In this episode, Imani joins Jenn to share how being an educator led her to becoming a wellness practitioner, how she holds space for women and mothers while continuing her yoga classes, and how discipline in life, her health and body has pushed her to grow in ways she never thought she could ✨ Imani Semien, originally from Opelousas, Lousiana moved to Houston, Texas for better financial opportunities in her career. Moving to Houston opened so many doors for her as an educator and wellness practitioner. Along with teaching 7th grade English Language Arts, Imani is also a space holder to women and mothers, yoga instructor and the founder of Mind, Body and Movement (@mindbodyandmovement)! You can follow Imani for all @mindbodyandmovement upcoming events like:
Don’t forget to follow @raregemspodcast to get the latest info about upcoming episodes! If you enjoyed the show, please give us a 5-star rating or leave a positive review! See you on our next episode! Enjoy! ⭐️
In this episode, we get to explore one of Houston’s well-known CrossFit coaches and your host’s personal coach, Juan Martinez! Juan has over 8 years of coaching experience in CrossFit, group training, personal training, gymnastics, and Olympic weightlifting. He is currently a coach at Urban Athletics and Lagom Fit, both located in Houston. Juan joins the podcast to discuss what discipline means to him, his fitness journey from an athlete to a coach, how important mental toughness is when working out, and tips on how to live a positive, healthier lifestyle 💪🏽
If you would like to connect with Juan and schedule an in-person training session with him, feel free to reach out to him on Instagram at:
Don’t forget to follow us @raregemspodcast on Instagram to get the latest info about upcoming episodes! Lastly, if you enjoyed the show, please give us a 5-star rating or leave a positive review! See you in our next episode! Enjoy! ✨
Mara is a baker, a cook, and a weekend comedian (LOL jk)! But seriously y'all, Mara has such an amazing, hilarious, charismatic personality. Mara joins Jenn to discuss the origin of her self-proclaimed nickname, how her path came to cross Jenn and her family's lives and her story in the LGBTQ+ community. Jenn and Mara connect on relationships stories, struggles, chismes, and much more! Mara opens up about her current relationship, living together and how that's pushed both individuals to grow, how she feels loved and shares love, and where her passion from cooking and baking began! Several small family business where mentioned throughout the episode:
This episode was full of laughs, stories, and just a good ol'hangout. Enjoy!
Alejandra (AKA "The Queen" AKA "Ale") is one of my best friends, a former teacher, and new doggie mum to Charlie boy. Ale joins Jenn to discuss the fears/reservations of podcasting or being recorded in general, reminisce on some fun times, explore the pronunciation of words in Spanish and English and how that impacted life in middle school and even now as grown women. Jenn shares how she struggles with friendships and Ale shares how she's been able to maintain the same friendship circle since middle school, both connecting on what pulled them to become very close friends! Ale opens up about the societal pressure on finding a passion, a career, a hobby, without it turning into a burden or responsibility. Ale and Jenn talk about how COVID impacted their friendship, the dream of living outside of Houston, and how real the fear of holding back in experiences and life can be. Ale shares her dreams of one day living outside of Texas, how the guilt of leaving home affects everyone differently, and how her and Jenn react when facing uncomfortable situations in an unknown place with unknown people. Enjoy!
--
Charlie's Corner: @charliescorner__
Ale's Cooking Page: @alelizz.cooks
Dr. Cindy Dafashy is a wife, a mother of two, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and lastly, a Family Medicine physician who recently opened a direct primary care clinic in Pasadena,TX called Archway Family Medicine. She is fiercely passionate about two things, and that is her family and patient care. In this episode, Dr. Dafashy joins Jenn to discuss her time and studies at Rice University (which Jenn tokens it as the Harvard of the South), how at the beginning of her college career she thought she was going to be an English major and her unique passion in the written word along with linguistics. Dr. Dafashy shares how her background in Cognitive Science led her to medical school, her journey in getting rejected then accepted into medical school, and the impact her journey into medical school had on her once she was accepted. Now as a Family Medicine physician, Dr. Dafashy is hoping to shake up the healthcare industry by practicing under this new model of primary care called direct primary care, or DPC. Dr. She hopes to bring medicine back to what it used to be: a true relationship between a patient and their doctor, but with a modern twist, by offering virtual visits, phone calls and even direct texting access. DPC clinics work for the patient, not the insurance company, by using a monthly membership model, rather than billing insurance, so all patients are welcome, whether they are insured or not.
