Erica Wright is the founder of U FIRST, INC., a charitable organization dedicated to serving the homeless with the basic necessities in efforts to restore their dignity and help them to lead a healthy and whole life. For more about Erica and U First. Read more about The Passionistas Project.   FULL TRANSCRIPT: Pop Culture Passionistas: [00:00:00] Hi and welcome to The Passionistas Project Podcast. We're Amy and Nancy Harrington and today we're talking to Erica Wright founder of the nonprofit organization U First Inc., a charitable organization dedicated to serving the homeless with the basic necessities in an effort to restore their dignity to lead a healthy and whole life. So please welcome to the show Erica Wright. Erica Wright: [00:00:21] Hi. Thank you guys so much for having me. I am just excited to be here, excited to talk about what we're doing with U First and our journey of homeless love. Pop Culture Passionistas: [00:00:29] What are you most passionate about? Erica Wright: [00:00:32] Right now, I'm definitely passionate about helping the homeless community bringing dignity back to their lives. I've experienced being homeless myself and I know what it feels like to meet someone. Sometimes your ego will allow you not to want to reach out to people. And so I just had a great group of people around me supporting me who pour it back into me even in the time of need. And s o the spirit has never left me. And even at a young age I've always felt like we could always do more because of the things that we have and so it's just been a passion of mine and to just give back to those in need. Pop Culture Passionistas: [00:01:04] How does that translate into what you do for a living? Erica Wright: [00:01:07] We do so many things that you U First. The passion is just not for our homeless community but as for those who are in need. So, it could be our children, who are in need with school supplies. Food. But my passion of helping the homeless community by keeping them clean is to put together these love acts we call them and they're just simple necessities of life like a washcloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, the things that we take for granted. And so it packaging these items and giving those to the people in need whether they're in shelters or under the bridge. I have a phrase of I believe everyone has a seat at the table. So Why not be able to get up in the morning and feel that love and sense of belonging, just from a small kit like a love bag. And that's truly my passion to do that. Put a smile on someone's face. Pop Culture Passionistas: [00:01:52] How did that journey start? What was the seed of the idea to start doing this and how did it develop? Erica Wright: [00:01:56] About 10 years ago, I saw this lady under the bridge, literally using a bottle of water to wash her hair. And It was cool that morning and I could see the steam coming from her head and it never left my spirit. I went through a bad breakup and I knew that I had a purpose and a passion and I needed to birth something. And so, August the 7th, 2014, I woke up from a dream and God had given me a vision. And I was like Paul, I just wrote out all of the things that were going to come forth with helping people and the name U First came about. And so, I didn't know what it was going to look like I didn't have any money and didn't have any credit and I had a blueprint. So, I heard this whisper, truly from God to use social media. And so what I would do, I spoke at Sunday school about my passion and my dream and my vision and two ladies from Sunday school started bringing hygiene items for the love bags. So I was able to put the kits together and that's how it started. So once people started getting engaged, with it I post it on social media and I would say, "Hey thank you Miss Jackson for donating two tubes of the toothpaste." And It just became contagious people from all over the place, I mean different states would just send items. And it's just been it's be

