Shows
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 40: Birth the Vision. Build A Legacy featuring Nicole Lynn LewisNicole Lynn Lewis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Generation Hope, a nonprofit that provides direct service support to young parents earning their college degrees, advocates nationally for the unique needs of student parents and their families, and partners with colleges and universities to provide technical assistance in order to advance student parent success in higher ed. A former teen mother who put herself through William & Mary with her young daughter in tow, Nicole now works to change the statistic that fewer than 2 percent of teen mothers will earn their degrees before age 30. Her book, “Pregnant Girl,” will...
2021-02-2237 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 39: Cooperative Leadership: Leaving No Community Member Behind featuring Latanya DevaughnLatanya Devaughn is a mother of 3 and the Founder of Bronx Bound Books - a bookstore on wheels & community hub that aims to leave no community behind as it travels throughout the borough--especially to neighborhoods where access and transportation pose barriers . A lifelong resident of the Bronx, Latanya is shunning the brick-and-mortar model and taking her bookstore to the people. Latanya has a background in human resources, business management and community arts and engagement. Combining her love for community, the Bronx, and her skills in management, Latanya is actualizing her dream. As she puts it, “Every neighborhood in The Br...
2021-02-0836 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 38: Inclusion & Experiential Learning Informs Your Practice featuring Jessica HuangJessica Huang was trained as an environmental engineer, and then moved into environmental and health education, before finding her current path as a public health professional. While her journey wasn't the most straightforward, in hindsight, she's grateful for what she learned along the way because of the many interconnections between this work. Fun fact: In the field of public health, some of the earliest work in epidemiology (which is the study of distributions, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in populations) was done around cholera outbreaks from contaminated water supplies. In today's world, health information and health...
2021-01-2531 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 37: Commit to Growth & Pass the Baton featuring Janeen BrownJaneen Brown is the Executive Director and Founder of EmpowHERto, a Toronto-based nonprofit dedicated to helping 14 to 21 year-old women and girls reach their fullest potential through three pillars: Independence, Leadership, and Confidence. Previously, Janeen spent time managing a team for an entertainment company, but felt she had a greater purpose to help improve the prospects for female leaders. She became an entrepreneur in 2018, and has started and scaled three other companies in the hospitality, events and professional services industries. Janeen is an advocate for the well-being of women, building self-confidence, and female entrepreneurship.
This episode is rightly...
2021-01-1141 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 36: Prepare for the Shifts in Your Plans featuring Sam K. JohnsonSam Johnson was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington and spent her childhood exploring and kayaking along the Puget Sound. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and minor in Chemistry from the University of Portland where she fostered her love of all artisanal ice cream and baked goods Oregon had to offer.
She then did a year of post-graduate service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps NQ/AmeriCorps where she was placed with the American Red Cross of Alaska and served as the Preparedness and Casework Specialist. This was her first introduction into disaster response and pre...
2020-12-2839 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 34: The Tenacity of Showing Up for Yourself and Others featuring Tabitha MpamiraTabitha Mpamira is a therapist, activist, motivational speaker, and consultant on sexual and gender-based violence with a long working history in the mental healthcare industry. In 2015, Tabitha founded EDJA to provide free medical, legal, and mental health services to survivors of sexual assault in East Africa. EDJA, now a program offered by an organization in Uganda, has sparked rapid change in rural Uganda by supporting hundreds of survivors and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Tabitha’s work in this area has been widely recognized and vividly depicted in the documentary Victors: Singing to the Lions, which has been sc...
2020-11-3056 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 33: Humility, Truth & Reconciliation: Guides for Equitable Recovery featuring Colleen EcohawkColleen Echohawk is the Executive Director of the Chief Seattle Club. She is an enrolled member of the Kithehaki Band of the Pawnee Nation and a member of the Upper Athabascan people of Mentasta Lake.
As the founder of the Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness, Echohawk is committed to homeless advocacy and changing the trajectory of Native American and Alaska Native people living away from reservations in urban places and experiencing homelessness. Recognizing a lack of equity in housing design and development, and the profound impact that this can have on the well-being of people of...
