Breaking Distance host and Beauty for Freedom Founder, Monica Watkins, sits down for an intimate conversation with model, activist, mother, designer, and Beauty for Freedom ambassador and Project Manager, Joanna Pauline. They discuss motherhood, working with survivors of human trafficking, and Joanna's upcoming projects.

Breaking Distance host and Beauty for Freedom Founder, Monica Watkins, interviews Associate Director of The Racial Justice Fund at Change.org - Rashawn Davis and Senior Campaigner at Change.org - Christina Martin. Their conversation covers racial justice, their lives during the pandemic, how to become a changemaker and their personal journeys in the world of politics and social justice. Change.org is the world’s platform for change. On Change.org, people everywhere are starting campaigns, mobilizing supporters, and working with decision makers to drive solutions.

Breaking Distance host and Beauty for Freedom Founder, Monica Watkins, sits down for an intimate conversation with Mrs. Anna Ptak approaching subjects such as the intersection between human trafficking and pornography, federal and state HT policy, re-exploitation of survivors and children and human trafficking.

An intimate chat with Savhera Co-Founder, Dr. Vanessa Bouche, and Survivor Leader and Savhera Employee, Ava. Savhera is an essential oil brand providing products that contribute to wellness, justice and sustainability by providing dignified employment to brave survivors of sexual exploitation in India and the United States.

In our 5th Episode in our Breaking Distance series "On Race, Art and Everything In-Between", a collection of conversations focusing on investigating the systemic racism plaguing our world today. We are creating a space to uplift diverse communities while spotlighting people of color changing and shaping our world through philanthropy, the arts and activism. This episode features London Based Artist, Journalist and Filmmaker Darnell Christie. We approach being Black in media and what that experience feels like, his upbringing in London, what inspires him to create, his Vlog series “Black in Colombia” and his podcast “Darnell Responds”.

In our 4th Episode in our Breaking Distance series "On Race, Art and Everything In-Between", a collection of conversations focusing on investigating the systemic racism plaguing our world today. We are creating a space to uplift diverse communities while spotlighting people of color changing and shaping our world through philanthropy, the arts and activism. This episode features Lisa Dent, the Executive Director of Artspace New Haven, a visionary and dynamic non-profit organization championing emerging artists and building new audiences for contemporary art. Lisa speaks about her experiences as a curator, Executive Director, gallery owner and woman of color in the art world and the challenges she's faced along with the triumph and hope.

Our Breaking Distance team had the honor of interviewing Bil Donovan, one of today's most accomplished and revered fashion illustrators. He is a respected educator and author and has traveled the world as a global artist and spokesperson for companies like Christian Dior. Bil speaks about his passion for creating and how it all started, his love of educating, fostering and nurturing the next generation of artists and his activism and newest protest artwork series #LiberatorToo, honoring Black Lives.

Our Breaking Distance team had the honor of featuring an amazing organization and program on the show last week, Margaret's Place (A program of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation), discussing how school programming and youth have been pivoting throughout the global pandemic and we had an opportunity to learn more about the programs provided for youth in New York, Los Angeles and Cincinnati. Safe At Home provides healing services to youth who have been traumatized by exposure to violence including domestic violence, child abuse, teen dating abuse, and sexual assault in order to empower them to live healthy lives free of violence. Their mission is to educate to end the cycle of domestic violence and save lives. And as a program of Safe at Home, Margaret’s Place is a multifaceted school-based program created with the understanding that protective factors can decrease or mitigate the harm associated with exposure to violence and complex trauma. The program has several master’s level counselors to help children to strengthen their resilience, let them know that they are not alone, and underscore that the violence they have suffered is not their fault– all while providing a safe place in the school. We were joined by Jennifer Herbert, the Associate Vice President of Programs at Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. Jennifer has over 15 years of clinical experience as an art therapist and trainer in New York City, working with children, families, and communities affected by trauma, violence, and homelessness. In her current role at the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, she addresses the cumulative effects of isolation and complex trauma, with an emphasis on prevention and intervention, and works to build and cultivate relationships with participants of the program as well as various community partners. and David Sewsankar, an Alumni Intern of IS 143. David joined the Safe At Home team in 2016 as an Alumni Intern. In that role, he has shaped and led the organization’s Perspectives With Equal Respect (P*WER) curriculum, a workshop facilitated by young men for young men that explores the role of gender and stereotypes in gender-based violence. He also facilitates groups, creates new workshops, and mentors current middle- and high-school students in Margaret’s Place programs.

