Living Strong: The Flip Side of Adversity

Worthiness, Trauma, and Healing

One of the biggest lessons T.W. Suggs has learned has been that there is a correlation between forgiveness, healing, and worthiness. When we fail to forgive, we’re tethered to painful stories and memories which prevent us from growing and learning how amazing we really are. The absolute biggest lesson T.W. learned in his journey is that surrogates are not allowed. That is, you can’t have someone birth something for you (healing, a sense of worthiness, etc.). You are meant to give life to yourself.
Join us as we explore the connection between trauma and worthiness and how we can heal from our traumatic experiences while “While Running Through The Rain”. T.W. Suggs’ latest book, 'Running Through The Rain' examines serious issues of forgiveness, identity, rejection, and the unseen trauma black men and boys encounter but seldom express. This Flip Side Conversation will examine real issues that also remind us of the importance of opening our hearts to the little moments that make us smile, that exist around us all.

Lessons for Every Teen Girl’s Journey to Womanhood

Kizzy Kittrell Dogan transforms and empowers teen girls to discover their purpose, passion, and superpowers as The Teen Girl Mentor. Her book, Thirteen, was written to motivate, inspire, and empower young girls to speak up freely and truthfully, feel free to show up as their authentic selves, and learn how to articulate their feelings without the fear of being misunderstood, ignored, rejected, unseen or unheard. Join our Flipside Conversation, as Kizzy encourages girls and women, caring for the girl inside, to “Work Hard Daily At Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself Because Everyone Else Is Already Taken. She works to send the message that Love Grows Here; and as a teen, becoming the best version of yourself may sound like a massive goal because it is … but with just the right amount of intention, consistency, dedication, commitment, honesty, bravery, planning, and prayer… it can and will happen! Tune in for the lessons and tools to stay the course to the best version of you, and know it’s enough.

Permission (to lead) Granted!

Black Women's Educational Alliance, referred to as BWEA, is an organization that was founded in 1976 in response to the expressed concerns about the equity of opportunities for black women in all divisions of the field of education. Tameron Dancy, the current Vice President of the Philadelphia Chapter of BWEA, chairs the Career Mobility Committee and offers women the opportunity to move from managing problems to leading solutions.
Understanding that education is the most valuable tool anyone can attain to enrich their lives, BWEA strives to develop resources that support sound thinking patterns for women leaders to enrich their mind, sharpen skills, and strengthen emotional resilience and inspire the same within children, families, and communities they influence. Join us for a conversation with Principal Tameron Dancy and explore myths about leadership, professional growth strategies, and ways to invest in your capacity. What do you need to lead in a time of change and strain? Our flip side conversation will empower women to understand the impact of their voice and give themselves permission to FULLY lead.

Audacity, Access and Advocacy

Audacity, Access and Advocacy create the toolkit for polishing an equity lens and moving from F.E.A.R. to intentional action, from isolation to inclusion, and from silos to community. This conversation allows participants to embrace diversity and examine equity with the intentionality of sparking change that celebrates the beauty of difference and creates room for divergent perspectives. On the flip side of fear, we can examine ways to plan for supportive environments for students and families, utilizing tools for systemic approaches that embrace conversations about color, culture and acceptance within the classroom and fostering awareness to enhance inclusive approaches for healthy learning and healing practices for the success of all children. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama

Embrace Life

Checking boxes that provide affirmation that “I have ARRIVED”, may have felt amazing initially but eventually led to dissatisfaction, discontentment, and discouragement. During Dr. Renai Ellison’s life’s journey, losing herself in her struggle for acceptance, validation, and love, has caused her to not just veer of her life path of self-discovery, it has completely impeded her path to self-discovery.
Acknowledging, accepting, and affirming her relationship with the Lord has been her anchor in many storms. Abandoning inauthenticity and embracing self-discovery has been a complex maze of learning the true essence of what it means to be Renai and to walk in her personal truth, and how looking introspectively is a practice that has benefited her tremendously.
Join us for a conversation about her new book, From Fake to Phenomenal, and unpack jewels that inform your the Flip Side of your story.