2020-11-1629 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 32: The Undeniable Pulse of the Land, People, Culture and Healing featuring JoRee LaFranceJoRee LaFrance is Apsáalooke and comes from the Greasy Mouth clan and is a child of Ties in the Bundle clan. Her Apsáalooke name is Iichiinmáatchilash/Fortunate with Horses and she is a seventh generation direct descendant from Chief Pretty Eagle, the last principle chief of the Apsáalooke Nation. She comes from the Crow Reservation located in southcentral Montana but currently resides in Tucson, AZ. She graduated in June 2017 from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Earth Sciences and Native American Studies and is now a doctoral student at the University of Arizona in the D...
2020-11-0338 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 31: Amplifying the Power of Local Civic Engagement featuring Christine EdwardsChristine Edwards is a civic firebrand that has immersed herself in the art of helping urban communities reach their highest levels of growth, empowerment, and success. A speaker by profession, leader by vocation and entrepreneur by passion, Christine’s work involves using her voice to foster civically engaged communities through collaboration, partnership and digital communication. Embodying the essence of her core message she founded Amplify Community Consulting, that delivers community engagement outreach services, civic education workshops and resources for small businesses pursuing local government contracts. Amplify was founded in 2018 in Charlotte, NC. In her spare time, Christine volunteers, travels, en...
2020-10-1940 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 30: Unveiling Inequities in Progressivism, Policing & Our Workplaces featuring Brandy GrantBrandy Grant was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She holds a Masters from the University of Oklahoma in Human Relations and Organizational Development with an emphasis in Counseling and Pre-Law certification from the University of Tulsa. Brandy and her family moved to Seattle to bring 20 years of mental health and community programming to Washington. She was sworn in, in April 2019 for the Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) and recently became the Interim Executive Director of the Commission. Brandy has spent the last 6 years in Washington applying her mental health analysis to her work in policy and programming while st...
2020-09-291h 25
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 28: The Pendulum Must Swing Towards Justice for Women & Girls featuring Amina DohertyAmina is an African-Caribbean feminist and women’s rights activist, her work is centered around raising awareness for social justice through movement-building, and innovative approaches to philanthropy. Through actively supporting transformational work – from artists, dreamers, activists and organizations that strengthen social change – Amina is focused on helping to build a more colorful, equal and just world.
Amina is currently the Program Director for the Caribbean Women’s Voice and Leadership Program at The Equality Fund. She is also a founding member and the first coordinator of FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund, an organization that aims to strengthen the capacit...
2020-08-3144 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 27: Cheffing Up Love & Advocacy for Vulnerable Populations featuring Shonah JeffersonShonah Jefferson began her culinary career at the tender age of 11 – by helping her dad at his local Houston restaurant. After spending many years in business and as a practicing attorney, she returned to her culinary roots by managing the family restaurant for a few years while obtaining a degree in Culinary Arts from San Jacinto College.
Shonah has always had an interest in giving back to others because “to whom much is given, much is required.” Being a Chefs for Seniors owner and personal chef gives her an opportunity to “do well by doing good” and to combine h...
2020-08-1456 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 25: Centering Community-Specific Innovation in Education featuring Noella MoshiNoella Moshi joined Future Fund for Education (FFE) with a strong passion for education and workforce development. Since graduating with a Master’s in Clinical Science from the University of Cape Town, Noella has worked on projects that provide scalable solutions to problems within health and education across Africa. Noella previously led operations at West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE) in Nigeria. She was on the founding team of African Leadership University in Mauritius and the co-founder of Goodbye Malaria in South Africa. In her free time, Noella likes to write poetry and fiction.
In this episode, Noella sp...
2020-07-1346 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 24: Representative Asset-Building and Ownership in Social Entrepreneurship featuring Valerie Red-Horse MohlValerie Red-Horse Mohl, of Cherokee ancestry, is the Executive Director/CEO of Social Venture Circle, a nonprofit leading the way in the field of social impact; building and galvanizing the business world to create social, economic, and environmental change. She is also the owner/founder of Red-Horse Native Productions, Inc., a film and television production company primarily focused on bringing important documentaries to the screen for which Red-Horse Mohl directs, produces, and writes. Additionally, she is the owner/founder of Red-Horse Financial Group, Inc., and has more than 30 years of in-depth experience in the financial services and investment banking...
