Category Archives: SHE loves

More Pictures From SHE Is An Icon

2013 SHE Is An Icon Nominee – Sheena Herod

Sheena Herod

Film & Entertainment Maven Fights To Raise Child Abuse Awareness Atlanta, GA-2012 – In lieu of releasing her sought after novel entitled “A Boy’s Silent Cry”, and in addition to the recent film documentary entitled, “What We Hate To Remember”; Sheena Herod has embarked upon a radical journey to increase awareness regarding child molestation to an elevated level. Using her business savvy mixed with… a determined heart and driven spirit, Sheena decided to launch her non-profit; Broken Silence. Broken Silence is a non-profit organization that serves to give children and parents an outlet to discuss child abuse, molestation, and preventative measures.

“Sexual abuse can affect both young women and young men. In order to end this horrific epidemic we have to be willing to break the silence,” boldly states Sheena. Ms. Herod has already made a grave impact with Broken Silence while engaging with not only her community, but with children and abuse victims nationwide. With child abuse reaching staggering rates across the US, Broken Silence continues to increase awareness one household at a time. “Sheena (SHE-SHE) Herod” is swiftly becoming a household name across the south in both the film and entertainment industry. The successful filmmaker and founder of Tapoo Productions continues to utilize her passion while opening doors and creating opportunities for aspiring talent. Her philanthropic efforts go far from unnoticed as her movements are continuously recognized by both community and industry leaders.

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Dr. Lisa Shannon

Dr. Lisa Shannon

In the words of her peer, “I would like to nominate Dr. Lisa Shannon.  She is the mother of two wonderful children, an African American Studies professor at Georgia State University and the Parent Liaison for KIPP South Fulton Academy.  Over the past two years, I can attest to the fact that she has been a Rock of Gibraltar by standing strong through her tests and trials.  Please submit her name to a category that is similar to a Woman of Valor.”

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Yadiyda Oppong

Yadiyda Oppong

Yadiyda was born in London, England with African Ghanain decent as Sandra Oppong.  She always wanted to be a fashion designer and recieved her first sewing machine at the age of 5.  Her mother was a musician so Yadiyda started her early career as a child making stage clothes.  She soon went to Hounslo College to study clothing construction followed by the London College of Fashion. Of 3000 applicants she was one of 30 that were selected for this program.  She recieved a degree in fashion design, embroidery and art.  Once she completed her degree, she formed a clothing line called YDA.  Yadiyda visited America in 1997 and decided to move YDA to the states and opened a clothing store.  At a Jadakiss Video shoot, she met Molly Jones and partnered with her to create Ventige Soul, which evoled to what we know now as Yadiyda Clothing.  She is a mother of 4 and a fulltime business owner and has gained Icon status in the industry of fashion.

Where passions meet visions and color becomes life. Decorum dresses the art of fashion and fashion decorates the canvas, yadiyda designs this masterpiece—your blueprint… speaking to your senses…your spirit, seeing past the outer being into something more poised for creation. Her cloths accentuate the total self, the inner flame that is thirsting for adventure, for movement—for fashion.

Yadiyda’s quench for avant-garde has resulted in euphoric elements that shape the contours of the body—any body. What you see is beyond what Yadiyda creates for your figure, she embodies your soul. Cloths that fit, that function, that funk. Yadiyda’s garments incorporate various fabrics from cotton to metal and bare every shade of the rainbow because as Yadiyda says, “all colors match, all of them, its just that no one believes that.” But color is only one component with Yadiyda, being sexy and comfortable is a… must as well, “too many women have misconstrued conceptions of themselves, they think comfortable isn’t sexy, mismatched isn’t sexy, but I say it is, I know it is. It’s how I live and how I design my cloths.”

Yadiyda complements the luscious curves of the body, the way the garments are designed and then sewn, match every aspect of the silhouette. yadiyda adds that to your canvas. After all, style and design are about how the look makes you feel, your signature story to the world. yadiyda’s signature is for the contradictory, everyday, occupied woman, who has no time for boundaries

http://yadiyda.com/

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Kerri VirtuousOne

Kerri VirtuousOne

Gaining popularity through her daily Facebook updates of her “fabulous finds”, this entrepreneur’s story shows the power of Social Media combined with the rewards of surrendering to one’s passion.

Kerrie—known by her tribe as VirtuousOne—launched Virtuous Styls, LLC to guide her clients to better shopping and styling experiences with her customized “Style Strategies.” Virtuous Styls was built on Kerrie’s personal and professional mantra: True style must first occur within, then show up outside!

 She’s unique in that way—dreaming up simple edits to common elements, and making them brilliantly different and contagious.

