Bring Your Own Chair

Tune into our first solo episode with host Khayriyyah MuhammadSmith as she shares some background on Women's History Month here in the US. As a passionate girl's and women's rights advocate, the month of March brings up a lot of conversation around the contributions of women to society and their ability to move through the world in the current day. Khayriyyah also chats through some of her personal background and connection to gender equity and what it looks like to apply an intersectional lens to how we view the world.

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Jasmine was born and raised by Egyptian parents in sunny Australia. She moved to London at 24, where she continued her career in Radiation Therapy. It was in London that she met her husband and had her first child. Jasmine’s family then relocated to NYC, where she landed an exciting role training radiotherapists and physicists on a treatment monitoring system. While her work can get quite emotional working with patients going through the most difficult times in their lives, Jasmine finds it truly rewarding to laugh, cry, and feel with her patients. Since being in NYC, Jasmine has recently welcomed her second child and balances her work with pumping and traveling. She is also an avid beach-goer, loves experimental cooking, has a twin sister, and is a retired flutist.

Dhayana is a Dominican writer, poet, and spoken word artist. She started to write around the age of nine when she lived in the Dominican Republic, then continued after moving to the United States in 2009. She explores different topics such as growth, love, loss, sexuality, healing, and spirituality. Her work has been published on the Soul Candy Anthology by Writer’s Pocket, Issue 5 of the International Magazine Potted Purple, The Dominican Writers Collective Newsletter, Robert Writes Production, and the Kindness Book by UNESCO MGIEP and Penguin India Publishing.

Dhayana hopes to continue to share her words with the world and create a space where people feel safe with their emotions. Her first poetry collection Agridulce was published in Fall 2021 and it is a combination of emotions, thoughts, and experiences.

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Jay Davis is a writer, designer, and illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY. She has done work for NPR, Malala Fund, Nasdaq, and Glastonbury Music Festival. Her debut children's book, GIRL DAD is scheduled to be released March 29, 2022, with the subsequent BOY DAD releasing that summer.

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Ashika Kalra is currently Chief of Staff at First Round Capital, an early-stage venture fund in New York where she has the opportunity to meet the game-changing entrepreneurs of our generation and collaborate with them as they launch their vision from the ground up. Prior to First Round, Ashika worked at the Zuckerberg Institute, where she supported the founding team’s mission of democratizing access to entrepreneurial education for innovators around the world.

Ashika also has a deep interest in public policy and education. She launched a non-profit, The Vidya Project, focused on integrating action-oriented learning and high-impact mentorship in classrooms across India and West Africa. She is a Tedx Speaker and has been recognized as a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum. She recently released her first book, Behind Her Vision: Women of New York City, co-authored with her dear friend, Jade Chen.

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Hanieh is a senior user experience researcher and designer at YLabs, a non-profit design studio working to improve health and economic opportunity for youth. She uses Human-Centred Design to solve complex social challenges to produce impactful and equitable outcomes for communities. She is also the co-founder of Thousand&One, a social enterprise that supports women of colour to thrive in their professional lives, through community, healing, and growth.

With a background in the arts and journalism, and an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of York in England, she approaches design challenges through an inter-disciplinary and equity-focused lens. She is a UX instructor at Juno College of Technology and a design mentor at Springboard. She runs on coffee, enjoys climbing peaks, and reading a good book.

Jaycina Almond is mom to a spirited 4 year old named Syx and founder of Tender - a nonprofit bridging the financial gap and providing a safety net for single mamas living on the margins in Atlanta. In 2020, Tender was able to distribute over $83,000 to mothers across the city - keeping 78 families in their homes, paying 41 utility bills, providing 38 mamas with grocery store gift cards, and delivering diapers + wipes to 183 families. Jaycina can be found reading in the corner somewhere most days, will happily admit she has absolutely zero rhythm, and is a baby abolitionist.

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Sarah Kinsumba is a Stylist/Costume Designer based in Los Angeles with over a decade of expertise working in the styling and costume design industry. She is originally from Paris, France, and began assisting fashion editors at WAD MAGAZINE FRANCE, before growing her personal portfolio, working on commercials and magazines under her own name. Sarah now lives in LA and works as a stylist for some of the world's most recognizable brands like Apple, Netflix, Toyota, Isabel Marant, and the list continues to grow. She also works on a tv series that was shown at Sundance and on tv networks such as FX.

Today we get to hear from Tori Smith! She is a healthy lifestyle enthusiast. Her primary focus is on changing the narrative around healthy eating while encouraging others to explore a plant-based way of life. Through her own health journey, she founded Ninth Wonder, the mother brand of Dream Cream, a brand that specializes in creating plant-based alternatives for your favorite sweet treats.

This week we get to speak with Oulimata Gueye! She is a Senegarujin (Senegalese living in Japan), Education Enthusiast, Pan-Africanist, People lover, writer when she is inspired, Book dragon, girl with 1000 questions, the human equivalent of a hyphen (she’s still deciding if she likes that expression, but it describes her well). We discuss her experience living abroad and so much more!

This week's episode features Tie Velasco! She is a philanthropy consultant who helps emerging leaders gain the knowledge and support they need to establish and lead transformational organizations and conduct mission-driven giving.

Erica Austin is a powerhouse public speaker with a leading and recognized philosophy of building up youth to harness their power and design fulfilling, healthy, and positive lives for themselves every day. Having published her first book at the age of nine, Erica Austin has dedicated her life to youth development through empowerment and faith.

Today we get to learn from Imani Oakley! She has worked in government and politics her entire career. From federal to state government to non-profits and campaigns, Imani is a relentless fighter for leftist policies. Imani is also a New Jersey native and host of the video podcast Upfront NOW! on Eyes on NJ News.