Fall 2023 Class
Nika Booth
Nika Booth is an award-winning debt freedom expert, personal finance content creator, and the Founder of Debt Free Gonnabe. Nika created Debt Free Gonnabe to document and share her journey to pay off over $200,000 in debt. Now debt free, she teaches others how to better manage their money and pay off debt, without sacrificing fun. In 2021, Nika won the Plutus Award for Best Debt Freedom Content and was featured as a Community Voice by Meta. Her work and expertise have been featured on Business Insider, New York Times, TIME, CNN Audio, CNBC, & more.
Jeanelle Castro
Jeanelle Castro is a travel and food content creator. She brings her audience on culinary and cultural explorations through lighthearted storytelling. From the bustling streets of the Philippines, charming landscapes of Ireland, and the flavorful food scene of Japan, Jeanelle takes her audiences on a journey to savor lesser-known dishes. While she loves to share global cuisine, Jeanelle primarily dedicates her work to represent her Filipina-American culture.
Alicia T. Chew
Alicia T. Chew is a Los Angeles-based author and lifestyle blogger at AliciaTenise.com, a blog for women who wish to live stylishly. Through a variety of style, home décor, travel, and entertaining posts, Alicia’s blog combines luxury and quality lifestyle tips that are sure to encourage and inspire the fashion-forward and affluent adventurer. Fueling her passion for wine, Alicia received her WSET Level 1 Certification in Wine in August 2020. She has studied for the Level-2 certification and will take the exam in 2023. Her first book, From Harvest To Home, was published in August 2022.
Saeng Douangdara, M.A.
Saeng Douangdara is a personal chef and Lao cuisine specialist turned content creator with 700K+ followers and millions of social media views. As a first-gen Lao American, food has always been central in his life, especially the dishes his mother prepared. With a background in social welfare and Asian Studies, he pursued a Master's in counseling psychology while teaching Lao cuisine as a chef instructor. A trip to Laos inspired him to start Saeng's Kitchen LLC, catering to Hollywood clients and promoting Lao food representation. Saeng’s work has been featured in Delish, Buzzfeed, NY Times, LA Times, and I won on TBS's Rat In The Kitchen. Proudly part of the Lao Food Movement, he’s devoted to championing Lao cuisine and inspiring others to explore our rich culture's flavors.
Cinneah El-Amin
Flynanced empowers ambitious professionals to effortlessly build wealth by earning more in their 9-5 careers without shame. This award-winning, community-led platform provides a proprietary curriculum to teach financial literacy and career advancement. They're dedicated to redistributing wealth back into the hands of Black professionals with 275,000+ followers and 5,000+ students and counting. Our founder, Cinneah El-Amin, has developed and launched consumer-facing credit products at American Express, Mastercard, and PayPal. In 2022, she was named an Entreprenista 100 Winner by Chase Ink in Best Community-led Business. Cinneah is a graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University and the Wake Forest University School of Business.
Yaritza Gonzalez
Yaritza Gonzalez is the founder of College Money Chica, an educational platform that focuses on helping families demystify the college admissions and financial aid journey. She was inspired to start the brand after earning over $300,000 in college funding and graduating from undergrad and graduate school debt free. Her mission with College Money Chica is to inform families that “Debt-Free College Is Possible”. Yaritza is a graduate of Seton Hall University and Columbia University. She currently resides in the NYC metro area.
Rasheeta Joy
Rasheeta Joy Fields is a certified plant based sports nutritionist and master fitness trainer. She combines nutrition, herbalism, and fitness for a holistic approach to healing. Her enthusiasm for teaching the plant based lifestyle started after her mothers death from colon cancer. Since then Rasheeta has made it her life's work to help women live longer, fulfilling, happier lives adapting a Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle.
prettypumpedfitness.com
@rasheetajoy
Chelsie Kumar
Chelsie Kumar is the NYC-based travel blogger behind Suitcase And I, dedicated to inspiring women to embrace bold, adventurous living. From daring encounters with great white sharks to exploring South East Asia on a motorbike, Chelsie's adventures seek to redefine travel for her followers and readers. A former lawyer turned professional photographer, drone pilot, and travel writer, Chelsie has explored 105 countries and all 7 continents. She is a collaborator who'll infuse excitement and authenticity into your brand campaigns.
Gabriel Lewis
Starting at a young age, Gabriel Lewis began cooking and understanding the art of food. He spent his free time throughout the course of his teenage years in the kitchen, learning from his mother Lisa, Aunt Gertrude and Grandmother Valerie cooking different proteins and testing different flavor combinations. He earned his place in the top seven of the hit T.V show MasterChef at 19 years old. Under the guidance of the judges, Aaron Sanchez, Christina Tosi and Gordon Ramsay, his cooking flourished. He earned a culinary arts opportunity paid for by Gordon Ramsay and currently operates as a private chef under his own Chef Gabe LLC, winning Best Chef 2019 in So6ix Magazine in his hometown of OKC while traveling the country cooking for celebrity clients. He currently crafts food content with his photographer sister showcasing how easy it can be to step in the kitchen and make something delicious. He recently released his first cookbook We Got Food at Home: A Guide to Great Home Cooking with Iron Chef Cat Cora endorsing the book with a foreword.
Mona Molayem
Mona Molayem is a luxury travel blogger and influencer. Her website, MonaCorona.com, covers the most inspiring destinations both on and off the beaten path, for an audience that is aesthetically-minded as much as they are free-spirited and in search of new and unique experiences. Mona shares destination guides, tips, and travel hacks to help others travel more luxuriously while touching on topics that are important to her such as eco-tourism and cultural relevancy.
monacorona.com
@monacorona
Jessica Morrobel
Jessica Morrobel is a New York City-based travel and lifestyle creator who captivates with content spanning curly hair care, travel, and modern fashion. Her bold and fun approach draws from her professional background in journalism and marketing from her roles in the travel, tech, and beauty sectors. Beyond her posts and stories, Jessica's mission is to inspire her audience to not just observe, but to actively explore, continually learn, and confidently embrace their unique self-expression.
Travelingwithjessica.com
@travelingwithjessica
Art by Nichole Washington