Thirty-one-year-old Chantal Grant (in featured photo) is a native from the South Side of Chicago. Since she was a high school student at Morgan Park High School, Chantal has advocated for her Roseland community against violence and poverty. She is a strong professional with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science and a concentration on Finance. She earned her degree from Central State University, an HBCU in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Chantal does not direct her attention to one career. She is a multi-tasked individual. She has excelled in the catering and beverage industry through her experience and training to be a licensed mixologist. Chantal is also the co-founder and co-owner of Sugar Rimz Bartending, which has expertise in elite Hospitality services, by which she positively engages Chicago communities and businesses, hosting parties with a purpose. Some of her clients include BMO Harris Bank (Capital Markets), State Representative Camille Lilly, Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Artist Lil Durk, Artist Lil Bibby, Black Ink Chicago, Black Chicago Eats, Bop Biz Center, and Chatham Business Association.
Chantal is also the co-owner and co-founder of Grant Stone LLC. Grant Stone is a real estate development and construction company dedicated to providing quality housing opportunities. In particular, Grant Stone provides well-designed energy-efficient homes for families of low or moderate income. Through Grant Stone she works toward her goal of maintaining neighborhood open spaces and community multi-use and service areas for existing populations. Grant Stone LLC recruits other minority contractors to join revitalization efforts, supports small businesses, and creates jobs within Chicago communities.
LaKeisha Gray-Sewell is a digital storyteller by trade and a globally recognized girls advocate by life assignment. LaKeisha tells us, “My voice is my power, which is fueled by my connection to the stories of our ancestors. I am especially inspired by Ida B. Wells who stated, ‘the people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.’”
LaKeisha firmly believes in the power of Sankofa, reaching back for our historical context to navigate and create a mighty future. She says, “Using media allows us to amplify our stories and righteous narrative. My vision for the future is that Black women move beyond our blocks to embrace healing opportunities, so we can collectively raise the vibration as a village to nurture and liberate Black Girl Magic of today.”
She further states, “Currently, the ‘Girls Like Me Project’ is expanding our digital platforms. So, in addition to our podcast, we are launching a girl’s talk show, GLMPI Talks, which will be produced and hosted by Black girls for Black girls.”
LaKeisha Gray-Sewell is a digital storyteller by trade and a globally recognized girls advocate by life assignment. LaKeisha tells us, “My voice is my power, which is fueled by my connection to the stories of our ancestors. I am especially inspired by Ida B. Wells who stated, ‘the people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.’”
LaKeisha firmly believes in the power of Sankofa, reaching back for our historical context to navigate and create a mighty future. She says, “Using media allows us to amplify our stories and righteous narrative. My vision for the future is that Black women move beyond our blocks to embrace healing opportunities, so we can collectively raise the vibration as a village to nurture and liberate Black Girl Magic of today.”
She further states, “Currently, the ‘Girls Like Me Project’ is expanding our digital platforms. So, in addition to our podcast, we are launching a girl’s talk show, GLMPI Talks, which will be produced and hosted by Black girls for Black girls.”
LaKeisha’s for-profit business, Move Beyond the Block, is also expanding services to offer online courses and digital branding.
Melanie L. Brown is a media
expert. She has worked in all forms of media (Radio, TV, print and social). Her own media company works with clients to help with their social, print, public relations (PR), and visual needs. Melanie is a official photographer and videographer. A few of her photography/videography clients are politicians, artists, various organizations, food companies, clothing lines, and more. Her work has been featured in Rolling Out magazine, Groupon, Ebony Jet, BlackDoctors.org, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Crusaders, Detroit Times, Gospel Tribune, African American Tribune, South Suburban News, Chicago Defender, Vibrant magazine, Truth B Told News, Precious Stones and UStyleU magazine. Melanie has worked in radio as an Executive Producer for Mark Wallace, Rhymefest, and Robin Robinson. Her TV experience has been in front of the camera., She has hosted WCIU U TOO. She has done production work for an upcoming Warner Bros./NBC TV show called Genius Junior. She has acted on TV shows, such as, The Chi, Empire, and American Greed. She was featured on a Franciscan Health commercial. She has also been in two movies. Melanie also worked behind the scenes for various organizations’ video commercials and live streaming video work. She directed and video recorded two TV shows for Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. on the WORD Network and Impact.,
Melanie has regulated for the social media of various people and organizations, including a university, an artist, business stakeholders, restaurants, judicial candidates, a movie, live events, and PR companies. Currently, Melanie teamed up with Afrika Porter to do Public Relations with their company AMPR (Afrika & Melanie Public Relations).
Before Melanie opened her media company she taught for Chicago Public Schools, she worked in Communications for a public health organization doing press releases, photography, creating and executing events, writing newsletters and articles, updating websites, and other public relations duties. She also performed spoken words at various events. Melanie is also a Steve Harvey recognized abstinence speaker, currently being a virgin. She is also a two-time award-winning media activist and rising leader for the community.
