Behavioral Health’s Courage Award for her work in the addiction and mental health fields.
Fay earned an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.
Fay lives in Marin, has two daughters, a dog named Nilla and loves to hike, bike, xc-ski and SUP. Fay has been sober and in recovery since 2007.
To connect with Fay:
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Website: www.openrecoverysf.org
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Facebook: Open Recovery San Francisco
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Twitter: @openrecovery
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Instagram: @openrecoverysf
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LinkedIn: Fay Zenoff
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Email: fay@openrecoverysf.org
I have yet to meet Chef Bill Haley, a brother from another mother. He's insightful and thoughtful, generous and humble. His passion for food and recovery shines through in all that he does. His artistry touches not just food and nutrition, but his genuine connection with humanity, especially those that are struggling with a life-threatening disease of substance use disorder. He's been there so he can definitely empathize with those in early recovery. Personally, I cannot wait to taste some of his food!
Chef Bill Haley spent his twenties running high-end NYC restaurants with celebrity chefs, creating and learning with some of the leading culinary minds of the time. He also spent them doing drugs, losing himself in the "behind the scenes" party lifestyle. Now sober and an advocate for wellness-centered recovery programs, Chef Haley took note of a major issue in many treatment programs. While the priority was getting patients off drugs and alcohol, the junk food binging and frozen food dinners seemed to be the norm across the board. He quickly realized that you cannot put your recovery in a microwave and expect to be healthy, so why would you do it with your body? He knew that the power of healthy food could equate to a much quicker, longer-lasting, solid recovery built on permanent lifestyle changes. He has found a sustainable and extremely tasteful way to feed people so that it exponentially excels the recovery process while sparking excitement with the tastebuds! We are what we eat, so let's be beautiful and organic! Chef Haley started Culinary Recovery Food in 2016 and has been transforming the food offerings in recovery homes ever since. Changing the taste of recovery one dish at a time!
To connect with Chef Bill:
- IG: @culinaryrecovery
- Website: culinaryrecoveryfoods.com
- Email: culinaryrecovery@gmail.com
I love Tahra Luther and have since we first met. She helped me tremendously as I navigated my move from Las Vegas, NV to Ann Arbor, MI. She has a heart that is genuine and open to all. She loves big and has a way about her that is authentic and so real. She's an inspiration to many and proclaims my life's theme song, "This Is Me!"
Tahra Luther was born in Methuen, Massachusetts and lived in Brazil for a few years as a baby. She grew up in Florida, and then moved to Michigan with her parents, where she has resided for the past 22 years. She received her BS in Zoology at Michigan State University, and MS in Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology at University of Michigan. She works as a Lab Manager doing Cancer Immunotherapy at University of Michigan, where she has worked for the past 11 years. She is very involved in her recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, as well as anxiety. She loves to constantly learn, snuggle her beautiful Schipperke pup Cedella, read fiction and personal growth books of all kinds, and spend time with her loved ones, including an abundance of close friends, family, and wonderful loving fiancé Dan. She is half Punjabi (Indian) and loves to learn about her culture. She is extremely grateful for her wonderful life and always appreciates being able to help others in numerous capacities.
To connect with Tahra:
- FB: Tahra Luther
Additional resource:
- https://www.thetypeahippie.com/blog/how-the-war-on-drugs-has-changed-tunes
I have known Danette Galvis for years. She's one of those people that you meet that you cannot get out of your head. Her energy is contagious and she has a zest for life that is not often seen. She loves hard and well. She's a beautiful soul and I'm grateful the Divine saw fit for our paths to cross many years ago.
Additional resource:
* https://www.thetypeahippie.com/blog/how-the-war-on-drugs-has-changed-tunes
I met Ariel through friends of friends and immediately felt a connection to her. She's confident, likable and friendly. I thought I would like to stay connected and maybe go to tea and then found out she lived somewhere else, but thankfully we can stay connected across state lines which is what we've done and our friendship has grown.
Ariel “Air” Britt is an exceptional speaker with a passion for advocacy and working with young people. She can quickly capture audiences with her distinctive personality while sharing her experience with substance use disorder and recovery. Ariel received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Master’s in Social Work from The University of Michigan. She has several years of experience in recovery housing supervision, strategic planning, facilitation, and program development. Ariel has been featured in several news publications such as the New York Times and had the privilege of speaking at the White House in 2015. She continues to be sought after nationally for addiction and recovery engagements. Ariel values relationships with family and friends above all else and her passion for fun is contagious. To connect with Ariel: * FB: Ariel “Air” Britt * Instagram: @theairproject * Email: ariel.britt@gmail.com * Website: https://thephoenix.org
Additional resource:
- https://www.thetypeahippie.com/blog/how-the-war-on-drugs-has-changed-tunes
{Lead From the Heart}
"I lead my team from the heart, always in alignment with who I am and with respect to who others are.
I take ownership for what I create because I'm rooted in truth and I walk with integrity."
"A shift happened when I discovered that my gifts of empathy and discernment were strengths I could lead with and that leading from the heart wasn't a weakness." {Jen H}
I am looking forward to meeting Jason Mitchell IRL (in real life) as he has a sense of ease and comfort that is not usually common today. He has an open heart and is always willing to help because he's all about being of service to others. Shortly after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV (my second hometown) I asked Jason if he was willing to lead a guided meditation and he was eager to be a source of support and calm during that trying time.
Jason Mitchell is an Agape Licensed Spiritual Practitioner and has been a part of the Agape community for more nearly 12 years. As the director of the sacred service ministry at Agape he enjoys introducing people to the powerful spiritual practice of service as well as supporting Agape’s growth and expansion. In 2016 he joined the staff at Agape where he is the manager for the prayer ministry and the practitioner core. Whether Jason is facilitating Our Daily Prayer Call, a community which has been coming together Monday – Friday for more than 5 years, engaging creative expression through in his photography or working with clients he brings a basic principle to all that he does, “In service to love, in service as love.”
With a background that ranges from working as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School district, serving Los Angeles' homeless population for nearly 8 years, providing spiritual counseling, facilitating classes and workshops and participating in spiritual leadership within his communities Jason has a commitment to service and knows that it is key to the transforming our individual lives and creating a world that works for everyone.
Facebook: Jason D. Mitchell
Instagram: @consciouslens
Twitter @consciouslens
Email: consciouslens@gmail.com
"Sometimes even though it feels like everything is falling apart, it's really falling together." {Anonymous}
I met Trey Gethoefer on a Sunday at Starbucks when my girlfriends and I used to meet for Sunday afternoon tea/coffee. I had recently made a decision to thank police officers, when it was safe and appropriate to do so, for their service. In my naiveté and/or optimism thought if I show gratitude for their roles in the community, it may be helpful to them and be a positive chain reaction so that if they're faced with the decision to pull the trigger and/or make a split decision, they will know that they do have the support of community.
