SpeakUP! International Inc.

Ellington Brown

SpeakUP! International Inc. is your go-to podcast for inspiring stories, insightful interviews, and educational content that empowers listeners. Join us as we delve into diverse topics with a focus on uplifting black and brown voices, promoting creativity, and fostering personal and professional growth. 

  1. Dr. Beverly-Jean M. Daniel: We Were Not Built To Break

    23H AGO

    Dr. Beverly-Jean M. Daniel: We Were Not Built To Break

    One careless “you can’t” can stick to a young person for years, but it can also light a fuse. We’re joined by Dr. Beverly-Jean Daniel, scholar, educator, and advocate whose work spans more than 35 years at the intersection of race, equity, and urban education. She shares what it was like migrating from Trinidad and Tobago at 16 and hearing, for the first time, that her goals were unrealistic, not because of grades, but because of who she was.    The heartbeat of her book, We Were Not Built to Break. Dr. Daniel explains why attacks on Black history and the constant pathologizing of Blackness are not random, and why she teaches Black youth to see themselves as the blueprint and to stand in their greatness. We also talk about how the old advice to “work twice as hard” can fail younger generations, and what it looks like to work smarter by understanding systemic barriers, naming power, and protecting your sense of self.  Dr. Daniel also takes us inside the realities of higher education in Canada as a Black woman professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, where credentials do not erase anti-Black racism or gendered stereotypes. Then we get practical with The Bridge program she founded at Humber College: the wraparound, hub-and-spoke supports that move students from crisis and withdrawal risk to retention, academic confidence, and even the honour roll. We unpack “stop out” versus “drop out,” the danger of OSAP debt with no diploma, and what happens when Black student success disrupts the stories people expect.  If you care about education equity, Black student retention, community mentorship, and real strategies that change outcomes, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.  You can reach Dr. Daniel by using one of the links below: LinkedIn:   linkedin.com/in/dr-beverly-jean-m-daniel-ph-d-34a26114  Canadian Scholars: https://canadianscholars.ca/product-category/child-and-youth-care/ Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    1h 6m
  2. Your bills might be eating your future!

    MAY 11

    Your bills might be eating your future!

    Is your bank account suffering from "death by a thousand cuts"? Most of us are overpaying for our basic existence without even realizing it. In this episode, Rita and I sit down with Kirby D. Wilson, a North Carolina based financial strategist and entrepreneur, to learn how to turn those "dead weight" expenses into serious leverage. What We’re Diving Into: The "Bills To Bags" Blueprint: Kirby explains how she helps households and business owners across the US and Canada slash costs on telecom, energy, and healthcare.The Origin Story: How the pressure of first-time homeownership led Kirby to uncover the hidden money systems they never taught us in school.Escaping the "Not Broke" Trap: Why the "if it’s not broke, don’t fix it" mindset is actually costing you thousands in hidden fees and outdated rates.Shifting from Consumer to Strategist: A deep dive into using credit to build opportunities rather than funding shopping sprees.Generational Wealth: Tackling student loan stress, common borrowing pitfalls, and why financial literacy is the ultimate head start for the next generation.Most people aren't broke; they're just overpaying for a life they haven't optimized yet. Listen now and stop guessing with your money! Website: www.speakuppodcast.ca (audio) (video) Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    52 min
  3. Phoebe Trotman: Never Quit On A Bad Day

    MAY 4

    Phoebe Trotman: Never Quit On A Bad Day

    A bad day can wreck your plans, but it should not get to make your decisions. We sit down with Phoebe Trotman, multi Hall of Fame soccer player, entrepreneur, author of the Never Quit On A Bad Day book series, and a coach who brings athlete-level clarity to real life.    We dig into what a “champion mindset” actually means. Phoebe explains why obstacles are not a stop sign, how growth happens at the edge of your comfort zone, and why “control the controllables” can save your mental energy when everything feels noisy.   The conversation gets real when we move into hard seasons and grief. Phoebe shares how a simple gratitude practice helped her keep going when life felt gutting, and why community, accountability, and small steps forward matter more than a perfect plan.  To view this podcast click here: https://youtu.be/J-D7Uehn7Uk If you care about resilience, leadership, personal development, and building consistency that lasts, this one is for you. Subscribe to SpeakUP! International, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the mantra you are choosing today. Below are other platforms avaiable to connect to Ms. Trotman: Website:  https://neverquitonabadday.com/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/neverquitonabadday YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@NeverQuitonaBadDay Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/neverquitonabadday Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    49 min
  4. Success Without The Mask

