Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys

Born in South Carolina, Brandon Aki was the product of a traditional marriage. Raised by his mother, a business woman and his father, a southern preacher and career military man, Brandon gained a rare perspective on love through a parental relationship that lasted almost 3 decades. After 27 years of marriage, Brandon watched his mother and father go through a heart-breaking divorce and, in their 50’s, his parents were back in the dating pool. Unsure of where to turn, his mother asked for advice and he realized that he had the ability to help her. From the time he left home at 17, Brandon received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, has trained with the US Olympic Pentathlon and Fencing teams, served as ambassador for the US Air Force Academy admissions program, managed classified information systems and a pilot and instructor for multiple military jet aircraft. Brandon has actually traveled the world and after spending years living the life of a “player” he was injured in an accident while deployed overseas. His personal tragedy forced him to take a look at his life and re-evaluate where it was headed. Brandon has created a holistic approach to dating and social interaction designed to transform the way individuals look at relationships and dating and prepare them for new possibilities. Brandon is a featured expert and continued contributor to the “Your Time with Kim Iverson” radio show where he provides a fresh male perspective that helps the predominantly female listening base with insights from a gentleman’s point of view. Brandon has also been featured in the October 2010 issue of Marie Claire Magazine.

The Sudan365 campaign (www.sudan365.org) has been organised by a coalition of groups including Aegis Trust, Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition, Italians for Darfur, the Norway Sudan Forum, Refugees International, Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Sudan Democracy First Group, African Centre for Peace and Justice, Darfur Consortium and Arab Coalition for Darfur. The campaign is targeting the ‘Guarantors’ of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement; those governments and institutions such as the US, UK, Kenya, Eg

SPECIAL GUEST: Jenny Phillips holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology, and is a filmmaker, writer, and psychotherapist. Over the past ten years, she has worked with prisoners in state and county prisons teaching courses on emotional literacy skills and meditation. In 1999, she first visited Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Alabama. Through her initiative, a Vipassana meditation program was established there in 2002. In 2008, Phillips released the award winning documentary film, The Dhamma Brothers. Produced and directed by Phil

The George E. Thorne Development Center is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit corporation, whose mission is to empower individuals to control their destiny by equipping them with the essential tools needed in the areas of education, healthcare, finance and related issues. The Founder, Anita T. Conner, a 12 year breast Cancer survivor has expanded GETDC to incorporate Praise Is The Cure™ as a primary initiative. The George E. Thorne Development Center (GETDC) presents the 5th Annual Praise Is The Cure™ weekend of Hope, Health, and Healing to recognize the plight of African-American Breast Cancer patients, survivors, and their families on Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, 2010 at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, 6401 Ogontz Avenue in Philadelphia. “The objective of Praise Is The Cure™ is to show how breast cancer affects everyone – from patients and survivors, to their families and their communities,” said Anita T. Conner, founder of Praise Is The Cure™ .“It is a family event, with the goal of preventing “victims” and creating more “survivors,” and educating families on how to deal with breast cancer,” added Conner. Due to higher occurrence of mortality, Praise Is The Cure™ targets African American women and their families.

Bright B. Simons is a Ghanaian technology innovator, Development Activist and Social Entrepreneur. As the Director of Development Research at the award-winning African think tank IMANI (www.imanighana.org), and as the President of the mPedigree Network (www.mPedigree.Net), he works to promote innovation as the best response to Africa’s various developmental challenges. His insights have been shared through the Economist, New York Times, BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, Asian Times, and the BBC, where he is a regular commentator for the World Service. Bright is a Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum and a member of its Global Agenda Councils (the organisation's foremost expert body). Bright invented a system for large-scale supply chains between 2004 and 2005, that has been successfully deployed by some pharmaceutical companies to protect their brands from counterfeiters, and by consumers to instantly verify the genuineness of their medicines by means of a free text message. The concept is at the base of the mPedigree platform, arguably the most celebrated item of original technology to emerge from Africa. Bright has consulted for the World Bank in the development of a new strategy for Africa, and for the West African Health Organisation in the context of the latter's recent wide-ranging policy on medicinal counterfeiting in the region. A TED and Ashoka Fellow, he is also both a Tech Award Laureate and a member of the Evian Group's Brain Trust at IMD, widely considered to be Europe's foremost business school. In 2010, he became an Associate of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship.