 Kerrie has styled professionals for speaking engagements, video shoots, Photo shoots, Runway Shows, event hosting, and dinner parties.  She’s done live styling at national retailer’s events such as Dillard’s Operation PROM, Atlanta Black Bride Bridal Show, and at niche-boutiques such as Ever Fashion, Bombay Gal, and Envy Boutique in the trendy Little Five Points area of East Atlanta. She has guided small and large groups of eager shoppers through vintage and thrift shops in Atlanta, New York, and Miami.  Known as the go to Stylist for the Chic Boutique Tour in Atlanta

Her Red Suitcase Travels™ gained so much momentum in 2011, she found herself creating impromptu field trips to meet her audience’s persistent requests!

 “I’m loving my journey, and I feel so great about reminding women that they can look and feel good without even having to spend $20! You don’t have to compromise your budget to show your style!”  ~Kerrie

 Kerrie has hosted local Live Styling Workshops  to show women how to Style with their everyday pieces also workshops like Thrifting 101 and  how to be “Fabulous on a budget with Fro Fashion Week 3 years in a row. “Known as the go to girl for Fabulous finds on any budget”

Kerrie’s  eye for great pieces doesn’t stop at thrift or vintage stores, either! She’s been known to go to designer boutiques and assemble perfect combinations for her more discerning, less budget-conscious clients too.

 The results of Kerrie’s one-on-one consultations (live and online), coupled with her group field trips have opened another lane in her journey: spokeswoman of style, aka “spokesstylist”. She serves as a liaison between boutiques and their ideal customers by featuring her favorite pieces from each store on her blog and Facebook Fan Page.

 Daily meditation, long nature walks, avid dancing, and nurturing her spiritual connections is among Kerrie’s  priorities. Based in metro Atlanta, but traveling to a hot shop near you, Kerrie Cooke’s focus is simply the creation of Art using your personal style.  Kerrie reminds her Clients and fans that “Style has no Price Tag”  

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Dr. Taj Anwar-Jackson

Dr. Taj Anwar- Jackson has created an industrious empire and concrete legacy that will be modeled for many future and present-day professional organizers, leaders, and children. Reigning from College Park in Atlanta Georgia, taj has escaped the limitation of  motherhood, marriage, and grassroots organizing that most women are relegated. Instead, she has elevated her vision and mission through numerous platforms important in nation building ranging from education, nutrition, culinary arts, philanthropy, building national and international alliances, collective finance and industry, and modeling. She has a strong presence that exudes confidence, strength, and realness. Her natural beauty is striking and challenges myopic images of beauty.

Unapologetically, she worked to choke all stereotypes by earning her B.A, Masters, and phD in Sociology. Her goals were to make an impingement both in her neighborhood and internationally through her experience and consciousness of important community issues. Her education and vision of what’s needed combined with her alliances with many present day leaders has helped shape her vision in a unique way.  Like many leaders in the 60‘s, she discovered her passion for activism during her educational pursuit. She sacrificed a comfortable college life to devote more time to political causes. This experience helped her know that lifestyle this was her calling. Her activism began with YMCA programming that ranged from a Saturday Breakfast Program for children, Knowledge Ciphers, book programs for poor children to include various homeless food programs.

Under the guidance of her mentor and friend, respected activist Kalonji Jama Changa, taj joined the FTP Movement, Think Conscious Collective, and Black Agenda Family. She continued to elevate her platform as she understood her role in manifesting a solid foundation had come. Understanding the turmoil and humiliation of government assistance programs, she organized and spear-headed her own resource and support organization for women and children called, Mothers of Black/Brown Babies.  taj vowed to make a change defending her Master’s degree thesis on Mother’s of Black/Brown Babies. Doing so, she established the non- profit through her diligence, of which continues to serve families. They offer emergency food and clothes assistance, financial assistance, and educational workshops for incarcerated mothers and children. Her ability is unmatched in making vast progressive change in culture.

Courageously facing the harsh challenges of the community, taj used her educated analysis, action, and example to guide the youth into tackling these very issues themselves. She has worked on all sides of branded themed events which promote self-sufficiency, charity, rites of passage, re-establishing traditions, and saving authentic hip hop music. Integrity and guidance manifested her vision with ‘Crew Love‘, a collective for conscious artists to collaborate and unite under street ethics of hip-hop. Artists are also encouraged to give back to the community thru music and message. She hosts many workshops, classes, and seminars that educate on how to addressracismcritical pedagogypolice brutalityeducation and environmental justice.

taj has works with many great influential leaders such as Shaka At-Thinnin, and Dhoruba Bin Wahad. She has a reputation of charity even to her very last, and admired for her humility. Her undying passion for progress and work ethic has focused her on the work and not recognition. taj has been known to skip award ceremonies and shun accolades for her community work. She has also saved lives in various incidents throughout her lifetime, yet she never told or boasted to anyone.  A writer once wrote about taj: “Even before earning her doctorate in sociology, the 29-year-old was entrenched in community service. It’s a way of life for taj, whose list of activist affiliations hangs longer than her knee-length locks, [but] taj lower-cases her real name to keep things in focus. “I’m not what’s important. It’s the work behind the name.”