Dr. Dafashy grew up in San Antonio in a family of six, as a first generation Ecuadorian-American. She first came to Houston for college, where she attended Rice University. Thus began her journey around Texas. She went on to obtain a Master's degree in Fort Worth, did some work as a research associate in Galveston for UTMB, before then starting medical school at Texas A&M, where she studied in both Bryan and Temple, TX. She then completed her Family Medicine residency training back at UTMB in Galveston and has planted her roots in Houston for her professional practice. She can't wait to see where this next stage of her journey takes her!
You can follow Dr. Dafashy and her clinic on instagram @archwayfamilymed or at https://www.archwayfamilymed.com/
If you like/love/enjoy the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Ulyssis is the host of Inside the Northside Podcast, a Houston podcast where Ulyssis and his guests talk about everything AND nothing at the same time. Ulyssis joins Jenn to discuss the numerous (some weird) ways to pronounce his name, the evolution of each of their podcasting equipment, and how Ulyssis handled podcasting during the peak of COVID-19. Ulyssis shares what inspired him to start Inside the Northside Podcast and how the music scene contributed to that, how meaningful his podcast episode became to his listeners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and why he LOVES podcasts. Ulyssis and Jenn connect on their love for Houston, especially their like for a local coffee shop - Coral Sword, and Ulyssis shares how the name for his podcast came to be. Ulyssis explains his podcasting process from equipment to how he schedules guests and even the software he uses to record and edit which shows how open he is to sharing all his podcast knowledge with other fellow first-time podcasters! Enjoy!
Make sure to listen to Inside the Northside Podcast at: www.linktr.ee/ITNS
And if you're in the East End area in Houston, make sure to check out Coral Sword - https://www.coralsword.com/
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
A dynamic, consummate and passionate businesswoman across the field of social services for more than a decade, Nicole Mays-Jackson is reengineering the systemic structure of how fostering, adoption, therapeutic services and the social services profession operates. Nicole is a wife, a mother, a philanthropist, and the CEO of 1 Care Premier Services and 1 Care Premier Medical Supply. A proud two-time alum from Grambling State University Nicole earned her bachelors and masters in social work from the prestigious HBCU. As the youngest woman of color to own and successfully manage a business providing home and community-based services, foster care and adoption services, Nicole is a pioneer in her field. Nicole joins Jenn to discuss personal fitness commitments, the importance of an accountability buddy at the gym, and how both love morning workout routines. Jenn and Nicole talk about how children can and are positively impacted by mothers who are also business owners, how their work ethic is correlated to being raised by single-mothers, and they share the love for their mommas. Nicole explains life in college and her beginnings in pageants, where her passion in fashion comes from, and how she met her now husband. Nicole, a self-described woman of faith and prayer, also encourages the women she mentors to never forget their spiritual foundation.
If you would love to connect with Nicole, make sure to follow her at @nicolemaysjackson and @1CarePremier.
Website: https://www.1carepremierservices.com/
Make sure to check out her latest book now available on Amazon, The Power of a Thriving Mindset: Lessons in Life, Leadership & Faith.
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Patty Williams-Downs is a mother, a mentor, an entrepreneur, and the Executive Director of OneGoal, a college access and success organization for students from low-income communities. Patty joins Jenn to discuss her collegiate athlete journey at Fordham University and how much the game (basketball) has changed with to skillsets and leadership mentality, how achievement can be viewed with higher value than compassion, and what it means to be in community with others and uplifting yourself. Patty and Jenn talk about shame and guilt, how those feelings come up in their lives as women, as former educators, as high-achievers. Patty explains how she has learned to actively work on emotional and mental rest, how she navigates life with and without systems, and how she has to continuously remind herself that everything is okay, everything will be okay. Enjoy!
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Bryce, a father, a friend, a super-kid at heart. Bryce currently works in residential solar with Sunrun and also teaches early morning bible study at his church! Bryce joins Jenn to discuss the big-move from Texas, how different food in Cali is than in Texas and some of the food he misses the most. Jenn shares her admiration towards Bryce's social media content, more specifically the consistency in posts, pictures, stories, everything that shows what Bryce values in life. Bryce shares how life was for him and his wife, he reminisces on the challenges and beauty of getting married young, starting a family right after, managing different jobs, school, everything in between. Bryce explains the value of "not giving up" with marriage and relationships, how for him its the hardest yet the best thing in the world, and how life can be funny when he realizes that his oldest daughter is the same age he was when he had her. Bryce shares how even though he is not in an "official" education role, he continues to find ways to teach and how rewarding that has been doing it at his church. In the end, Bryce and Jenn share beliefs, thoughts and advice all what faith means to each of them. What an episode! Enjoy!
