PODCAST PHOTO GALLERY & BIOS
SEASON 5 & 6

SEASON 6 EPISODE #55

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In this episode, I had the exciting opportunity to interview a wonderful community artist.

Antonia “Toni” Ruppert is an Illinois artist who has been creating for over 25 years. She creates paintings that tell a story.

Ruppert fell in love with art as a child upon seeing her Dad draw after coming home from work at Brachs Candy Company. The oldest of six siblings, she recalls drawing horses and people on tons of pink paper that was gifted to her by the dentist office. Now creating on canvas, panels and paper using all kinds of paint, she is inspired by stories of faith, hope and love.

Ruppert was the 2021 Invest South/West Artist in Residence for Chicago’s Austin community and the 2022 Artist in Residence for the Addison Public Library. Ruppert is an honoree of the Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine Award for Cook County.
Ruppert has been featured in the Museum of Science and Industry Black Creativity Exhibition, Moraine Valley Community College Regional Showcase and the Dupage Art League’s Best of the Best Exhibition. Her favorite paintings and murals can be found in numerous regional venues including the Berwyn North District 98 elementary schools.

Other commissions include:
University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago Public Library, Acorn Public Library, Addison Public Library, Austin Childcare Network, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Forest Park Park District, Elmwood Park Public Library, Grand Prairie Services, Living Springs Community Church, Markham Public Library, Near North Montessori School, Oak Forest Park District and the Oak Park Area Arts Council.

In 2021, she collaborated with the Office of the Mayor of the City of Berwyn and the Award Winning Junior State of America Morton West Debate Club Chapter to commission and speak at the first Juneteenth Commemoration held in the city.

Ruppert is thankful to God for her gifts and is currently illustrating a children's book —“The Place Where I Belong” by Candice Klopfenstein due out later in 2023.

Ruppert is on the board of Sarah’s Inn, a domestic violence awareness and prevention agency and is well known at the frontlines of the activist community and as a notable artist.  Ruppert seeks to uplift her entire community with creative expression.

SEASON 6 EPISODE #54

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In this episode, I speak with Karen Gilliam, who is in alignment with her assignment, and she wants others to be also.  She helps others to put their dreams to the test by working with you to execute the six “Es” — Encourage, Empower, Enlighten, Educate, Elevate and Escalate. She shares that although she lost her husband to cancer, she emerged as a Queen Warrior versus a widow, who functions in a world of isolation, poverty and sorrow.  

Karen, aka Coach KG, is a seasoned mentor, coach, entrepreneur, trainer, and speaker. She is the CIO, Continuously Inspiring Others, of Destn2bme By Design with Karen Gilliam.  Her career spans over four decades with her mission being the same in any capacity. Her personal and professional mission statement is to encourage, empower, enlighten, educate, elevate, and escalate people from a life of default to a life by design and being the best version of themselves. 

Karen’s strengths are positivity, winning others over, maximizer, empathy, and communication. To sum up these strengths, Karen is a strong communicator who positively sees the best in others and maximizes their belief in themselves by believing in them. 

Karen recently added author to her hats by publishing her first book to be released this fall. The book covers her journey of caregiving for her husband of 43 years and how to live her life after his transition as a “Queen Warrior” and not a “widow”.

Coach KG resides in Vancouver, WA, surrounded by her loving family of three adult children, their spouses and 11 grandsugars (because they are sweet as can be). She enjoys reading, trivia, cooking and traveling.

After hearing her, you will realize there is nothing you can’t do!  MOST INSPIRING! Contact her at coachkg57@gmail.com

SEASON 6 EPISODE #53

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In this episode, Dr. Knowles shares her journey of self-love, her love of exercise and body building, along with the barriers that she has overcome to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A 25-year veteran in higher education, Dr. Matteel D. Knowles currently serves as the Vice President for Student Services at Greenville Technical College.  Prior to that, she served at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort as the Vice President for Student Affairs; and prior to that, at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood in various roles in Student Development.  

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dr. Knowles’ family relocated to Jacksonville, Florida when she was 12.  The first in her family to earn a college degree, Dr. Knowles first earned an Associate of Arts degree from Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood.  She then went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Counseling and Human Services from Limestone College in Gaffney; a Masters in Career and Technology Education from Clemson; a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Leadership from the USC-Columbia; and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, alsofrom USC-Columbia.

Prior to serving in executive-level leadership roles, Dr. Knowlesserved for approximately 13 years in administrative support positions – supporting executives in mortgage banking, universities, law firms, and manufacturing companies . . . eventually transitioning into higher education.

Very active in the community, Dr. Knowles has served as a board member or member for the following service organizations: Urban League of the Upstate, Arts Council of Greenwood, Meg’s House women’s shelter, the Bluffton Boys and Girls Club, the Rotary Club of Greenville, the United Way of Greenville County, the Hispanic Alliance, Upstate Bootcamp, Greenville Women Giving, Education First, Incorporated, the National Coalition Building Institute, and The Links, Incorporated.

An active public speaker and workshop presenter through her company MatteelSpeaks (www.matteelspeaks.com), Dr. Knowles was a featured TED Talk presenter in 2016.  She has served as a keynote speaker in various settings and has presented numerous professional and community workshops on a variety of topics designed to inform and inspire those who desire to transform their lives.