    APR 27

    Success Without The Mask

    Money can buy comfort, but it cannot buy a life that feels like yours. We sit down with Kenneth G Alexander, award-winning entrepreneur, author of The Successful Man: A New Vision of Masculinity, and a former US Marine, to pull apart the story many boys inherit early: make money, achieve status, suppress emotion, and you will be “successful”. Kenneth explains how that doctrine of patriarchy and cultural programming trains men to chase external validation, then wonder why their relationships feel thin and their inner world feels flat.  We go personal and practical. Kenneth shares how being raised by a resilient single mum shaped his view of strength and service, why the “tough guy” mask becomes armour for survival, and how emotional suppression turns into anger, distance, and silent stress. We also talk about the moment success stops working, the midlife wake-up call, and what it means to reframe masculinity as presence: building a safe emotional space at home, not just providing a paycheque. Along the way, we touch on lessons from the Marine Corps, what travel across 45+ countries reveals about shared human needs, and why the global chase for more never seems to create enough.  Kenneth closes with a clear framework for men’s wellness and men’s mental health: become healed, whole, and present. That means naming childhood wounds, aligning mind body and spirit, learning the language of feelings, and defining success on your own terms before the world defines it for you. If you have ever asked yourself, “Is this all there is?” this conversation offers a grounded way forward. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Website: https://kennethgalexander.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennethgalexander Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennethgalexander/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethgregalexander/ Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    1h 10m
  5. BEYOND THE HUSTLE: HEALING OUR MONEY MINDSET

    APR 20

    BEYOND THE HUSTLE: HEALING OUR MONEY MINDSET

    Money can look like a numbers problem while it acts like an identity problem. We’re talking with Jacqueline Blair, a money mindset coach who works closely with Black women entrepreneurs, about why so many of us can earn, hustle, and grind, yet still feel stuck in paycheque-to-paycheque cycles, guilt, overgiving, or “mysterious” overspending. Her lens is clear: when generations have lived with lack, our nervous systems learn to push money away because abundance feels unsafe or unfamiliar.  For entrepreneurs, we get practical about why strategies like pricing, marketing, and funnels don’t stick when identity is still anchored in “just enough.” We also talk generational wealth and financial literacy for families, including a simple courageous move you can make this month: have an honest money conversation with someone you trust, so money stops being taboo and becomes teachable. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find these conversations. jacquelineblaircoaching.my.canva.site/ (Website) jacquelineblair.substack.com/subscribe?params=[object%20Object] (blog) Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    59 min
  6. Put The Chicken Wings Down And Record Grandma!

    APR 6

    Put The Chicken Wings Down And Record Grandma!

    Silence can be a muzzle, but it can also be a strategy. We sit down with Majella Mark, cultural strategist, filmmaker, and author of Cats Are Trash, right after she reads a powerful passage on Women in Black and the way quiet protest can cut through a sea of violence. From there, we follow the thread that runs through everything she does: storytelling is not decoration, it is infrastructure. We dig into what cultural preservation looks like in real life for the Black diaspora and the wider African diaspora. Majella shares why oral history matters, how “living archives” beat dusty boxes, and what happens when photos, videos, and public records suddenly disappear. We talk about intergenerational memory, family lore, and the practical work of documenting truth before it gets revised, edited, or erased. Then the conversation turns urgent and grounded: Hurricane Beryl, Grenada, and the damage to the Carriacou Museum. Majella explains how rebuilding a museum is also rebuilding identity, how to make institutions youth-friendly, and why digital archiving has to plan for technology we cannot even predict yet. Along the way, we get into creative ways to teach history, the risks of misinformation, and the importance of giving people their flowers while they are still here. If you care about community history, museum preservation, oral histories, and protecting culture with intention, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review telling us what story your family cannot afford to lose. You can view this podcast using the following link:  You are welcome to use the following platforms  to reach Ms. Majella Mark: Website:  http://majellamark.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/majellamark/ Bluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/majellamark.bsky.social Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    59 min
  7. Try To Give Away 20 Million Dollars! It's Harder Than You Think!!!