Most notably, Melanie is known for her help in organizing, along with the Black Heroes Matter (BHM) Coalition, to get the founder of Chicago (Jean Pointe Baptiste DuSable) due honor by renaming Lake Shore Drive to Jean Pointe Baptiste DuSable Drive. Melanie also won a “40 under 40 Young Powerful Woman” Award (2018). She received recognition as a photographer by the National Association of Black Journalists in 2020. She received recognition on FOX 32 News, CBS 2 News, and NBC 5 News for her photography. And she was the winner of “Best Photography/Videography Business Award” in 2020 by The Black Mall.
Eva Maria Lewis is a self-titled, socio-cultural architect; an award-winning human rights
advocate; and an organizer, writer, and artist from the South Side of Chicago. Eva Maria founded the Free Root Operation (FRO) in 2015 when she was a high schooler. Through FRO, she works to intercept poverty induced gun violence in her city through community Eva Maria uses her words to create avenues of liberation and justice. Her 2017 TEDx Teen Talk, explaining the origins of gun violence in Chicago, has garnered millions of views across various media platforms.
In 2020, she worked with the family and friends of Breonna Taylor to honor Breonna’s life and legacy on what would have been her 27th birthday. Through this, she encouraged
millions to not let Breonna’s life be lost in vain. In a quest to shapeshift adversity into liberation, Eva Maria’s advocacy has been amplified through Adobe, Teen Vogue, Participant Media, Complex, and more. Her work has taken her from the United States to the United Nations, to Paris, allowing her to enact change on a global scale. She has received numerous honors, including the “Princeton Prize for Race Relations” and the “Reebok Human Rights Award.” Eva Maria recently completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at The University of Pennsylvania.
DeAnna McLeary Sherman
is the CEO and Co-Founder of True Star, a non-profit media company and digital agency led by youth. True Star’s mission is to provide
training and real-world work experience, which teaches youth to create, develop, and market digital content on platforms, empowering them to forge their own paths. DeAnna has provided life-changing professional development and employment opportunities through paid media and marketing job training programs to over 10,000 Chicago southside and westside youth.
Since 2004, True Star has served as the ultimate “For Us By Us” youth ran media brand. True Star was ingeniously designed to champion Chicago’s most underserved youth
demographic to become the next generation of journalists, broadcasters, podcasters, videographers, photographers, audio engineers, influencers, content creators, and
entrepreneurs. True Star trains our youth to have the skills and social consciousness to capture the most authentic and inclusive narratives that best informs, engages, and
empowers our most underserved communities. True Star is currently working to purchase a building in South Shore to
build a state-of-the-art training center and creative studio.
This would allow True Star to make a greater impact, as they provide arts, education, and youth development job training programs, giving even more young people the high-demand skills needed in the digital content field that is growing and transforming exponentially.
Sherman is a 2019 Google Impact Grant Challenge Winner, a 2017 Social Venture Partners (SVP) pitch competition winner, and a 2016 Honoree recipient of the State of
Illinois’ Office of Comptroller’s Vanguard Award. A native Chicagoan, Sherman holds a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in Business Administration
from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). She resides in South Shore with her husband and three daughters.
Entrpreneur T.S. Douglas is
a Chicago-based educator who teaches Life Sciences – Nutrition, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology – at the Collegiate level. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, Masters of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Microbial Biology and
Masters of Arts in Teaching Secondary Education.
She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Foundations. T.S. Douglas so enjoys studying nutrition and understanding how to feed cells that she literally wrote a couple of textbooks. Cellular
Nutrition and the Science of Health (Kendall Hunt) center on the structure, function and purpose of food, digestion, and physical activity, along with their impact on our
bodies. Her love for science and education allows her to make sense of nutrition for the betterment of who we are. T.S. says,
“We should feel great about the food choices we make, knowing that we’re giving our cells what they need every single day. But, in order to do so, we have to change our mindsets so we can be more aware of what we need to eat, how we should eat, and why we eat in the first place.»
As the innovator of Fresh, Raw & Natural LLC (FRN), T.S. Douglas enjoys bringing her academic experiences to the public. In 2020 and 2021, T.S. worked through the City
Colleges of Chicago to provide nutrition seminars for the Chicago Police Department. She was also featured on a segment for the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s
STEAM series.
T.S. currently produces FRN products through the shared kitchen space at The Quarry Chicago. You can find some
of her articles in issues of the South Side Drive magazine. Douglas’ love of creativity isn’t just for scientific pursuits either. She earned a Bachelor’s of Art degree in Fashion
Design. Her other interests include knitting; puzzling, and physical fitness for mental health. Her goal is to master as much credible information as she can, reflecting her talents and expertise; then, pass it down along the way for the betterment of who we are as a species. Contact T.S. Douglas at FreshRawNatural@gmail.com. Discover more about Fresh, Raw & Natural at www.
