In this episode, Laurie is flying solo and talks with the amazing Nelli Kim, Founder & CEO at RĒDEN, which makes radically comfortable shoes with a purpose, and Founding Board Member of RAISEfashion, a network of fashion industry leaders, providing pro bono consulting to Black-owned brands and individuals, with a mission to advance the equity of Black talent. She is also Co-founder of Embers International, which works to fight the injustice of human trafficking.

Nelli talks about how she got into fashion and her climb up the ladder to high-end fashion apparel and shoes, and then the moment when she felt called to intersect her experience with raising money for organizations doing good in the world. Nelli shares honestly about her cancer diagnosis, the healing process, and how her experience made her goal to make comfortable shoes even more meaningful. We talk about the power of mentorship and making ourselves available to others, and about why heromakers can be found in unlikely places.

Heromakers can be found on IG @heromakersmovement and on FB @heromakersmovement. You can also visit our website at: https://www.heromakersmovement.com.

Nelli's Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelli-kim-370754a6

Personal Instagram: @nellibellek

RĒDEN: https://www.shopreden.com

Embers International: http://www.embersinternational.org

RAISEfashion: https://raisefashionnow.org

In this episode, we reference Megs Yunn on Celebrating Birthdays, Building Joy, and Speaking Dignity to Children  (S1E23).

You can watch this and other episodes of the podcast on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuVDFP8jEcv5bdhr8VLzXjA. 

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And share this episode with your friends. 

Want to support this work we do?? We are on PATREON and would love if you would join our growing community! Check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/heromakersmovement. 

In this episode, Laurie and Ann talk with Mannie Thomas, co-executive director and director of programming at Success Stories, which "provides an alternative to prisons that builds safer communities by delivering feminist programming to people who have caused harm." Here, Mannie shares his own journey of growing up with false narratives about himself and what it meant to be a man--and which led him down a destructive road to prison. There, Mannie began to see himself, others, and the future differently, eventually earning five degrees and assisting other men to see how broken worldviews impact everything. 

Mannie shares what he has learned, helps us understand patriarchy and toxic masculinity, and gives us a glimpse into the power of true community, redemption, and moving past shame to find the real person hidden inside each of us. 

Heromakers can be found on IG @heromakersmovement and on FB @heromakersmovement. You can also visit our website at: https://www.heromakersmovement.com.

Success Stories can be found here: www.successstoriesprogram.org, and on Instagram here.

In this episode, we reference Hector Guadalupe on "Life After Incarceration and Why All of Us Need Second Chances" (S1E14).

You can watch this and other episodes of the podcast on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuVDFP8jEcv5bdhr8VLzXjA. 

Like us and follow us today!

And share this episode with your friends. 

Want to support this work we do?? We are on PATREON and would love if you would join our growing community! Check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/heromakersmovement. 

In this episode, Laurie and Ann talk with Latanya DeVaughn, founder of Bronx Bound Books, the only mobile bookstore in the Bronx (and only the second bookstore in that area!), an area of over 1.5 million people. For years, Latanya didn't think it was possible to own her own bookstore, but when her son's recently-retired teacher opened one, something changed in her. Tapping into her savings, Latanya purchased a shuttle bus and began traveling from place to place to bring books to those who would otherwise not have access to new and gently-used books. 

Here, the three talk about books and Latanya's influences, and about the rubber band as an analogy for life -- when the tension of following your dreams becomes too much, you either let go and release the tension, or you let your dreams fly and see where they take you.

Heromakers can be found on IG @heromakersmovement and on FB @heromakersmovement. You can also visit our website at: https://www.heromakersmovement.com.

Bronx Bound Books and the Go Fund Me page we reference can be found here: bronxboundbooks.shop/gofundme/, and on Instagram here.

You can watch this and other episodes of the podcast on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuVDFP8jEcv5bdhr8VLzXjA. 

Like us and follow us today!

And share this episode with your friends. 

Want to support this work we do?? We are on PATREON and would love if you would join our growing community! Check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/heromakersmovement.