William (Trey) Gethoefer has been a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) for almost eighteen years. He has worked as a patrol officer, Field Training Officer, Gang Detective and Vice Detective. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2009. Trey served as a patrol sergeant for six years and has spent the last three years as a Detective Sergeant in Patrol Investigations. As part of his formal education, Trey obtained an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. His first six years on this agency were spent in patrol. During his time in patrol, he spent time as both a Field Training Officer and member of the Mobile Crime Saturation Team. After six years in patrol, he became a detective in the Gang Crimes Bureau (GCB). Trey spent almost three years in that detail. After his stint in GCB, he transferred to the Vice Unit. He spent almost a year and a half in Vice before being promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2009. He has served this agency in several capacities since hiring on in 2000. He has served as a Defensive Tactics Instructor, Taser X-26 Instructor and a peer member of the Use of Force Review Board. Trey is originally from Buffalo, NY and he moved to Las Vegas in 2000 just to become a member of the LVMPD.
"Perspective is everything when you are experiencing the challenges of life." {Joni Eareckson Tada}
I met Petra a long time ago when we were both embarking on a 200 hour yoga certification. She's lived a lot of life since then. She's become more authentic and is living a life that is more in alignment with who she is. I stumbled on an older email thread from when we were on that yoga journey and it struck me what can happen in 10-11 years as the email sender was Peter rather than Petra. We have the potential to grow and change and become more vulnerable, authentic, real and add to that the backdrop of space and faith.
I am Petra Aleah and live in the United States, in northeastern New Jersey. Since childhood, the quest for the Divine has been the exclusive center of my life.
I LOVE BOOKS One of the Fireside Poets, Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), might have spoken for me when he wrote in 1858 in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, chapter 9, “I was born and bred … among books and those who knew what was in them,” and chapter 6, “I like books,—I was born and bred among them, and have the easy feeling, when I get into their presence, that a stable boy has among horses.”
I too always loved books, especially old books, and the culture of books.
AND THE OUTDOORS I love nature, and I love wilderness and whenever I can be out where it is wild—and beautiful and vast—and where people are sparse. Nature, as living presence, has always been the healing and nurturing companion of my spiritual life.
I first started backpacking 30 years ago and converted to ultralight backpacking probably over 20 years ago. I am still an avid hiker, backpacker, and canoeist.
Between 2014 and 2017, I worked in retail as a sales specialist at REI in Paramus. I was hired on the basis of my experience as an outdoorswoman.
I am a Woman
I am a woman who is transgender. My transition took place late in life. Outwardly I became to others who I already was to myself.
I have therefore occupied the world of both genders: for most of my life I tried my best to live in the role of a male; in 2015, I finally “came out” to the public and transitioned outwardly to the wonderful creation of the Divine that I have always been.
This is who I am before the Divine, who I have always been, the actual one whom the divine One created and redeemed. In a way, this is not a big deal because I have never been anyone else; it is just that no one else knew my actual gender, and I spent my life confused about it. That confusion and my coming out of it, of course, was a big deal (however little surprise it was to some others). A couple of years ago, I wrote a short reflection on my transition (see My 58th Birthday).
In Admonition XIX, Francis of Assisi said to his brothers, “What a man is before God, that he is and no more.” I would add, “and no other”: you are no other than what you are before the divine One. Bonaventure, in his Legenda Maior, tells us that Francis “had these words continually in his mouth.” My preaching every week on the Gospel according to Matthew in 2013, and seeing how this recognition by Francis was foundational to Jesus’ own teaching—along with the spiritual reflection I was doing while taking a course at the General Theological Seminary during its Fall semester—compelled me to face the truth about myself, who I was in the presence of my divine Lover. Francis’ words catalyzed my transition and my coming out.
A newspaper story on me: “A Transgender Minister’s ‘Long, Painful, Joyous, Happy and Dizzying’ Road to Acceptance.”
THE CHARISM THAT HOLDS ME I am a Franciscan, a Franciscan woman, a vowed member of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans since 2001. I think of myself this way first of all.
To connect with Petra:
* Email: petra.aleah@gmail.com * Website: https://petraaleah.net and http://mylonging.net
- FB: www.facebook.com/petra.aleah
I went back and forth about doing this episode and thought it's about time men start speaking to men about what they can do to stop sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Bios coming soon.
Marcus Collins and I went to the same amazing undergraduate institution - we are proud Wolverines. We both left Ann Arbor, MI for adventures and recently returned. He's a thought leader, has parlayed his brilliance, determination and faith into a remarkable career that is riveting and inspiring.
Marcus Collins is a culturally curious thinker with an academic insight into the cognitive drivers that impact consumer behavior. He serves as the SVP of Social Engagement at Doner Advertising, a full-serve advertising agency, and is a recipient of Advertising Age's 40 Under 40 (2016) and Crain's Business Detroit's 40 Under 40 (2016). Previously, he led the Social Engagement practice across the New York advertising agency, Translation, leveraging the psychological motivators that drive what we do, say, and share in an effort to create contagious marketing programs that extend across both the online and offline world of “social.” His strategies and creative contributions have led to the success of Budweiser’s “Made In America” music festival, the launch of Bud Light Platinum, the launch of the Brooklyn Nets (Hello Brooklyn!), and State Farm’s “Cliff Paul” campaign – to name a few.
Prior to joining Translation, Marcus led iTunes + Nike sport music initiatives at Apple (iTunes Partner Marketing) and ran digital strategy for Beyoncé.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Marcus is an extremely passionate educator and an AACSB certified clinical instructor. He is among the roster of instructors at Hyper Island and a member of the faculty at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, as a Golden Apple Award nominated lecturer of marketing.
Marcus holds an MBA with an emphasis on Strategic Brand Marketing from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his undergraduate degree in Material Science Engineering. He is a proud Detroit native, a devoted husband, and loving father. To connect with Marcus: * Website: www.marctothec.com
So this week I just shared from the heart about my own experience as a survivor of sexual abuse when I was 7 years old. I also discuss current events around #metoo and the predators of Congress, Hollywood, women's gymnastics and in everyday living. I hope this reckoning is a wake up call. I also talk about what has led us here, the common disrespect that men** display towards women under the guise of humor, admiration and more.
Chidimma Ozor is a soul coach, podcaster, educator, writer, advocate and conversation starter. She began theTYPEAhippie Podcast | ChiCast in November 2016 as a result of the onslaught of chaos and confusion in the aftermath of the 2016 Presidential election. With the podcast she seeks to smash the stigma of surviving sexual assault and domestic violence, healing from mental illness and recovering from substance use disorder. She also amplifies the voices of the marginalized and disenfranchised.
To connect with Chidimma:
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Email: chidimma@thetypeahippie.com
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FB: theTYPEAhippie
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IG: @thetypeahippie
**Speaking in gendered language.
I am looking forward to meeting Ksenija because our souls are already connected, we just need to be in the same physical place at the same time. She provides her experience as someone who has lived in multiple places and has had a wealth of unique lived experiences.
