Conversations with Liz Gold Liz Gold

In this last episode of Conversations of Liz Gold, I talk with Nora Iknadossian all about her family and her new clothing line coming out in early 2021. Listen to Nora talk about how she has been dealing with covid-19, what it was like growing up as a queer child of immigrants who fled from war-torn Beirut, Lebanon and her easy, no-fucks-given style as a clothing designer.

On her family:

"They were refugees. They escaped. They came over here and my dad had his own business out there and they were all doing really well and my mom went to school and she did really well. Life was positive and hopeful and bright and then this war broke out. And they just fled. And they came here."

"Growing up, I'm a lot more like my dad. I have a lot of his traits. When he was in Beirut, he was a shoe designer. He was making shoes. He had a store and everything and then his shop got bombed. And I slowly followed in his footsteps."

"They definitely instilled a lot of hard work which I really really appreciate."

"Being Middle Eastern - being gay is like you're basically Satan. 'That's awful, you'll get disowned, this is the worst thing, you can't do this...'"

On starting her own clothing line:

"I was helping somebody launch their collection recently and I'm like doing all of the work. The really technical side of the business and I'm like 'what am I doing? I can do this myself.'"

"Our mind is what our blockage is. We're the ones that are the road block. I definitely don't promote my skills or my abilities."

"I started sketching items that I would love to have. I basically designed my closet - what I would wear."

"I used part of my last name, which I think is really important especially as an Armenian person. Having that Armenian exposure out there, supporting the Armenian community and being known that we are strong people and we are definitely overcoming our past and history and we have a voice. That was very important to me to keep that "ian" in there."

"I've just gotten so much support. It's been wonderful."

Nora Iknadossian bio

Nora Iknadossian was born in Pasadena, California but has been in New York City half her life. She's a daughter of immigrants who fled from war-torn Beirut, Lebanon. Nora is an identical twin but the youngest by 8 minutes. Professionally, she's been a clothing designer for some large brands all over the globe. She describes her style as, "Simple, easy and no f***s given" and oh yeah, she's queer.

www.dossiannyc.com
IG: Dossian_nyc

IG: Zero + Maria Cornejo

IG: Celene

Meet MJ Richardson. She lives in Senior Housing in downtown San Francisco and is currently feeding her homeless neighbors by making masks in a bag. What's a Mask in a Bag? We all have to wear masks these days and these masks are stylish, functional, entrepreneurial and serving community. Tune in to hear MJ talk about how the idea came, her decade-long career at IBM in sales and why she does what she does.

Episode Notes

"I've been in senior housing, right downtown San Francisco for two years. It took me seven years to get in senior housing. But the location is fabulous."

"Because I live in downtown San Francisco, we've forgotten about our neighbors. Once I got this housing downtown, I realized going out the door, I'd see all these mass of people. Hungry, just hungry. And I said, 'I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I can make a lunch.'"

"Mask in a Bag is a mask with a purpose, OK. First, it protects you and me but more importantly, it feeds the homeless population, which I call my neighbors in the Bay Area. It also creates business because these are all seniors that are owning their own business and creating jobs."

"Two years later we have fed over a 1,000 people. I only live in 400 square feet so my masks have taken over my apartment. But I love it."

"Because I was so blessed, I honestly knew that I needed to do something. Mask in a Bag is the first product. What people see in the product is that first it's well made, secondly it supports our area but also they like the ethnicity of the cloth."

"This has been such a pouring out of people making a difference that it just makes my heart sing. Anybody can do anything."

"How do we reach out to our community because I'm about community, that's one thing you'll see in all of this - to empower other people in their communities."



MJ's bio

Marijewel “MJ” Richardson is an accomplished career woman and entrepreneur. As a lifelong learner, she entered Felton Institute’s Senior Community Services Employment (SCEP) Program where she has flourished. She has helped people like herself find their inner strength, confidence and skills. She has helped to put them on a course for employment through her work at SCEP. Her education in merchandising and her past work along with her passion for helping others find self worth and hope led her to organize successful events, mini makeovers at Sephora and a clothes closet and fashion show, which transformed seniors from the inside out. In addition, MJ developed a hygiene kit for homeless people. Now she is creating a “Mask in a Bag” for her homeless neighbors in San Francisco.

