Blatant Frankism

Shaneka Jones Cook lives and works as a freelance writer and a Case Manager for homeless families in Washington, D.C. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and a BA in English from Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a licensed Notary Public in Virginia and Washington, DC. She is a former elementary school teacher who writes fiction, poetry, short stories, and creative nonfiction. She has been published in The Record (Trinity Washington University), Trinity Magazine, and most recently Antioch University’s very own Lunch Ticket. She served as an assistant editor, interviewer, and guest interviewer of Lunch Ticket for Issues 11, 12, and 13. She served as an assistant editor for The Women’s National Book Association’s annual writing contest. She is currently working on a collection of short stories. Shaneka Jones Cook has always been passionate about books and magazines, pouring through every page from cover to cover. So, she decided to create Shaneka Donte Enterprise, Black Cat Productions, and Literary Lenses. Publishing, film, and magazine that would become a community venue for artistic expression, popular culture, cultural diversity, and a protected space regardless of your sexual orientation. But most importantly she wanted to create a space filled with raw literary voices that will build connections through different genres of writing and diverse cultures that will shake up mainstream media.

Preshona is an East Bengali-American born in East Asia, in Kolkata, West Bengal. She immigrated to the U.S., to Baltimore, Maryland, when she was 4 years old. Growing up in neighborhoods of different cultures and incomes both within and outside of the U.S.(East Oakland, CA; East San Jose, CA; Southeast & Northeast DC; PG County, MD; Howard County, MD; San Salvador, El Salvador; Nogales, Mexico) Preshona became a passionate educator, performer, and activist to unite the divided around & within her. In 2011, she started the One Love Movement (One Love = True Change Inc.) with fellow youth workers to spread co-operative economics, education and positive culture in and with communities of color. Preshona loves to support folks passionate about the same:) Currently she is launching P.O.C- centered homeschool curriculum on www.iamsunschool.com. She is known to be pretty quirky and yet quiet & reflective, randomly hilarious, always chill, kind and passionate at the same time - and a firecracker if you got her messed up. Currently she is co-writing and directing a sit-com project called “How to Be Brown Like Me” based on her personal blog - airing on Instagram this season - about the lives of herself and her friends from Baltimore, DC, and the Bay Area, California. She is pretty much pretty awesome.

Dr. Kristy McDowell is an experienced scientist with an extensive research background in oncology, molecular biology, genetics, and infectious diseases. She completed her Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Biology and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri) in 1997. She obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology/Immunology from Meharry Medical College in 2007, completing her dissertation research at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland. Currently, Dr. McDowell is an adjunct Professor at NVCC in the MSTB department and is the founder and CEO of BabyScientist, Inc., (www.babyscientist.org). BabyScientist is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in order to educate, motivate, and inspire children, preK-12, from underserved communities and underrepresented populations to pursue careers in STEM.

If asked what is her ultimate objective in life, Honest AM would proudly state that she wants to help activate women to live their best lives. Through her writings, she envisions connecting the hearts and souls of women around the world. Honest AM was born and raised in Detroit. She's a graduate of Hampton University with a Master’s in Business Administration. She is a Project Accountant by day and writer by night. Her resume is growing rapidly, with several featured articles on XONecole, including, “Why Rooting for Everybody Black Should Include Monique and The Gospel According to RiRi". AM is well on her way to becoming a household name.

The Professionally Petty Show was established in 2018 on a black lesbian Facebook group. The Petty was so real and the audience was so solid that Carly and Corri felt that in order to grow exponentially that they needed to establish their own independent platform, thus the two took off to take over the world. Their synergy and friendship is so captivating that they built a whole new family of friends online. By giving advice and sharing their own life experiences they became their listeners play cousins and play sisters. The hosts Carly Jonelle and Corri House meet in 2013 and realized their life experiences had more in common than all of their dating woes. The Professionally Petty show covers topics of love, dating, family, friendships and relationships. Although some topic can take on a serious nature, Carly and Corri knows you can laugh at half of life’s situations and the other half you can just be petty.

