PODCAST PHOTO GALLERY & BIOS
SEASON 1 & 2

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-20-with-la-tanya-jackson

La Tanya L. Jackson is 55 years old and the true organic, undisputed definition of a woman over 50, Black and Fabulous! A single mother of two college educated adult children and three grandchildren, LaTanya has defied all limitations of “it’s too late,” or “I’m too old” to achieve strongly desired goals. She returned to school to get a college degree at age 42 after being out of the academic arena for 25 years. She started by obtaining her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts one month prior to her daughter getting her degree. Rather than get bogged down with problems, she does the opposite – La Tanya immediately turns to her Bucket List, which allows her to direct her energies in a different direction other than the problem.

La Tanya has a big habit of keeping a smile on her face. La Tanya says, “whenever I attend a neighborhood or family event, the first thing people say is where are you traveling to next, or I saw you on Facebook – how are you doing so many amazing things?” She responds by saying “don’t see me, see God” then I share my travel tips. La Tanya has created a guide entitled “Living Your Best Life on a Budget.” As her 50th birthday approached in 2015, La Tanya decided to go full steam ahead by organizing a Family Vacation to Paris, France. Going to Disneyland-Paris was truly a dream come true.

The following are just some of the exciting things that have been on her Bucket List – Hiked The Brooklyn Bridge (2016); Hiked Behind the Falls in Niagara Falls (2016); Hiked the Hollywood Sign in Hollywood Hills, California (2017); Hiked the North Pacific Rim at Grand Canyon (2017); Hiked the Red Rocks in Sedona (2017); ziplined in Costa Rica (2018); Hiked All Mountains Over Colorado (2018); Ran in the Rock & Roll Marathon Night 10k; Ran in St. Jude Hero’s 5K in Las Vegas (2018); visited the Wendy Williams Show and was chosen to ask her a question (2019).

Some other first time destinations that La Tanya put on her list and achieved include – Puna Cana, Dominican Republic in 2014; New York City in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 (she is obsessed with New York); Los Angeles, San Diego, Coronado Island and Malibu (2015-2017); Guanacaste; Buena Vista and Coco Beach in 2018 Seattle, Washington (was determined to see the Space Needle for her 55th birthday) in 2019; NYE Time Square Ball Drop Countdown in 2020. When a new opportunity and challenge arises, La Tanya tends to ask herself “well, why not?” She also relies heavily on her faith and “goes boldly to God’s Throne.

There have been times when she did not even know where the money was coming from for a desired adventure, but due to her positive attitude, amazing things have always manifested. In this episode, La Tanya shares how certain life events played a role in her maintaining an optimistic attitude. Additionally, she talks about some of the most exhilarating activities she has been involved in, along with what actually goes through her mind as she is tackling a goal on her bucket list. If you would like information about any of La Tanya’s past or upcoming adventures, she can be contacted on lljack64@gmail.com; she is La Tanya Lynn on Facebook; @divalt64 on Instagram

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-19-with-marvinetta-penn

Today’s guest is Marvinetta Penn, Executive Director of Global Girls, Inc. This is a 20 year old non-profit organization based on the boarder of the communities of South Shore and South Chicago. Through rigorous theatre and dance training, girls ages 5-18 develop essential life skills including self-awareness, resilience, tenacity and grit – all skills that help these girls succeed on the stage and in life. Marvinetta has worked with youth for nearly 40 years – 19 of those years were as a Chicago Public School English and Theatre instructor and 19 have been with Global Girls, Inc. as Executive Director.

Marvinetta felt the urge to work with these girls in this way due to the positive and embracing way her mother and father encouraged her to explore her gifts and talents. Healthily feeding the imagination was strongly encouraged by her parents, and they found a way to support her throughout her formative years.

Marvinetta has traveled extensive to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Marvinetta has also had a career in broadcast journalism, and she has had extensive gigs as a Voice Over Artist. She has voiced for American Airlines, Payless Shoes, McDonalds, the Discovery Channel Century Tile, Walgreens and Berman’s Infiniti/Nissan/Subaru. Because of being blessed to travel widely, Marvinetta has made it a priority to expose the participants in Global Girls, Inc. to international travel. As a result, they have traveled to India, Ghana and England. While there, the girls had the opportunity to work with girls their age from those countries; this made for a rich learning experience on both sides and the ability to learn about each group’s cultural norms and their desires to create newness in their countries.