  Susan X Jane is a diversity educator, speaker and trainer. Susan is a former professor and youth worker, who now consults with organizations looking to make sense of our current cultural shift. ----more---- Learn more about Susan. Learn more about The Passionistas Project. Listen to Susan's Bonus Material: Susan X Jane on BeyonceSusan X Jane on Kanye WestSusan X Jane On the 2018 MidtermsSusan X Jane on Her Pop Culture Icon   FULL TRANSCRIPT: Passionistas: [00:00:00] Hi and welcome to the Passionistas Project Podcast. We're Amy and Nancy Harington. If you enjoy listening to the show please consider becoming a patron. Just a small donation of one dollar a month can help us keep the project going and you'll get rewards like buttons access to premium content and invites to Passionistas. Project events. Today we're talking to Susan X Jane — a diversity educator speaker and trainer. Susan is a former professor and youth worker who now consults with organizations looking to make sense of our current cultural shift. So please welcome to the show Susan X Jane. Susan X Jane: [00:00:35] Hi. Thank you for having me. Passionistas: [00:00:38] Susan, what's the one thing you're most passionate about? Susan X Jane: [00:00:41] Definitely diversity and inclusion. Really thinking about race. I care about all kinds of diversity and social justice. I think that we all have to get together. But my particular interest really lies around race and also the way that race is represented. How we talk about it. The stories that we tell about it and how those stories shape what we think race is and how we experience it. Passionistas: [00:01:08] How does that translate into what you do for a living? Susan X Jane: [00:01:11] It is kind of an odd niche thing to do for a living. So I think that I've always just kind of found places where people were interested in doing the work to really think about identity and to think about race. But I have to be honest it used to be like you're wandering in the wilderness and I was the only person it felt like that really cared a lot about this. There wasn't a lot of focus. I remember a lot of times going to people to try to say, "Hey it would really be great if you guys talked about race." And people saying, "Oh those issues are really done. We don't have to do that anymore." But we all now know that we've got to talk about race. But still I find that it's a awkward and uncomfortable conversation. And it's such a kind of amorphous idea that I think people really are often intimidated by how to like touch it so teaching education. And now that everybody is really saying well, "What does this mean for me?" I think working with the organizations to step in and to bring my expertise to help answer that question. Passionistas: [00:02:15] What inspired you to start to do this for a living? Susan X Jane: [00:02:19] I always joke that I started doing race work when I was in utero. So before I was born. I am biracial and I'm also a trans racial adoptee. Which means that I am a person of color who was adopted by a white family. And this happened — I'm going to age myself here — but this happened in '69 and it was kind of like that NICHD right in between civil rights kind of like coming to some fruition and busing. So it was a moment kind of fraught with some racial tension and so because of the way adoption was I don't know what the story was. But I imagine there were probably some conversations about race involved in my adoption process. And certainly from my parents and those conversations about race were from the very beginning. So I think that I have always been a person that has been standing on this kind of racial line in America. And so it's really been an interesting process. I grew up in an all white community and then I went to college and came out of the house and started thinking about this stuff and it really was very curious to me. I think being free from having family that are centered in one side or an

Erin Penner, is the founder of the an outdoor, exploration-based preschool, ILA — Inspired Little Activists. She is also an elected official on the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council and an advocate for the LGBT community and the unhoused population in Los Angeles. ----more---- Learn more about ILAAdventureSchool.org. Learn more about The Passionistas Project. FULL TRANSCRIPT: Passionistas: [00:00:00] Hi and welcome to the Passionistas Project Podcast. We're Amy and Nancy Harrington and if you enjoy listening to the show please consider becoming a patron. Just a small donation of one dollar a month can help us keep the project going. And you'll get rewards — like buttons, access to premium content and invites to Passionistas Project events. Today we're talking to Erin Penner — the founder of an outdoor, exploration-based school ILA, which stands for Inspired Little Activists. Erin is also an elected official on the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council and she's an advocate for the LGBT community and the unhoused population in Los Angeles. So please welcome to the show. Erin Penner. Passionistas: What are you most passionate about. Erin Penner: [00:00:40] I'm most passionate about giving a voice to people that aren't being heard. And giving them a platform to really say what they need and speak what's on their mind and whether it's working with the homeless or with children it's just giving them a voice. Passionistas: [00:00:55] So how does that translate into what you do for a living? Erin Penner: [00:00:59] I started my own nonprofit organization that teaches kids how to take ownership of L.A. So they clean Griffith Park and they clean the beach and they feed the homeless and they're on the metro twice a month and they go all over the city and they really are advocates for the city and for people in need and for themselves. So gives them quite a voice.  Passionistas: [00:01:21] Talk a little bit about your path to starting the preschool. Erin Penner: [00:01:24] When I came here 12 years ago I had my teaching degree from Wheelock College in Boston. And back then I mean you could get... You could work in TV without even thinking about it. The jobs were like a dime a dozen. So I jumped into TV but also nannied to because my passion was working with kids. So I was Nannying for quite some time. And one of the children's preschool teachers grabbed me and she had her own school out here in L.A. that she had started. And I was working one on one with her for years and she branched out and the school moved to Griffith Park and became entirely outside. But she had a child two years ago and I kind of took it over rebranded it and added my own little flair to it. And that's where I am now. Passionistas: [00:02:13] And what's the flair that you added? Erin Penner: [00:02:15] I made it very much an activism school and it's actually called Inspired Little Activists. And what she was doing is very nature driven and this still is. But nature's not necessarily my passion. I enjoy being outside very much but I'm not really put your hiking boots on every single day kind of person even though we do do that. But I added my own let's grab a backpack get on the metro and go meet Mayor Garcetti and stuff like that. So it's kind of both. Passionistas: [00:02:47] So give us examples of some other kinds of things you do. Erin Penner: [00:02:50] We constantly learn about leaders, world leaders, leaders in the community, whether it's just someone in town or Billie Jean King or stuff like that. But we also have... It's really important to me that they know their community and you can teach their own parents about their communities. So the fire department will stop by and police will stop by my friends and nurse. He'll stop by and it's just very much just being a part of the world they live in. So we do that. They constantly have visitors and then like this week it's Day the Dead, so we're going to an art gallery downtown — Self Help Graphic