My passion for yoga came from a journey of finding healing in my own story of experiencing trauma. The first time I stepped onto my mat for a Holy Yoga class I knew something was different. As any beginner would, I experienced the uncomfortable and strange new sensations of poses I had never done before but I primarily felt a sense of freedom that had not been brought to life within me for years. Holy Yoga began to awaken me to God and to myself in a new and refreshing way. This practice brought me release, stillness and integrated my body, heart, mind and spirit into a wholeness I had never experienced before. For me, it became a way of worshiping Jesus on my mat, finding the surrendering of my heart, reconnection to lost places in my body and laying bare the spaces of my soul I did not yet understand. Each practice was unique and brought a different kind of healing than the one before. I wholeheartedly believe that using the modality of yoga and combining it with the expansion of our breath, scripture, prayer and meditation, alongside our movement, brings restoration to one's being. Coming to a class does not mean bringing your perfect self… in fact, it’s quite the opposite. This is a place of bringing our brokenness, shedding our masks and finding our true selves. Simply showing up is enough. You are free to be you, while I get to be free to be me. Here we are not afraid of the cracks because it's in the cracks that light comes in and where, in return, our light shines through. Thank you for trusting me to lead you as I am led by the One who knows the needs of each one of us, thank you for your willingness to grow in this practice as I grow with you and thank you for the grace extended for me to continue to be a student right alongside you. I look forward to seeing this dream become a reality of authentic community and meeting each other right where life has us, while still holding on to the hope of experiencing life to its fullest. Ksenija was raised in central and eastern Europe until the age of 19 when she moved to America in 2002. A child to missionary parents brought her a diverse, rich and ever-changing environment - from various cultures, art, languages, festivities and beautiful countryside to war-torn communities, human trafficking, refugees and the desperately poor. This exposure cultivated compassion in her and a deeply rooted faith that God is the one who brings healing to the broken. This passion to bring a safe space for others to find their wholeness and restoration intensified as she began the journey to finding freedom in her own trauma. Now she has the joy of doing so through achieving her 500 hr Holy Yoga Masters certification, Trauma Sensitive and Touch certification and is currently in process of getting her Holy Yoga Therapy and Holy Yoga Kids certification. To connect with Ksenija: * FB: Ksenija Simmons or Holy Yoga Columbia * IG: @ksenija_simmons or @holyyogacolumbia * Website: www.holyyogacolumbia.com * Email: ksimmons@holyyoga.net
I knew that Christina Mensah was a cool chick the first time we were texting. She extended grace to me when I was going back and forth (aka being indecisive) and had such an easy way of being. I'm looking forward to meeting her IRL and it was so much fun and inspiring to speak with her about her lived experience with surviving ovarian cancer.
Christina Mensah is a former NYC public school teacher turned doula and Impact Entrepreneur. She aspires to bring out the best in other women and empower them to see their worth. She is the mama of two inquisitive and bright daughters and married to a BOMB husband. To connect with Christina: * FB: www.facebook.com/thismamasgotsole
- IG: @thismamasgotsole and @mymommytribe
- Email: ssekosolesister@gmail.com and hello@pugetsoundbirth.com
- Website: www.pugetsoundbirth.com
I've known Marcy for several years. We met because we both had a love for health, wellness, yoga and fitness while I lived in Las Vegas. She's a bright light in the community and her smile is contagious. I was excited to speak to her about her experience surviving a toxic romantic relationship.
Marcy Valle is a lover of language, life and dreams. An old soul, she works daily in the Solar Energy field hoping to make a difference in our world and has shed a couple professionally demanding lives before this. She is first and foremost a new Yoruba priestess and a yogi. The first goal in life, is to cultivate joy, heal, and bring healing. Her life normally includes a lot of music, yoga, dancing and writing with the hopes of publishing a lot more in years to come. Currently, she's in semi-seclusion for a year of introspection. Carrying a relentless mending heart her life is nothing short of passionate, imperfect, and all but ordinary. She's mom to two little humans and a cat in heaven. To connect with Marcy: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comeridethesun * Blog: http://comeridethesun.blogspot.com * Email: marcyvalle@gmail.com
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Publications:
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https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/03/i-pretend-poem/
- https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/04/the-day-i-stopped-having-sex/
Christina Aldan is an amazing human whose resilience, grit and fire are inspiring. She is does not fit into any boxes and her authenticity is a breath of fresh air in a world where transparency, authenticity and vulnerability are not the norm. I look forward to connecting with her IRL someday soon.
Christina Aldan is a TEDx speaker, trainer, and digital advertising consultant whose boutique agency, LG Designs, offers businesses brand consulting and creative content for everyday media. With over a decade of experience in the digital advertising realm, Christina is highly regarded for her approach to business, partnering with clients to find unique strategies that ensure their advertising goals are met. Christina builds connections through her keynote addresses, training workshops, and technological education. She uses these tools to help individuals and businesses cultivate value in everyday media. She has presented trainings for the Microsoft MVP community, among others. She also served as Chief Marketing Officer for PrayerSpark and as Marketing Coordinator for Starmark1. Christina uses her charisma and expertise to inspire others by mentoring women in business like herself. She also has sat on state and local boards supporting women in tech, entrepreneurship, and children with learning disabilities.
She is the recipient of the Las Vegas Women in Tech Community Service Award, the Distinguished Woman of the Year Award in STEM, and the Stevie Award for the category of Women Helping Women. LG Designs was voted by ACQ5 Magazine’s voters as Company of the Year (Nevada Brand Management) and Nevada Gamechanger of the Year.
To connect with Christina:
- Website: www.ChristinaAldan.com
I love Tonia. We've known each other for years when we both lived in Las Vegas. She attended tons of my Yin and hot yoga classes when I first began teaching yoga at a local hot yoga studio and we became fast friends. Spending time before or after class catching up. We always made time to celebrate birthdays and life together over meals. She's a fascinating, kind, loving and tolerant human. Her quiet strength is remarkable.
Tonia McIntosh was born and raised in Michigan and later moved to Las Vegas where she currently resides. It was here that she received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the International Academy of Design and Technology. Tonia is an explorer of all forms of self-expression including acting, painting, drawing, dancing and writing. Although she loves many forms of expression, the written and spoken word feels the most like home to her. Tonia’s message is one that includes a heavy emphasis on self-love and care. Navigating her way through her own grieving process after the death of her mother has helped her to see the value in making the most of the time she has. She believes it’s important to nourish and grow relationships - especially the one you have with yourself.
To connect with Tonia:
- Facebook: Tonia McIntosh
- Email: tonialeemcintosh@gmail.com
Michael Smith is overwhelmingly an easy going man despite his life experiences. He has an easy laugh and adores the people in his life. We met for the first time over coffee shortly after the 2016 Presidential election and had a great time connecting over racism, the election results, life and essential oils.
Michael Smith was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI and is a descendant of the original Black settlers
to the Central Michigan area. He graduated early from Creston High School at the age of 17 and entered the US Army in March of 1983. He served on Active Duty in the US Army for eight years and participated in or supported the following: Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada); Operation Desert Shield; Operation Desert Storm; and Operation Provide Comfort. He received an Honorable Discharge from Active Duty and immediately joined Washtenaw County Government and worked in Human Resources and the Foster Grandparent Program before coming to the County Department of Veterans Affairs. Michael began as a County Veteran Service Officer and advanced to the Veteran Services Analyst position and was eventually appointed the Director by the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners on May 18, 2011.
