SharRon Jamison, MBA, is an inspirational speaker, minister, life strategist, entrepreneur, and author. For over twenty-five years, she has passionately encouraged people to transform their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. From her initial work as a personal trainer and owner of Fitness F’ness to her work as a licensed minister, she has motivated people to love, honor, and appreciate who they are and to embrace all that they can be.
SharRon earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. She earned a Masters of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University, and is currently pursuing her Masters of Divinity at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition, SharRon is the Founder/CEO of The Jamison Group, a company committed to providing leadership, diversity, and empowerment workshops and training to individuals, groups, businesses, and faith-based organizations. She is also an account manager with an international biotechnology firm and has over twenty five successful years in the biopharmaceutical industry.
SharRon is a passionate speaker, seasoned facilitator, an empathetic life coach, a business professional, a certified personal trainer, a licensed minister, a proud mother, and the author of two books, I Can Depend on Me and I Have Learned A Few Things. Her new book, 50 Choices To A Fulfilling Life will be released in late 2015.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: http://sharronjamison.com/ |
| Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharRonJamison |
| Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharRon-Jamison |
Denise Writer has always had the desire to be a writer. At the age of four, she started writing short stories and plays that she and her sister use to perform for their family and friends.
As Denise got older, her desire grew stronger to be a part of the literary world in some form.
This year, Denise is finally tackling her first book project by participating in this anthology.
| En Español |
Sonia Ventura is a former insurance agent and top boys’ basketball coach.
Currently, she is a department manager with Home Depot. Her love of teaching and coaching will eventually land her in the classroom. In particular, her ability to communicate across gender, cultural, and racial lines has uniquely qualified her to motivate and inspire underserved communities.
Sonia currently holds a bachelor’s degree in education and is pursuing a master’s degree in education. She is proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and is affectionately known as Papi.
| Connect with Me: |
| Twitter: https://twitter.com/atlantaspapi |
Sheena Yap Chan is a blogger and speaker whose sole purpose, drive, and passion is to help women live a better life through entrepreneurship.
She continues to inspire women through her blog by providing marketing and social media tips, as well as advice to help women take away whatever keeps them from greatness.
Currently, she is doing a 365-day blogging challenge, which means she is blogging every single day for one whole year. She also has a podcast that helps women build up their self-confidence. It’s called The Tao of Self Confidence.
Always remember….“Behind every successful woman is herself.”
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.sheenayapchan.com |
| Twitter & Instagram: https://twitter.com/crasianpreneur www.instagram.com/crasianpreneur |
| Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheenaYapChan/ |
| Podcast: www.thetaoofselfconfidence.com |
Shannon Lagasse is the founder of Hunger for Happiness, a business dedicated to changing the way women relate to themselves, their bodies, and the world around them.
She is also a recovered anorexic, bulimic, and binge eater turned health coach whose message is one of self-love and self-compassion in the healing and recovery process, whether from an eating disorder or emotional eating.
Shannon inspires women worldwide through her writing, coaching, and speaking.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.HungerforHappiness.com |
| En Español |
Ohio-born, Michigan-raised, Midwest Latina Mimi Gonzalez is a national touring comedian of twenty years who bears the soul of a poet named Noemi Rose.
She writes because she breathes and publishes annually while maintaining her comedy career. She’s been through the identity wars and still aims to reach the promised land of the one true race: humanity.
She’s honored to be included among the women in this book, whom she calls siStars.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.mimigonzalez.com/ |
| Mail: mimi@mimigonzalez.com |
| Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MimiGonzalezComic |
Michelle A. Dowell-Vest is a writer, community reporter, and random ranter. She is the creator of A Gurlz Guide and Podcaster with The Back2Us Radio Network. Both of these organizations are rooted in the belief that healing happens in community rather than in solitude, and that having space for our voice is liberating to both self and community.
In January 2016, she is launching CitiNOOKS.com. CitiNOOKS marries what she loves, what she wants to do more of, and what she is passionate about: Writing, travel, and inspiring others. CitiNOOKS.com is an online travel agency and magazine focused on inspiring others to travel more and often. Afterall, the world is expecting us.
More important than what she does is who she is. Michelle is the wife to Terésa Dowell-Vest, mother to three adults, and nona to six perfect grand babies. She strives to live a life of transparency, compassion, and intersectionality.
Michelle has always been an overcomer. Her life started with the adversity of, being born to an absent father and a drug addicted mother and having to face the unique challenges that came with being tossed from one foster home to another. Triumphant over physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, she learned she has the power to heal and transform her life. When she grew tired of repeating the same destructive patterns of toxic relationships, she committed to the difficult road of emotional healing and declared that she was not a victim.