Feed The People Catering was created by taj and Eboni Joy this year for disenfranchised clients who crave a healthy eating service. Their delicious cuisines have become overwhelming popular and demanded, and they’re entering into publishing with a Cookbook Series. The FTP Empire continues to grow and flourish.

Also known in the hip hop community as the “Dopest Babies’ Mama,” taj is happily married to DJ/ Producer, Amond Jackson- a co- host for the Beatz & Lyrics Show / Jayforce on WRFG 89.3 FMthis power couple is bringing back the family tradition, and is an asset to their community- all based in hip- hop.  Together they are raising their five children, and prioritize their job as parents over all other. taj continues to mobilize her versatility with her strong-flavored consistency in refining her blue-print to building her empire, and being competent and knowledgeable enough to defend it. If you were to ask her, she’s just “plain ol’ taj, daughter, mother, wife, sister, friend. I am an instrument of my people. When I die you can talk about all of the stuff I have done. In the meantime, I pray that I be blessed enough to continue to be a blessing. I have a lot more work to do.”

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Jamila Lyn

Jamila Lyn

Jamila Lyn teaches Composition (including Research Writing), World Literature, and Literary Theory. Her research interests include the depiction of black women in literature and film, the construction of black manhood, pop culture criticism, and Caribbean fiction. Her dissertation project, awarded a UNCF/Mellon Faculty Doctoral Fellowship for 2008-09, focuses on the unique spatial theory espoused by James Baldwin in Go Tell it On the Mountain, Another Country, and Giovanni’s Room. As co-adviser to Ill-Lyterati (a Morehouse/Spelman student poetry group) and member of the English Department’s Student Symposium Committee, Lyn works to encourage students to develop the range of their “voice” in written and oral expression.

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Alana Sanders

Alana Sanders

Alana Sanders is a Professor and Business/Marketing Consultant whom has worked with small and large entities to help them bring their “Products or Services to life”. She has work with celebrities to help them establish their businesses and teaches the art of Business Management and Marketing to college and university students. She was recently featured on the Tiny & Toya Reality TV show as a Busin…ess/Marketing consultant which aired in over 2.5 million homes and also featured on FOX and many other networks informing the viewers how to Market their business through the Social Medias. Her love for marketing has assisted with the success of many events and businesses across the United States and has wrote a college Text Book on Social Media currently being published by Pearson Education, expected to be released in 2011.

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – China Smith

China Smith

Yolanda Smith known as Ms. China is a woman of God, wife, mother, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and beauty consultant. She is the owner of Unique Faces Make-Up Studio LLC,and the founder of Thick Is The New Sexy Organization they are both based out of Atlanta Ga.

Yolanda founded, Thick Is The New Sexy , which is an organization dedicated to promoting the positive side of being a plus size woman. Thick Is The New Sexy is to encourage, educate, promote and motivate plus size women to be comfortable in the skin they’re in.

Her Mission is:
To teach, listen and encourage Women to love themselves no matter what size you are as well as being healthy, while helping ALL women & girls build their self-esteem, healthy relationships and their personal lives.

Her Vision is:
To support, educate, and empower each and every woman who may be experiencing low self-esteem within

relationships, family issues
and the many issues women could be facing on a daily basis.

Her Goals are:
To reach out to different community schools, shelters, hospitals, churches and MORE…

Examples:
Back to school Assistance
Food Assistance
Clothing Assistance
helping the homeless
Motivational speaking
Volunteering and MUCH MORE…

2013 SHE Is An Icon Award Nominee – Ricki Fairley-Brown

As we get closer to our 2013 SHE Is An Icon Awards Celebration, we are committed to sharing the lives of the women that we are honoring in hopes of creating a light of inspiration and hope in other women looking to follow their paths.  Today we would like to share the life of Ricki Fairley.

Ricki Fairley-Brown

Ricki Fairley is the Founder, President and Thought Leader of DOVE Marketing.  She is responsible for the growth and prosperity of the company. Fairley is a seasoned marketer with 30 years of marketing experience including 20 years in brand management at Johnson & Johnson, Nabisco, Reckitt & Colman and The Coca-Cola Company. Her agency experience encompasses strategic planning and consulting for numerous Fortune 500 companies. She is passionate about helping clients identify marketplace opportunities, establish insight-based objectives and strategies, and then build results-driven campaigns with resonating creative.

Prior to starting DOVE in February 2012, Ricki held the position of Chief Marketing Officer and a Partner at IMAGES USA where she managed strategy and planning for all IMAGES USA clients. She led the implementation of successful and award-winning campaigns for Amtrak, Sara Lee, Wachovia-Wells Fargo, Glory Foods, The National Black Arts Festival, Teach for America and Brown Forman. She also directed the Agency’s new business development initiatives that maintained its position as a leading multicultural marketing firm.