While working in the County, he remained a member of the Army National Guard and US Army Reserves until he retired from the Reserves in April 2004 at the rank of Sergeant First Class. Michael also pursued his education during that time. He graduated from Washtenaw Community College and obtained his Undergraduate and Graduate degrees from Eastern Michigan University where he studied Public Administration and Political Science. He is the single parent of one daughter who just completed her sophomore year of college and the proud grandfather of one granddaughter. He is a member of American Legion Post #31 in Chelsea, MI.
To connect with Michael:
- Email: smithmgjr@gmail.com
This brave and bold young woman has been practicing law for three years and she's only 23. That means she has grit, determination and doesn't scare easily. And yet, there is a soft side to Salem that I wish others would see. She walks us through how she's been able to survive being a stranger in a land that isn't always loving.
Salem Afangideh is a lawyer, a yoga instructor, and chief space creator at THRIVE African Girl - a hub for African women. She is dedicated to using her voice and her power through law to come alongside immigrants, survivors of human trafficking and minorities building businesses and non profits. In the wellness space she is redefining what it means to be a yogi and teaching women to care for themselves. Her life goal is to love well and build well. She loves to connect with new friends through her Facebook and Instagram pages at Yoga Lawyer Salem. And on her website on SalemAfangideh.com. Her new podcast about the African experience is the THRIVE Table Podcast available on iTunes and SoundCloud.
To connect with Salem:
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Facebook: Yoga Lawyer Salem
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Instagram: @salem_afangideh
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Website: www.SalemAfangideh.com
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Podcast: THRIVE Table Podcast
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Facebook: THRIVE African Girl
Where we have been together over the last year.
To connect with Chidimma:
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Email: chidimma@thetypeahippie.com
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IG: @thetypeahippie
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FB: www.facebook.com/typeahippie
Rachel Bertner is one of those people that makes you want to be a better version of yourself not only for your community, but for yourself. She's definitely a member of the badass brigade and has allowed her pain to cultivate her passion with working with other survivors to empower them on their path of recovery as well as the perpetrators of sexual assault via the healing therapeutic practice of yoga and other modalities.
Rachel Bertner is a spiritual counselor, yoga teacher, energy educator and healer who specializes in working with women to heal after trauma. Her own healing from rape, molestation and abuse found resolve in alternative modalities/methods after over a decade of failed western focused attempts. It is her passion to share and educate others about how and why a mind/body connection, results in healing beyond the self. Working exclusively with the release and reset of the mind, body and spirit after trauma, Rachel teaches further to the contemplation of what it means to release the energy of violence or emotional disturbance and recognize it's void. Rachel has taught/teaches at universities, high schools, prisons, rehabs, transitional living homes and works exclusively one on one to help humans understand the energy of their lives and our lives as a collective. Passionate about empowering a collaboration over competition mentality that together, we can change anything - Rachel stands as source of being inspired by the type of adult she needed. Her personal platform centers around empowering accountability, education, progressive change and eye contact with a genuine smile. She connects the disconnected and is committed to finding wholeness in the holes for a reconnection and reintroduction to a life worth living. To connect with Rachel: * Website: www.recoveringyoga.com * Email: rachel.c.bertner@gmail.com
Anna Feagans is quite honestly one of my favorite people - and we haven't met yet! Her spirit is one of survival and she has an authenticity that many wish they had. Her heart is open and she loves being of service to others. Her devotion to the traumatic brain injury (TBI) community is beautiful and inspires many.
Anna is no stranger to surviving. She is actually well acquainted with it. On January 31, 2006 she hit rock bottom from years of drug abuse and has been clean for almost 12 years. Day by day she has found her sobriety and doesn't normally talk about the years she's been clean but sticks with the mantra of "today I'm clean". Then in March of 2013, doctors found a 4 cm tumor on her right frontal lobe and after a craniotomy and removal of said brain tumor she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Anna believes in the deep healing of breath, laughter, hope and as a 500hr certified instructor, the practice of yoga. She relies heavily on her faith and the power of laughing in midst of pain, suffering or trials that come with survival. After years of digging into the hard spaces and sifting through what works and what doesn't she is just now discovering what her "new normal" is. She believes in the process, not the outcome; the journey, not the destination. She is now on that beautiful, but painful journey of discovering who she is beyond her survival and learning to thrive with kindness, love, laughter and grace in the midst of it.
To connect with Anna:
Email: annalaura.fullofgrace@gmail.com
FB: www.facebook.com/anna.feagans
To donate to Grey Matters of Southwest Missouri:
Grey Matters of Southwest Missouri exists to provide education, support and financial assistance to those in the Southwest Missouri area impacted by brain cancer, tumors, and other brain traumas.
Website: https://greymattersswmo.com/
Katie is an amazing person who is interested in encouraging people to live in an ethical manner. She's purpose-driven and a free spirit whose light is contagious. Looking forward to meeting her the next time I'm in Texas! Katie is the founder and editor-in-chief of Ethical Style Journal, a fashion magazine promoting ethical and sustainable fashion to inspire readers to shop more consciously. To connect with Katie: IG: @ethicalstylejournal FB: Ethical Style Journal Email: team@ethicalstylejournal.com Website: ethicalstylejournal.com
Maythinee Washington and I connected over laughs because a woman was convinced I was here. Friends, we look NOTHING alike. We're both beautiful, yes. We both teach yoga, yes. And we're both women of color (WOC), yes. She is multiracial with longer, wavy hair and I'm Nigerian-American with jet black tightly curled hair that is short. These are some of things we talk about along with the state of the Union, activism, advocacy, privilege, racism and sexism amongst other things.
Maythinee acts, dances, writes, teaches yoga and knits. She’s also played a Moorish Lady Macbeth. But above all, she is a storyteller.
Maythinee is a careful observer and interpreter of the world. She’s come up with a phrase to describe her brand: “storytelling from an authentic place.” It’s a sort of unified field theory of what she is, does and seeks to be. Although she chases several creative strands, the stripping away of facades in a dogged, and often uncomfortable, pursuit of truth is a theme that runs through her life and discourse.
She spent her K-12 years at The Meadows School in Summerlin, an experience she says was crucial in opening the door to Brown University and ultimately to an MFA in acting from the University of Washington.
Maythinee, the daughter of an African-American and Native American father and a Thai mother, has worked on a semi-autobiographical solo show called White Girl. She performed it at the 2010 Las Vegas Fringe Festival, and seeks to grow, refine and tour it this year. “I’ve been scared to do that piece for a really long time,” she says. “It’s a piece that has to do with myself and my own multiracial identity growing up as a girl of color with predominantly WASP-y white images.”
In addition to working on her own performances, Washington continues to teach yoga and is developing an acting program that blends traditional acting instruction with yoga techniques to help students approach their life and art with fearless candor.
To connect with Maythinee: Coming soon!
