To Vaccinate or Not? COVID-19 Vaccine, Know the Facts

Birthing Purpose Through Pain Series: HerStory - The Power of Positive Affirmations

On this episode I am joined by Rachel Gregory, a two time author of a children's book, The Great and her latest book, Cry, Then Boss Up and Jessica Corvil, former Junior Humanitarian of the Year and author of Self Talk. Both ladies share their journeys through painful experiences and how they used them to birth purpose and walk in their callings. 

Birthing Purpose Through Pain Series: HerStory. A Journey to Purpose

Women are exceptionally versatile and resilient beings. Today we begin a series called, Birthing Purpose Through Pain which highlights HerStory, focusing on Women who have endured lost, overcome hopelessness, found great purpose in their pain and are now using it effectively in ministry and business by ENCOURAGING, INSPIRING & EMPOWERING others. Today’s Guest is Dr. LaTarsha Holden. As Founder and CEO of Phoenix Rising, Dr. LaTarsha Holden has written books, created workshops, inspirational speaking and empowerment coaching that has transformed and changed the trajectory of countless men and women lives. Dr. Holden is a 13x published author. Dr. Holden continues her journey by providing a practical blueprint for success drawn directly from her personal life experiences. She ran for City Council in “2017,” and went from a GED to receiving her Doctorate in Leadership Studies. Dr. Holden’s extraordinary story of transforming her own life from being homeless with six children, uneducated and underemployed to a sought after speaker is her inspiration for reaching back to teach others that they have the Power to Rewrite their Story! Dr. Holden’s story is one of persistence and success. She has received many accolades and has been featured on Major News network as she was named Ga./ National Mother of the Year for “2020,” by American Mother’s Inc. She is the 85th woman in U.S. history to hold the title as National Mother of the Year. Among the prestigious awards and honors bestowed upon Dr. Holden she was featured in the Heart of A Champion docu-series by the Women’s Professional Basketball Association. She received a Proclamation as an Emerging Leader in the city of Atlanta. She has received the distinct honor as Ambassador for her humanitarian work. She’s been featured in several magazines, interviewed on countless radio broadcast and she was nominated for National Top Influencer for “2020.”

Swimming with Sharks: Women in Male Dominated Industries / Careers

Today we are continuing with our series, Swimming with Sharks: Females in Male Dominated Industries and Careers. Women have made significant strides globally over the years, however, there are many fields that remain male dominated, not just at the top, but often in the trenches too. Male-dominated industries and occupations are particularly vulnerable to reinforcing masculine stereotypes that make it even more difficult for women to excel. In the United States, only 7.2% of women worked full-time in male-dominated occupations in 2018. In my country of Turks and Caicos, women continue to ascend to leadership roles at a fast pace, however, not very many women have ventured into male-dominated fields. In this episode we will learn about the challenges women face in male-dominated industries and how one young lady decided on a career path in a male-dominated field and is striving. We are joined by Te-Andra Thomas. She hails from the beautiful island of South Caicos, and started her early education at the Calvary Christian School, then went on to attend the Iris Stubbs primary school. Her family was relocated to Grand Turk in 2000. There she was enrolled at the Eliza Simmons Primary school where she spent a year before her family moved once again to Providenciales where she attended and completed her primary level education at the Ianthe Pratt Primary School. In 2003 she enrolled at the Maranatha High School now Maranatha Academy. She graduated in 2008 with 12 CXC examinations. She was the recipient of an engineering scholarship from FortisTCI. After a one (1) year apprenticeship with the company, TeAndra moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to begin her studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In May of 2015, TeAndra graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.Eng). In October 2015, TeAndra was the recipient of the National Young Achiever Medal for her academic achievement in the field of Mechanical Engineering and also for mentorship. She is currently employed at Fortis TCI as the Energy Production Engineer in the Energy Production department. TeAndra is also the founder of a non-profit organization Let’s INC (Imagine. Nurture. Create.) A mentoring initiative which was started out of a desire to share uplifting messages of enlightenment to speak to the dreamer in everyone to push them to not only dream, but to pursue. TeAndra’s life mantra is “do good and good will follow you.

To Vaccinate or Not? COVID-19 Vaccine, Know the Facts

2020 was a very challenging year globally due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Millions of deaths due to the virus and adverse economic impact has been experienced during this pandemic. Vaccination is a tool that many countries hope to use in the fight against COVID-19.

The Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands on January 7, 2021. While the Ministry of Health has begun administering the vaccine, many residents remain undecided and in many cases uninformed about the vaccine.

Dr. Vancelee Forbes, Nephrologist & Internist with InterHealth Canada, sheds light on some of the concerns regarding the vaccine and explains how the vaccine works and why she believes it’s an effective tool in our fight against COVID-19.

Swimming with Sharks: Women in Trades, It's not Just a Men's World

We begin a three part series of interviews called Swimming with Sharks! Women have made significant strides globally over the years, however, there are many fields that remain male dominated, not just at the top, but often in the trenches too. Male-dominated industries and occupations are particularly vulnerable to reinforcing masculine stereotypes that make it even more difficult for women to excel. In the United States, only 7.2% of women worked full-time in male-dominated occupations in 2018. Women in male dominated industries can sometimes feel as if they’re swimming with the sharks.

In this episode we will learn about the challenges women face in a male-dominated industries and how one woman has paved the way for others in the area of trades.

We are joined by Evelyn Pacheco. She is an Army Veteran, Mother, and Grand Mother. Evelyn made history as Nevada’s first licensed Black female plumber. Letting Women know that it doesn’t matter how hard your life is or was, you can still make something of your life. She has leveraged her experience to help all Women through her “Nevada Women in Trades” organization, a non-profit organization formed specifically to increase the number of Women in trades. It is a signature program called “Pipelines”. NVWIT is increasing the number of Women in the Nevada workforce, specifically in highly skilled blue collar (trade) occupations.

January 28, 2020 marked the first-ever graduation ceremony for Nevada Women in Trades. NVWIT Pipelines Comprehensive Program (PCC) initiatives increase career opportunities in the construction industry for Low-Income, Re-Entry, ExPrisoners, Veterans, Homeless, and Disenfranchised Women.