Loyiso's first album “Wine Woman and Song” in 2003, and his second album ‘Amplified’ in 2005. These albums solidified Loyiso’s reputation as South Africa’s king of R&B. Since then, he has had and won multiple awards ranging from Best R&B album of 2007 at the Metro FM Awards, 5 SAMA nominations - South African Music Awards - 3 Metro FM awards, Best R&B and Best Producer at the SAMA awards 2008, was nominated for best song of 2009 and 2010 at the SAMAs for ‘Blow Your Mind’ and ‘Maybe’ respectively. Loyiso is also known for his recent style awards including “Y

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri is a native of Uganda.  He has been actively involved with nonprofit organizations since 1992.  In Uganda, Mr. Kaguri co-founded the human rights organization Human Rights Concerns, to help victims of human rights violations in Uganda and to educate the public about their rights.   Kaguri came to the United States more than eight years ago as a visiting scholar studying Human Rights Advocacy at Columbia University.  Since that time he has been involved extensively in international community efforts as a Programs Assistant for People’s Decade for Human Rights Education (PDHRE International-New York) and as a volunteer for various nonprofit organizations.  He was instrumental in drafting resolutions that were adopted at the United Nations Youth International Conference held in Braga, Portugal, in 1998. Kaguri most recently worked as Interim Senior Director of Development in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University and currently serves as the Director of the Nyaka and Kutamba Schools. 

Special Guest: Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and raised a devout Muslim. In 1992, Ayaan was married off by her father in a ceremony which she refused to attend. In order to escape this marriage, she fled to the Netherlands where she was given asylum, and eventually citizenship. After earning a degree in political science at the University of Leiden, she served as an elected member of the Dutch parliament for three years. She has since become an active critic of fundamentalist Islam, an advocate for women's rights and a leader in the campaign to reform Islam. Her willingness to speak out and her abandonment of the Muslim faith as currently defined have made her a target for violence and threats of death by Islamic extremists. Ms. Hirsi Ali was named one of TIME magazine's ''100 Most Influential People'' of 2005, one of Glamour Magazine's Heroes of 2005, and she received the Prix Simone de Beauvoir in 2008. She has published a collection of essays entitled The Caged Virgin (Free Press, 2006) and a best-selling memoir Infidel (Free Press, 2007). She is now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC. http://www.theahafoundation.org/

SPECIAL GUEST: Lidia S. Bernik serves as Director of Network Development for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a national network of crisis centers accessed through a series of toll-free numbers, which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In January 2009, Lidia was nominated to serve on the Leadership 21 Committee, an effort by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law to identify and engage the next generation of leaders in the fields of mental health, public policy and legal advocacy and has been serving as the committee’s chair since November 2009. Prior to the Lifeline, Lidia worked as Program Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA in Washington, DC, a national suicide prevention organization focused on education and advocacy. She graduated from Cornell University with Distinction in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies and obtained her Master of Health Science degree in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003. She is currently pursuing her MBA in Health Care Administration part-time at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Having lost her sister to suicide in 2000, Lidia’s commitment to suicide prevention is both personal and professional.http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

SPECIAL GUEST: Lanetta B. Jordan, MD, MPH, MSPH, Director of Sickle Cell Services at Memorial Healthcare System/South Broward Hospital District Hollywood, Florida serves as Chief Medical Officer for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. Dr. Jordan’s academic credentials include a M.D. degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Masters of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration (University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC). In 2004, Dr. Jordan created the Department of Sickle Cell Services at Memorial Healthcare System where she is responsible for daily operation of activities which include focus on adolescent and adult acute pain care, comprehensive follow-up care, research and grants, community outreach education, genetic counseling and screening, and an adolescent transition program. SPECIAL GUEST: Sonja Lynae Banksis the newly elected President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. headquartered in Baltimore Maryland. In that position she is responsible for the administrative activities of the organization which serves sickle cell community based organizations through out the United States. Prior to her current position, Ms. Banks served the St. Vincent's Health System in Birmingham, Alabama for three years. While at St. Vincent’s Health System, Ms. Bank served as Director of Community Services, Outreach and Adult Indigent Services. Ms. Banks' has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Business from Jacksonville State University. http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/

SPECIAL GUEST: Ms. Thomas received her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 2000 and her M.F.A. in painting from Yale University in 2002. In 2002---2003, she participated in the Artist--- in---Residence program at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Recent awards include the Rema Hort Mann Grant in 2007, Joan Mitchell Grant and the Pratt Institute Alumni Achievement Award in 2009. Residencies include the Versailles Foundation Munn Artists Program at Give