If you would love to connect with Bryce, make sure to follow him at:
IG: @livewong
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Festus is the second of four children born to immigrant parents, he is a father, an innovator, an authored entrepreneur, and the founder of Laddering Your Success (LYS).
Festus joins Jenn to discuss the creation and inspiration to his educational technology company titled Laddering Your Success (LYS), how Wes, a connector between Jess and Festus, became a key partner early on in this company, and what drove Festus to create Laddering Your Success. Festus shares how early in life, due to an unfortunate turn of events, both parents passed away during his teen years which forced him to push forward as a first generation, minority, and non-traditional student with no direction or guidance. Festus and Jenn talk about how while achieving academic success, Festus realized the lessons he had learned in overcoming difficult life circumstances could help others do the same. He went on to join the military, assisting over 15 students to enroll in college and earn scholarships and loan repayment programs totaling over $450,000. He also earned nearly $90,000 in scholarships for his own educational endeavors and in the end, he was inspired and motivated to fund Laddering Your Success. What an episode! Enjoy!
If you would love to connect with Festus, make sure to follow him at:
IG: @beknowdo_lys
FB: facebook.com/ladderingyoursuccess
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladderingyoursuccess/
P.S. If you'd like to learn more about LYS' app, please click here!
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Nataisa Holmes AKA Holmessss, is originally from New Jersey by way of Charlotte, North Carolina , and graduated from Winston-Salem State University having majored in Health Care Management Major. Holmes joins Jenn to discuss their curiosity and pursuit in creative spaces like podcasting and youtube-ing, they throw ideas on what these outlets can focus on like cooking, cleaning, pups, and they touch on the importance of having FUN while trying out these new endeavors. Jenn shares how she handles the recording of each episode which are filled with anxiety, excitement and little bit of avoidance, but once recorded and in the moment, relief overcomes her. Holmes shares her story on becoming a homeowner followed by all the emotions a big step like that comes with, what she's learned from living with roommates and what kind of job she had while living on campus at Winston-Salem State University (HBCU baby!!!). Holmes and Jenn bond over their pups, Payton and Kovu, how Holmes handles life with Payton, her traveling pup, and she shares a few tips on how to better take care of a Kovu to Jenn. Holmes talks about what led her to join teaching at Houston,TX, how she is a HUSTLAAAA at heart, and Jenn shares why Holmes will always have a special place in her heart. Holmes and Jenn lose it over their time as teachers, the crazy-ness that it was life in those years, and how no matter what, they always, ALWAYS showed up. Periodt. And lastly, Holmes opens up about love, relationships, learning how to open up to others and communicate feelings, thoughts and expectations. Enjoy!
If you would love to connect with Holmes, make sure to follow her at:
IG: @_drholmes
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Kimberly - a wife, a mom, and an absolute fitness lover. Kimberly AKA Kim works full-time in the oil and gas industry and also teaches spin at CycleCar! Kim joins Jenn to discuss family dynamics, growing up with divorced parents, growing up in the South and how unique yet similar their upbringing was. Kim and Jenn talk about parenting, the pressure of modeling what it means to be a "good person" to children, and they get to share each other's earliest childhood memory. Jenn shares her admiration towards Kim's social media content, more specifically her Instagram account that is focused on health, body empowerment, and the love for fitness (any kind). Kim shares where she draws inspiration to create content for her social media platforms, how her fitness journey began out of curiosity in wanting to try something new hence the CrossFit journey, and she has been an athlete and active from a young age as a former ice-skater. Kim explains how staying fit enhances her daily performance rather than exhausting her energy, the types of meals she fuels her body with along with how often she eats on the daily, and what she does to stay consistent with her meals. Kim talks about her relationship pre-babies and post-babies and how things have changed for both, her and her husband. In the end, the conversation was WAY TOO F*CKIN good Jenn forgot the lightning round of questions, but alas - the day was saved by editing! Enjoy!
If you would love to connect with Kim, make sure to follow her at:
IG: @spinwithKJ - Make sure to check out the links on her profile to try a FREE class at CycleBar!
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
AlejandroAlejandro (he/him/él) is an advocate of educational equity, an avid reader, and more importantly, a proud product of Mexican immigrants. Originally from Houston, Alejandro has spent the last three years working in education as an English as a Second Language teacher. In his capacity as an educator, Alejandro has assumed roles that have allowed him to foster relationships with community agencies to create school systems that act as bastions of liberation for students of color. He is passionate about transformative justice and seeks to design systems of care that are culturally competent and urge us to reimagine accountability practices beyond the violent mechanisms created by the state. Alejandro dreams of a world grounded in empathy, compassion, and liberation.
