Doulas & Advocacy for Black Maternal Health With Deej, Iman Seraaj, and Nicky Dawkins

Original Air Date: February 15, 2021

“We need to have an honest conversation on Black Maternal Health and the disparities in healthcare that threaten Black Women’s lives.”

This is the core conversation that takes place on this week’s episode.

This week’s episode is a panel discussion, where I am joined by 3 professional doulas - Iman Seraaj, Nicky Dawkins, and Deej.

Iman Seraaj is a trained full-spectrum doula passionate about VBACs, breastfeeding, birthrights education, orgasmic birthing, postpartum and prenatal care. With over 12 years of doula and birth advocacy experience; she founded FullCircle Doula Services in 2014.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Feminine Health Coach. She is also the founder of Werk it Moms — a mom-driven, soon-to-be charity organization — that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and a safe space for moms in need to connect. 

Deej is a mother of three little boys, a wife, doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding specialist. Deej also owns a brand that focuses on educating women on their birthrights and all things from pregnancy to postpartum called The Nurtured Baby. 

During this episode, we have an honest and real conversation on how Black women in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth - irrespective of income or education level. 

Iman, Nicky, and Deej provide candid and professional insights into the cause of these health disparities and share solutions we can implement. 

They also provide questions, advice, and tactics Black Women can use when they are having to engage with a racist medical system and provider. 

We also have an open conversation on infertility, miscarriages, and loss. 

I highly encourage that everyone listens to this episode and to the important conversation that Iman, Nicky, and Deej shared with us. 

I am grateful to my guests for the energy, brilliance, and generosity that they brought to this week's episode.

This is an issue that all of us must address.  

I hope you will listen to this episode and take action.

Here’s how you can connect with this week’s guest: 

Iman - https://www.instagram.com/imanseraajfc/

Nicky - https://www.instagram.com/thankyounicky/

Deej -  https://www.instagram.com/the.nurturedbaby/

tomearl.me/doula

Listen to "Doulas & Advocacy for Black Maternal Health With Deej, Iman Seraaj, and Nicky Dawkins" on Spreaker.

The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays

Original Air Date: February 8, 2020

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist, and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.

Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies.

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events.

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voices and materialize their thoughts.

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on Instagram and on his website.

tomearl.me/myly

Listen to "The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays" on Spreaker.

The Elevation of Education With Dr. Shaun Woodley & Stacey Cosden

Relationships are at the heart of creating inclusive and transformative classrooms. 

That was one of the themes they rang throughout this week’s episode. 

Our guests, Dr. Shaun Woodley & Stacey Cosden, shared their expertise on where education is at and what it can be. 

Dr. Shaun Woodly has dedicated his professional career to education. He is a decorated K-12 teacher, university professor, and author whose deep passion and research have allowed him great success as an educator and entrepreneur. He is the architect behind the educator movement “Teach Hustle Inspire” and has written the best-selling book “MC Means Move the Class: How to Spark Engagement and Motivation in Urban and Culturally Diverse Classrooms”. 

Stacey is a Marketing Coach with Tom Earl at T.H.E. Celebration and Marketing Director at Blue Level Training. While she is currently in marketing, she’s spent over 20 years working with the public school system. Through her various roles in the system, Stacey has been an advocate for her community, students, and their families, and an activist for reform. Stacey’s true passion is building a healthy community that supports marginalized voices.  

Shaun and Stacey also covered the important role self-awareness & emotional intelligence plays in creating a transformative classroom. 

This interview is for anyone who is passionate about education & the power of relationships. 

I promise you will walk away with a whole new mindset. 

Do yourself the favor. 

Hit play. :) 

You can follow Shaun on Instagram - @teachhustleinspire

You can follow Stacey on Instagram - @staceyreneec 

Listen to "The Elevation of Education With Dr. Shaun Woodley & Stacey Cosden" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Doulas & Advocacy for Black Maternal Health With Deej, Iman Seraaj, and Nicky Dawkins

“We need to have an honest conversation on Black Maternal Health and the disparities in healthcare that threaten Black Women’s lives.”

This is the core conversation that takes place on this week’s episode.

This week’s episode is a panel discussion, where I am joined by 3 professional doulas - Iman Seraaj, Nicky Dawkins, and Deej.

Iman Seraaj is a trained full-spectrum doula passionate about VBACs, breastfeeding, birthrights education, orgasmic birthing, postpartum and prenatal care. With over 12 years of doula and birth advocacy experience; she founded FullCircle Doula Services in 2014.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Feminine Health Coach. She is also the founder of Werk it Moms — a mom-driven, soon-to-be charity organization — that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and a safe space for moms in need to connect. 