Marvinetta is extremely proud of the fact that the alumna of Global Girls, Inc. have gone on to be successful in their endeavors following their program participation. They have entered a variety of fields where they have been able to implement and utilize the leadership skills they developed as students in the program. They have secured advanced degrees and have entered careers where they are making an impact. Renowned actress Lena Dunham, crator and staf of the HBO series “Girls” selected Global Girls Inc., in 2017 as one of her chosen charities to support and to help advance. Additionally, the cast from Hamilton connected with the organization and conducted Master classes for the girls at the Global Girls, Inc. studio. Marvinetta’s Global Girls, Inc. can be found on www.globalgirlsinc.org on Instagram @globalgirlsinc and Facebook.

If you would like to make a contribution to the awesome work that Marvinetta is doing with Global Girls, Inc., please contact her on the website listed above.

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-18-with-karen-graham

Today’s guest is a mover and shaker in the community of Alzheimer’s Research and Programming, particularly within communities of color. She has even examined programs in China to determine if and how this country’s program models may serve people of color in the United States.

Born and raised in Chicago, Karen grew up with a voracious thirst for knowledge, and she particularly loved the sciences. She grew up with the desire to become a physician, but transitioned into Psychology. She has achieved some very interesting and groundbreaking things throughout her career. As Manager of Community Relations at The Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Karen developed and implemented recruitment strategies and educational programs aimed at communities of color. This was significant since many of the studies at that point were aimed at Caucasian and other majority cultures and non-black ethnic groups.

She has been instrumental in developing key relationships with the business community, elected officials, a variety interdisciplinary health practitioners, along with other stakeholders to provide the best services possible to people of color around Memory Care. Karen was also instrumental in the administration of a Religious Order Study that looked at the cognitive and memory abilities of Nuns, Priests and most recently church Deacons. Her additional gifts include the translation of Alzheimer research findings from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center to communities of color for practical application and programming.

She is most proud of the fact that she played a key role in establishing institutional trust with potential study participants. This was a very ambitious endeavor given the distrust that many African American seniors have as a result of historical memories of The Tuskegee Study. Karen has made a huge leap in deciding to return to school to pursue a Doctorate in Nursing Research. She states that when she applied and interviewed for this demanding program, she did not expect to be admitted. She was pleasantly surprised by her acceptance and immediately tapped into the expertise of many of the physicians and faculty members to serve as advisors and mentors.

She openly shares the challenges that she has encountered, as well as her triumphs as a student in this program. Karen received her B.A. in Psychology from The University of Illinois – Champaign, her Masters in Psychology from Roosevelt University and is a Doctoral candidate at Rush’s College of Nursing. Additionally, Karen is one of two African Americans who have been admitted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. This Honor Society is known for nursing excellence and for empowering nurse leaders to transform global healthcare. Karen can be reached at Karen_L_Graham@rush.edu Karen hopes to make inroads into the field of Foundation work, which would give her an opportunity to play a role is awarding foundation funds to organizations that are committed to working with people of color.

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-17-with-celeste-k-jones

Celeste K. Jones is an attorney with almost 25 years of experience advocating for the most vulnerable citizens of Cook County.  Celeste has served her entire career at the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office protecting abused, neglected and dependent children and serving the needs and welfare of adults with disabilities.  Celeste has also served most of her career in leadership and supervisory roles and currently serves as Legal Director of the Adult Guardianship Division of the Cook County Public Guardian’s office. 

Celeste was raised on Chicago’s west side and now resides on the south side.  Celeste earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Criminology from Northern Illinois University and her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.  In this episode, Celeste shares with the audience exactly what Guardianship is and why someone would need a Public Guardian.  Along with sharing how it is decided that someone is deemed incapacitated, Celeste thoroughly explains how guardianship over the estate and person works.  Depending on the capacity of the client, public guardians can make decision on behalf of the client around their finances, their health care decisions, their property, etc. 

Celeste stresses the importance of leaving the client with their dignity by listening and taking in to account their wishes on who should or should not be appointed guardian.  Since guardianship is a serious matter, Celeste lays out what is required to serve as a guardian both from the Public Guardian’s standpoint, along with the guidelines other appointed guardians must adhere to.  The key components that must be in place include securing the services of an attorney and getting bonded. Celeste shares the following resources – Adult Protective Services Hotline – 866/800-1409; Cook County Public

Guardian Adult Guardianship Division – 312/603-0800; CARPLS (Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services); Metropolitan Family Services Legal Aid Society; Illinois Legal Aid Online; Center for Disability and Elder Law and John Marshall UIC Law School Fair Housing Clinic.

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-16-with-tami-winfrey-harris

Tamara Winfrey Harris is an American author, columnist and speaker.  She is currently Vice President of Community Leadership and Effective Philanthropy at Central Indiana Community Foundation.  With a B.A. in Journalism from The Greenlee School at Iowa State University, Tami has developed a national reputation for writing about the intersection of race, culture and gender.  She writes a regular column entitled “Some of Us Are Brave” for Bitch Media.  She voices her social analysis and critiques on several other media outlets including NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and Janet Mock’s “So Popular” on MSNBC.com.  Tami has also published a number of pieces in MS. Magazine. 