If you would love to connect with Alejandro, make sure to follow him at:
I've done work in community organizing and advocacy. I also love to read and spotlight books that contain narratives that are often erased from history - here is my instagram: @alejandro.reads
Did you know that 1 in 6 people are active journalers right now?
.
It's okay, I didn't know either :) In this solo episode, I get to talk about my journaling journey, how I got started, why I journal, and I get to share a dream (maybe goal...) for the future! I also share 7 benefits journaling helps with, and whether I've actually benefitted from some of those. Remember - no intro, no music, no guests, just me, simply me, all of me, more than enough me. Here ya go! Listen, like, share, comment, consume, etc. Enjoy!
Boma Cheetham-West is the Founder of BomaCurates LLC, a digital marketing company based in Houston. Throughout her career she’s worked with companies in various industries to develop marketing strategies across digital channels. She specializes in social media strategy, management, and content creation. She received a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and a degree in Marketing from the Bauer College of Business. She was recently selected as one of 50 Black Marketers on the rise by the African American Marketing Association. When she’s not working she enjoys hanging with friends and family, helping out at her church, and listening to music! Boma joins Jenn to discuss each's sense of humor, Boma's sense of style and where it comes from, and how she gets to pick her outfits based on the occasion or location. Boma and Jenn talk about how impactful social media marketing has been in the last few years and how different each platform curates content for its users. Boma shares how she would love to one day be an influencer and talks a little more about a side-project, Boma Curates which turned into her full-time business.
If you would love to connect with Boma, make sure to follow her at:
IG and FB: @Bomacurates
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/boma-cheetham-west
Website: https://bomacurates.com/
Projects Boma would love for you to check out!
Marketing: Historic 3rd Ward Virtual Tour
The tour is a collection of interviews, historical information, storytelling by artists, activists, and community elders, all celebrating the heritage of Houston's Third Ward.Boma developed a comprehensive digital marketing campaign for the first 3 weeks of the launch that included influencer marketing, social media management, Facebook advertising, and email marketing.
Music Curation: Post 21
Post 21 is a comprehensive marketplace that focuses on modern and design forward products from black-owned businesses. Boma curated 4 playlists: One for their launch, for the holiday season, for valentine's day, and for their one-year anniversary. She also wrote blogs for each playlist to describe what they're about!
-----
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Sterling Dodd currently manages Wolf Hill Investments, LLC. Wolf Hill is a CRE private equity firm hyper-focused on the Outdoor Hospitality industry. He received an education from the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, ranked the number two undergraduate entrepreneurship college in the nation by the Princeton Review in 2018. Concurrently, he received a Minor in Military Science and commissioned in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Financial Management Officer. As of January 2021, Sterling assumed the duties as an Aid De Camp for a one star General. Prior to earning his degree, Sterling served as a U.S. Army Airborne Infantryman (Paratrooper) for six years. He deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IX and XI with the 82nd Airborne Division, and once to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom XIII with the 173rd Airborne Brigade (stationed in Vicenza, Italy for three years). Sterling spent a cumulative 26 months in combat and subsequently developed a strong understanding of the immense complexities involved when leading troops and maintaining discipline while operating in dynamic situations.
Sterling joins Jenn to catch up on life, new family updates, and how hard and unequivocally necessary it has been to grow solo and with others. Sterling and Jenn connect on stories/feelings about their fathers, learning to embrace emotional awareness plus what to do about it, and finding acceptance with people and situations. Sterling explains the importance of speaking about mental health within the veteran community, how he started his journey focusing on outdoor hospitality, and how+why he has learned to look at the brighter things in life. Sterling and Jenn discuss how important mental health is, what it means to each of them to lean on their values, and how crazy and unforgettable life as an undergrad while at the University of Houston.
Check out Sterling's 3 part episode with Security Halth! on here.
-
If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!
Hey y'all! I am trying something new this week and would love to share with whoever is out there. (Guests are still joining, don't worry!) It's been a rough couple of days and instead of having a guest on every episode, like I have been doing, I'd like to do a solo episode. No intro, no music, no guests, just me, simply me, all of me, more than enough me. Not sure if this will become a recurring thing (although I would love to see it) but here ya go - listen, like, share, comment, consume, etc. Enjoy!