For more information:
www.joincampaignzero.org
Noah Levine is one of those people that puts you at ease when you're in his presence. If you look at him and formulate an opinion without actually speaking to him, you will likely regret your decision. He's a friend to many and I enjoyed speaking with him and look forward to connecting with him in person over tea at a coffeehouse at the beach. He's thoughtful, kind, determined, humble and spiritual AF.
Noah was a young man embedded in a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties.
As with many self-destructive kids, Noah's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society.
Fueled by his anger and so much injustice and suffering, Noah now uses that energy and the practice of Buddhism to awaken his natural wisdom and compassion.
Noah is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He is trained to teach by Jack Kornfield of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. He teaches meditation classes, workshops and retreats nationally as well as leading groups in juvenile halls and prisons. Noah holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from CIIS. He has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhist traditions.
Noah currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Noah is the author of Refuge Recovery and Dharma Punx.
Refuge Recovery
Refuge Recovery is a Buddhist-oriented path to freedom from addiction. This is an approach to recovery that understands: “All individuals have the power and potential to free themselves from the suffering that is caused by addiction.” We feel confident in the power of the Dharma, if applied, to relieve suffering of all kinds, including the suffering of addiction. This is a process that cultivates a path of awakening, the path of recovering from the addictions and delusions that have created so much suffering in our lives and in this world.
Refuge Recovery is a systematic approach to training our hearts and minds to see clearly and respond to our lives with understanding and non-harming. You are entering a way of life that may be familiar to some and foreign to others. In the beginning some of it may seem confusing or counter-instinctual, and some of it is. But you will find that with time, familiarity and experience, it will all make perfect sense and will gradually become a more and more natural way of being.
To contact with Noah:
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FB: www.facebook.com/RefugeRecovery
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Twitter: @_RefugeRecovery
*IG: @refugerecovery
- Website: www.refugerecovery.org
I knew that Liz and I would immediately connect and I was correct. She's an amazing human and her laugh is contagious. She goes deep and it's clear that she loves humanity.
Liz Forkin Bohannon is the founder of Sseko Designs. Sseko Designs is an ethical fashion brand that works to educate and empower women. By providing employment and educational opportunities, Sseko Designs enables women to continue their education and become leaders in their country. In four years, Sseko Designs has grown from three women making sandals together under a mango tree, to an international fashion brand that provides employment, educational opportunities and entrepreneurial training to over 50 women in East Africa.
Using her unlikely story of a journalist-gone-shoe-maker, Liz shares her passion for social enterprise, conscious consumerism, social justice, creative leadership, gender equity, risk-taking and empowering women. She believes deeply that business is a powerful platform for social change and that girls are our future. She now splits her time between Uganda and Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband Ben run Sseko Designs.
To connect with Liz:
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Instagram: @ssekodesigns
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Twitter: @ssekodesigns
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/ssekodesigns
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Website: www.ssekodesigns.com/chidimma_ozor (if you're not connected with a Sseko Fellow); if you are connected with a Sseko Fellow, please connect directly with them.
Having a conversation with GP and JP was beyond phenomenal. Gina Pollard is sweet and spicy and the spiritual leader you want in your corner when life gets lifey and John Pavlovitz, the Pastor of the Resistance, inspires action through his writing and pushes the reader to extend themselves to contribute to healing and working on behalf of humanity.
Both are my spiritual mentors and it was a joy and gift to listen and learn in their presence.
Gina Pollard is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist® and a Life Transition Coach. Her focus is in helping people deal with grief and loss, past abuse issues, and moving into new life stages. Her experience in leading Mending the Soul abuse support groups, and providing pastoral care gives her a deep understanding what it means to feel deep pain, need a glimmer of hope, and do the work to have a fulfilling life.
A self-described “hope junkie,” Gina loves to journey with others, helping them to validate the whole of who they are in the world and in their lives. Gina earned her Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and is ordained by the National Association of Christian Ministers. In addition to her coaching and recovery practice, she also works at Fuller Seminary Arizona helping to provide spiritual formation for seminary students.
John Pavlovitz is a writer and pastor from Wake Forest, North Carolina. In the past three years his blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said has reached a diverse audience of millions. A 20-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John's mission is to help the Church become a more compassionate, loving environment for all people. His first book A Bigger Table, was released this month (October 2017).
To connect with Gina:
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Website: www.ginapollard.com
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Facebook: Gina Pollard
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Twitter: @GinaPollard
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Instagram: @ginadpollard
To connect with John:
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Blog: johnpavlovitz.com
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Facebook: John Pavlovitz
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Twitter: @johnpavlovitz
I have not yet met these brilliant women, but I know that it's going to happen. We met because of our love for social justice and empowering others and have been able to really connect on a soul level. On this episode, we discuss social justice, politics, the 2016 presidential election, intersectionality, racism, sexism, gender and more.
Bios and social media handles to come.
NOTE This podcast episode includes adult language, be aware of little people who may be listening.
I met Dr Tia McNair at the Research Symposium at the University of Michigan. She is highly intelligent and knew her stuff and I, along with the audience, was intrigued. She discussed diversity, equity and inclusion and broke it down so that it was easy to follow along.
Dr Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success at Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact educational practices, and student success, including AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal series of yearly working conferences. McNair also directs AAC&U’s Summer Institute on High-Impact Educational Practices and Student Success. McNair serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives: "Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation," “Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus-Based Strategies for Student Success,” and Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning and Curricular Coherence.” She directed AAC&U's projects on "Advancing Underserved Student Success through Faculty Intentionality in Problem-Centered Learning,” "Advancing Roadmaps for Community College Leadership to Improve Student Learning and Success,” and "Developing a Community College Roadmap. McNair chaired AAC&U’s Equity Working Group that was part of the General Education Maps and Markers (GEMs) project that represented a large-scale, systematic effort to provide “design principles” for 21st-century learning and long-term student success. She is the lead author of the book Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016). McNair is a co-author on the publication Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices. Prior to joining AAC&U, McNair served as the Assistant Director of the National College Access Network (NCAN) in Washington, DC. McNair’s previous experience also includes serving as a Social Scientist/Assistant Program Director in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Director of University Relations at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia; the Statewide Coordinator for the Educational Talent Search Project at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; and the Interim Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment Services at West Virginia State University. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions where she taught first-year English courses. McNair earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and English at James Madison University and holds an M.A. in English from Radford University and a doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University.
To connect with Dr Tia McNair:
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/aacu
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Website: http://www.aacu.org/
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Association-of-American-Colleges-and-Universities-48308128458/
I heard about Greg Williams' work long before I was introduced to him. And when we finally spoke, I knew it was important for the state of recovery to connect with him further, both for my own understanding and for others benefit. Greg is a down to earth person in long-term recovery. I hope that our paths of recovery advocacy cross in real life someday.
Greg Williams, Co-Founder of Facing Addiction, is a person in long-term recovery from addiction, and the award winning documentary filmmaker of The Anonymous People and Generation Found. Greg has a Masters degree in addiction public policy from New York University, and over a decade of experience working with non-profits and government agencies on addiction. Greg served as the Campaign Director and one of the executive producers of the historic UNITE to Face Addiction rally on the National Mall on October 4, 2015 (B.A. Quinnipiac University; M.A. New York University).
