When we think about Hurricane Katrina, the first thing that comes to mind is New Orleans.  Well Mississippi was also affected by the monster storm in 2005, but almost all of the news was focused on New Orleans because of how devastating it all was.  I remember saying that it felt like we were living in a third world country because of the devastation and the slow moving of FEMA.  

​In this episode of Good Morning Gwinnett I talk to author and researcher Dr. Ophera Davis.  Dr. Davis has conducted research for decades. Her new book, Overlooked Hurricane Katrina Mississippi Black Women Survivors Resilience and Recovery analyzes the longitudinal experiences of group whose narratives have been obscured although they have been in plain view. She has published several papers on disaster survivors. Her first article on Hurricane Katrina was published in a Harvard Journal. She has given talks at academic conferences on her Hurricane Katrina project over the last 15 years on six continents.

​www.GoodMorningGwinnett.com Carla is an Organic Garden Consultant and Owner of Carla in the Kitchen, which provides in-person and virtual services and resources on organic gardening, cooking nutritious foods, wellness and healthy living.

She found a passion for cooking healthy and delicious food at a very young age while spending endless days in the kitchen watching her mother and grandmother bake and prepare meals for the family. Her enthusiasm for gardening and growing her own fruits and vegetables started in 1985. A fellow nurse inspired her to start a garden and taught her how to preserve fruits and vegetables for her family all year round. This early experience with gardening launched Carla’s mission to impact the lives of other nurses and individuals through personalized wellness coaching and personal chef meals.

​www.GoodMorningGwinnett.com Lisa Anders is the Executive Director of Explore Gwinnett, Gwinnett’s official tourism and film office. Explore Gwinnett’s mission is to draw conventions, meetings, conferences and sports tournaments to Gwinnett’s hotels, Gas South District and other event venues. Explore Gwinnett serves as Gwinnett County’s official destination marketing organization.

Lisa is Gwinnett County’s official Camera Ready representative, serving as Gwinnett’s industry liaison for locations, permitting and photography to the booming film and movie industry as well as to the Georgia Film Office. The Gwinnett Film Office serviced over 250 location requests and works with 40+ film/TV productions annually.

Lisa serves on the boards of the Aurora Theatre, Southeastern Railway Museum, Destinations International and Partnership Gwinnett PFE. She is a one of Georgia’s only Certified Destination Management Executives, 2018 graduate of Regional Leadership Institute and a 2013 Leadership Gwinnett graduate.

www.GoodMorningGwinnett.comLynn helps speakers, experts, consultants, authors, and coaches turn content into revenue. Her “superpower” is building strategies that help experts build not one, but a series of courses that turn their thought leadership into experience-based learning experiences.

If you want to elevate how you're known as an expert, Lynn can help you uncover the "secret sauce" that makes you unique. If you are someone whose been looking for a strategy and plan that leaders to building not one, but a series of courses that turn your thought leadership into experience-based learning experiences.

She combines more than 20 years of experience in business-to-business sales and marketing in corporate and transformative learning, virtual learning and conferences with her work as a writer and growth strategist.

I hope you enjoy this episode and use the tools and techniques Lynn shares to grow your business and your revenue.

Until Next Time 
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

An inspirational speaker, motivator, author, organizer and “liberator of persons from all intellectual, social and cultural walks of life”, Dr. Grey is a committed advocate for communal change. As a strong proponent of gathering the masses through grassroots efforts, Dr. Grey has dedicated much of his life to mobilizing and inspiring others to achieve their true potential.

A native of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, Dr. Grey graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, in 1991. After receiving his call to preach in 1997, Dr. Grey earned a Master's of Divinity degree and graduated Cum Laude from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia, in 2002.

He is a certified NTU Psychotherapist and has received certificates of completion from The Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration in psychopharmacology and adolescent and addiction issues in addition to serving as a facilitator for a Rites of Passage program geared toward young males. In 2012, Dr. Grey was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from St. Thomas Christian University in Jacksonville, Florida

As a former pastor of The Liberation Temple, a non-denominational Christian Church in Mt. Rainer, MD, Dr. Grey initiated the following programs: a monthly feeding program that fed over 200 homeless men and women throughout the Washington, DC area, a yearly back-to-school program that provided school supplies to children within the community, an outreach program that supplied clothes and resources to victims of domestic abuse, computers to a local elementary school, entrepreneurship workshops for the youth, seminars on ending violence, and much more just to name a few. In 2021, Dr. Grey was ordained an Itinerant Elder in the AME Church at the 147th Annual Session of the Atlanta North Conference. He currently serves as the Pastor of Mayfield Zion AME Church in Alamo, Ga.

Dr. Grey is the author of six books, Seeds of Freedom: Inspirational Messages for Ordinary People with Extraordinary Potential, God Held Back Your Night So That You Can Get It Right, It's In You: Motivational Messages That Will Help Uplift and Empower You, Positive Living Through Positive Affirmations, So, You Think You Want To Date? (Thoughts and Reflections on Wise, Skillful Dating) , and The ABC's of Making Business Networking Work For You.

