Spring 2022 Class
Kay Akpan
Travel / Parenting
Kay Akpan, affectionately known as The Mom Trotter, is an entrepreneur and travel enthusiast who has traveled to over 36 countries with her family and is currently traveling across the U.S. full-time in an RV with her husband and 9-year-old. She is also the founder of Black Kids Do Travel, a non-profit organization, and community created to bring about diversity in travel and bridge the gap. Kay is passionate about sharing an alternate way of living surrounding travel, homeschooling, parenting, and financial independence, in the hopes to inspire others families. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Access Daily, People Magazine, Insider, CNBC, Travel & Leisure, Essence, and more.
Amina AlTai
Business
Amina AlTai is a holistic leadership & mindset coach, proud immigrant, and chronic illness advocate. A leading coach to notable leaders and impact-driven celebrities—Amina’s mastery is in connecting us to our brilliance and teaching us to live and lead from it each day. She is a founding coach for Chief—the most prestigious women's leadership network in the country. She’s an Entrepreneur Magazine expert- in-residence and Forbes Coaches Council Member and has been featured in Forbes, Goop, Entrepreneur, Yahoo, NBC, and more.
Cynthia Andrew
Travel / Lifestyle
Cynthia Andrew is many things (Attorney, Writer, Compliance Professional, Digital content creator, Brand Ambassador) and as such has been keen on challenging the norms of what it means to be a litigator, a Black woman in travel, a digital content creator, and what it means to balance them all. As a result of her varied background and experiences, Cynthia has worked with global brands across a variety of industries and has been featured in Elle Magazine, Elle South Africa, Essence, AFAR magazine, Stories from the Influencer Next Door, Dame Traveler: Live the Spirit of Adventure book to name a few. Cynthia holds a JD from Fordham Law as well as a Masters in Media Management from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and twin boys.
Gabby Beckford
Travel
Gabby Beckford is a full-time digital nomad, travel entrepreneur, and "Opportunity Queen" whose personal and business philosophy surrounds having confidence and waiting on nothing and no one to live life: whether that's sharing inspiring social media content to encourage other women of color to travel solo, creating online courses to help Gen Z to seek grants and surprising financial aid options to skip debt and travel, or empowering her followers to pursue their dream remote jobs with her TEDx talk on Delusional Confidence. She’s been featured in The New York Times, Good Morning America, National Geographic, and Forbes, and ultimately lives her mission of seeking risk, seizing opportunity, and seeing the world.
Brittany Cooper
Food
Brittany Cooper, affectionately known as “Coop”, is an entrepreneur, photographer, recipe developer, and the founder of Coop Can Cook, a food blog with hundreds of Southern style, creole, and cajun fusion recipes. She’s also a serial investor and advocate for the increase of financial literacy in her community and abroad. In addition to photography, she also teaches editing and retouching photography masterclasses in her spare time.
Jo & Mark Iwadare
Food
Jo and Mark are bloggers, content & recipe developers, and photographers based in Los Angeles. They are the founders of Lowcarbingasian.com, a food website focusing on Asian-inspired healthy low-carb and sugar-free recipes. They created their website to inspire and educate people on how to be healthier by cooking and eating a low-carb lifestyle.
Dzung Lewis
Food
Dzung Lewis is the host of Honeysuckle, a food and lifestyle channel on Youtube. Her dedication to simplifying gourmet recipes and lifestyle design has allowed her to grow into a YouTube star. Dzung has been cooking since she was eight years old when her grandmother taught her authentic Vietnamese recipes with a twist. Her mission is to “inspire young women across the globe to use food and lifestyle choices to develop creativity, self-confidence, and community in everyday life.” She has worked with Bon Appétit, Target, Google, Starbucks, and other major lifestyle and food brands.
Robert Lucas
Food
Robert Lucas, also known as the Sweet Impact, is a self-taught cake artist and baker. He is known for his fantastical artistry, modeling cakes after pop culture icons (Nike Air Jordan, Beauty and the Beast, Space Jam) and more. Robert’s has worked with top-tier brands such as DreamWorks, Hulu, Food Network, and OWN.
Francesca Murray
Travel
Francesca Murray is a full-time content creator, guidebook author, and award-winning travel expert. She is a trusted voice in the influencer industry, and has been profiled in publications like The Washington Post, Forbes and was named a top beauty influencer by Essence Magazine. Known for her natural hair, Francesca is passionate about encouraging self-love and believes that life is a journey - so why not travel in style?
Isabel Orozco-Moore
Food
Isabel Orozco-Moore is the founder and CEO of Isabel Eats, a food and recipe website showcasing Mexican cuisine. Her recipes reflect her experience growing up as a first-generation Mexican-American and range from traditional Mexican dishes to Tex-Mex creations inspired by Mexican flavors. She’s collaborated with brands such as Crate & Barrel, Morton Salt, Bush’s Beans, and The National Pork Board. Her mission is to be a resource for others looking to learn more about Mexican cuisine and culture through food and recipes.
Jamila Souffrant
Finance
Jamila Souffrant is an author and the host of the Journey To Launch podcast. She is considered a go-to thought leader in the personal finance field and her work has been featured in BuzzFeed, ESSENCE, Refinery 29, Money Magazine, CNBC, CBS, Business Insider, and more. The Journey To Launch Podcast has over 3+ million total downloads and was listed by the NYTimes as a podcast to help you get better with your money.
@journeytolaunch
journeytolaunch.com
Alana Yazzie
Food
Alana Yazzie is the creator and founder of TheFancyNavajo.com, a lifestyle and food blog that chronicles Yazzie’s life as a contemporary Diné woman living in the city. Through social media, she inspires others to embrace their culture no matter where they live by sharing a variety of lifestyle content such as fashion, foodie adventures, and gardening. Alana is most known for her blue corn recipes including her famous Fancy Blue Corn Cupcakes.
Art by Nichole Washington