To Connect with Facing Addiction:
- Website: www.facingaddiction.org
Melvin is an amazing human who loves the outdoors, farming and social justice. He's the sower of social justice and wants community farming to be diverse and accessible to all, but especially to young black boys and men so that they are able to see themselves represented and know that they are eligible too.
Melvin Parson attended Eastern Michigan University for both his Bachelors and his Masters in Social Work degrees. He lives in Ypsilanti, MI. He's the founder of We the People's Grower's Assocation (WTPGA) which is dedicated to building stronger communities, to foster a system that helps improve lives by developing skills and positive social networks that empower people to make a positive contribution to the community, to provide support in relation to valuable self-esteem building, to also provide jobs and education using gardening/farming as the vehicle. WTPGA will provide support in an effort to produce stronger communities. WTPGA’s contribution will center on growing chemical free vegetables while making them affordable and accessible in the community. This effort will be done with help of inter-agency collaborations, support from the community. In the spring of 2016 WTPGA plans to hire several part time staff members directly from the community and hopefully enlist a host of volunteers that believe in our efforts.
To connect with Melvin:
- Facebook: We the People's Grower's Association
Rochelle and I were Wolverines at the University of Michigan at similar times and we also worked (on different things) while in Ann Arbor, MI at the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives. We recently reconnected about all of the things and it is clear that Dr Woods' passion for students is contagious and genuine. You will be inspired by the work she is doing at The Ohio State University and may even decide to connect with your community in a tangible and meaningful way.
Rochelle L Woods has invested over 15 years successfully leading programs and initiatives improving post-secondary access and success of high school and college students who face significant economic and educational disadvantages. Dr Woods is currently the Director of the Young Scholars Program in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at The Ohio State University. In this role, she leads a staff of 15 in providing high-quality programming, pre-college advising, mentoring, professional development and academic support to improve pre-college preparation of high school students and the retention and degree completion of college students who are academically talented, first-generation students demonstrating high financial need from nine of the largest urban school districts in Ohio. The Young Scholars Program, under Dr Woods’ leadership, was recognized as a significant contributor in narrowing the graduation gap between Black and White students at OSU as noted in a report released by the Education Trust in March, 2016.
Previously, Dr Woods’ served as the Assistant Director of the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives University of Michigan and Program Director for Leaders and Best, a retention program that provided holistic support to economically and educationally disadvantaged first and second year undergraduate students to promote academic success and professional development. Under her leadership, the six-year graduation rate for African-American program participants was 94%, higher than the university’s rate for all students. She has presented, researched and published on higher education, focusing on issues of retention, racial climate and educational attainment of underrepresented racial groups. She served as Research Associate at the Center for Science Education at EDC in Newton, MA and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center on Race and Social Problems at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Woods holds a B.A. in Sociology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Michigan.
To connect with the Young Scholars Program:
- Website: https://odi.osu.edu/ysp/
I shared office space with Anthony Fowlkes during my time working as a Project Coordinator in the Office of the Vice President of Student Life and I was impressed hearing about his story and with his ambition for continued studies so soon after he graduated with his Bachelors. I knew others would benefit from hearing his story of tenacity and grit. Anthony Fowlkes is a dual degree in the School of Education and School of Public Policy for Higher Educational Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Anthony was born and raised in Metro Detroit and continues to support Michigan's growth. Before starting his masters, Anthony completed an undergraduate degree in Economics and Asian Studies also at UM. During his studies, he worked as a research assistant in the Office of the Vice President of Student Life and in the dorms in several roles promoting diversity/equity. During his Master's program, Anthony will be interning in the Office of Enrollment Management. He hopes that these experiences will help guide him in policy work at an institutional or federal level regarding financial access issues for postsecondary education achievement. To connect with Anthony: * Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyfowlkes * IG: @antfowl * Email: anthonylfowlkes@gmail.com
I met Cachet Colvard through my work at the University of Michigan and I was struck by how amazing and insightful she was. As we talked about her experiences as a graduate student, I knew I wanted others to hear her thoughts on higher education and access.
Cachet Colvard is from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Asian Cultures and Languages with a concentration in Chinese. During her undergraduate career, Cachet received training as an Emergency Medical Technician and worked with the Ghana School of Public Health. Cachet received a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the UM School of Public Health and is a Master of Business Administration dual degree candidate at UM-Dearborn College of Business. Cachet completed her Administrative Internship at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) in their system-level Project Management office. During her internship at the DMC, she worked on projects for each of the 9 hospitals centered around developing system-ness, process improvement, patient experience, and healthcare quality. Throughout graduate school, Cachet served as president of Women in Health Leadership and held board positions with the Midwest Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Association of Health Services Executives. Cachet enjoys traveling, dancing, attending sports events and spending time with her friends and family.
Connect with Cachet:
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Instagram: @cachetrenee
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Website: www.cachetcolvard.com
Steven and I go way back as we attended the University of Michigan together many moons ago. Trust me, it's true, we look younger than we are. His witty Facebook posts of questions led me to reach out to him which resulted in this fun conversation.
Steven Snead is originally from Detroit, MI. He attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree and he went on to attend Wayne State University for his Masters in Educational Leadership. He is currently the Supervisor of Curriculum and Assessment and a Research, Evaluation and Assessment Consultant at Oakland Schools.
Allison Weber is an absolute joy to be around. Her laugh is infectious and her desire to connect with people worldwide is undeniable. Her heart's mission is to humbly see others and provide soul care to the people who are largely unseen in developing countries in Southeast Asia.
Often found with a coffee in hand, Allison Weber has a raucous laugh, but a surprisingly serious side. While her career finds her teaching business communication to University students, she is in the process of developing a Soul Sanctuary, a program that provides sacred spaces for those in need of rest, renewal and restoration. During these weekend retreats, she finds deep joy leading group meditation, facilitating meaningful conversations, and relaxing in any pool of water on a rainbow unicorn floaty. When she is not occupied with those two things, she loves advocating for women as a Sseko Fellow, doing yoga, hiking and trotting the globe.
Originally from the Midwest, Allison and her husband David have lived in the United States, India, and Thailand. They currently reside in Arizona, but it is the Thai people (and food!) who have her heart. They both hope to return there one day to live and work. To connect with Allison: * Instagram: @shebebrave and @soul.sanctuary
Luke Storey is like my brother from another mother. We have yet to connect in real life, which I look forward to especially since he's so adventurous with his health and wellness!
Luke Storey is a former celebrity fashion stylist turned public speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur, who has spent the past 20 years relentlessly searching the world over to design the ultimate lifestyle through his extensive, and sometimes obsessive, personal research and development.
Using the wildly popular podcast, The Life Stylist as his delivery platform, Luke continues to share his strategies for healing, happiness, and high-performance living each week so that listeners can use this knowledge to design their ultimate lifestyle.