In her healing, Michelle learned that life is a constant flow of change, and that in order to overcome adversity in a healthy way, one has to understand the ebb and flow of loss, grief, love, and joy. Life’s a balancing act that can be amazing if we make the choice to invest in our healing, to harness the power of our intuition, and to understand the value in the collective energy of the community around us.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: http://agurlzguide.org/ |
| Twitter: https://twitter.com/AGurlzGuide |
| Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AGurlzGuide |
Kim J. King is the Managing Partner for the law firm of Kim J. King Associates, LLC, founded in 1999. The firm handles traditional practice areas of the law, such as business law, contract law, personal injury, bankruptcy, immigration, criminal, family, and real estate law, just to name a few. Ms. King has considerable expertise in matters relating to business expansion, investment, and the acquisition of commercial and residential real estate. However, Ms. King is most noted for retooling businesses and helping individuals develop winning ideas that propel them to the next level.
Ms. King pursued her undergraduate studies and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her Juris Doctorate degree at Salmon P. Chase College of Law. Ms. King has held several impactful professional positions as in-house counsel for major corporations. But she is most proud of her service and contribution to the non-profit sector as the Managing Director of INROADS/Greater Cincinnati-Dayton and as general counsel for Wilberforce University. Both positions afforded her the opportunity to make a difference.
Ms. King continues to hold true to her passion by helping people pursue and realize their dreams so they can achieve their greatness. In addition to being a practicing attorney, Ms. King is a purpose and passion coach, an author, a master trainer, a motivational speaker, and an “edutainment” director with a genuine interest and love for developing people. She is the also the author of The Universal Guide to Financial Abundance.
Often described as dynamic, cooperative, and congenial, Ms. King is a quality individual who gets the job done. Striving for excellence is one of her goals. To her, the ultimate measure of success is to make a positive impact on each and every life she touches.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.livingyourdreamswithkimjking.com www.kimjking.com |
Dr. Vikki Johnson, CDKA, is a sought-after speaker, author, mentor, chaplain, sisterhood Advocate, living kidney donor, and a proud Mom. She is a graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Broadcast Management. She also received degrees from the Calvary Bible Institute and the CICA University & Seminary, with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity, Chaplaincy and Ambassador-at-Large designation.
A thought-provoking speaker, Dr. Vikki has influenced thousands of women over the last twenty years and has been featured as a keynote speaker for TEDx Women, the Pentagon, the Department of Commerce, and various women’s conferences, retreats, and workshops.
She is the CEO of Authentic Living Enterprises, which includes her signature media brand, GIRL TALK UNPLUGGED, and the creator of SOUL WEALTH ACADEMY, a mentoring experience for women. Dr. Vikki says that as a result of working with my company, women break up with the status quo in their life. They no longer live in survival mode, but live a life of undeniable purpose. Unstuck, they move through the world with clarity, confidence, and self-worth.
A best-selling author, she has touched thousands with her pen and has written eight books. Dr. Vikki has been featured in Jet, Essence, Upscale, various blogs, and radio shows, and recently re-released her successful book, Addicted To Counterfeit Love. She has been the Associate Pastor of Women at Kingdom Worship Center in Towson, Maryland, since 1999. She received the 2014 Heritage and Community Service Award from the Friends of African American Research Library and Cultural Center in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for over fifteen years of community advocacy and empowerment.
Dr. Vikki recently left BET Networks after eighteen years of dedicated service. There, she was responsible for the day-to-day efforts of the Emmy award-winning Rap-It-Up Campaign, the network’s HIV/AIDS initiative, the network’s partnership with Make-A-Wish Foundation, and other pro-social initiatives. Her career has spanned over thirty years in music, sports, entertainment, and community advocacy. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment (NABFEME), ColorComm (Women of Color In Communication), The BOSS (Bringing Out Successful Sisters) Network, and the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW).
Dr. Vikki also enjoys connecting with her audience through social media platforms.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.vikkijohnson.com |
| Twitter & Instagram: https://twitter.com/AllThingsVikki www.instagram.com/AllThingsVikki |
| Facebook: You can connect with her on Facebook at Elder Vikki Johnson, or join her Girl Talk Unplugged A Sacred Sisterhood Community on Facebook |
Elaine Martin-Hunt is a speaker, preacher, and spiritual guide with over twenty years of experience serving the community through ministry and community activism. She is a former pastor of First Immanual A.M.E. Church and the founder of God, Self, and Neighbor Ministries, both of which are in the Atlanta metropolitan area. In addition, she is the founder and spiritual director of an alternative ministry, The Interactive Faith Café, and the owner of You Can Still Believe, LLC, which offers life and spiritual coaching.