Deej is a mother of three little boys, a wife, doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding specialist. Deej also owns a brand that focuses on educating women on their birthrights and all things from pregnancy to postpartum called The Nurtured Baby. 

During this episode, we have an honest and real conversation on how Black women in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth - irrespective of income or education level. 

Iman, Nicky, and Deej provide candid and professional insights into the cause of these health disparities and share solutions we can implement. 

They also provide questions, advice, and tactics Black Women can use when they are having to engage with a racist medical system and provider. 

We also have an open conversation on infertility, miscarriages, and loss. 

I highly encourage that everyone listens to this episode and to the important conversation that Iman, Nicky, and Deej shared with us. 

I am grateful to my guests for the energy, brilliance, and generosity that they brought to this week's episode. 

This is an issue that all of us must address.  

I hope you will listen to this episode and take action.

Here’s how you can connect with this week’s guest: 

Iman

Nicky

Deej

Listen to "Doulas & Advocacy for Black Maternal Health With Deej, Iman Seraaj, and Nicky Dawkins" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

7 Negotiation Strategies (That Build Relationships & Get You Your Yes)

Whenever I play the “what superpower would you pick” game - my answer is always: to speak every language in existence.

If I could choose a superpower it would be to speak every language in existence.

Imagine being able to effectively communicate with every single person on the planet.

This usually sets me up nicely for the joke, “well Tom, you can barely effectively communicate in English, why don’t you start there.”

Cue the laughter. 

Whether you are a marketer, activist, creative, educator or you’re just living your daily life - the ability to communicate with influence has a huge impact on our lives.

Negation is a particular form of communication that carries a lot of stress, and sometimes even baggage.

Usually you’re negotiating in stressful situations, and for many people it may even feel that you are in an unbalanced relationship within the negotiation.

While the ability to negotiate is such a crucial skill, most of us are never given any formal training in negotiation.

At the heart of negotiation is empathy, active listening and relationship building.

This is certainly contrary to the stereotype of what we think of when we think of negotiations.

Another misconception is that the tools of negotiation aren’t particularly complex or tricky.

Like all things they do require practice to hone your skill but the concepts can be grasped fairly quickly.

On this week's episode, we are going to explore 7 core negotiation strategies. 

This episode originally aired a few years ago. 

And so, I can share that I’ve received many emails from folks on how this episode really had a huge impact on their lives.

We’re going to explore ways to use negation beyond business as well as within your personal life and relationships.

I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is! 

Enjoy! 

Listen to "7 Negotiation Strategies (That Build Relationships & Get You Your Yes)" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Coloring and Conversations With Antoinette Chanel

Have you heard that coloring can reduce stress and anxiety? 

When I listen in on conference calls, I often find myself coloring. 

This helps me stay focused, and allows me to really concentrate. 

So when my awesome friend, Antoinette Chanel, shared with me that she’d like to color together while having a conversation, I was all in. 

In early 2020, before the pandemic, before my daughter arrived, and before the many, many other things that happened this year…

...we did just that.  

We sat down for a conversation while coloring. 

It was amazing – and listening back to our chat was like looking into a fun time capsule. I got a glimpse into where my mind was at during this time in my life. 

Antoinette and I talked about relationships, business, politics, life, and a ton of other topics. If any of these draw you in, you’re going to like this episode.

Antoinette Chanel is a powerful storyteller, educator, and podcaster. With a unique background that includes over a decade of work in higher education, marketing, and public relations, Antoinette can translate, map out, and put in motion tangible plans to help you and your organization reach its goals. 

She is the founder of the podcast the Midday Reset (@themiddayreset), which she created to offer something uplifting and relatable to people with mental illness, specifically anxiety. She is also an educator and public speaker and is currently developing a workshop series to empower dark-skinned women and girls to redefine beauty for themselves.

This is a really great episode where you get to see me switch hats and be interviewed by someone I really admire and appreciate. 

Pull out something to color with.

And then hit play! 

You can get in touch with Antoinette on IG @msantoinettechanel or themdrpodcast@gmail.com, and purchase her book here: Amazon.com

Listen to "Coloring and Conversations With Antoinette Chanel" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan

In 1982, in a speech to Harvard University, Audrey Lorde famously said, “. . .If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Quotes are inspiring.

And, seeing them put into action is empowering. 

That is why this week’s guests, Alex and Ash Sullivan, are two of my favorite people. 

Despite the pressure of a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, 

They define themselves for themselves every single day. 

As they will share in the episode - that doesn’t mean it is easy. 

I mean - how does one go about living their bold self without being eaten alive? 

Let this interview be a roadmap that can guide you to your own internal answer to that question. 

Oh - and did I mention that this episode is being released on their birthday?  

*Cue the confetti*

For real though - Ash and Alex are the best. 