Luke's show features the biggest experts in the fields of health, spirituality and personal development. Past guests have included experts like Dave Asprey, David Wolfe, Ben Greenfield, Jack Kruse, John Gray and Daniel Vitalis.
Luke’s show covers an ever expanding range of topics including sex and relationships, yoga, meditation, smart drugs, health myths and medical conspiracies, spirituality, food and supplementation, herbalism, alternative medicine and biohacking technologies and tactics.
As a public speaker, Luke has appeared on stage with current thought leaders such as Tim Ferris and Neil Strauss. He is known for his raw, down-to-earth delivery and sometimes extreme health practices.
Luke currently works one-on-one with private clients and continues to act as CEO at School of Style, the world’s most prominent school for fashion stylists, which he founded in 2008.
You can find Luke and his work at www.lukestorey.com.
To connect with Luke:
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrlukestorey
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuS0OqF8szmvtrr6VzMSdnA
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Twitter: @mrlukestorey
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Instagram: @lukestorey
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Website: www.lukestorey.com
I look forward to the day I meet Rabia Chaudry. She's a badass that speaks her mind with honor and dignity.
Rabia Chaudry is a wife, mother, attorney, and a 2016 Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at U.S. Institute of Peace, where she researched the intersection of religion and violent extremism. Her regions of interest are Pakistan and Sri Lanka. She is also the co-host and co-producer of the hit podcast "Undisclosed", with nearly 200 million downloads, and the podcast "The 45th".
To connect with Rabia:
- Twitter: @rabiasquared
Dr Paul Leighton has a way about him. His words are powerful, yet humble. I first met him when I was going through volunteer training at SafeHouse Center in Sept 2016 and he led a module on privilege. His commentary was like an air-conditioned room granting reprieve from a sweltering, humid summer day. I actually mentioned to him that if he started a podcast I would be an excited and grateful listener!
Paul Leighton is the co-author, with Jeffrey Reiman, of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, 11th Edition. He is also the co-author of a book on private prisons, Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business and the Incarceration Binge. His co-authored book, Class, Race, Gender & Crime is available in its fourth edition. His current interests are in whistleblowing, wage theft and a next-generation, high-tech Japanese rehabilitation center. He recently finished his term as President of the Board of SafeHouse Center, a domestic violence shelter and sexual assault crisis intervention center.
Some book recommendations:
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Charles Terry's The Fellas: Overcoming Prison and Addiction*
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Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino boys by Victor Rios
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Matt Tiabbi's The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
To connect with Paul:
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Twitter: @poorgetprison
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Website: www.paulsjusticepage.com
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Blog: www.paulsjusticeblog.com
Ahmed Soliman is an inspiration both on the mat and off. I've not yet met him, but hope to someday soon.
Because Ahmed was given a common Egyptian name (Ahmed Soliman), his friends nicknamed him "Soli" to set me apart from others. Over the past several years, this name evolved and merged with his yoga practice and yogic lifestyle. Ahmed has come to embody the moniker he chose for his site: yogisoli.
Before Ahmed found yoga and began teaching, he was a wildlife biologist and environmental scientist. Serving the natural environment and helping to recover endangered species was his way of giving to a greater good. This is a concept that he's carried daily into a yogic lifestyle, both in teaching and in practice. He seeks to serve his community in a way that supports strength, healing and sustainability.
To connect with Ahmed:
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Website: www.yogisoli.com
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IG: @yogisoli
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FB: YogiSoli
I have yet to meet Kelly McEvers in real life, but I soon discovered both by listening to her podcast, Embedded and having a conversation with her that she's badass.
Kelly McEvers is co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine. She hosts the program from NPR West in Culver City, California, with co-hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, and Ari Shapiro in NPR's Washington, D.C. headquarters.
McEvers was previously a national correspondent based at NPR West. Prior to that, McEvers ran NPR's Beirut bureau, where she earned a George Foster Peabody award, an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia award, a Gracie award, and an Overseas Press Club mention for her 2012 coverage of the Syrian conflict. She recently made a radio documentary about being a war correspondent with renowned radio producer Jay Allison of Transom.org.
In 2011, she traveled undercover to follow Arab uprisings in places where brutal crackdowns followed the early euphoria of protests. She has been tear-gassed in Bahrain; she has spent a night in a tent city with a Yemeni woman who would later share the Nobel Peace Prize; and she spent weeks inside Syria with anti-government rebels known as the Free Syrian Army.
In Iraq, she covered the final withdrawal of U.S. troops and the political chaos that gripped the country afterward. Before arriving in Iraq in 2010, McEvers was one of the first Western correspondents to be based, full-time, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In 2008 and 2009, McEvers was part of a team that produced the award-winning "Working" series for American Public Media's business and finance show, Marketplace. She profiled a war fixer in Beirut, a smuggler in Dubai, a sex-worker in Baku, a pirate in the Strait of Malacca and a marriage broker in Vietnam.
She previously covered the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia as a freelancer for NPR and other outlets. She started her journalism career in 1997 at the Chicago Tribune, where she worked as a metro reporter and documented the lives of female gang members for the Sunday magazine.
Her writing also has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, The New York Review of Books, The Washington Monthly, Slate and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her work has aired on This American Life, The World, and the BBC. She's taught radio and journalism in the U.S. and abroad.
McEvers also hosts Embedded, which takes a story from the news and goes deep. What does it feel like for a father in El Salvador to lie to his daughter about the bodies he saw in the street that day? What does it feel like for a nurse from rural Indiana to shoot up a powerful prescription opioid? Embedded (EMBD) takes you to where it's all happening.
She lives with her family in California, where she's still very bad at surfing.
To Connect with Kelly:
- Twitter: @kellymcevers
I met Emily Johnson several years ago when I lived in Las Vegas. We met through friends of friends and bonded almost immediately. I remember meeting for a sushi lunch discussing essential oils and healthier living and thinking this woman is so rad. When you listen to our conversation, you'll see why!
Emily Johnson is a pastor's wife and mom of three living in Las Vegas, NV. She's trying to raise children to be brave and kind in this crazy world.
To connect with Emily:
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Instagram: @ewj
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Facebook: Emily Johnson
I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Matt Statman and Anna Byberg when I returned to Michigan after living in Las Vegas for almost 10 years. They are rays of sunshine and have a zest for life, generosity of spirit and are some of the most hospitable people around. Additionally, many would agree that they are Ann Arbor's First Couple.
I had the pleasure of meeting Selena Alonzo and I was struck by how powerful she is. While she has a more quiet demeanor than some others, her strength is evident. Her insight on the law as a University of Michigan law student and social justice work and the impact of incarceration on the people around is much needed in this ongoing discussion.