Zamara Perri is the founder and editor of the Black Lesbian Love Lab blog, which showcases black lesbian relationships. She also runs a private Facebook group for women who are seeking to make connections with other like-minded women in a safe space and she coaches women on dating wisely. For many years, she knew that love was integral to a life well lived and until her mid-20s never pursued love with a woman in real life. Once she did, she never turned back. She became convinced that the love stories of black women in love were just as valuable, authentic and uplifting as any others. That is the reason she started this blog. Z is passionate about black love and sharing black lesbian stories. She also writes a column for this blog called Z Speaks. In this column she breaks down everything from her dating nightmares to love lessons learned to advice you should take to her thoughts on the gay rights movement.

Adama Hamadi, Delicious Living Coach at Dream Leap Live LLC, is the “human permission slip” for ambitious visionaries that have an innate drive to perform at a high level but feel too scattered to give their goals the attention they deserve. Adama has a background in trauma informed case management, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and workshop facilitation. Through one-on-one coaching, mentoring, and training, Adama helps burned out SuperWomen free up time and energy to do the work that matters. She is passionate about helping women find their voices and take back their power so they can enjoy a truly delicious, burnout-proof life of ease, joy and meaning.

In 2015, Latisha Atkins, left her work in D.C. Government and returned to her home ward to focus on community issues full time. She established BRIDGES, INC (Building Bridges to Success, Inc), which specializes in community development, community engagement, and community empowerment. “At the heart of our work is the community! We implement trainings, workshops and capacity building programming to strengthen the community's voice and build its capacity to engage others in a shared vision for growth and development.”

A District Running Collective crew leader, co-founder + CEO of RUNGRL Co. and RRCA certified running coach, Ashlee has found herself at the forefront of transforming running culture with a specific focus on creating safe spaces and experiences for black (women) runners to connect and thrive. An Ann Arbor, Michigan native and University of Michigan Alum, Ashlee has bled Maize and Blue across DC since 2013. When she’s not out discovering the newest event venues or connecting with creatives, you’ll find her training for her next marathon or snuggled up in front of a TED Talk with a glass of red wine.

Nina Greene is the owner of Njudawn, a collection of hand poured candles, linen mist and whipped Shea butter and the co-owner of Reign, an online women's clothing boutique. After attending college, Nina relocated to New York, where she worked in the fashion industry as a styist and later became an accessories designer. After moving back to her hometown of Washington, DC in 2010, Nina began development of Njudawn, officially launching about 3 years ago. Currently, Nina is juggling the ups, downs, and in-betweens of employment and entrepreneurship.

Aiyi’nah Ford simplifies her life's work as an endeavor to expose the truth of the collectively oppressed. As a Native Washingtonian, her wealth of experience (10+ years) in social justice advocacy,community organizing, and art-ivist expression has been instrumental in raising awareness and changing regressive legislation on a local and federal level. She currently serves as the Executive Director of The Future Foundation. Her trauma-informed leadership development and political education facilitation are helping us pave the way for leader-full youth in this city and across the Nation. Aiyi’nah is also Founding C.E.O. of STAND Omnimedia™, a diversified digital media brand with a mission to “STAND with and amplify the voices and cultures that are often silenced." Under this conglomerate, she hosts “The One Mic Stand with SimplyNay” and has published “#SucessfullySingle: Confessions Of A Professional Dater”. Aiyi’nah has also contributed to such publications as “Love Letters To Our Daughters: A Collection of Womanly Affirmations” and “Shout It Out: Coming Out Black and Brown”. When she is not fighting for our collective liberation, she is sipping loose leaf tea and wearing a #supportisFREE™ t-shirt.

Trenell Eaton, is a woman of God first and a superhero mother to her son. Born and partially raised in the District of Columbia, Trenell developed a resilience to her childhood traumas. Despite her shortcomings, she was able to overcome the adversity of having survived multiple episodes of homelessness, abuse, and poverty. Instead of falling victim to statistical outcomes she decided that she would use her plights to build a platform for herself and women and girls just like her across the world. Trenell earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Morgan State University and is completing her Masters of Jurisprudence in Child Law and Policy at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. Currently she manages special education schools for the DC Public Schools and serves as an advocate for children in her community. In addition, Trenell is the founder of the non-profit organization I Am Beautiful Because, a woman’s awareness organization that supports women and girls who have been victims of child sexual abuse. This is seed that was planted from her own person experience with child sexual abuse. "I needed a hero so, I became one" -Trenell Eaton At the age of nine, Trenell was violated by a perpetrator who she was fond of. Going untreated, she found herself making destructive decisions and building unhealthy relationships that were not conducive to her well-being. As she grew older, she began to recognize that her life was being heavily impacted by her abuse. This led her to seek treatment for her own healing and ignited a passion for educating and ministering to women and girls who too have fallen victim of childhood sexual abuse. Her goal is to raise awareness about the epidemic and provide meaningful solutions for survivors. “I needed a hero so I became one,” is the motto that she lives by. Through her spiritual journey Trenell discovered that her story was parallel to so many other women and girls. In understanding this, she is often reminded that she has a gift that is waiting to be delivered to the hands of another survivor. This of which is her greatest motivation and therefore she continues to reach and provide guidance for women and girls who are survivor of sexual trauma.