2020-06-2937 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 23: Returning to the Land & Tapping Into the Richness of Our Journey featuring Leonette HendersonLeonette Henderson is a native of Clarksdale, MS and serves as the Director of Development and Partnership for Higher Purpose Co. (HPC). HPC is a 501c3 economic justice nonprofit, building community wealth with Black residents across Mississippi by supporting the ownership of financial, cultural, and political power. Leonette has a fervent desire to propel economic and social justice. This desire is rooted in a genuine concern for the overall well-being of people and community as well as a predilection for an equitable distribution of justice.
As a documentarian, she believes in shared stories that recreate narratives for in...
2020-06-151h 11
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 22: Championing Light & Empowerment in the Wake of Abuse featuring Indrani GoradiaIndrani Goradia is the Founder of RAFT Cares (formerly Indrani’s Light Foundation), a philanthropist, and an advocate for women’s health and empowerment. She leads empowerment trainings in several countries around the world. She is also a board member of Everywoman Treaty and Think Equal.
In 2013, Indrani joined forces with the global health organization PSI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to transform the lives of girls and women and lift them out of poverty. In partnership with PSI, Indrani’s Light Foundation launched programs in 2014 to eradicate gender-based violence in India and in her home countr...
2020-06-0850 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 19 - Charting the Path for Equitable Leadership in Sports Development featuring Cyndi MendozaCyndi Mendoza is originally from Southern California, the epicentre of women's football. She is passionate about equaling the playing field for women and girls and believes in transforming data into a language that organisations can understand. She has a Masters in Programme Evaluation and an Honours in Social Development from the University of Cape Town. Cyndi leads Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) and a Sport for Good Community of Practice at Laureus and is also an Emerging Evaluator in the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA).
Apart from supporting Laureus with MERL, she helps m...
2020-04-2733 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 18 - Expanding Horizons Through Purpose-Driven Travel featuring Chloe LanderChloe Lander is an entrepreneur and philanthropist from Houston, TX. Her company, One Love Travel Club, organizes group trips for its members to the world's most beautiful and sought-after travel destinations. Each experience focuses on diving into the authentic culture, engaging in "off the beaten path" excursions, and volunteering or giving back to the local community in some way.
Being of Caribbean descent, with a family that immigrated to the United States, Chloe was exposed to travel at a very young age. She realized early in life that she had a knack for travel that many of h...
2020-04-2030 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 17 - Breathing the Gift of Gratitude Into Our Present featuring Amy Elizabeth PaulsonAmy Elizabeth Paulson is a mental health advocate, facilitator, writer, speaker, trauma survivor, and the co-founder and CEO of Gratitude Alliance, a global nonprofit working to democratize access to mental health and healing by building the capacity of everyday community leaders around the world to break individual, collective, and generational cycles of trauma and violence.
As an orphan and survivor of gender based violence and child sexual abuse, Amy is passionate about healing and transformation for those who have lost their mothers and those who most need to reclaim their inner mother. A former CPA, Amy left...
2020-04-131h 00
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 16: Generating a Circle of Giving in Community Leadership featuring Amber Gonzales-VargasAmber is on a mission to leverage the energy and potential of all Latinxs to create a more equitable society. Her goal is to use storytelling to help shape a new narrative about Latinxs in California and across the country.
In her current position as Senior Program Manager at the Latino Community Foundation, Amber executes and manages the strategic vision of their core initiatives – the Latino Giving Circle Network and the Latino NonProfit Accelerator. In this role Amber supports LCF’s philanthropists and grantees to maximize and unleash their own power and power of our communities.
Amb...
