In this final episode of the season, Jessica chats with Mubarak Malik, otherwise known as the “Immigration Advocate”. Attorney Mubarak Malik was born and raised in Chicago, IL and is of Pakistani descent. Mubarak is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School where he obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D) and Masters in Laws (LL.M) in Employee Benefits Law. Mubarak has a license to practice law in both Illinois and California. Mubarak operates a law practice focused on Immigration Law and serves clients worldwide regardless of their location. Mubarak is passionate about issues plaguing society and seeks to find ways to improve the world around him. Mubarak lives in San Diego, California and enjoys sightseeing, traveling, cooking, exercising and working on different business ventures. Mubarak promotes peace and inclusion and the promotion of minority women. Mubarak believes in order to cause change you must embody the changes you wish to see. You can visit Mubarak’s page http://www.TheImmigrationAdvocate.com for more information

In this episode, Jessica speaks to Dalton Bradford. Dalton Haakon Bradford is a senior at Brigham Young University studying Middle East Studies & Arabic. He plans to graduate in the fall and begin applying to Masters' programs on the east of the United States and across Europe specialising in Conflict Resolution, Peacemaking and Peacebuilding. Growing up with three siblings—Parker, Claire & Luc—Dalton's parents, Melissa and Randall, had a vision for their children to gain a broader global understanding and thus followed where their work took them internationally. Dalton was born in Norway but has also lived in France, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, but lived for the longest period in Versailles and Paris, France. Through immersion and  instructive experience, Dalton learned to embrace a variety of cultures, religions and languages (of which he speaks English and French fluently and has intermediate or novice comprehension of German and Mandarin Chinese). It is in his upbringing, his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his current major that he has developed an increased awareness of the racial, gender-based and religious discriminations present in every society. With all of these experiences living abroad, not one of being in the Middle East or Arabic-speaking world, Dalton nevertheless began his path in learning about the richness of the region and learning the Arabic language in his first semester in Fall 2016 and hasn't looked back since. Countless doors have already opened and he has gained the most rewarding friendships and connections through then limited knowledge he has already acquired. He has had the privilege of applying such knowledge to working with organisations as Their Story is Our Story, collecting (and sometimes translating) the stories of refugees that have made their journeys from Syria, Iraq, Iran and Palestine. He also completed an internship and study abroad program back-to-back in 2018 which took across the Arab world, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Israel and Palestine. Since then, he has had the privilege of working at BYU with the Middle East Studies/Arabic Committee, the Asian and Near-Eastern Languages Department and jointly with BYU Law School and the Center for Conflict Resolution. In addition to continuing in his higher education, Dalton aims to gain proficiency in other Arabic dialects and to learn Persian, Modern Hebrew and Spanish along the way. Whatever his career path, he wishes nothing more than to be on the ground in the Middle East as frequently as possible and providing space and platforms for marginalised groups to have a voice.

In this episode, Jessica spoke to Presley Mathurin, a Black American whose family immigrated from Haiti. Presley says, “I live in West Palm beach Fl. I am a co-owner of a cryptocurrency based hedge fund, and Assistant General manager at 24Hour Fitness. My passions involve music, I am a writer and hip-hop artist as well I also enjoy reading and learning about race relations in the country and across the world.”

In the first episode after the holiday break, Jessica introduces Aalia Lanius to the LTN podcast community! Known as a successful business entrepreneur, multiple award-winning Novelist, and founder of nonprofits geared at supporting people in their time of need, Lanius is a maverick and role model. For over 20 years, she has been sharing her personal experiences with audiences of all age groups and diverse backgrounds, across the globe, sharing tragedies and triumphs, both positive and negative, allowing others to realize that there is always hope in the dark. Lanius’ most recent literary work, a historical fiction novel, Jugend, which released in March 2019, has been awarded the 2019 Bronze Medal in the Readers’ Favorite Fiction-Cultural category and named the Top Multicultural Fiction Novel of 2019 by the Global EBook Awards. In her present stage of life, she is unapologetically interested in living life on her terms. People are often impressed with her energy, optimism and determination to defy the odds as a survivor of cancer, currently living life with two autoimmune diseases and a recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Here to shatter stereotypes, she warns people to not “judge this book by its cover”. As founder of Unsugarcoated Media, a 501(c)(3) organization, she spearheads EmpowerCon, an inaugural empowerment event to bring value to communities around the world. Aalia continues writing books, as well as produces and hosts the podcast "Unsugarcoated with Aalia and Alex". Married to Entertainment Attorney and Film Executive Producer, Joseph Lanius, she can be found on red carpets around the globe, or hanging out in her yoga pants being a mother to four.