Email MJ: mjrichardson075@gmail.com

Born Brown: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Did you know incumbents are re-elected 90 percent of the time? In this episode, I'm talking with Maria Yuan, founder of IssueVoter, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to give everyone a voice in our representative democracy. Described as "politics for busy people," IssueVoter helps people become more informed by summarizing hard-to-understand legislative bills and tracking representatives' activity. Learn how you can become more engaged with what your elected officials are doing between elections and why the nonprofit chooses to be nonpartisan.

"Thinking back, I realized that I grew up with parents who always voted. My dad's family fled Communist China, so I think from a very young age my parents taught me the importance of civic duty."

"I had a realization at a young age that there are people in other countries that don't ever get to vote."

"I didn't necessarily want to work in politics because I didn't necessarily agree with either party 100 percent of the time and I think that's most people."

"Politics and campaigns and candidates and dramatic narratives really overshadow what is just, if not more important, which is policy."

"As a nation built on laws, I think its policy change that will help us create the better world that we all envision."

"Congress introduces over 15,000 bills each legislative session. They may vote on about 1,000 of them and we're only hearing about a handful in the news."

Maria Yuan - bio

Maria Yuan is passionate about fixing significant, systemic problems by leveraging creativity and determination to achieve world-changing results and impact. As the Founder of IssueVoter, their mission is to give everyone a voice in our representative democracy. Individuals from all 435 Congressional Districts already use IssueVoter and they have sent over two million alerts to individuals and opinions back to Congress. IssueVoter has motivated Americans to vote, stay informed, and make their voices heard between elections, when the real work that affects our lives gets done. IssueVoter also collaborates with organizations to engage and activate their communities in impactful ways.

Maria's political experience includes introducing and passing a bill as a constituent, working for a Representative, and managing and winning one of the most targeted races in Iowa - an open seat in a swing district. Maria's professional experience includes investment banking, strategy, corporate development, recruiting, social enterprise, and consulting. She currently serves on the Bridge Alliance Board of Directors and Keep Families Giving Foundation Advisory Board and has served on the boards of Gibney Dance, The University of Texas Co-Op, and Friends of the Children New York.

Maria's interviews and writing have appeared in Real Clear Politics, The Hill, PBS, MTV, Fast Company, and more, and she has spoken at conferences, companies, and universities across the U.S. on civic engagement, technology, and democracy. Maria earned degrees from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania and The University of Texas at Austin.

Issue Voter info

https://issuevoter.org/

https://www.facebook.com/issuevoter

https://twitter.com/issuevoter

https://www.instagram.com/issuevoter/

What's it like to slow down after traveling the world as a self-described nomad? In this episode, I talk with Amna Shamim about this and so many other things - including a new cannabis summit she's planning for the edibles community, her latest role at a cannabis tech company focused on data and compliance in California, and why she thinks it's selfish to be traveling for pleasure right now. Join us!

"I think if you are traveling for pleasure nowadays you are an a*****e because it's a pandemic and you are being really selfish."

"I'm not flitting around the way I like to where I'm in a different country every week or doing trips and having adventures because to do so I feel would be really selfish and putting my personal pleasure and amusement over other people's safety."

"It's become very clear to me, at least that, the world is not past coronavirus and travel is a risky thing to do especially when it involves airports and different countries and possibly you being the vector that brings coronavirus from somewhere that is high risk into somewhere that is doing their best to control it."

"I go usually in a certain temperature range because I don't like being cold. I go for the people that I know."

"I was in New York for four months when New York was really doing badly and it is the longest I had been somewhere."

"It used to be very I didn't know where I was sleeping next week and I realized that was impacting my productivity because I was every week constantly having to figure stuff out and there was a lot of pressure to do it immediately because I really like sleeping indoors. But over the last probably two years of my travels, I started planning more in advance. I quite like that because it enabled me to do things like make plans with my friends."

"I've learned I'm not very good at being spontaneous."

"I don't know how much anyone who's listening knows about the cannabis industry but it is a mess. Every state comes up with their own rules, there's no level of cohesion and a lot of the rules and a lot of the things haven't been updated very well since legalization."

Amna's bio

Writer. Nomad. Napper extraordinaire.
Amna is a full time world traveler, living nowhere and everywhere since 2015. The pandemic has slowed her down so she’s mostly adventuring through books and digital media this year. Professionally, she’s the Chief Growth Officer at Parsl and the co-founder of the Everything Edibles Virtual Summit. She also a freelance writer because she’s really bad at doing nothing for too long. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, especially if you’d like to talk about travel, cannabis or food.