Joan Baker is a voice-over artist, teacher and coach. She is also the author of Secrets of Voice-Over Success. And along with her husband, Rudy Gaskins, she is the co-founder of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences. SOVAS is a non-profit organization created to enhance opportunities for gainful employment across all aspects of the voice-over industry and its related fields. Learn more about Joan and SOVAS. Learn more about The Passionistas Project. Listen to Joan's Bonus Material:BONUS: Joan Baker on the challenges of doing voice overBONUS: Joan Baker on almost introducing ObamaBONUS: Joan Baker the Voice Arts Awards and That's Voice Over BONUS: Joan Baker on her mantrasBONUS: Joan Baker on Josephine BakerBONUS: Joan Baker on her pop culture icons

Ramona Harvey left the field of consumer research to focus on helping people identify their unique path and their true purpose in life. She has recently designed a workshop to help people navigate the Path of Happiness. To learn more about Ramona and the Path of Happiness, visit SFStoryTeller.com. To learn more about the Passionistas Project visit our website.   Listen to Ramona's Bonus Material:BONUS: Ramona Harvey on her advice to someone seeking happinessBONUS: Ramona Harvey on reaching the full bloom of happinessBONUS: Ramona Harvey on studying the science of happinessBONUS: Ramona Harvey on her pop culture icon

Sarah Boyd is the founder and creative force behind SIMPLY, a beauty and fashion brand consultant agency. Simply’s flagship conferences and monthly sessions, bring together fashion, beauty and entrepreneurial mavens to network, inspire and learn from one another. To learn more about Sarah visit Simply-Inc.com. To learn more about the Passionistas Project visit our website.    

Jessie Jacobson is a lecturer, musician, former Marriage & Family Therapist and a contributor to Queer Wise, an LGBT writer’s collective and spoken word performance group in Los Angeles. To find out more about Queer Wise, visit QueerWise.net  Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast. Listen to Jessie's Bonus Material:BONUS: Jessie Jacobson on Her Pop Culture IconsBONUS: Jessie Jacobson on Her Professional Mentors BONUS: Jessie Jacobson on Dealing with Creative BlockBONUS: Jessie Jacobson on Her Mantra

Elise Darma is the founder of the international marketing agency Canupy and full-time traveling entrepreneur. She offers online courses and one-on-one coaching to other aspiring Instagram influencers and "travelpreneurs" who seek freedom from their 9 to 5 jobs. To find our more about Elise visit EliseDarma.com. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast. Listen to Elise's Bonus Material:BONUS: Elise Darma on Her Cultural InfluencesBONUS: Elise Darma on Her Pop Culture Icon

Stacey Newman Weldon, owner of Adventure Wednesdays, started taking herself on adventures to get out of a rut. This set her on a path that included little adventures like trying a new food, to big ones like attending Burning Man at the age of 50. Now she shares her knowledge through a course called The Adventure Solution. To find our more about Stacey visit Adventure Wednesdays. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.    

Annette Corsino-Blair is the owner of The Knitting Tree L.A. and the Branch Gallery. Annette is known not only for the great selection of yarns in her store but for fostering a growing community of knitting enthusiasts. Find out more about her at TheKnittingTreeLA.com. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.

Linda Goetz is an actor, co-founder of the Newton Nomadic Theater, teacher at Newton Theater Company and writer and director of two web series Brillig and Adder Mountain. Watch Adder Mountain here and Check out Brillig on YouTube. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.