Our Beauty for Freedom, Breaking Distance Podcast Team sat down with Beauty for Freedom Ambassador, Global Artist , Humanitarian and Multi-faceted Musician Scarlett de la Torre for a candid discussion about how her music has led her down a path of sound healing, her work during the COVID Crisis, activism around the fight to end sex trafficking globally and support for the civil uprising around Black Lives Matter.

Our Beauty for Freedom, Breaking Distance Podcast Team sat down for a candid discussion about the history of San Francisco Pride, Queer Culture, Activism and the Influence of The Arts and Music with Artist, “Credit in the Straight World” Film Director, and “Nervous Breakdowns” Band Founder Keala Ramos, a Nonprofit Industrial Complex Rabble-Rouser Ana "Smitty" Smith and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy a Transgender Activist, Advocate and the Executive Director of the Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat & Historical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat & Historical Center’s (a.k.a. “House of GG”) mission is to create programs, services, and resources that positively impact the lives, history, and visibility of Transgender, gender-questioning, and gender-nonconforming people. They do this through programs that promote healing justice, resilience, and organizing among our communities, particularly by and for transgender women of color, to remove barriers that inhibit our survival.

Our Beauty for Freedom, Breaking Distance Podcast Team sat down with SASHA Center Founder and CEO, Kalimah Johnson, LMSW to discuss trauma-informed care for African-American survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence. Kalimah has transformed what trauma-informed care for African-American survivors of sexual violence looks like and has been a trailblazer in her field creating the The Sasha Center Model:Black Women's Triangulation of Rape, a paper outlining the need for Culturally Specific Services for African-American Self-Identified Sexual Assault Survivors and the needs organizations like SASHA have around Policies and Funding.

Breaking Distance continues our special series addressing the police brutality and widespread systemic racism representing historical and current sources of trauma in communities of color. We decided to go back to our communities of artists and thought leaders and have started a special #BreakingDistance Podcast series discussing Race Relations, political activism and the role of the arts and communication in healing; the second episode in this series features singer, songwriter and activist Lisa Ramey. This is our response to our current civil rights crisis, the collective trauma caused by inequality and violence, and processing our emotions throughout. Evolution is the ongoing process of change. If we want to consciously and intentionally change our social systems, we need to talk together about it. The more inclusive, wise and productive our conversations are, the more powerful and positive the changes will be. - The Role of Conversation in Evolution (The Co-Intelligence Institute)

Our Breaking Distance Team had an opportunity to share an evening with the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking, an organization that has been a beacon of light and hope to many and an organization whose Coalition Members Paying It Forward Foundation have served as a mentor to our organization Beauty for Freedom for years. Our BD team spoke with Ingrid Johnson, NJCAHT Board Member and Co-Chair of the NJCAHT Healthcare Committee, Wincey Terry-Bryant Founder of Nanababies, Winceyco, and Co-Chair of the NJCAHT Arts Committee and Gina Cavallo NJCAHT Boardmember, Consultant, Speaker, Advocate and Survivor of Human Trafficking. These incredible women inspired us with their passion for freedom and their generous hearts for supporting victims and survivors. We would like to use this podcast as a way to honor the NJCAHT and all they represent. Please join us in supporting their expansion by voting for a rebrand which could health them grow. Support their work to help survivors with your vote today and everyday until June 11th, 2020: https://thinkso.com/giveabrand Help give this nonprofit a $50k rebrand via “Give a Brand”.

It's been such an emotional and confusing time for our communities and Beauty for Freedom wanted to address the police brutality and widespread systemic racism representing historical and current sources of trauma in communities of color. We decided to go back to our communities of artists and thought leaders and have started a special #BreakingDistance Podcast series discussing Race Relations, political activism and the role of the arts and communication in healing; the first episode features Miguel Carter-Fisher, Professor at Virginia State University and Artist (Narrative Painter). This is our response to our current civil rights crisis, the collective trauma caused by inequality and violence, and processing our emotions throughout. Evolution is the ongoing process of change. If we want to consciously and intentionally change our social systems, we need to talk together about it. The more inclusive, wise and productive our conversations are, the more powerful and positive the changes will be. - The Role of Conversation in Evolution (The Co-Intelligence Institute)