In the last episode before the holiday season, Jessica spoke to the vibrant, joyful Sabine. Sabine Kelly McKenzie is known amongst her family and friends as a kind-hearted, life-changing woman of God. Sabine is an ordained minister and is the youth pastor of R.A.D.I.C.A.L. youth for Christ at her church, New Hope World Outreach (under the leadership Apostle Elizabeth Gibson). As a native of Miami, FL she was raised as an only child to successful immigrant Haitian parents. She also holds a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy and Educational Policy from Clark Atlanta University, a Bachelors in Political Science with a minor in Education from Florida International University and an Associates in Ministry from Destiny Christian University. She is an author, 31 Days of Prayer for Yourself, and a blogger, Celebr8Lyfe. She also works full-time for Boys & Girls Clubs of America in data operations. And also works with other non-profits like Girls Who Code. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, Jordan, a city planner and their dog Tangie .

The 19th guest that Jessica interviewed is a phenomenal woman named Jo Luehmann. Jo is a Colombian born and raised pastor and teacher of theology and decolonized faith. She moved to the US in 2006 to intern at a church in Las Vegas, NV and get her Masters in Ministry and Theology from Point Loma Nazarene University. She worked in churches and ministries for over 10 years, she has taught different theology classes and developed curriculum encouraging Christians to put the feet of their faith to the fire. Alongside her husband she started the non-profit The Living Room Foundation which challenges traditional notions of church life and encourages, teaches and equips people to allow their own living rooms to become sanctuaries of transformation, healing and belonging. Jo has been married for 10 years and has 4 children. Her and her family live in San Diego, CA.

Rocky Singh Kandola is a 31 year old hardworking Indian-American business man born in New York City and living in Los Angeles. He owns and runs a showroom in a high traffic area near LA Live. Rocky is a felon as well as a Philosophy Graduate from the state of Alabama. He spent his “high school” life in 9 different facilities and boot camps across the world, some of which are now closed due to severe child abuse, rape, and torture. Rocky almost died at least 8 times; one of these close calls resulted in half of his face and jaw needing to be replaced. He has been shot at, stabbed, kidnapped, and kicked in the face. Despite all of this, Rocky says he “is loved, he has seen love, and chooses to love”; He has amazing friends and family in almost each continent in the world. Rocky’s business allows him to travel freely and meet amazing souls across our planet. He can speak 4 languages and hold a conversation with any man, woman, or child in the world. Rocky said the following “I work hard and I play hard. I’ve grown and learned so much from the past life of mine that I now wish to help others like me that wish to do something more with their lives as well. I am passionate to help spread the word to the world so the many people that share my background and/or can benefit from its story are able to gain peace, courage, and understanding. I look forward to sharing this journey with the world soon”.

Jessica spoke to the incomparable Melissa Dalton-Bradford in this episode. Melissa resides with her husband Randall near Frankfurt, Germany, where she and her family arrived on the eve of a turning point in world history, when hundreds of thousands of people displaced by war, terrorism, and mortal peril trekked westward, seeking safety. A global nomad of 30 years, an author, (Global Mom: A Memoir; On Loss & Living Onward; essays and poetry in several anthologies), and an intercultural integration consultant, Melissa immediately volunteered teaching refugees German in an emergency shelter set up in her local high school gym. Those people and their stories rerouted her life. Within months, she’d helped found, with a handful of creative friends, Their Story is Our Story, a rapidly-growing nonprofit dedicated to gathering and sharing first-hand refugee stories in an effort to reveal the individual behind the ‘refugee’ label, cultivate meaningful relationships with those seeking refuge locally, and build strong and inclusive communities worldwide. With the global humanitarian crisis on the rise, Melissa volunteers full time leading TSOS as its Executive Director. She is the wife of Randall, and mother of four adult children. The following articles are mentioned in this episode... 1 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/opinion/trump-immigration.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share and 2 https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/refugee-stories-could-do-more-harm-good/?fbclid=IwAR06DY1hUajpW71IausTAzO7Cy0HK2fSGNHqorqnLgdw9l2f_5PVen8qHMU

Jessica was joined by the incredibly talented MiMi Atkins for this episode! MiMi Q. Atkins is a mother, entrepreneur, author, and filmmaker. She is a former educator, hailing eight years as a secondary education teacher. She also taught at the collegial level before leaving the career to pursue other dreams. MiMi is a missionary and has done missions in Haiti, Mexico, and Europe. She resides in Atlanta with her teen daughter, Embry and her fur son, Emerson.

In the third and final episode of the three part episode series surrounding Parsons graduate friends, I chatted with THE PJ Aurellano. PJ was born in Hawaii; he was raised in a Filipino household, but also grew up around indigenous Hawaiian culture, and the melting-pot culture called “local." PJ pursued his college education in New York City at Parsons the New School for Design, and he now resides in Brooklyn. Some of his designs were featured in an online magazine and at Saks Fifth Avenue. PJ then worked in the NY fashion industry in different roles and levels. He is currently building his own brand, Palm of Venus; PJ hopes it will become a platform of ethical business practices, mentorship, and a support system for young creatives. PJ is surrounded by people with different ethnic backgrounds, culture, sexual orientations, genders, and religious affiliations; he believes that this environment promotes important dialogues and teachable moments. He values diversity because his experiences become enriched, and then his enrichment becomes his inspiration.