Omar Kashif has more than 20 years of entertainment experience, partnerships, collaborations, event production and artist management. The creator of DC’s renowned Black Alley band whose existence spans a vast resume including SXSW, recordings with Grammy nominated artists, White House performances, and internationally headlining showcases. The “creative” that is Omar and his successful entrepreneurial pursuits began on the campus of HBCU, Morgan State Univ. as a promoter of popular parties and excursions. A Florida born, DC raised, man of the people; Omar has a proven track record of profitable partnerships, successful event execution, and project management. Omar’s real skill is his ability to recognize talent, build strong teams, and implement exceptional customer service. Omar is truly a man of the community. No matter the capacity, Omar has a unique ability to help others overcome challenges, set goals, and attain desired results.

#WOMENSHISTORYMONTH Lakisha Covert is an author of the Best Seller, “Try Success, It Won’t Bite: How to Live Your Best Life Through 10 Principles of Self Excellence” and a certified life coach specializing in personal growth. She is also an award winning educator with over 20 years of experience working with people. She is the founder and CEO of a non-profit called The Christmas Experience, Inc. that serves children and families in need during the holidays www.tchristmase.org . Lakisha is a wife, and busy mom of four children. Her passion is being an I.T. (Inspire and Transform) Specialist, helping people realize dreams and reach their destiny. She has been featured on the Forte People First and One Sharpens Another Podcasts. To learn more and for inquiries, email her at livelifelovely2@gmail.com.

As we immerse ourselves in Women's History Month, our guest for today, International Women's Day, is LaToya Archibald. LaToya serves as doula and birth justice advocate. She is committed to eliminating the maternal mortality rates for Black women in Washington, DC through providing emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint and evidenced based information while nurturing and protecting women's memories of their birth experiences. She moved to Washington DC in 2003 to attend Howard University and has spent the last 11 years working in educational equity, environmental justice and development.

WK&F Group LLC is a full scale event marketing and promotions company based out of the nation’s capitol, Washington, DC. They host tastemaker events throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area, as well as annual weekend events held in Dallas, Miami, NBA All-Star weekend, NFL Super Bowl and CIAA weekend. In the 15 years since the company has been founded, WK&F Group has hosted in excess of 75 events and entertained a host of notable personalities such as:

Dr. Tara Doaty, “Dr. Tara”, is the Founder and Lead Consultant of Sage Wellness Group, LLC, a consulting firm committed to improving the lives of children and families by providing a personalized and mindful approach to human service professionals in the areas of program and professional development. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Howard University and is a national speaker and trainer, frequently asked to speak on issues impacting children and families. She has been the Key Note speaker for Pediatric Grand Rounds at Mercy Medial Center and has given specialized trauma, equity, parenting, self-care, and mindfulness-based trainings for judges, educators, and other human service professionals. At the request of the Baltimore City Health Department, Sage Wellness Group developed and facilitated a trauma-informed parenting program and also facilitated a trauma-responsive training for Baltimore City School Police after the 2015 Baltimore Uprising. In April 2014, Dr. Tara celebrated the release of her first children’s book, ‘Let’s Talk About It’, which was selected for inclusion in Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Public Library. In 2017, Dr. Tara was selected to participate in the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Business Program, a national program designed to support entrepreneurs in meeting their business goals. Dr. Tara has served on the Board of Directors for Mosaic Community Mental Health Services and on the Advisory Board of The Carpenter House. She currently resides in Maryland with her family. She credits her children as being her biggest supporters, who are mainly interested in learning what she is going to cook for dinner.