Our Breaking Distance Team sat down with Art Therapist Dawn Ippoliti LCAT, ATR-BC for Mental Health Awareness Month. We had an opportunity to delve into her practice as an art therapist and speak about mental health issues people are dealing with, particularly in regards to quarantine and the lock-down. Dawn is a licensed, board certified, art therapist and registered with the American Art Therapy Association. For almost twenty years Dawn has worked in a variety of clinical settings and institutions both in California and New York, providing art therapy and mental health services to children and families in crisis. Currently, she works as the program supervisor for New York University Art Therapy in the Schools Program providing supervision and trainings to school art therapists and their graduate level interns.

Breaking Distance – Mental Health Awareness Episode – A Candid Discussion with Loan Chabanol and Sabah Cheraiet Our Breaking Distance team connected with Global Artists and Passionate Buddhists Loan Chabanol and Sabah Cheraiet for a candid discussion in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and featuring topics such as Ego, Compassion for Self, Spirituality and Creating during the Pandemic. Topics all relevant to the human condition and connecting us all. Ego is who you tell yourself you are. ... Buddhist scholars agree that the ego is a mental construct we need to navigate the world. While in the Buddhist context you may more often run into the phrase “the sense of separate self,” its core meaning is very similar to the Western concept of ego. Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Kristin Neff has defined self-compassion as being composed of three main components – self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. (Sources Wikipedia and selfawareness.blog)

This is a very special series for Breaking Distance in Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and Memorial Day featuring Dr. Richard Kimball Watkins, Decorated Vietnam Veteran (Purple Heart and the Air Medal with Eight-Oak Leaf Clusters), Activist and Retired Educator, to all of our fallen heroes, their families, all of our active military and veterans. We thank you for your service, your sacrifice and the freedoms you afford us all. We are grateful! "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." – Martin Luther King, Jr. This candid discussion with Dr. Watkins is near and dear to our hearts as he is the father of our co-host Monica Watkins. They share an important conversation about the experience of African-American members of the military throughout the years and, subsequently, the treatment of many veterans coming home from Vietnam.

Our Breaking Distance team sat down with Global Artist, Writer, Singer, Songwriter, and Producer Jasmïn for a candid discussion about how she started creating, her passion for writing and becoming her own woman and artist. This Parisian artist credits her Buddhist background with inspiring her writing and music to delve deeper into her thoughts and feelings. There is a vulnerability and sincerity that permeates every aspect of her compositions. Jasmïn performs three songs from her last two EPs “Bloom” her most recent release and “Dive” her release from 2018.

Our Breaking Distance Team sat down with the Founder and Creative Director of The BMS, Brian Michael Stanziale. (words via The Chic Website) Brian Stanziale doesn’t get starstruck. After having lived in Chicago, New York, then back to Chicago, after styling, designing, and even opening a clothing store, he’s seen enough and done enough to know not to get too excited over a celebrity sighting. And while he may not get excited over seeing an A-lister walk down the street, we are certainly excited about his latest venture into the world of home décor: one-of-a-kind embellished books. The search for the coffee table book can be very tricky, like finding that perfect pair of jeans or choosing a paint color that you can live with for years to come. It takes a certain panache, an undeniable curative eye, and good helping of style. Luckily, Stanziale pieces bring all those to the table and an extra dose of glitz and glamour. Situated up north in Edgewater, is a tastefully decorated apartment in which Brian Stanziale creates his books, THE BMS. Their covers range, as does what is inside the book. What they do have in common as an artisanal quality that’s just as much unique as it is eye-catching. His pieces are bold and beautiful, chic and artisanal. They’re the perfect conversation starter that gives your home décor an added edge. From Iman to aliens, Stanziale’s books range in content and in character. How can you go wrong with David Bowie dripping in gold?

Our Breaking Distance Team has a really candid and sincere conversation with global musician and humanitarian Paul Beaubrun about Haitian culture and life growing up in Haiti, his newest album "Rasanbleman - Red Moon", creative energy, music and activism. We even discuss human trafficking and sexual violence throughout the world and, particularly, in Haiti. Paul blesses our team with a musical performance and showcase that took our breath away! You will not want to miss this very special episode!