Shaz Bennett was one of eight women selected into the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women and winner of the New York Women in Film & Television's Nancy Malone Award. Most recently she directed an episode of the critically acclaimed drama series Queen Sugar on OWN — the Oprah Winfrey Network. Find out more about Queen Sugar at OWN. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast. Listen to Shaz's Bonus Material:BONUS: Shaz Bennett on her Summer in Alaska

DeMane Davis, producing director of the critically acclaimed drama series Queen Sugar on OWN — the Oprah Winfrey Network, starts each day greeting her crew one by one and speaks about her feelings of pure gratitude for doing the job she loves. Don't miss it! Find out more about Queen Sugar at OWN. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast. Listen to DeMane's Bonus Material:BONUS: DeMane Davis on Her Pop Culture IconBONUS: DeMane Davis on the Rewards of Being a DirectorBONUS: DeMane Davis on the Queen Sugar Director's Camaraderie  

Daina Trout is co-founder and CEO of the fermented drink Health-Ade Kombucha. She not only has words of wisdom about starting your own company but also about her philosophy of "you do you." Find out more about Daina and Health-Ade Kombucha at Health-Ade.com Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.

Erika De La Cruz is a TV personality, inspirational speaker in the #Girlboss movement, author of Passionistas, Tips Tales & Tweetables from Women Pursuing Their Dreams and creator of the Personal Development Conference: Passion to Paycheck. Find out more about Erika at campaign at ErikaDeLaCruz.com. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.

Liz Lachman is an Emmy-winning composer, has written and directed several award-winning short films, co-wrote Susan Feniger’s STREET Cookbook, created the series Destiny for Kingworld, and made two spoof videos with Marie Osmond. Her latest film Pin-Up won 6 Indiefest Film Awards. Watch for it at a film fest near you. Find out more about Liz at LizLachman.com. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project Podcast.

Laura joined the Boston Ballet in its inaugural season and was a principal dancer with the company for 25 years. Her long and varied career included dancing with Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. Her recent memoir Boston Ballerina is now available on Amazon.

Jess Phoenix is a volcanologist, geologist and the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit environmental organization Blueprint Earth. As if that weren’t enough she’s now a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 25th Congressional District. Find out more about her campaign at Jess2018.com. Read more about The Passionistas Project at The Passionistas Project.

Sashee Chandran is the innovator behind the premium beverage line Tea Drops. On this episode of The Passionistas Project she discusses leaving her marketing job at eBay and turning her childhood passion into a fun and approachable new school of tea. Learn more about Sashee and TeaDrops. Learn more about The Passionistas Project. Listen to Sashee's Bonus Material:BONUS: Sashee Chandran Her Pop Culture Icon

Through her own journey of self-discovery, Melody Godfred of Fred + Far found a way to remind all women to make a pinky promise to choose themselves each and every day by wearing a Self-Love Pinky Ring. Don't miss this inspiring episode. Learn more about the Passionists Project at our website. Learn more about the Pink Ring at Fred + Far. Listen to Melody's Bonus Material:BONUS: Melody Godfred Her Pop Culture IconBONUS: Melody Godfred on Her Book "The Agency"

Terry Ann Gordon has designed costumes for some of the strongest women in entertainment including Reba McEntire, Rita Moreno and Fran Drescher. Find out the path that led her to where she is and the fun attitude that keeps her there. Read more about Terry. Read more about The Passionistas Project. Listen to Terry's Bonus Material:BONUS: Terry Ann Gordon: Working with Reba McEntire, Rita Morena and Fran DrescherBONUS: Terry Ann Gordon's Pop Culture Icon

Chef, cookbook author and restaurateur Susan Feniger is best known for her restaurant Border Grill and her TV show Too Hot Tamales. But she is also a strong, empowered woman who supports numerous philanthropic causes near and dear to her heart.To read more about The Passionistas Project visit the Pop Culture Passionistas website.

Miry Whitehill on advice for someone who wants to create a nonprofit. More from Miry: Miry Whitehill on her definition of successMiry Whitehill on why she likes to be of service to peopleMiry Whitehill on the pop culture icon she would be for a dayMiry Whitehill on the Miry's List slogan I'm HereMiry Whitehill on Mirys List Friendsgiving Campaign Hear Miry's full episode. Learn more about Miry's List. Learn more about The Passionistas Project.    

Kirsten Barrie on the business mistakes she most commonly sees. More from Kirsten: Kirsten Barrie on Her Secret to a Rewarding Life Kirsten Barrie on The Icon She Would Be For a Day Learn more about Kirsten. Learn more about The Passionistas Project.  

Kirsten Barrie on the icon she would be for a day. More from Kirsten: Kirsten Barrie on Mistakes She Most Commonly Sees Kirsten Barrie on Her Secret to a Rewarding Life Learn more about Kirsten. Learn more about The Passionistas Project.