The Greatest Wealth is Health (part 2)

Using her 30 years of experience as a nurse, nurse educator, and entrepreneur, Shannon Jackson, The People’s Nurse, has the mission to motivate, educate, and inspire others to live their lives without limits. Join us as we explore the importance of health in marginalized communities and the power individuals have to take control of their health.
We hear the terms health and wellness frequently and they are often utilized interchangeably, yet the implications are marginally unique from one another.
Health can be characterized as a condition of our physical being, regardless of whether positive or negative. Our condition of health relies upon different variables like heredity, natural condition, societal access, selections of food sources and beverages, wellness and activities, sleep and rest, contemplations, and our passionate perspective.
On the contrary, wellness is characterized as the general cycle of keeping an overall condition of good wellbeing. It involves the cognizant choice and empowerment of the individual that is required to cultivate wellness, while health essentially implies an individual’s condition.
Shannon Jackson will unpack the choices and conditions between the two and share nuggets from her weekly podcast that describes real-world situations and provides actionable advice to help listeners live better lives.
Her combination of general life coaching and from-the-heart inspiration will give us health tools for “Living Your Life Without Limits”. Her Flip Side Conversation will educate, empower, and advocate for equity so that every listener can integrate every day approaches to prepare us for any difficulties that we may face and in order to break through or jump over any barriers that get in our way.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: From A Sickle Cell Caregiver

I've taken my pain and turned it into a big part of my purpose. Learning I was a sickle cell trait carrier came out from the shadows. Honestly, I had never heard the term before. The more I inquired, it felt like something people wanted me to whisper about behind closed doors. However, I refused to whisper. Instead, whenever I receive the chance to discuss sickle cell trait I speak freely about it, and I happily welcome conversations about sickle cell disease.
Advocacy gave me the power I needed to feel like I could play a part in re-writing history. And take the present moment, future, and hopes into my own hands. Advocacy feels like a gift that I can present my daughter with in the future. Then let her know that I've done everything I can to better her life as a sickle cell patient. As a result, I write sickle cell children's books to help parents explain this complex disease to their children, family members, and friends so others will better understand sickle cell and how it impacts families as a whole.

Preparing Teens for College with Grace and Ease

Being served divorce papers as an entrepreneur was a huge setback, especially because Dr. Pamela Ellis works with families and considers her services as a solution that saves marriages. To heal, she started a mindfulness practice that she has incorporated into her work with teens who are anxious about their college process.
It’s painful to see students get overwhelmed and lose steam…or not take a stand for their skills and talents. With proper guidance, the whole process can be exciting and FUN! Dr. Ellis wants to help teens feel enthused and supported. She has visited more than 500 colleges and universities internationally to gain insight into their varying cultures and to explore the range of academic and social opportunities available to students on campus. Her research areas include high school to college transition, parent engagement, African-American males in education, and college completion.
She is a highly sought-after speaker and author of the best-selling book What to Know Before They Go: College Edition, which helps school leaders, counselors, mentors and parents/caregivers support teens toward higher education success.

Money Elevation Strategies

“Money isn’t everything, but it is a necessary tool for us to use to impact the world! You can not be charitable if you aren’t profitable. You can’t be profitable if you don’t have a plan to profit and knowledge of how to keep more of the profit” - Erica Lane
Known to the world as the Money Elevation Strategist. Erica Lane has developed an exceptional profit management approach for entrepreneurs, which enabled her to triple her income in only three years using what is now her Profitable Entrepreneur Money Makeover. Her accolades include Multi Award-Winning Entrepreneur Profit Coach, a 5x Best-Selling Author, Certified International Keynote Speaker and Founder Of The Real Money Talk Summit. The Real Money Talk Summit is a sisterhood of authentic expert driven conversations and learning experiences to own the financial power in your life and business!
Join the Money Elevation Strategist as she gives the strategies every entrepreneur who also work a full time job, should use to increase profits in their business. It starts with... Leveraging Being An Employee Of Excellence As A Profitable Entrepreneur Strategy. Full time entrepreneur, part time hustle, all the time excellence pursuer... we are talking about all of it on the Flip Side of Adversity. Overcome your hurdles to money elevation, career movement, and personal growth.

Stop Pretending On Social Media… It’s Stunting Your Business!

No strategy
Copying others
Pretending to people please….
Most entrepreneurs need to believe in themselves more. Specifically, showing up how they “think” they should show up leaves them tired and burnt out in their business. If they show up to what is actually true to them and not the mind gremlins, they will not only have ease in their business but they will fulfill what they set out to accomplish.
Now is the time to be you. There is a DEMAND for authenticity for the businesses that people shop from during a time when people are looking for truth, real help, and needed value. Navigating what that looks like is actually one of the hardest things in business. Showing up as YOU with the discernment to distinguish fear from this it not for you is key.