Cool Soror with Rashan Ali

Help Shavonne Thurman Stomp Out Multiple Sclerosis

The Cool Soror podcast is happy to present “Cool Cause.” This gives us the opportunity to support philanthropic and charitable causes we stand behind. We are thrilled that Shavonne Thurman joins us to talk about her SaveShavonne.com initiative.

Shavonne is a business and investment professional with nine years work experience. She has worked for private industry, investment firms and the U.S. Government, including positions at T. Rowe Price and the IRS. While in college, Shavonne was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system. Despite the diagnosis, she was determined to finish her education.

She holds an Associate’s degree from Pikes Peak Community College in Television and Radio. She is an alumnus of the University of Colorado, graduating with honors with a BA and a Masters in Communications. Shavonne is active with the National MS society, volunteering and participating in their annual walks, as well as doing studies on the disease. She’s an advocate for others dealing with MS and has been featured in local newscasts and on HLN.com. Currently, she uses a wheelchair because she’s unable to walk. She is trying to raise funds for a radical procedure that could halt the progression of MS and potentially give her the ability to walk normally again.

Shavonne certainly does not look like what she’s been through, but Shavonne wants Shavonne back and you can play an integral role in helping her do that! In spite of her disability, she hopes to help others in their fight against MS.

See below for ways to support:

www.SaveShavonne.com
www.redbasket.org/1249/keep-shavonnes-spirits-high for more information.
www.gofundme.com/saveshavonne

Like Fine Wine with Renee Rowe

Zeta Phi Beta’s own, Renee Rowe joins the Cool Soror Podcast. The President and owner of The Wine Cellars in Smyrna, GA is a celebrated wine enthusiast and educator.

Having entered the wine industry in 1998 after graduating from The Wine School of Atlanta, she is considered an industry expert. She brings an impressive blend of experience, expertise and enthusiasm to the world of wine and food. She’s an accomplished author and writer having written articles for industry publications such as The African American Wine Journal, Essence Magazine, and The Art of Pairing Food & Wine.

One of just a handful of African-American wine merchants and educators, Renée was the first female African-American owned wine retailer in the metro Atlanta area which has been in business since 2004. In 2002, Renée founded the African American Wine Tasting Society, Inc. (AAWTS) – a national, non-profit organization dedicated to wine education where she began conducting wine classes and seminars. She currently serves as Executive Director and Consultant for the organization and offers consulting services for business start-ups, marketing and growth strategies, trade seminars, menu planning and private wine classes.

Renee has embraced every stop on her journey and planted seeds along the way. Figuratively and literally, her walk has been fermented and aged properly, just like fine wine.

www.winecellarsonline.com

Tw: @thewinecellars IG: @thewinecellars

 

Get Familiar With The Unfamiliar with Anowa Adjah

Zeta Phi Beta’s own Anowa Adjah joins the Cool Soror Podcast today. Known as the “Nigerian Powerhouse,” this New York native took powers into her own hands after being told she “didn’t have the look” to be a fitness model due to her God-given curves and build. She set out on a mission to change the fitness narrative.

As a Health & Fitness Coach, Motivational Speaker, Mother of Twins, Influencer, and CEO of Anowa Adjah Works, Anowa has solidified herself as a ground- breaking innovator in the Health and Wellness industry. With the success of her Workout DVD program targeting women of all shapes and sizes and her transparency with real-life issues, she has generated a fan base of almost million followers via social media.

Anowa is currently aiding thousands of women in her “Lose The Gutt Keep The Butt” online training platform. In addition, she is also developing a Health & Fitness program which will benefit children and youth in poverty-stricken areas.

Anowa has gotten to where she is from pure perseverance and faith. But it wasn’t until she stepped into the unfamiliar, that things started to change. She got familiar with it and now she is soaring.

Social Media:
Facebook: Anowa Adjah, Instagram: Anowa Adjah, Twitter: Anowa Adjah
Website: www.AnowaAdjah.com

Building An Empire with Nicole Garner Scott

The Cool Soror Podcast welcomes Alpha Kappa Alpha Cool Soror, Nicole Garner Scott. A product of Georgia State University and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, Nicole is the principle of the high profile events planning, fashion and lifestyle, public relations and marketing agency – The Garner Circle PR. Beginning her career under the tutelage of some of the industry’s most noted entertainment and celebrity publicists, Nicole soon realized her passion for the lifestyle side of PR.