Dr. Martin-Hunt received a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology, a Master of Divinity from of The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She has served on numerous panels and conducted workshops at churches, colleges, organizations, radio, and television.
Dr. Martin-Hunt lives with her wife and daughter and three four-legged friends in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Carole F. Hysmith, EdD, is Chief Executive Officer of The Hysmith Group, Inc., a multi-service leadership, management, and careerdevelopment company founded in 1991. The company is known for its expertise in organizational change by developing leadership and management teams as well as empowering staff.
Dr. Hysmith has more than thirty-five years of experience in education and development. During this time, she has provided extensive consultant services to senior executives regarding leadership and issues in organizational change. She has also worked for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation for nearly fourteen years, where she held various directorial positions in the training, career development, and organizational departments, working her way up to an appointment as deputy executive director of the Division of Human Relations for the Northern Manhattan Network of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.
Her professional background also includes experience as an instructor at Baruch College, a consultant at Marymount College, and ten years as an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle. She also served as an adjunct professor at Shorter College, School of ProfessionalPrograms, located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Hysmith earned a Masters of Arts in Organization Psychology from Columbia University and her EdD in organization development from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is also certified in administering the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® as well as the 360-Degree Feedback Instrument.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: The Hysmith Group |
| Email: dr.carole@hysmithgroup.com |
Di Neo is a filmmaker, writer, and activist. She is founder of Kei Media, Africa’s first LGBT-focused production company. She is creator and manager of the #ImYourAlly campaign, a LGBT project that seeks to create social cohesion around LGBT equality by creating and collaborating with ALLIES of all races, nationalities, religions, sexual orientations, etc.
Di Neo is also a passionate feminist, lover of books, people, art, food, and sport. She is currently working on finishing her first novel and feature screenplay. She believes in collaboration to lift the impact and reach of bodies of work.
#ImYourAlly Campaign
| Connect with Me: |
| Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeiMediaOrg |
| Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeiMedia www.facebook.com/IamYourAlly |
In her book, The Empowered Whistleblower: A Practical and Spiritual Path to Personal Power, Dawn Westmoreland shares her story of overcoming her own dis-empowerment. In life, even negative experiences can be a gift in ugly wrapping paper as long as you find the lesson or growth in each one. Throughout her life, Dawn has blown the “whistle” on disempowerment in many forms and is now teaching others, as a speaker, author, coach, and hypnotherapist, how to step up and break the chains that keep them from attaining their personal power.
Dawn has been featured in numerous radio and magazine interviews, where she has shared empowerment strategies with those who want more joy and fulfillment in their lives. Dawn Marie Westmoreland has been lauded by the Christian Science Monitor for her work to empower others and alert the federal government to her managers’ actions at the VA she once worked at, alleging favoritism for hiring and training that advanced only a select few.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.DawnMarieWestmoreland.com |
Over the past fourteen years, Colleen M. Pratt has practiced law in Southern California with an emphasis on civil litigation. She is known for her tenacity, optimism, dedication, and sensitivity to her clients’ needs. Ms. Pratt’s high rate of client satisfaction and excellent case results have earned her honors in 2013 and 2015 as Top Lawyers in California and Highest in Ethical Standards & Professional Excellence.
Ms. Pratt received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University of Dominguez Hills and attended law school at Western State University College of Law. At Western, she was an editor of the law review and was proud to be a member of the Women’s Law Association. During her tenure in law school, she received nine American Jurisprudence awards and ultimately graduated with Cum Laude honors.
Ms. Pratt has handled thousands of cases, and her accomplishments span from the Federal District Court to the California Superior Court, and all the way to the California Court of Appeal. Her watchwords have always been and will continue to be: commitment, dedication, and compassion.
Allow me to provide some background about us. We met the summer of 2002 and fell into a swift, comfortable, and gentle friendship. To describe the manner in which we met cannot be left to just a paragraph. Many say this, and we will as well; our union was 110 percent destiny—the night we met, a greater force touched and brought us together. We remained friends, though miles apart, after I had moved to another state the year after we met. In 2009, after years of supporting one another through life’s ups and downs, we took our friendship to another level, to a place that far exceeds what either of us had imagined love to be. We committed our love on July 14, 2012, in an intimate ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We were legally married July 14, 2013, in Studio City, California. We have three daughters whom we love dearly. Brandy Nasha resides in Los Angeles, CA
The late Nikki Rashan published four novels: Double Pleasure, Double Pain; You Make Me Wanna; Cyber Case; and The Exchange. In addition, she published two novellas: Carl Weber’s Full Figured Series: Sugar on the Side and Les Tales: Tempted to Touch, part of a collaboration.