An overcomer, Dr. Knowles’ intense desire to support others through positive change and authentic transformation is directly related to some of her own personal life transformations – surfacing and thriving on the other side of divorce, morbid obesity, first-generation education, and a lack of purpose, she now fully embraces a lifestyle grounded in choices that are mentally, physically and spiritually healthy and devotes much of her free time to personally coaching others through their own life makeovers.

When she’s not working, Dr. Knowles enjoys working out, cooking, watching movies, and spending time with her husband Alex.  Dr. Knowles is excited to announce the February 14, 2023release of her personal development book, It’s Your Time to Soar!

SEASON 6 EPISODE #52

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After having served in various capacities as a speech-language pathologist for 40 years, Leiana J. Thomas Gary retired officially in 2019.  Always a crafter and amateur gardener with an in-born entrepreneurial spirit and raised by a mother of the Renaissance kind, Leiana tended to look at things a little differently. 

During one of the last outdoor walks with her mother Alva prior to her passing in 2007, Leiana, made the snide remark “Someone should do something about these nasty looking planters” and her mother responding quietly later said, “And who might that someone be?”  After 2 years of trying not to remember that conversation, Leiana founded the Cottage Grove Planters Society.

She dug up all the hostas and day lilies out of her garden and began transplanting them with the help of family and friends into the planter pots one at a time.  After two years of tending the planters, she began to look at the blank concrete planters as canvases to display student artwork. In 2009, the Cottage Grove Planters Project began, placing framed versions of local student artwork on the then 24 planter pots, using donated funds and materials.  In 2012, the Cottage Grove Planters Project was awarded a Pepsi Refresh Grant to complete the installations. The project has continued since then and has been supported by numerous individuals and organizations such as My Block, My Hood, My City. The CGPS was recently awarded a Neighborhood Access Program (NAP) grant from the City of Chicago — Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to replace the artwork with new designs by more local school children in addition to refreshing the plants and flowers.  

Also, to learn more about her forthcoming book covering the history and beauty of decorative drink ware, contact her at ltgary@sbcglobal.net. 

NOTE:  Although we didn’t cover this during the interview, along with Leiana’s other gifts, she transforms magnets into brooches. 

While wearing her mother’s favorite brooch that was lost forever because the clasp opened, Leiana decided that would never happen again. Having created refrigerator magnets in the past, she began adapting brooches that would adhere to clothing without pins using magnets instead. Ladies of Attraction was born in 2009.

SEASON 5 EPISODE #41

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Lori Tharps is a writer, an author and a lover of all that examines culture and how it plays out in our day to day lives. She says, “I am a Black-American woman married to a Spanish man, and my life is a meltingpot of melanin, curls, accents and adventures.” As an expat writer living in the south of Spain, Lori is now able to devote the majority of her time to writing – no longer squeezing it in with her former professorship at Temple University, and a multitude of other tasks, Lori is excited to be able to live the life of a writer full time.

Already a prolific writer, Lori has authored the following titles “Kinky Gazpacho”, “Hair Story: Untangling The Roots of Black Hair in America” (1st and 2nd editions), “Substitute Me”, and “Same Family Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families”. Lori has developed a palate for developing works that examine the intersection of race and real life. Lori proudly states “All my life, I’ve wanted to write stories that would change the world.” She has done just that, especially with “Hair Story….” as it was one of if not the first book that addressed African Americans’ ancestral connections to their hair. Her background as a journalist, educator, podcast host and in-demand speaker have been a perfect conduit for her laser sharp research and observations.

She hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in this interview, Lori shares with us the role this industrial city played in her development. Despite the fact that she noticed the inherent segregation in her birthplace, she, through the encouragement of her mother, was allowed to develop her highly creative energies. As a child, Lori wrote plays, assigned parts, and was always looking for ways to express her strong love of writing. As a student at Smith College, Lori was able to study abroad in Salamanca, Spain where she met her soulmate, who was to become her husband. After attending Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Lori began her public relations and journalistic pursuits on Madison Avenue at one of the top ten public relations firms, along with Vibe Magazine and Entertainment Weekly.

Lori’s current life in Spain is centered around affording her children the opportunity to deepen their relationship with their Spanish heritage, gracing her husband with the ability to spend time with his aging parents, and nurturing her desire to meld all of this with her desire to focus solely on her writing without the demands of a rigorous teaching career (Lori retired from her professorship at Temple prior to moving to Spain). She is an orchestral conductor of sorts! She is biking on the streets of Spain, getting lost at book festivals, and although she can conduct day to day tasks using her verbal Spanish skills, read instructions, menus and other activities of daily living, Lori is determined to learn to read literature in Spanish. She even lets us in on how she plans to strategically accomplish this feat. Lori shared in a recent post on her popular blog My American Melting Pot “I don’t want to exist on the margins of society because I can’t consume the written word.”

Because Lori is clearly living a liberal arts lifestyle, we know she will conquer this, as well! Lori’s words of counsel to older women considering moving abroad is to be clear on your “why”, make as detailed a list as possible of all of the logistical steps to be taken, follow the pland and DO IT! anPlease check out and follow this amazing woman on her blog MYAMERICANMELTINGPOT.COM, on Instagram @loriltharps and her podcast My American Melting Pot on the Apple Podcast platform.