With clients ranging from the Jaguar Luxury Brand, Lionsgate , Ciara, Estelle, Oxygen, Bravo, Beautiful Textures Hair Care, Porsche, Adidas, Xbox, Hyundai, P&G and more with efforts appearing on MTV, BET, E!, VH1, NBA TV and on the glossy pages of many of today’s most well noted magazines and blogs. This author, instructor and practitioner has asserted herself as an authority in the world of publicity and branding.

Not only that, she has a passion for building female entrepreneurs. She launched 100 Female Entrepreneurs. 100 Female Entrepreneurs is a business league for females in entrepreneurship offering a unique platform for women to share entrepreneurial resources and experiences while being connected to a global network of go-getters.

To expand her reach even further, 100 Female Entrepreneurs is launching an online curriculum called Make Me More Money in May. The course teaches female entrepreneurs how to earn more for their time, increase business profits and monetize ideas.

Nicole Garner Scott is constantly building her brand and helping others reach their greatest potential. And this is how you Build An Empire.

Social Media:
Twitter: @IamGarnerScott IG: @IamGarnerScott

Twitter: @100Females IG: @100Females

www.100femaleentrepreneurs.com

www.makememore.money

The Engagement Game with Joi-Marie McKenzie

Joi-Marie McKenzie joins the Cool Soror Podcast today. A Cool Soror of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc, this Baltimore native truly has a gift for the pen. As an entertainment and lifestyle writer for ABCNews.com, she has covered and interviewed many of your favorite celebrities. She admits, it is truly a dream job.

But there is certainly more to Joi-Marie than writing about other artists, when she is an artists herself. She decided to chronicle her memoir in real time as a then 28-year-old professional with a boyfriend who had not proposed. This witty, funny and impressive introspective look shows the lengths many women take to “get the ring” while losing themselves along the way. Cleverly written, Joe-Marie’s life mirrors many women and felt the need to share her truth.

She has several revelations in this book including bouts with depression and conformity that left her empty. She was able to pull herself out of these holes with the help of her mother - whom she lovingly talks about during this episode.

Joi-Marie McKenzie comes from a lineage of greatness and the trajectory of her life course is limitless. The book, “The Engagement Game” is only the beginning.

www.joimarie.com

Amazed By His Grace With Nina Packer

Nina Packer, A Cool Soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. joins the show today! She is an adept and engaging facilitator, coach, and consultant. Her key areas of expertise are executive coaching, team coaching, strategic planning, program development, partnership facilitation, process improvement, and project management. While a great deal of Nina's work is focused on systems and functions of organizations, her success is largely due to her keen awareness of what she likes to call "the human factor".

A Miami, Florida native, she knew early on in her teens that her life would involve business. Landing an internship at in the field of international private banking gave her hands-on experience before even entering Florida A&M University as a business major. She later changed her major to business education because she has such a tremendous passion for children.

in 2003, Nina Packer & Associates was formed and Nina began facilitating partnerships between powerful corporate brands like CNN and General Mills, and their nonprofit partners. She earned her Master of Public Administration Degree with a Nonprofit Management Concentration from Georgia State University in 2006. From 2008 to 2014 Nina Packer & Associates, operating mostly from Miami, FL at the time, provided operations management services to one of the most paradigm shifting entertainment firms and program development services to an organization emerging from one of the most pivotal social issues of the last decade.

Because her passion for teaching students pivotal skills, she returned to the classroom. Nina is currently at the forefront of launching a production focused magnet school that will hopefully provide opportunities for students in the television, film and media industries.

Nina Packer’s life has been extremely blessed. From working with students, nonprofits, corporations to artists like Lil Wayne, all while raising two amazing daughters, she is forever, “Amazed By His Grace.”

Social Media:

IG: raising_amazing
FB: NinaPacker
www.ninapacker.com

Bloom Where You’re Planted with Aeshia Devore Branch

The Cool Soror Podcast welcomes Alpha Kappa Alpha’s own Aeshia Devore Branch. A native of Queens, NY, she is the epitome of dream realization and unafraid to identify a problem and create a solution.

The social entrepreneur unites and empowers girls to be health leaders in their communities. The alarming childhood obesity epidemic along with the void of entertaining yet positive fitness content and fitness events for young women (ages 13-22) led to the conception and rapid growth of her passionate venture, Pretty Girls Sweat.