Ricki holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is the President Emeritus of the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association, is a member of the Dartmouth Committee on Trustees, serves on the Board of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, the Board of the Latin American Association, Ne-Yo’s Compound Foundation Board, the Executive Board of the Magnolia Chapter of The Links, Inc. and the Women’s Issues & Economic Empowerment Committee for the National Links, Inc. She holds the Leadership Award from the Creative Thinking Association of America. was named a Top 100 Marketer by Black Enterprise Magazine in February 2011 and is member of the 2011 Class of Leadership Atlanta.

Ricki has two daughters. Her Dartmouth Class of 2007 daughter, Amanda, is the Deputy Director of Rock the Vote in Washington, DC.  Her younger daughter, Hayley will graduate from Dartmouth in 2014.

Awards Celebration for National Women’s Awareness Month

The Evolution of SHE and Unspoken Word Designs will host the first annual SHE Is An Icon Awards Celebration on March 30, 2013 from 7 – 10pm.  This exclusive event will be held at HOBI Studios in the Castleberry Hill Historic Arts District, and will include performances from notable women such as singer/songwriter, Algebra Blessett and dancer/choreographer, Ursula, Inc.

Nominations are currently being accepted through March 15th for Atlanta area women who have made strides in the areas of arts, entrepreneurship, education, community relations, communications, sports, politics or entertainment or just as an everyday woman.  Nominations can be submitted to SHEIsAnIcon@gmail.com, and should include the name, contact info and a little information about the nominee.

This awards ceremony will serve as a platform to honor and recognize diverse women in our community as well as to empower others to leave this event and explore opportunities and resources to support them in becoming extraordinary women in their own lives.  The evening will begin with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails followed by entertaining presentations of various artistic expressions, paying homage to women.  A complete list of sponsors and guest appearances will be released closer to the event.

Tickets can be purchased at www.SHEIsAnIcon.eventbrite.com.  A portion of all proceeds will be donated to SHE Created IT.  It is their mission to provide a platform of creation, education and entertainment through performance, workshops and mentorships.

SHE LOVES – Essential Essence Body Oils

Melody Armstrong with Essential Essence

For those of you that know me well, you know how faithful I am to the products and people that I love.  Recently we had the opportunity to add a new product to our shelves at the HOBI showroom.  Melody Armstrong has created quality natural body products through her body and skin care line, Essential Essence.  Her body oils are a perfect fusion of scents and organic moisturizing oils with the added benefits of enhancing the well-being of anyone that uses these products because of the healing properties of the ingredients used.  Her products are infused with aromatherapies and made with TLC to carry out her mission to provide a “Natural Pathway to Health, Beauty & Relaxation”.  My favorite scent is “Love”, which can be found on the Essential Essence site or at the HOBI showroom.  Every bottle is a little piece of heaven.  This is definitely a product that SHE LOVES and will be using as long as I can get my hands on a bottle of “Love”.

Where has SHE Been???

A number of months have passed since my last post and our “Love Yourself First” Campaign.  If you are wondering where SHE has been …. I hope these pictures tell the story of where SHE has been, what SHE has done and the fabulous people that SHE has met along the way.

Here goes…..

Encouragement By Molly Jones

I woke up this morning and was very grateful.  I remember the feeling of rushing out the door to a job I hated.  Wearing clothing that I hated. Getting written up for being late or talking on the phone. Trying to pursue my dreams on my days off or at night when I was burnt out from being in an environment that drained me.  This morning I woke up and was very grateful that I don’t have to do that anymore.  It has been a long road.  We still have a long way to go.  But I want to encourage everyone who is grinding and still has to do a 9 to 5.  Don’t ever give up on your dreams.  They are important.  With out them we are walking zombies. Dreams and goals make our world go round they keep us hopeful and alive.  When your lose site of your dream, remind yourself.  Take a deep breath.  Its coming.  DON’T EVER GIVE UP!!! 

Shift The Energy by Molly Jones

Energy is powerful.  Energy is what surrounds us. We give it away. Sometimes we take it.  Think of the people that inspire you the most, make you feel good,  create smiles on your face even when they are not there.  Often times we keep these people at a distance.  Maybe it is fear.  I am not sure why.  Why do we often push people away that make us feel good and keep the toxic people around us?  I have been thinking a lot about this lately.  Reflecting on when I feel the best, and who is around.  Good Energy.  Sunshine feeling.  Singing out loud.  Dancing for no reason.  Today I choose to keep those people close.  And honor them.  Think about when you feel the best.  Who is around. Have you told them? TELL THEM!!! Do it!!!!!

SHIFT THE ENERGY!!!