FreshRawNatural.com
Affectionately known as Sista Afrika and The Queen of Hyde Park, Afrika Porter is the youngest of six children born to Rev. Dr. Kwame John R. Porter and June Porter. Her father, Dr. Porter, is a retired pastor, educator, and author of over six books. Her mom, June, retired from educating adults at Literacy Chicago, teaching them how to read and loving it. Sista Afrika is a great example of the apple not falling too far from the tree. She is an educator and activist. She is also a five-time Emmy Award-Winning executive producer and writer of Chicago at the Crossroad (www.chicagoatthecrossroad.com). Sista Afrika started at The National Rainbow PUSH
Coalition as a press associate. She registered over 50,000
new voters during that time. She is a community developer,
public speaker, and has a marketing, promotions, and a
music production background. Sista Afrika, being a PUSH committee member and the Black Heroes Matter public
relations specialist is also instrumental in the renaming of Chicago’s historic Lake Shore Drive to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Drive.
Sista Afrika is the CEO of Afrika Enterprises, a full-service
public relations and consulting company with clients from various fields, who are entertainers, authors, artists, CEOs, directors, and owners of business startups and established businesses. She has worked with President Barack Obama, Kanye West, Common, Rhyme Fest, and hip-hop Pioneer/Professor KRS 1, to name a few. She is currently a producer on various podcasts with topics which include education, politics, and entertainment.
Rakaia Jackson, aka Kaia Love, is the Founder and CEO of CreateLife247. CreateLife247 is a spa, where Kaia Love and her staff perform noninvasive techniques to take away unwanted fat and inches off of any particular body part. The CreateLife247
training academy trains others in that field of noninvasive fat reduction. They also sell products, such as, waist beads and bath, body, and beard oil.
Kaia Love is also the founder and CEO of Girl Be-U-tiful. Girl Be-U-tiful’s mission is to inspire, encourage, motivate, and teach young ladies all across the world the importance of knowing they are beautiful. During their empowerment sessions, they dialogue with the young ladies to bring forth
inner wholeness and encourage entrepreneurship. As the young people are taught entrepreneurship, they are also
encouraged to create their own brands.
Kaia recently launched Project Create Life for people who have dealt with sexual, physical, or emotional abuse or are currently dealing with it, in order for them to receive healing,
restoration, self-awareness, and peace. Kaia authored a book and workbook based on her own experience with childhood abuse. The book is The Shattered Innocence
of YaYa, and the companion combination workbook and journal is The 12 Steps of Overcoming Sexual Abuse. Kaia is also an actress, having received her training and initial experience at the ETA Creative Arts Foundation in Chicago, under the tutelage of Runako Jahi. She has performed in a
number of plays in the Chicago area and in other cities.
Dr. Dominica McBride is the founder and CEO of BECOME, which was created to help us transform our reality. Dr. McBride is a leading thinker on how African Americans can evolve beyond the current racial-equity paradigm. She is also a champion of “Culturally Responsive Evaluation,” and a grassroots advocacy strategist. Dr. McBride founded BECOME in 2013 from a belief that communities should be at the center of creating the reality they want and need and that culturally responsive evaluation can be a tool for social justice and helping communities to thrive.
Dr. McBride previously conducted program development and evaluation projects in Arizona, the Chicago area and in Tanzania, Africa. She has worked as a consultant, program director, and adjunct faculty member in the field of community psychology. She has also provided adult, child, and family therapy as well as substance abuse counseling. Dr. McBride is a sought-after national speaker and trainer for communities, coalitions, and organizations. Her published articles and chapters discuss culturally responsive evaluation, cultural competence, prevention, and a variety of other topics.
Awards and honors Dr. McBride has received for her work include: “The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Supervisor of the Year Award,”, “Ed Marciniak Bright Star Award from the Bright Promises Foundation,” American Evaluation Association Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award,” and ARK of St. Sabina Dream Maker Award.” She also served on the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association. Dr. McBride has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Consultation from Arizona State University.
Her plans for her future work in the community include collective transformation and movement, building towards
actualization, which would embody unity, love, and truth.
Chineze Mogbo is
an Artist, Creative
Professional, Safe Space Curator, Model, Kemetic Belly Dancer and teacher, Digital Marketing Strategist, Head Wrap Specialist, Health and Wellness Advocate, Housing Counselor and a proud Mother. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing, she founded Mogbo Marketing, a Digital Marketing Agency. Its mission is to Stimulate organic consumer response through effective social media marketing strategies to increase brand awareness, sales, and customer retention.
Chineze is also the founder of Battle Wrapped, an African culture based fashion business. Its mission is to teach the art and history of global Head wrapping techniques.
In 2018, Chineze was shot in the head and sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). After her recovery, she co-Founded Weaving the Thread Healing Experience (WTT Healing) where she began sharing her traumatic experience with others and the practices that helped in her healing process. Weaving the Thread Healing Experience’s (WTT Healing’s) mission is to provide supportive safe spaces and healing events to the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) community, families, friends, and caretakers.
As an artist, Chineze uses the power of healing practices, art, and other creative avenues to curate Wellness events globally.