Aeshia leads business development, marketing, sales, and event execution and has been responsible for bringing on clients and partners including adidas women, Aquafina, Nike, YMCA, Essence, Samsung and Girl Scouts of the USA. Before creating Pretty Girls Sweat, Aeshia thrived in the TV industry for over 9 years-working her way up from an intern at ABC to a producer on Sundance Channel's celebrated, primetime series ICONOCLASTS.

The former high school athlete (track, volleyball, and basketball), a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications) was also a model for Wilhelmina in New York City.

This wife, mother and dreamer breathes life and that life is planted with seeds. Therein lies the reason that she believes you “bloom where you are planted.”

Social Media:
IG: PrettyGirlsSweat

Twitter: PrettyGirlsSweat

FB: PrettyGirlsSweat

IG: @aeshiadevorebranch and Twitter: @aeshiadevorebranch
IG: @teen_diaries and Twitter: @teen_diaries

www.prettygirlssweat.com

For A Reason with Ryan Stewart

The Cool Soror Podcast is super excited to feature Ryan Stewart: a Cool Bruh of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. This God-fearing, Jesus-loving native of Monck’s Corner, South Carolina has seen some extreme highs and deep lows along his journey of life but, has embraced each experience like only he can.

Wildly popular from his time on the 2 Live Stews - a sports radio talk show he co-hosted along with his brother Doug Stewart-allowed them both to have recurring roles on ESPN’s First Take along with other national television opportunities. They had an amazing run, until things started to change within the radio organization. The show dissolved after several years. As a former NFL Safety, Ryan had already dealt with so much in his professional athletic career, so leaving radio was something that he faced head on.

Never missing a day in his designated time with God has kept him grounded and continuously blessed. So much that he is yearning to go deeper in the word. He has even considered ministry. If that is his next step, we are beyond certain that it will be the one God ordained.

Every joy and sorrow for Ryan has happened “for a reason” and he seems to make his way on the other side, every single time.

Social Media:

Twitter:@1livestew

Instagram: @1livestew

FaceBook: RyanStewart

The Purpose Project with Jennifer Lester

Jennifer Lester is a Cool Soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and joins the show today. This psychotherapist, child advocate, certified life coach, entrepreneur and author from Atlanta, Georgia is truly a heavy hitter!

For more than 15 years, she has been a leader in behavioral change working with federal programs and in private practice. She combines a Master's degree in Psychology from Georgia School of Professional Psychology with a Bachelor's in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University.

In 2008, Lester established the Purpose Project, LLC: a multidisciplinary behavioral healthcare practice that offers mental health services, life coaching, leadership training and nonprofit management. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, she uses a Cognitive-Behavioral theoretical approach to insure clinically sound and culturally competent practices.

In March 2017, Lester released of her first book ‘14 Ways to Find Your Amazing: When Passion and Purpose Collide’. This transformative book shares 14 crucial steps to set you on your journey to find your amazing, the thing that truly makes you special and significant.

On top of that, Jennifer is the Executive Director of the Big Kidz Foundation founded by Big Boi of the legendary group, Outkast. Big Kidz Foundation is an arts-focused youth development organization. She has helped grow the organization to exponential heights for more than a decade.

Jennifer Lester does a lot for a lot of people, including her husband and daughter. She has learned to live her busy life in harmony - and that has all the purpose in the world.

Social Media:

Twitter: @JenniferLester

FaceBook: JenniferLester

IG: @JenniferLester

www.thepurposeproject.com

Amplified Good with Joey Womack

The Cool Bruh feature of the week is back with Alpha Man, Joey Womack! This creative innovator is behind two of the most genius organizations this country has seen.

Joey is at the helm of Goodie Nation and Amplify 4 Good. Goodie Nation is a social impact pre-accelerator that provides a role for all people to play in an innovative process solving some of the world’s toughest problems. The organization’s programming develops innovator through training and support as well as social enterprises via a 6-month process. Their goal is to become a world leader at empowering individuals to solve problems for their own communities.

Amplify 4 Good teaches talented and passionate people to think like tech startup entrepreneurs in order to solve problems. They believe their goal in making great organizations more productive and efficient is a faster way to create change than starting something new.

Joey Womack epitomizes a forward thinker and you will hear how his level of brilliance is helping individuals, entrepreneurs and corporations make unbelievable social impact. It goes without saying that Joey is a giver and a doer. His heart is in it for the betterment of people. This is why the “good” he does and the good he helps others do is always “amplified.”

Social Media

IG: @amplify4good @goodienation

www.amplify4good.com
www.goodienation.org