Nikki Rashan Jenkins –
Rest In Love. August 18, 1972 – May 4, 2015
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.nikkiandbrandy.blogspot.com |
| Email: nikkiandbrandy@gmail.com |
| Phone: (414) 687-1446 |
Ava Cary is a singer, songwriter, and author who resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Cary received a full basketball scholarship at Norfolk State University (NSU), where she studied music. Originally from Owensboro, Kentucky, Ava found her gift in song at a young age in the church. She has performed for both religious and secular audiences across the country, who have been captivated and inspired by her strong and powerful voice.
In 1976, Ava was crowned Miss Black Expo Princess. Later she was selected to perform with Kentucky’s most competitive chorus, Mae Armi Chorus. She was the second African-American to receive the Mae Armi Award in the state of Kentucky. Ava has also made numerous appearances on the popular television show “Showtime at the Apollo” in New York. In 1998, Ava was asked to open up for one of her childhood influences, Shirley Caesar, during an appearance in Portsmouth, Virginia. She has also been invited to sing the National Anthem during many political and professional sporting events throughout the Southeast.
Ava is determined to use her gift of song to bless the world. She believes that God has gifted her with the ability to heal others through song. Ms. Cary is the mother of three beautiful young adults, Vince, Martell, and Quai, who are the pride of her life. Currently, she is working on her personal life story, I’m So Sorry it Hurts to Remember. In 2006, she released her first CD titled, “Ava Cary,” and she is now working on her second CD, “Butterflies of Love,” with the single release, “Love Almost Broke Me.” Ava still keeps her priorities in order: God, family, and career.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: www.AvaSongstress.com |
| Mail: CaryAvawithyou@aol.com |
Entrepreneur, underwriter, author
A native of Atlanta, April resides in the city’s historic WestLake/Mozley Park area with her daughter and fur babies. She is humbled and proud to have taken on the task of owning and renovating the nearly eighty-year old home her grandfather built for her grandmother. April is a proud and loud advocate for middle-class African Americans stepping up to the challenges of re- gentrifying historically black communities and proudly becoming the new faces of urban pioneering. To that end, she smiles a little deeper each time she’s questioned about her love of gardening, her desire to raise chickens, her longing for pygmy goats, and how that fits in a community barely two miles from the heart of downtown Atlanta. That’s when she knows she’s not speaking with a generational native; natives know just how well the old communities can sustain an urban farmer.
After more than twenty years in the corporate arena, and over a decade of owning her own business services company, TigerWolf, Inc., April is very proud to be a life and disability underwriter for one of the largest insurance providers in the country. She sees her job as not only a beautiful homage to her love of sociology and statistics, but also a lifelong commitment to social justice and community work as well. Helping small companies provide resources for their employees at critical moments has become its own reward. April looks forward to the very near future when she can return to her alma mater, Agnes Scott College, and finish her Bachelors of Science in Sociology and later pursue her masters. She’s contemplating another bachelors degree in culinary arts, since ultimately plans to run a bed and breakfast in the metro area serving up the dishes her friends, family, and clients regularly request.
While she has been in and out of the local open mic/poetry scene for the past fifteen years, it’s her cookbooks that keep those who know of them requesting a publishing date. Within the next year, April hopes to publish the first in a series of five. She will also be a contributor in a yet untitled anthology spearheaded by the unconquerable Claudia Moss. She is still in a state of shock to be included in such an incredible collaboration with the diverse and inspiring group of women contributing to this compilation.
Allie Greene graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelors of Arts in Studio Art. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, and has been working in feature film production for over ten years. With a love of photography, travel, foreign places, and cultures, she intends to visit all seven continents in her lifetime. After completing Pilates instructor training in 2014, she is eagerly drafting the next chapter of her life.
Nicole Varner is a Georgia native and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Raised and educated in the South, she has an appreciation for tradition, beauty, and roots.
She is currently a Technical Project Manager for a large corporation and a freelance photographer. She loves travel and all things electronic, and she considers herself a bit of a “foodie.”
She started UrbanBytes photography as a creative outlet and as a way to still the moments and motions of every day life.
She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her wife, Tiffany, and their two dogs, Lenny and Domino.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: https://ub256.smugmug.com/ |
Yvette D. Bennett has overcome many obstacles in her life that some would feel are designed to break the human spirit. But instead of being broken, Yvette has persevered by conquering many of her goals and is now watching her dreams come true!