​Since 2018, Game of Drones strives to be Georgia's premier provider of Aerial photos and videos for professional and commercial use. Modern technology and professional aerial tactics have combined to bring about the perfect opportunity for savvy individuals, businesses and business owners to take advantage of aerial photos and videos.

Aerial production has a limitless number of functions applications. These include, but are not limited to, video production in areas such as, aerial videos for businesses, aerial videos for film, aerial videos for weddings, aerial videos for real estate. And in photography, aerial photography for businesses opens up a new world. From Aerial Real Estate photography, to professional videography, to agricultural research, and radio tower inspections, to search and rescue, and more, drones are changing our everyday lives and creating opportunities previously unheard of.

Photography for me started out as just a hobby. I was always fascinated by the ability to capture images of just about anything with just the click of a button. And now with the incredible interjection of drones into photography, that fascination has increased exponentially. Just imagine, 20 years ago, you would have had to rent a helicopter to get great aerial shots! Today’s drones have eliminated most of that need. The chance to affordably place a camera with 4K video-recording or high megapixel abilities in any corner of the sky is one hard to pass up on for professional photographers.

Game of Drones specializes in aerial drone videography and photography. My passion is to create and produce high quality aerial videography and photography that is customized, personalized, and tailored to the exclusive needs of individual clients at an affordable price.

The use of airspace was limited before the commercialization of drones. It was the dominion of those who could afford their own aircrafts such as presidents, generals, large corporations, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Drones have changed that. Today, anyone in the world has the potential to access the skies at will with a drone, and Game of Drones aims to take full advantage of the value of that space.

​Randall Toussaint is the Director of Economic Development at Partnership Gwinnett. Randall oversees the organization’s project management team and cultivates project wins for Gwinnett County in five target industries: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Technology, Life Science, and Corporate Headquarters.

Randall previously served as the Director of Corporate Solutions & Cybersecurity at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and as the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation’s Business Development officer for the technology sector in Fort Meade, Maryland.

Randall also led urban planning and economic development programs in College Park, Maryland and served as the Vice President of Economic Development in Forsyth County, Georgia. Randall’s career in Georgia also includes tenure as the Assistant Director of the Clayton County Office of Economic Development in Jonesboro, Georgia, and a Program Manager at the Savannah Development & Renewal Authority. Randall has over a decade of experience in the fields of urban planning and economic development. He is a former Fellow with the US Department of Housing & Urban Development and a former legislative liaison with the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Savannah State University and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Morehouse College.

Randall lives in Gainesville, Georgia with his wife and two children.

​www.GoodMorningGwinnett.com Twenty four years of experience working as a licensed stylist with 30 years total experience. Provides educational and professional training to licensed cosmetologists and salon owners in topics including but not limited to building business etiquette, marketing, and hands on styling techniques. Has expansion in the areas of make up artistry, distribution of products as well as participation in tradeshow events, and motivational speaking.

www.GoodMorningGwinnett.com Being a guest on podcast can be a great way for you to get in the front of new audiences and to help you build your brand.  My guest is going to share with you how to go from boring to soaring and become a great guest. 

​Mark Deal is a nationally recognized expert and local leader in Podcasting. He serves as the Founder of Podcast GUEST Academy, CoFounder of Podcast EDITOR Academy, and is the Organizer of Podcast Atlanta, The worlds 2nd largest and fastest growing local podcast group which is how we met waaaay back!

He also works as a podcast director for various branded podcasts. His primary focus is showing people how to take their podcast and guest appearances from boring to soaring with measurable impact.

www.GoodMorningGwinnett.com Dawn Fitch is an author, speaker and the founder and CEO of Pooka Pure and Simple, an artisan bath and body company. After battling illness and feeling the need to adopt a healthier lifestyle, she began making and selling her own products. The response was tremendous. That’s when the realization hit that she had an incredible business idea and Pooka was born!

The company has grown from Dawn making products on her stove in her apartment to a showroom in Kearny, NJ. The products are currently sold in various Whole Food markets, were featured on QVC and sold online and through various distributors.

Dawn has been a speaker and panelist for many events including the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, Girl Scouts of America Gold Awards and National Black MBA Associations’ National Conference. She has been featured on The Today Show, CBS Evening News, Our World with Black Enterprise, PIX11 News, Arise TV and various TV outlets. In 2012 she graced the cover of Black Enterprise Magazine and was featured in Essence Magazine in 2019 as one of their top 20 Black Beauty Brands.

Dawn has been the recipient of many awards including, The Influencer Award for Entrepreneurship given by the Urban League, the Black Executive Award given by the African American Chambers of Commerce, and an Agent of Change award from the National Council of Negro Women.

She is a health advocate and uses her platforms to support women and especially women suffering from auto-immune diseases, to explore natural healing and lifestyles. She started a FB community called The Best Life Tribe, where women could share and learn about alternative health and healing. The Group began in November 2017 with 20 women and has grown to over 5000 women.