Breaking Barriers Podcast

Welcome to the relaunch of Breaking Barriers Season 6! In this podcast episode, co-host Daniel Robertson interviews Donovan Armprester, a young entrepreneur and member of the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council, as they discuss Donovan's experiences and perspectives. In this episode, we'll cover: - Donovan's journey as an entrepreneur and the story behind his business, Munchies - How Donovan has been involved in breaking barriers and the impact it has had on him - Donovan's approach to stress and mental health as a young person - Balancing school, entrepreneurship, and various extracurricular activities - Donovan's take on what he aims to bring to the Breaking Barriers podcast as a new host

Check out the latest podcast featuring Founder and Executive Director of the  Y.A.L.E Academy, LeAnthony Freeman. LeAnthony talks about the challenges of his childhood growing up in Buffalo, his journey as a nontraditional student at Morehouse College, what led him to dedicate his life to youth development, and so much more.

On this episode, Dorian and new Breaking Barriers Podcast co-host Tyeler, sit down with Reggie Keith. Reggie is the Founder of Canna House, Western New York's premiere cannabis social club. The guys chop it up with Reggie about how he ventured into the cannabis space, the opportunities presented by the cannabis industry, now that it's legal in New York State, the challenges for young people in the space and so much more.

Check out the latest episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast. Joe, Xavier and Dorian sit down with Drumwork Music Group's O.J. Barker. They discuss the flourishing music scene in Buffalo, the ascension of Drumwork Music, keeping the legacy of O.J.'s brother Weeze alive and much more. 

Xavier, Joseph and Dorian sits down with entrepreneur, accountant and owner of The Cellar, Yusef Burgos. The chop it up about how he balances working full time as an accountant with owning Buffalo's only luxury sneaker boutique, the importance of keeping your books together in business, the idea of the "Black Tax" and much more.

Check out the latest episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast featuring Jerrell Mason, Director of Community Engagement for Best Self. Daniel, Xavier and Dorian chop it up with Jerrell about how his troubled past helped direct his steps in becoming a mentor, community leader and advocate for those suffering from homelessness.

The Breaking Barriers Podcast is back for the launch of season 5. Daniel, Xavier and new co-host Dorian sit down with the Founder of Trust God Ministries and the Trust God clothing brand Bruce Warrick. Bruce gets personal about his tumultuous relationship with his parents coming up, his marriage and family, his commitment to the youth, how he came to God, how he built a wildly successful clothing brand and so much more. 

What's Pop-In??

Check out the latest episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast. Xavier and Daniel sit down with Stefan Coker of Whats Pop-In Gourmet Popcorn. The guys chop it up about Stefan's incredible backstory, the business of popcorn, the power of entrepreneurship and so much more.

On this episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast, Xavier and Daniel sit down with Ivory Robinson, CEO of HARP Data Connections. They discuss Ivory's upbringing, the importance of reliable technology in underserved communities, closing the digital divide for disproportionately disadvantaged communities and so much more.

Breaking Barriers teamed up with the Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals for their fourth annual Black Restaurant Week in Buffalo. In addition to experiencing some of the most amazing food in Buffalo, during this week, the Breaking Barriers Podcast will highlight some of the most prolific and sought after chefs in the city.   

On this episode, Dwayne, Xavier and Daniel sit down with Chef Stephen Forman, Executive Chef at Delaware North and Owner of Thyme-n-Honey. Chef Stephen chops it up with the fellas about what goes into making the perfect meal and even gives them a cooking demonstration

Breaking Barriers teamed up with the Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals for their fourth annual Black Restaurant Week in Buffalo. In addition to experiencing some of the most amazing food in Buffalo, during this week, the Breaking Barriers Podcast will highlight some of the most prolific and sought after chefs in the city.  

On this episode, Dwayne, Xavier and Daniel sit down with Chef Holt and Chef Ingram, Owners of Manna @ Northland. They talk about how Manna quickly became one of the most in demand restaurants in the city. The chefs also make a bold claim about just how good their fried chicken is.

Happy 2021! On the season premiere of the Breaking Barriers Podcast, Daniel and Xavier sit down with Dr. Carl Stokes Jr., an award-winning social worker, educator and speaker. They talk to Dr. Stokes about his new book, "Reclaim Your Visibility", his own challenges of navigating fatherhood at a young age, The Black Fatherhood Pledge, and so much more. 

On this episode, Daniel, Dwayne, Xavier and newest member of the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council, Deonte, wrap up what has been a very eventful 2020 calendar year. They also discuss what the are looking forward to going into 2021, as well as invite Breaking Barriers Podcast Producer Jamil Crews to the pod. 

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel sit with Christopher Smitherman, II, Operations Associate for McDonald's Corporation. They discuss Chris' journey to Buffalo, the difference between McDonald's Corporation and the franchise model of McDonald's, career paths at McDonald's for those looking to go the corporate route, Chris' travels and experience to South Korea and so much more. 

Dr. Chris St. Vil stops by the podcast to talk about his work with Boys and Men of Color, dispelling the notion of what a doctor looks like, breaks down current events and so much more. 

On this episode Daniel and Xavier from the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council sit down with Nigel Brown, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of The Dreamers Corp. Nigel talks about his upbringing in foster care, his goal to help create more coders of color and so much more. 

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel speak to high school basketball coach and former professional basketball star Jason Rowe about his illustrious career, how he uses sports to mentor young men, who are the new OG's of this generation and much more. 

Dwayne, Daniel and Xavier from the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council sit down with Shawn Dove, Chief Executive Officer of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement.