    MAR 30

    Try To Give Away 20 Million Dollars! It's Harder Than You Think!!!

    A lawyer walks out of a plush Beverly Hills office and into a government agency tasked with everything between war and diplomacy. That pivot sets up a gripping journey through foreign aid’s hidden front lines: a month in Eritrea trying to give away 20 million and getting told no, audits that can overturn streetlights after floods, and market experiments that turn onions in Honduras into livelihoods for thousands. Rita and I sit down with Clifford Brown to unpack what USAID actually did—and why it mattered. From training judges and modernizing commercial codes after the Soviet collapse to stitching wildlife corridors across Central America, the work was practical, technical, and often invisible. Clifford explains how procurement rules, waivers, and sanctions shape action in the field, and why the right legal call still has to pass a skeptical auditor. He shares wins and limits: building export crops, coordinating regional energy grids, backing anti‑apartheid defenders in South Africa, and the stubborn math that made cacao no match for coca in Colombia’s high valleys. Not every story is easy. Clifford brings rare clarity to bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and the brutal economics of human and organ trafficking moving along global shipping and charter flight routes. Through it all runs a constant theme: people are more alike than different, and languages open doors that policies alone can’t. He credits ethics work with helping Central American agencies adopt gift bans and asset disclosures, and mourns the career‑ending shockwaves from USAID’s dismantling that left dedicated partners worldwide adrift. Come for the field stories; stay for the hard truths about borders, power, and what USAID can and cannot do. If this conversation challenged how you think about foreign assistance, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review telling us the one rule you’d rewrite first. Connect to Mr. Clifford Brown using the following platforms: Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/clifford8brown Twitter:  https://x.com/bliffordcrown YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@jefferdogY LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/clifford-brown-2608428/ Substack:  https://cliffordbrown.substack.com/ #blackpodcasts, #podcast, #podcastshow, #podcastinterview, #toronto, #supportblackpodcasts, #newpodcast, #speakupinternational, Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    1h 4m
  8. Dr Monique Nugent: Prescription For Admission-A Doctor's Guide to Navigating the Hospital

    MAR 23

    Dr Monique Nugent: Prescription For Admission-A Doctor's Guide to Navigating the Hospital

    A hospital can be the place that saves your life and the place that makes you feel the least in control. We sit down with Dr. Monique Nugent, a hospitalist and author of *Prescription For Admission*, to name the exact moments when patients and families get lost and what to do about it, even when you’re exhausted, in pain, or scared.  We get practical about navigating a hospital stay: how to understand the plan for the day when schedules are fluid, why a paper-and-pencil checklist can sharpen your questions, and what “success” really looks like after discharge. Dr Nugent explains why discharge planning is often harder than people expect, from equipment and medication access to insurance limitations and the real-world logistics that can trigger avoidable readmissions.  We also unpack healthcare equity in plain language. Equity isn’t about giving everyone the same thing; it’s about giving each patient what they need based on their body, abilities, language, and lived experience. And we end with a challenge you can act on today: have the uncomfortable advance care planning conversation with your loved ones, so no one is forced to guess under pressure later.  If you found this helpful, subscribe, share this episode with a caregiver or patient advocate in your life, and leave us a review. What’s the one question you wish you’d asked sooner during a hospital visit? Contect to Dr. Monique Nugent using the following platforms: Website: https://drmoniquenugent.com/ YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.MoniqueS.Nugent Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/the_happiest_hospitalist/ LinkedIn:  https://linkedin.com/in/moniquenugent-mdmph/ Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message. Support the show

    34 min
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

SpeakUP! International Inc. is your go-to podcast for inspiring stories, insightful interviews, and educational content that empowers listeners. Join us as we delve into diverse topics with a focus on uplifting black and brown voices, promoting creativity, and fostering personal and professional growth. 

Information

  • Creator
    Ellington Brown
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    184
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 SpeakUP! International Inc.
  • Show Website
    SpeakUP! International Inc.