Yvette holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film from American Intercontinental University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she served as a Media Society President. As an Asset Manager for Universal Pictures, Yvette is already making her mark in the film industry by working in over fifty short films, commercials, reality shows, documentaries, feature films, and television sports segments as a writer, producer, and director.
She has been fortunate enough to work with many industry professionals and celebrities who have assisted her in honing her craft. Currently, Yvette is developing two web series that she has created, along with two feature films and a collection of short films and commercials she has written.
Soon, Yvette will be adding “published author” to her list of accomplishments, which has been her dream since childhood.
This is only the beginning for Yvette. She feels that these experiences and opportunities will help to catapult her even closer to achieving everything she has dreamed of and set out to accomplish, making heartfelt, entertaining, inspirational, and quality movies that everyone will enjoy, and writing books that will help to motivate and inspire everyone to live their best life.
| Connect with Me: |
| Website: http://yvettedbennett.wix.com/ydbennett |
| Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvettedbennett/ |
| Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yvetted.screenwriterdirector |
| Twitter: https://twitter.com/yvetted_bennett |
Valerie C. Jones is the Division Manager for Escambia County Government under the auspices of its Board of County Commissioners, in Pensacola, Florida. She received her Bachelors of Science in Business with an emphasis in Management, and a Masters of Arts in Public Administration from Troy State University. She is an active member of the Zion Hope P.B. Church, The American Planning Association, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
| Connect with Me: |
| Email: vcjones408@gmail.com |
| Phone: (850) 384-9937 |
Angelia R. Henderson originally hails from Roanoke, Alabama. After graduating from Handley High School in 1981, she set her sights on furthering her education at Georgia State University. In 1985, Angelia received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Journalism. Since then, she’s worn many career hats for well-known companies like Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP; Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers, LLP; and KMPG, LLP.
Today, she works as a legal assistant for The Weather Channel, LLP. In her spare time, Angelia enjoys writing poetry and short stories, reading, photography, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with her family and friends. Her son, Julian, recently celebrated his fortieth birthday. Angelia subscribes to the notion that equanimity and her faithful journey with God have enabled her to persevere no matter the obstacles.
Hebrew 11:1 “Now FAITH is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
| En Español |
Anjelis graduated from Florida International University in 2005 with a Bachelor in Science in Nursing. After earning a Master in Science in Nursing and Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2013, she started pursuing a PhD in Nursing at Barry University. Through education, Anjelis has expanded not only her professional skills, but also personal skills.
Anjelis has dedicated her life to promoting wellness and advocating for patients in acute care and outpatient settings. Currently, she is a Nurse Manager in an academic institution in Miami, Florida, a position she has held for the past six years. Anjelis is a single mother of three amazing young men.
This chapter is an excerpt from her upcoming book If I can, You Can: A Story of Resilience, Determination, and Hope.
My name is Asila Abdul-Haqq, and I attend Al Falah Academy High School, and I intend to study gynecology and engineering for career purposes in the near future.
Valerie Hall is a forty-something professional in the IT industry. Often called on for her expertise in corporate communications, as well as for IT Service Manage Operations and Service Delivery, she is a highly skilled technical writer who tends to write more personal pieces that simply flow from her heart.
She is the oldest child of four and the only daughter in a blended family. She has one adult son who is her pride and joy and is currently engaged to be married sometime in 2015 or 2016.
Valerie has been writing all of her life, but this will be the first venture she’s taken toward publishing, and she is incredibly excited for this part of her writing journey!
Quentella Morris holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology, an Master’s of Arts in Educational Administration, a Master’s of Science in Counseling, and a Doctorate in Psychology. She is the co-owner of Morris and Siler Consultants, LLC, a practice dedicated to providing psychotherapy and counseling support to individuals, couples, and groups.
Her areas of expertise: divorce, marriage, family, pre-marital, Christian, adolescent, children, art and sand tray, stress management, Shiatsu, parenting workshops, and domestic violence (both the perpetrator and the victim). She also works closely with patients who suffer from depression and anxiety.
Even as a retired schoolteacher and principal, Quentella continues to dedicate her life to guiding and supporting young people. She is actively involved in her church and volunteers in the following departments: Sunday school, children’s church, vacation Bible school, tutoring, and recreational activities.
Quentella is a publisher author of two books, Echoes from the Old Testament, and Wisdom for Teens.
Nijole is working on her memoir and looks forward to empowering women to love themselves and to accept themselves.