2020-04-0637 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 15: Tapping Into Your Core to Grow Community featuring Liz Rebecca AlarcónLiz Rebecca Alarcón is a communicator and social entrepreneur. She leads Pulso, a digital organizing platform that reaches almost 1 million Latinos in the US via Facebook Messenger with the mission of increasing this community's political power. Liz comments and writes on Latin America, Latino issues and current events. She has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Time, Buzzfeed, The Miami Herald, and the World Economic Forum blog, among others. Liz is a former Fulbright Scholar and holds a B.A. in International Studies & Sociology from the University of Miami and a Master's in Latin American S...
2020-03-2338 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 14: Transforming Trauma Into Justice Reform featuring Isabel CoronadoIsabel Coronado is a citizen of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation. Her clan is the Wind Clan, and her Tribal Town affiliation is Thlopthlocco Tribal Town. Ms. Coronado witnessed the effects of mass incarceration on Indigenous people and decided to help create the American Indian Criminal Justice Navigation Council (AICJNC). The AICJNC is a non-profit in Oklahoma aimed to reduce recidivism among tribal members and help facilitate the trauma family members endure as a result.
In 2019, Isabel stepped down as Deputy Director of AICJNC to further develop progressive policy in criminal justice reform at a think tank called...
2020-03-0225 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 12 - Representing and Modeling Liberation featuring Syrita SteibSyrita Steib co-founded Operation Restoration (OR) in 2016 and serves as the Executive Director. OR was started to eradicate the roadblocks she faced when returning to society after incarceration. The organization specializes in creating opportunities for formerly incarcerated women through college courses, a women first clinic, clothing supply closet, case management services, advocacy programs and more.
At the age of 19, Syrita was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. After serving nearly 10 years in prison, she was released into a community vastly different than the one she left. Other formerly incarcerated women helped her to re-adjust to the world she...
2020-01-2733 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 11 - Normalizing Intentional Engagement in Our Learning Environments featuring Samantha PrattSamantha Pratt is CEO and Founder of KlickEngage. She graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a B.S. in Applied Psychology as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. She served as a Teach for America (TFA) 2015 corps member in Miami-Dade County where she taught 5th grade science for three years. While teaching, in 2017, Samantha participated in an incubator as part of a partnership between Venture Hive Miami and TFA where she cultivated the idea for KlickEngage. In 2018, she was part of the first cohort for Miami EdTech and went on to win 3rd place in the Miami...
2020-01-1337 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 10 - Balancing Cultural Responsibility, Honor & Respect in Indigenous Communities featuring Lisa PazLisa (Pawnee/Comanche) has been with AISES since 2012 in various capacities. She started as an administrative assistant, worked in the Development and Communications departments and eventually became the Director of Membership Engagement and Advocacy, the position she holds now. Lisa’s experience includes an extensive background in sales, event coordination, communications, and business administration.
Lisa grew up in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and still lives there with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. She is currently working on he...
2019-11-1236 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 9 - Walking Through & Opening Doors of Opportunity for Yourself & Others featuring Starla HartStarla D. Hart, MPA, has worked to enhance the lives of people in Indianapolis for more than 17 years and serves as 16 Tech Community Corporation’s Director of Community Initiatives. She leads the innovation district’s work with Near West, Northwest and surrounding neighborhoods to ensure that the economic benefits of 16 Tech extend to nearby communities.
In addition to her ongoing work with the surrounding neighborhoods, Hart oversees the 16 Tech Community Investment Fund, a community-focused fund that, under the advisement of a community-led advisory committee, will invest in neighborhood projects that provide maximum impact.
Prior to join...
2019-09-3046 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 8 - Getting Real About Developing Your Best Self featuring Sable B.Sable B., founder and creator of Real Brown Girls has over 10 years of experience in PK-12 education and program development. Sable has created a community of over 80,000 women, focusing on building vast national networks for professional women of color in order to arm them with the necessary tools to show up full and whole, both personally and professionally. She received her BA in African American Studies and French from Temple University and a MSEd in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
In this episode, Sable reflects on the genesis of Real Brown Girls and the importance of...