On this episode, they speak about Shawn's role in helping to develop President Obama's My Brother's Keeper Initiative, the importance of pouring into the next generation of leaders, continuing to fight to break down barriers for men of color and so much more.

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel sit down with Dr. Kush K. Bhardwaj, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Medaille College.  The guys chop it up about how Dr. B infuses hip hop in teaching, being schooled vs. being educated, the stigma of private colleges vs. public colleges and how Medaille College is leading the way in their diversity efforts. 

The Breaking Barriers Podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable.

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel sit down with real estate agent and entrepreneur Jason Moore. Jason gives some very insightful thoughts on the importance of investing in real estate, how connecting with the right mentor changed the direction of his career, the importance of fatherhood and why how he is shaping the future for his daughter, along with much more. 

The Breaking Barriers Podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. 

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel sit down with Josiah and Antonio, members of the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council. They speak about their experience with Breaking Barriers, some of the challenges they face as young men of color growing up in Buffalo and they give some advice to those next in line to join the Breaking Barriers brotherhood. 

The podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable.

On this episode, Dwayne sits down with Dr. Marck Abraham, Principle of McKinley High School in Buffalo and Founder & CEO of MEA Consultants. The two discuss the importance of mental health in the education field, changing the narrative of black male achievement and how Dr. Abraham is able to preside over a high school with the highest graduation rate for black males in the City of Buffalo. 

The podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable.

Check out this episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast featuring Dorian Winthrow. Dorian was part of the inaugural Breaking Barriers YLC cohort and a second year college student at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. In this episode, Dorian and host Dwayne chop it up about their experience with Breaking Barriers, some of Dorian's challenges as a college student, the importance of seeing successful role models who look like them and more.

The podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable.

On this episode, Dwayne and Daniel sit down with Aníbal Soler, Jr., Associate Superintendent for the Buffalo Public Schools. They discuss Aníbal's role with the My Brother's Keeper Initiative, what the Buffalo Public School District is doing to address issues pertaining to boys and young men of color in Buffalo, how the groundbreaking Community School Summit came to fruition recently in Buffalo, and so much more. He also answers tough questions about his preference of soul food vs. Spanish food. 

The podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable.

The Breaking Barriers Podcast is back with a new season. On this episode, Dwayne from the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council and Daniel Robertson sits down with Michael James, Founder of Organic Gentlemen. They discuss the importance of maintaining a good clean image and its correlation with success, developing a consistent daily routine and much more.

The podcast is brought to you by Say Yes Buffalo, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. 

On this episode, Daniel and Sean from the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council sits down with Aime Mukendi, Jr.,  host of The Shift Up. They chop it up about the importance of maintaining your professionalism in the media, how to find good in everyone and in every situation and Sean talks about his experience meeting President Barack Obama during his visit to the MBK Summit in Oakland. 

Produced by: Crews Control Media

On part two of this episode, Daniel continues his conversation with the gentlemen from the Nurturing Fathers Program, talking about the importance of fatherhood in the black community. 

On part one of this episode, Daniel sits down with gentlemen from the Nurturing Fathers Program, talking about the importance of fatherhood in the black community. 

On this episode, Daniel sits down with Rashid Shabazz, Chief Marketing & Storytelling Officer from Color of Change. They speak about Rashid's work with Color of Change around narrative change and reaching young men of color in the community.

Season 2 of the Breaking Barriers Podcast is back. Daniel sits down with Jordan and Sean from the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council to speak about their experience with Breaking Barriers over the year, some of their future plans and issues that young men of color face in their lives.

Fore more information about Breaking Barriers, visit the website at www.breakingbarriersbuffalo.org.

On this episode, Daniel sits down with the Mayor of the City of Buffalo, Mayor Byron W. Brown. The Mayor discusses the city's involvement with the Boys and Men of Color Initiative and gives insight on how to improve outcomes of boys and men of color in Buffalo.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Produced by Crews Control Media

On this week’s episode, Dwayne Sawyer, one of the students in the Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council, fills in for Daniel and sits down with community police officer, Moe Badger. Dwayne talks to Moe about his love of music, how he transitioned from music to to being a police officer, the role of community police officers in Buffalo and how boys and young men of color can overcome some of the challenges they face in their everyday lives.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Produced by Crews Control Media

On this week's episode, Daniel sits down with a very special guest, Dwyane Saywer, one of the young men from the Breaking Barriers Buffalo Youth Leadership Council. The 16 year old Junior at Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts provides some very valuable insight on why he joined the council, his view of law enforcement after a recent encounter with them, his view on the gun violence movement that's sweeping the country and why Youth Voice Matters.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Produced by Crews Control Media

On this week's episode, host Daniel Roberston sits down with Kent Olden, Youth Specialist at the Buffalo Urban League, President of the National Pan Hellenic Council of Western New York and Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, speaking about the work that the Buffalo Urban League is doing for boys and young men of color, as well as the history of Black Greek letter organizations and the role they are playing in mentoring young men of color.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

On this week's episode, host Daniel Roberston sits down with Lindsey Taylor, Founder and CEO of the Gentlemen's Institute, Crown Entertainment, Ballin 4 A Cause and Beau Fleuve Music & Arts Festival, speaking on why mentorship is important and much more.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Produced by Crews Control Media

Intro episode of the Breaking Barriers Podcast. The show's host, Daniel Robertson, shares some statistics on boys and young men of color in Buffalo and talks about what to expect on the podcast.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Produced by Crews Control Media