Chinaka Hodge is a poet, author and playwright working in Los Angeles, California.  She began performing spoken word poetry when she was a teenager and performed on two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry, and was the San Francisco Bay Area Teen Poetry Slam Champion in 2001.  She was also a member of the winning Berkeley/Oakland […]

Caitlin Boyle is the founder of Operation Beautiful, a movement to promote self esteem and positive body image. Operation Beautiful encourages girls and women to post anonymous notes in public locations like on the scale at the gym, on a bathroom mirror or inside a fashion magazine for other women to find.  Notes say things […]

Lavonzell Nicholson is the founder of Play NOLA, a sports and social club that is uniting a huge community of young people in the city of New Orleans. Lavonzell played basketball in college but after hurting her leg, she pursued a career in the non-profit world. She discovered a passion for improving communities and working […]

Johanna Long started racing go-carts at the age of 8. She loved racing and moved up to pro am and eventually, late models. She was the youngest and only female to be track champion at Five Flags racetrack in Pensacola, FL, her hometown. Johanna’s passion for racing has taken her all over the country, from […]

Check out our interview with award-winning chef, Allison Vines-Rushing. Growing up, Allison planned to join the Peace Corps. However, she discovered her true passion for cooking and on a whim, she applied to culinary school in New York City. Her passion and talent for cooking led to recognition from respected food critics and publications, including:  […]