Find Anma online

Web site: https://www.amnashamim.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amnashamimnyc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-shamim/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amnashamimnyc/

In this episode, I'm talking about writing with author and poet Kai Kelly. We touch upon a wide variety of subjects including the gifts sharing your work with other people bring, the process of self-publishing a book, Issa Rae, Chadwick Boseman, and the joy of a good pen on paper. Kai also reads the poem, "Sycamore Fantasies," from her book of poetry, Love Kai. Join us!

"I was actually a dancer first. I started dancing when I was three. I loved dancing,  loved movement but my dad thought I was really too emotional. He'd be like 'nobody wants to hear that, write that down.'" So I started to learn at a very early age that writing and paper was just a place that would never betray me. It was always there, it was always a sanctuary for me. "

"With writing I always had it. Whether I was journaling or writing poems that I didn't share with anyone, it was always kind of happening in the background and that's how the process started."

"I never thought that my writing was shareable. I always thought my writing was decent for me. It was like clothes you wear around the house. That's how I looked at my writing. I did not think that it would resonate or make sense to people outside of me. Or that it was as good as say the Nikki Giovannis."

"My writing process is extremely organic."

"Sometimes I feel like it's a safer space for me to go the paper."

"When something comes into my brain, I want a nice pen and some paper."

"Sex is good but have you ever had a really good pen?"

"If you can't get a good slide as a writer, it's like useless. You don't know where this poem is going to take you, it could be one page, it could be eight pages. You don't want a pen that's going to cut out on you."

"My brain is constantly moving. I get inspired by things that are happening outside of me. I get inspired by things inside of me."

"The distrust we are experiencing in our society right now, the high level of distrust from government and entities and the disrespect that people of color are being shown just has a lot of people on paranoia, has a lot of people on 10."

"If you're in an energy exchange that is not healthy, that's not inspirational, that's not positive, that's not uplifting, that doesn't pour into your soul - why are you doing it?"

Bio

Born and raised in Westchester County, NY,  Kiana (Kai) Kelly is a  passionate empath, that loves words and how they can tell a story.  Writing since the age of seven, Kai began sharing her writing humbly through open mics and blogs.  She has authored a book of poetry called, Love Kai and is currently a contributor for Born Brown: All Rights Reserved.

Link to all things Kai:

https://linktr.ee/author_kai_kelly

Purchase Love Kai

IG: @author_Kai_Kelly

FB: Kai Kelly 

Email: bookingkaikelly@gmail.com

Born Brown: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In this episode, I talk with Tab Wolod, a die-hard entrepreneur and mental health advocate based in the Baltimore area. We talk about our work at Born Brown: All Rights Reserved, the intersection of mental health and business and how to know if it's time to keep going with your ventures or let go. Join us!

"IEI is my baby. It was built off the premise that if you have an idea, you have an income."

"I'm a die-hard entrepreneur."

"A lot of business owners frankly are great at what they do, but not so great at what we call, business development."

"I just love to see people do what they love."

"I've always been very unconventional. I'm a rebel."

Bio

Tab Wolod is a mental health advocate and die-hard entrepreneur. Early on, Tab identified as a rebel - often bucking social norms and venturing down unconventional paths. Tab's rebellious attitude led her to a "regular" 9-5 job, which was a blessing, although it was the opposite of what she had wished for lol. During her "turbulent twenties," Tab found herself transitioning awkwardly into adulthood, struggling to find herself, God, and mental stability while maintaining employment. Over the years, Tab made many failed attempts at various business endeavors, in hopes that she would "get rich quick" and walk away from her cushy job. After much trial and error, Tab's "failures" paved the way for the creation of Ideas Equal Income LLC (IEI). As IEI CEO and founder, Tab created the company with one goal in mind: helping individuals transform their ideas into income by providing #biz dev support (operational, marketing, and project management). Tab was born and raised in Maryland (USA), she is currently residing in Baltimore City with her life partner and baby girl.

Tab on Instagram

IEI on Instagram

Ideas Equal Income

Email for professional inquiries at hey@ideasequalincome.com.

Mental Health Information


National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:1-800-273-8255
Search mental health providers near you: https://www.psychologytoday.com/
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) hotline for provider referrals and peer support services:  https://www.nami.org/help .The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 am–6 pm, ET. 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or info@nami.org

Born Brown: All Rights Reserved

Conversations with Liz Gold episodes:

Shalonda Ingram

Mathew Heggem

Milo Razza