Alex Sullivan is the Co-Founder of Artists Call to Action.  They are also a dope poet, facilitator, activist, educator and freelance diversity consultant in academia. 

As a mixed agender human being, Alex’s work is often reflective of how the self is presented in the digital world and how current socio-political events can distort that presentation. 

Their creative and academic work is focused on the black queer experience and every aspect of it, frequently tying in themes of womanism, examination of power structures in the United States, and the experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora as the communities have spread out all over the world. 

Ashley Sullivan is a counselor-in-training and poet who is currently being considered for licensure, actively publishing, and putting energy into other creative endeavors such as starting their own business. 

Ash is balancing pursuing a career in poetry while also pursuing work in mental health and public health. Currently, they have been published in five or more running publications as well as fulfilling activism work centered around gender, creativity, and community. 

They are a current candidate for their Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University. 

On this week’s episode we go all in on: 

creativity, 

activism,

learning to trust yourself, 

finding your own voice,

the unique relationship Ash and Alex have with each other, 

getting comfortable with your own silence,

getting to know yourself better, and,

Well...you’re gonna need to push play to find that out! 

We could all invite a little more grace, community and courage into our lives. 

And Ash and Alex deliver all of that and more in abundance on this week’s episode. 

Let’s do this. 

Hit play.

And join us. 

Check out their past interviews here

And here

Check out Ash’s LinkedIn here

Check out Ash’s Instagram here

Find out more about the Artist’s Call to Action here

Check out ACTA on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to "Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays

On this week’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Timothy Mays, an educator, artist and published author. In our talk, we delved into what it means to experience love and relationships and to feel a sense of community. We peeled back the layers and expectations of what being a man means - in whatever variant identities you may have.

Timothy shared his experiences growing up and how he has witnessed marriages changing and evolving throughout the years. We also talked about Black History Month and about books that have transformed and impacted Timothy's life and my life as well. You will not want to miss this episode so you can hear Timothy's perspective on creating community and how men can transform their lives through the creation of community.

Timothy received his Master’s in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago in 2016 and continues to dig deeper into his research around exoticism, disposability, and the healing of Black bodies. 

As an Artist/Spoken Word poet, Timothy has competed in the National Poetry Slam, InkSlam, College and Universities Poetry Slam Invitational, and many other events. 

He is now conducting spoken word and critical pedagogy workshops that give students and community members a space to develop their voice and materialize their thoughts. 

Timothy recently released his first poetry and affirmation book entitled, “And Still I Rise to Fantasize” which attempts to channel Black resilience in the face of consistent trauma while having the unwavering courage to strive toward being holistically well.

Timothy has devoted himself to making sure that people from low-income communities are prepared for and comfortable with the possibility of advocating for themselves to ensure that a true sense of community is accomplished.

To find out more about Timothy, you can reach him on Instagram and on his website.

Listen to "The More You Love Yourself… With Timothy Mays" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Let’s Heal Together With Jimanekia Eborn

Jimanekia Eborn is a Queer Media Consultant, Comprehensive Sex Educator, and Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert. She is the host of Trauma Queen - a podcast mini-series for survivors of assault and our allies. The podcast focuses on uplifting voices in all communities and exploring our collective journey to healing.  

Jimanekia has worked in mental health for the last 10 years, which is where she saw the need for sexual education and sexual trauma support. This has led to her passion for assisting and supporting those that are sexual assault survivors and those without access to comprehensive sex education. Her compassion and passion for these populations has pushed her to continue building safe spaces for clientele, sharing education, and supporting their mental spaces.

Listen to "Let’s Heal Together With Jimanekia Eborn" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Resilience, Energy, & Staying True to Yourself With Antoinette Chanel

This week, I am joined by Antoinette Chanel, a powerful storyteller, educator, and podcaster. With a unique background that includes over a decade of work in higher education, marketing, and public relations, Antoinette is can translate, map out, and put in motion tangible plans to help you and your organization reach its goals. 

She is the founder of the podcast, the Midday Reset (@themiddayreset), which she created to offer something uplifting and relatable to people with mental illness, specifically anxiety. She is also an educator and public speaker and is currently developing a workshop series to empower dark-skinned women and girls to redefine beauty for themselves.

On this episode, Antoinette shares where she found confidence in herself, and how they has led her to empowering other dark-skinned women and girls through her latest children’s book, A Book for Black Girls and her upcoming workshop series. We also discuss some tangible advice both inside and outside of the doctor’s office for people facing anxiety and depression. 

You can get in touch with her a on IG @msantoinettechanel or themdrpodcast@gmail.com, and purchase her book here.

Listen to "Resilience, Energy, & Staying True to Yourself With Antoinette Chanel" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.