One Flight Up by Susan Fales-Hill- After years of searching for and finally landing that one perfect man, four Manhattan friends find themselves simultaneously questioning their romantic choices. Smart, strong, but jaded divorce lawyer India Chumley leads this pack of feisty thirty-somethings, all friends since grade school at Sibley Academy, an Upper East Side institution for sophisticated ladies-in-training. SUSAN FALES was born in Rome, Italy in 1962, and raised in New York City. She graduated with honors from Harvard College with a degree in History and Literature. She has written several magazine articles that have appeared in Town & Country, Vogue, Glamour, American Heritage, Ebony, Essence, Avenue, and Travel and Leisure. Her article for Vogue about growing up bi-racial, entitled “My Life in Black and White,” was reprinted in Vogue Español, and has been used as a teaching piece by a number of universities..In 2003, Susan published Always Wear Joy (HarperCollins), a critically acclaimed memoir about her mother, the late actress/singer/dancer, Josephine Premice. The memoir was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award and the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction. It was an Atlanta Daily Choice Awards winner, and received a starred review from Kirkus. Susan has worked on various TV shows: Co-Executive Producer/Head Writer for "A Different World"..; Executive Producer of the CBS sitcom "Can't Hurry Love"; Executive Producer for "Kirk"; and Consulting Producer for "Suddenly Susan”. In 1998 Susan co-created with Tim Reid the Showtime original series "Linc's” and served for two seasons as its Executive Producer/Head Writer. Website:http://susanfales-hill.com/

SPECIAL GUEST: Misia Denea has a B.F.A. from Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia. Misia is also a graduate of New York’s Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is a Certified Holistic Health Practioner through the American Association of Drugless Practitioner. She received her Yoga training at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia. In a nutshell Misia is a lesbian, yoga therapist, holistic healer and artivist! She fuses Vinyasa Yoga & Anusaura Yoga in her classes. Misia was awarded a $15,000 Leeway Transformation Award. SPECIAL GUEST: Stefanie Syman’s articles on technology, media, and culture have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, Vogue, The Village Voice, Yoga Journal, and Namarupa.. Syman has been featured in two documentary films, Yoga, Inc. and Ashtanga, NY. In 1995, she co-founded FEED (formerly www.feedmag.com). In 2000, she was part of the creative team that founded Plastic.com. And in 2005, as Editorial Director, she helped launch lime.com, a site focused on healthy living and sustainability. Stefanie has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for fifteen years. SPECIAL GUEST: Johannes R. Fisslinger is co-founder of National Yoga Month, president of Yoga Health Foundation and director/producer of the upcoming TITANS OF YOGA movie featuring 25 Modern Masters of Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness. He developed Aura Biofeedback Imaging Systems and has presented lectures and seminars as a META-Medicine Health Coach and Master Trainer worldwide. His newest initiative Yoga-Recess in Schools aims to bring yoga health education into classroom by sending free Yoga DVDs to school teachers. www.titansofyoga.org

Special Guest: Born March 1, 1952, Steven Barnes has pursued a unique dual career. On the one hand, he is an award-winning, best-selling science fiction and mystery novelist, with over three million published words in print. He has won, or been nominated for Cable Ace, Endeavor, Nebula, Hugo, and Image awards. His “A Stitch In Time” episode of The Outer Limits won an Emmy. On the other hand, he has also studied and created a unique body of personal improvement technologies. With a background as a yoga instructor, fourth degree black belt, Eriksonian hypnotist and Circular Strength Training instructor, apprenticed to the Sweet Medicine Sundance path and a devotee of guru Sri Chinmoy, Steven has developed somatic-based techniques of spiritual evolution, applied Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” pattern to personal evolution (“LifeWriting”), lectured on creativity and human myth at the Smithsonian Institute, UCLA, Seattle University, Mensa, and Pasadena JPL. His specialty is a combination of stress/anger/fear management, teaching clients and students to “un-knot” their fight or flight response to access their full human energy. His “Mastering F.E.A.R.” program has successful dealt with writer’s block, phobias, anxiety, anger problems, persistent guilt and trauma from sexual abuse.

Alan Roger Currie was born and raised in Gary, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a degree in Economics with a minor in Theatre & Drama. Currie first came up with the principles and general outline of The Mode One Approach in October 1990, first sharing his philosophy with his older brother Stephen and some of his closest friends and fraternity brothers. The first pamphlet was entitled The Mode One Principles, and many of the men who read Currie’s pamphlet found themselves experiencing dramatic improvements in their success in approaching women and gaining the women’s romantic and/or sexual interest. In late 2001, Currie converted his original pamphlet into an “eBook,” and began selling his eBook on various messages boards which emphasized dating and relationships discussions. Between 2002 and 2005, Currie became a highly sought after contributor and informal dating advisor on the popular men’s website, AskMen.com In March 2006, Currie finally published his eBook as a paperback entitled Mode One: Let the Women Know What You’re REALLY Thinking. Currie is the Host of the popular talk radio podcast program Upfront & Straightforward with Alan Roger Currie. He has been in Essence magazine and Black Enterprise. Currie has taught a college-level adult education course for Indiana University entitled Dating for 21st Century Singles. Currie is a regular columnist for the Examiner.com and also a contributing dating and relationships expert for BlackPeopleMeet.com’s Online Magazine.