Tami’s first book, “The Sisters are Alright:  Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America” was published in 2015.  In this book, Tami celebrates Black women while simultaneously challenging the stereotypes that American culture has tried to saddled us with.  The books lays out how these stereotypes are damaging and how they play out in our daily functioning.  She courageously delves into how Black bodies are viewed in the United States and why. She has received a number of awards and accolades for this ground breaking work including the Phyllis Wheatley Book Award at The Harlem Book Festival. 

She, along with columnist Rochelle Riley and writer DeeshaPhilyaw, is especially proud of having launched “Letters to Black Girls Project.” The goal of this endeavor is to support and inspire Black girls through feminist, anti-racist, body positive, LGBTQ+ positive, anti-respectability politics and pro-Black letters from Black women.This project is designed to counteract the assault on black bodies and to pour into Black girls that they are dynamic and are capable of accomplishing anything. Tami has stated, “Maligning Black women regardless of our personal collective truth is part of American’s DNA.”

Tami also has created and facilitates the Black Women’s Writing Society, which meets monthly at the Center for Black Literature and Culture at the Indianapolis Central Library.  Tami narrated “The Journey of the Middle Passage” written by the best-selling author of the book “Wench” written by Dolen Perkins-Valdes.  It is in this work that you will experience the harrowing journey of the first enslaved Africans to Land in America.Tami shares in this episode some of the desires she plans to pursue in the future, which includes becoming a trained Yoga Instructor for Black Bodies.  She also has a number of book topics floating around in her consciousness that she plans to bring to fruition.  Tami can be contacted through her website www.tamarawinfreyharris.com

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-15-with-bea-watson

Bea is an established writer, director and producer of theatrical plays and is known in the Chicago theatrical community for providing acting opportunities to people in the community.  It’s her way of sharing her gift.  She began performing on stage at an early age in church and high school in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan during the onset of the Motown era. Bea began performing with community theater with The Concept East Players. 

She then moved to Chicago where she continued her theatrical training at Roosevelt University, along with studying sociology and urban studies.  At Columbia College in Chicago, she majored in Television/Radio Broadcasting with a minor in Creative Writing.  It was there that she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree while still performing with The Community Workshops throughout Chicago.  In this episode, Bea shares what was most exciting about theater versus other forms of media like film and television.  She expounds on the books that she has written and ones she is currently working on. 

There are some common themes that can be found in her writing and theatrical productions, and she describes her writing process and how she determines what she will write about and what that process looks like. Her soon to be staged work “Gravy Train” happens to be her favorite work to date. For you listeners who are budding playwrights, novelists, etc., Bea describes how the community members who are featured in her productions have grown and flourished. 

She often works collaboratively with other organizations, celebrities and on special projects. Bea is excited about the writing themes that she would like to explore in the future, and encourages African American women age 50+ to never let age or any potential barrier get in the way of dreaming and bringing your dreams to fruition.  When she speaks of her age, Bea says, “I’m old enough to do what I want and still young enough to enjoy it.

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-13-with-rose-sturghill

In this episode, I interview Rose Sturghill, who shares her story about her caregiving experience while her mother was on the Dementia journey. Rose, age 59, grew up in Sikeston, Missouri and following a fire, she and her siblings were taken in by various families and adopted.  Rose was blessed to be adopted by a loving family that showered her with care and love – because she was young at the time, she grew up calling her adoptive parents “mom and dad.” 

Once she turned 18, Rose graduated high school and began a habit of entering colleges and universities but not completing them in order to receive a degree.  She gave that up and began working health related jobs – all jobs that brought her job satisfaction.  Rose, finally made up her mind to return to school after many, many years, and in 2008, she received her Bachelor’s of Public Health (BPH); in 2013 and at age 59, Rose received her Master’s of Public Health (MPH).  She also hopes to secure a Ph.D.  Rose expressed that returning to school as an older adult was extremely challenging, and  the midst of all of this, Rose, along with family members were sharing in the responsibility of caring for their mother, whose cognitive abilities were declining.

Rose shares that the most difficult time for her was once her mother got to a stage where she didn’t know her children.  This was devastating.  Rose also mentions that despite major challenges with her mother’s health, there were clearly days when it was a complete joy to attend to her mother’s needs.  Laughter often got them through this ordeal.   She conveyed that it is most helpful when families work together and where the entire caregiving burden is not on one person.  Rose goes on to elaborate about the adjustments that have to be made when a new phase (decline) of Dementia is entered. She stresses the importance of the caregiver taking time to relax and care for themselves.  Rose can be reached at rsturghill@hotmail.com

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-12-with-yolanda-franklin

Yolanda Franklin, who has worked in the banking industry for 20+ years, is a phenomenal self-taught artist. At 52 years of age, Yolanda is ever-evolving her talent as a fiber glass and abstract artist.  She first began to develop her appreciation for the arts by observing her mother, who was very talented in sewing, knitting and crocheting. 