Selena Alonzo was born and raised in Austin, TX. Selena became the first in her family to attend college at Amherst College in Massachusetts. She graduated with a degree in Law, Jurisprudence, Social Thought and Psychology. Throughout college, Selena began to develop an interest in social justice issues, particularly the failures of our criminal justice system. This interest led to Selena deciding to attend Michigan Law School. Despite being just a 1L, Selena established a lasting legacy at Michigan Law by helping found the First Generation Law Students organization. Her other involvement at the law school includes organizing a LawBreaks trip to assist death row appellants in California, the Unemployment Insurance and Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinics, Street Law, and MDefenders. Selena is an aspiring public defender and will spend her summer working for the Legal Aid Society’s Manhattan Criminal Defense Trial Office. To connect with Selena: * IG: selenaalo * email: scalonzo@umich.edu
This is the second time Stephanie Moors has been on my podcast and the conversation continues to be richer and richer. Today we discuss the work. The work we have each done and how our roads intertwine. The discussion moves to communication, self-care and life.
Stephanie lives in Phoenix and is the mama to three incredible human beings. She is a 500 hr yoga instructor, a podcaster, a love activist and a photographer. Although she does not use the term 'Christian' to define herself, she advocates for the Way of Jesus in a beautiful, questioning world and she wholeheartedly believes that everyone deserves to belong.
To connect with Stephanie:
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Website: www.stephaniemmoors.com
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Twitter: @stephaniemoors
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Instagram: @stephaniemmoors
I met Mandy Reid years ago through yoga and service. We talked for three hours on the bus ride down the mountain to the airport and it was a friendship that has bloomed over the years. She is an amazing human that adds great value to the world through her own work incorporating vulnerability and authenticity to body positivity, activism, self-care and yoga.
Mandy Reid teaches freedom. The heart of her teaching is to teach others about the fundamental goodness of their hearts and bodies. Mandy is a certified 500 hour Yoga Instructor.
Currently, Mandy is in her second 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training with Yoga Medicine under Tiffany Cruikshank and additional 200 hour Ashtanga teacher training under Gillian St Claire and Brett Willaims. Mandy teaches online yoga practices, and locally in Nashville, TN.
Along with teaching, Mandy is an avid yogi, with an undying love for a good vinyasa practice.
Mandy lives in Tennessee with her husband and two children. She enjoys organic green smoothies, gourmet donuts, and whiskey.
To connect with Mandy:
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Instagram: @mandyreidyoga
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Website: www.mandyreid.com
This is Ashton Marr's second time on this podcast. Today we're talking about restorative justice.
To recap, I met Ashton Marr while on a panel speaking to University of Michigan social workers at the University of Michigan Health Systems on substance abuse disorder and we both have a passion with working with or cooperating with the professional community to educate them on substance use disorder (alcoholism and addiction). Ashton is the President of Washtenaw Recovery Advocacy Project (WRAP) and she most recently left her role as an Outreach Worker with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. She's also studying Social Work at Eastern Michigan University (EMU).
To connect with Ashton:
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marra@ewashtenaw.org
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FB: Wasthenaw Recovery Advocacy Project (WRAP)
I'm looking forward to meeting Rev Sarah Heath in person sometime soon as she's sweet and spicy as well. Rev Sarah Heath is an ordained elder for the California Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). She currently serves as the Lead Pastor of a Re-Start congregation in Costa Mesa, First UMC Costa Mesa (www.costamesafirst.com.) Sarah has spoken to groups of varying sizes all over the country on topics varying from creativity, authentic leadership, to learning how to tell your story,
Though Sarah was born in Newfoundland, Canada, she was raised in Ontario until her family moved to the Hattiesburg, MI in 1994 where she lived the rest of her childhood. Keeping close to her newfound, southern roots, Sarah attended the University of Southern Mississippi after high school graduation where she received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Biology. Hearing the call to ministry, Sarah attended Duke Divinity School where she earned her Master of Divinity degree in 2005.
Sarah is often a guest writer for various publications, websites and blogs where she shares insights on the topics of making faith relevant in our modern society and negotiating faith with church – How does faith “work,” grow, and be sustained when you don’t fit into the average church? Sarah is a contributor to the book, Disquiet Time: Rants and Reflections on the Good Book by the Skeptical, the Faithful, and a Few Scoundrels edited by Jennifer Grant and Cathleen Falsani aiming to provide thoughtful, honest, and vulnerable biblical reflections for those passages that make people squeamish. Her first solo book "What's your story? Seeing your life through God's eyes"(Abington Press) comes out in April 17, 2017 https://amzn.com/150183789.
Sarah has a passion for music, traveling, acting, creating art, watching sports and making time for a little bit of play, which, if you stick around long enough, you will begin to notice creep their way into her ministries. If you ask her, Sarah will tell you her biggest blessings in her life are her random assortment of talented friends and her amazing mutt of a dog, Tenor (who seems to steal the spotlight at times, but she forgives him for it).
To connect with Sarah:
- Website: www.revsarahheath.com
Gina Pollard and I met first over essential oils and the connection and kinship was immediate. She's a source of love and light that few have.
Gina Pollard is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist® and a Life Transition Coach. Her focus is in helping people deal with grief and loss, past abuse issues, and moving into new life stages. Her experience in leading Mending the Soul abuse support groups, and providing pastoral care gives her a deep understanding what it means to feel deep pain, need a glimmer of hope, and do the work to have a fulfilling life.
A self-described “hope junkie,” Gina loves to journey with others, helping them to validate the whole of who they are in the world and in their lives.
Gina earned her Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and is ordained by the National Association of Christian Ministers. In addition to her coaching and recovery practice, she also works at Fuller Seminary Arizona helping to provide spiritual formation for seminary students.
To connect with Gina:
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Website: www.ginapollard.com
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Facebook: Gina Pollard
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Twitter: @GinaPollard
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Instagram: @ginadpollard
I am looking forward to meeting Ivana Grahovac IRL (in real life) because it appears in many ways we may be soul sisters. She's a badass woman who has tackled a lot, moving from her old way of dying with herion abuse to a new way of living free in recovery and working as an advocate so others can find their way too.
Ivana Grahovac is the Director of Advancement for the nonprofit, Facing Addiction, the lead advocacy organization for the national addiction recovery movement. Ivana is a woman in long term recovery and is celebrating 12 years of abstinence-based sobriety from heroin addiction. She has a proven track record in the nonprofit addiction field, having previously served as turnaround executive director of Austin Recovery, a treatment center with a 50-year legacy of affordability in the community. Prior to that, she served as executive director of Transforming Youth Recovery, a strategic grant program for school-based recovery support. Ivana began her career as director of The Center for Students in Recovery at The University of Texas, where she led the expansion of collegiate recovery programs to all eight UT system schools; a measure unanimously approved by the UT Board of Regents. She earned her B.A. from Wayne State University and her M.S.W. University of Michigan.
To connect with Ivana:
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Twitter: @IvanaGrahovac1
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Facebook: Ivana Grahovac
I had the privilege of meeting Jason Whitney recently during his visit to the University of Michigan. As Co-President of Students for Recovery at the University of Michigan, I knew I had to speak with him and his story of recovery was compelling. He got sober at age 19 and today has multiple decades of sobriety under his belt. He's now paying it forward in his current role at Penn State University.
Jason Whitney is the Program Coordinator of the Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community and an Instructor in the College of Education.
To connect with Jason:
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Email: jxw411@psu.edu
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Facebook for Penn State's CRC: https://www.facebook.com/pennstatecrc/