2019-09-0925 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 7 - Cultivating Solidarity and Collective Power for Women Through Coffee featuring Margaret NyamumboMargaret is the Founder and CEO of Kahawa 1893 Coffee and a third-generation coffee farmer from Kenya. Through her business, she is building a more inclusive coffee supply chain in Africa to empower women. Margaret moved to the US for college, attending Smith College for undergraduate and later attained an MBA from Harvard. Her career has spanned consulting, the World Bank and most recently Wall Street. Margaret is passionate about using business for the good of society and empowerment of all.
In this episode, Margaret shares how she leveraged her experience on Wall Street and lived experience in...
2019-08-2648 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 6 - Bending the Narrative Towards Possible with One Leap featuring Amber ScottAmber Scott is Founder and Executive Director of Leap Year. A child of first-generation college students, the importance of higher education and the power that it can have to raise a family out of poverty was instilled in Amber at a young age. She believes that the opportunity for higher education should be open to everyone, regardless of where they are born. After working in the nonprofit sector for ten years, she founded Leap Year to challenge the status quo. Amber is a 2018 Echoing Green Fellow, a winner of WeWork's 2017 Incubate Creator Awards, and was recognized by Black Enterprise...
2019-08-1231 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 5 - Moving With Purpose, On Purpose and Claiming Your Space in the Work featuring Sheena CollierSheena Collier is CEO & Founder of The Collier Connection and Senior Economic Advisor for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. She is a superconnector, facilitator, and host. A native New Yorker, and Spelman alumna, Sheena made the transition to Boston after graduation to attend Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2004. She didn’t know anyone or have a network, so she built one. Sheena started & joined organizations, became civically engaged, and hosted events that connected her to lots of different worlds, including education, politics, arts, community organizing, & business. She made connections that changed her life and learned techniques to nav...
2019-07-291h 01
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 4 - Started from "the Bottom" Now We're..Still Rising featuring Dr. Sofia B. PertuzDr. Sofia B. Pertuz is a higher education and diversity and inclusion professional who currently serves a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit that exists to protect the emotional health and prevent suicide for teens and young adults. Sofia teaches at Hofstra University and has been an invited speaker on topics in leadership, change management, social justice, and LGBTQ advocacy. Sofia has a bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz and earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall University. Sofia is committed to creat...
2019-07-1540 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 3 - The Power of the Village, Faith and Freedom in Entrepreneurship featuring Esi K. A. GilloEsi Kagale Agyeman Gillo is the Co-Founder of DIFFvelopment. She is a wife, mother and mentor to the students she works with. Esi is committed to re-empowering people of African descent by holistically empowering college students to disrupt negative patterns of history through personal development and entrepreneurship. If she had to describe herself in one sentence, she would say that she "is passionate about all things authentic and puts nothing above her freedom."
This is DIFFvelopment's 3rd year of operation. Synergistic with the mission, this is the first year that DIFFvelopment's clients are all Black owned businesses...
2019-06-1735 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 2 - Co-creating Space for Intersectional Women Activism featuring Catherine AlmonteI asked Cat for her favorite number and suggested it be 2 (my way of nudging her to be our second guest). My instincts were correct, she wore #2 on her jersey!
Catherine (Cat) Almonte is the Managing Director of The Broad Room. Serving as the organization's first director, Cat’s mission is to train up an all woman activist army to fight for political progress. She previously worked at the intersection of art and activism as the Brooklyn Museum’s Government and Community Relations Liaison. Cat’s work at the Museum was focused on breaking down barriers to access...
2019-06-0344 min
Forward 40 (4tea)Episode 1 - The Live Launch featuring Ofronama BiuWelcome to the Forward 4O Live Launch hosted by Coach Faith!
On this platform we are highlighting the experiences of women of color in the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors, forging an intergenerational collective with our listeners, and sipping tea while we share.
Our first guest, Ofronama Biu, was recently recognized as one of Nonprofit HR’s 2019 Women to Watch. Ofronama probed into the racial leadership gap in U.S. nonprofits and authored the statistical proof in Race to Lead: Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector. She has toured the country sharing report briefings an...
2019-05-1430 min