Yolanda also credits her mother for encouraging her draw and create from her heart.  Yolanda’s husband has also been a big influencer on her trajectory as an artist. As a self-employed IT Specialist, Yolanda’s husband created the website yoyoartvine.com and yoyoartbiz.com showcasing her work, and he has even been instrumental in naming some of her art pieces.  Yolanda also credits the artist Penelope Brown, who is also a fellow church member for pushing her.  Yolanda shadowed Penelope at a variety of art fairs and gallery showings.  This played a key role in jumpstarting her wanting to really buckle down and create and develop her artwork. 

The Embrace Collection (of which the host Robin Tillotson owns one of the paintings from that series) was first created 16 years ago, and this collection represents the first time Yolanda exhibited her work in a major venue at The Chicago Department on Aging.  When Yolanda was inspired by Eric Lee, a glass artist, who also creates artistically with furniture, and after being blown away by his glass work, Yolanda consciously decided to take on that medium. 

She eventually moved to working with Plexiglass and Voila – the Embrace Collection was born!  Eight years ago, Yolanda was juried in at the annual Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) annual art exhibit, and in 2015 she won 3rd prize.  She has subsequently exhibited at this prestigious art event for eight consecutive years. That opportunity served as the conduit for being able to showcase her work at The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago. Additionally, she has won a number of ribbons and other accolades where she has exhibited. When asked what role does Spirituality and God play in her work, Yolanda responded simply by saying “He’s everything, and the reason behind my passion and gift.” Yolanda’s current tour de force is a piece that she is working on entitled “Caribbean Queen.”  This piece exemplifies her love for texture and learning to love figurative work, and Black culture really shines through this piece.   

Yolanda’s future plans include participating in art fairs and to land some gallery showings.  She also has a growing Paint and Sip Business where she trains groups.  Yolanda’s work can be found on yoyoartbiz.com;for her burgeoning Paint and Sip sessions, you can email her at yoyoartvine.com  She is also on Facebook and Instagram as Yolanda Franklin.

https://thisidoforme.libsyn.com/episode-11-with-yvonne-d-hawkins

Yvonne D. Hawkins is a mental health professional and certified professional coach whose focus is on faith-based tools and strategies to help black people recover from racial trauma. Yvonne runs a life coaching business called Healing for Black Folx where she helps black creative folks and professionals reclaim their courage to work their purpose with authenticity and power. She also is a PhD student in pastoral theology, personality, and culture at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Her research areas include developing creative, faith-based interventions for racial trauma. Yvonne firmly believes that all Black people have internalized racial trauma, and she shares how she therapeutically works with her clients in the healing process through modalities such as narrative therapy and body centered work.  Yvonne states that a common coping strategy is for Black folks to minimize their racial trauma experiences in order to survive day to day living. As a result, Black folks are harming themselves, and healing is what is needed to move forward healthily. Yvonne says that there are three things she has learned:

1. The concept of white-body supremacy instead of white supremacy better        reveals how racialized trauma works;
2. Collective, body-centered healing practices are part of the black tradition. There are culturally competent strategies available beyond Western-based, individualistic tools for our well-being;

 3.   Managing stress well is not the same thing as healing.

Yvonne says,  “racial trauma is exhausting. It leaves many black folx drained and discouraged. It leaves people confused about their individual or collective purpose. It leaves them overworked but underutilized in their workplaces, organizations and black community at large.”

Nearly 20 years ago, Yvonne learned firsthand how few faith-based tools exist to help the ongoing healing and recovery for the Black community. There are a few tools that are practical, accessible and culturally competent. So she decided to create some. 

Yvonne shares, “while working as an award-winning, newspaper journalist where few black colleagues existed---within a whole state (at its peak, there were three of us)---I developed 5 essential mindset habits to protect my well-being and help me flourish within my purpose. Now, I combine my storytelling skills with coaching and counseling expertise, plus 20 years of ministry experience, to help black folx tell the truth to themselves about their own stories. I'm pretty good at helping black folx who are drained and exhausted to recover and flow in their God-given authenticity, purpose, and power.”  In January 2020, Yvonne announced the 2020 Radical Love Challenge. Registration is still open. Yvonne is a native of Omaha, Nebraska and currently lives in the Rogers Park Community in Chicago, Illinois. She enjoys

nature walks, jig-saw puzzles, and any beach anywhere.