Get Leveled

In this episode, Tammy talks with her long-time friend and French exchange sister, Marie, about what life is like for her in Europe during the COVID pandemic. Marie describes how she initially felt very overwhelmed with being in confinement but was able to discover a new passion that has allowed her to connect with people during this difficult time. Marie and Tammy share how they connected as teenagers, discuss how culture has changed over the years and how we are now going through a global COVID cultural experience. Marie Duvivier Bio A self-described artistic tomboy, Marie Duvivier grew up in Valognes, a small town in Normandy, France surrounded by her loving family and lifelong friends. Schooling options were limited in her town, so at the age of 15 she attended boarding school to pursue a better education. Although it was hard for her to be away from her family, she maintained a close bond by seeing them every weekend and on holidays. Her talent was noticed and she later attended EPF Ecoles D’Ingenieurs, an elite all-girls engineering university in Sceaux, a suburb of Paris. She now works as an International Interior Designer, combining her engineering skills with her progressive artistic vision. Marie considers herself a citizen of the world and travels whenever possible. She gives back by tutoring children in Math and English, a passion she discovered when her design work paused during the COVID quarantine. To connect with Marie: mldbespoke@gmail.com Use *PROMO CODE* GETLEVELED for a 15% off discount on all of author Trevor Romain's books and animation - TrevorRomain.com GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

On this episode of GET LEVELED... SEX, DRUGS and WELLNESS with Dr. Shirley Dr Shirley Wang, Director of Level Up Integrative Health and Medspa, shares tips on how to LEVEL UP our sex lives, optimize our wellness and she even exposes some disturbing realities happening in the healthcare industry! As a Chinese American, Dr Shirley grew up surrounded by Eastern medicine that focused more on lifestyle and wellness rather than treating the symptoms of a disease. It’s worth listening...She drops some big truth bombs! To connect with Dr Shirley- WEBSITE - http://www.Leveluphealthcare.com FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/leveluphealthcare INSTAGRAM https://instagram.com/leveluphealthcare YELP - yelp.com/biz/shirley-wang-md-levelup-health-care-tustin-2 SHIRLEY WANG, MD (“Dr. Shirley”) Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in Southern California, Dr. Shirley learned how to combine both Eastern and Western approaches through watching family members who worked in the healthcare field. In college, she studied psychology, which gave her a deeper understanding of the human psyche, the impact of early childhood trauma and the power of the mind. Dr. Shirley taught elementary school for a few years before deciding to become a physician. After graduating from USC Medical School, Dr. Shirley decided to practice Functional Medicine in order to treat the whole person using an integrative method. She later went on to open her own Functional Medicine clinic, Level Up Integrative Health and Medspa, in Orange County, CA. She was compelled to forge her own path and take medicine to another LEVEL, hence the name Level Up. While conventional medicine is excellent at addressing acute medical conditions like broken bones, heart attacks and communicable disease, Functional Medicine takes a more proactive approach, optimizing the patient’s own innate healing power and addressing the underlying cause of illness. GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

In this episode, award-winning author & illustrator, Trevor Romain, talks about how he’s helping kids get in touch with their feelings and the global impact that’s having. He shares his personal experience about overcoming ADHD, Dyslexia and what it was like growing up in South Africa during apartheid. BIO: Trevor Romain is a best-selling author, award-winning illustrator, and a sought-after motivational speaker. His books have sold more than a million copies worldwide and have been published in 22 different languages including his latest editions of Connecting With Kids in a Disconnected World and Go Read. Known for his enthusiastic personality and relatable persona, Trevor has spoken to over a million children and their families in addition to given talks at the USO National Gala, UNICEF, Make-A-Wish Foundation, National Child Traumatic Stress Network Conference, the Office of the Secretary of Defense National Family Readiness Conference and many more. The Washington Post says, “...His rapport with kids is stunning to watch”. Trevor has also been featured in CNN, Entertainment Weekly, Market Watch and the LA Times. In 2007, Trevor co-created The Trevor Romain Company with a mission of service to help kids with their social and emotional health in order to become healthier, happier and more confident. The company's award-winning animated series was featured on numerous PBS affiliate stations throughout the United States. Today, the company offers a wide selection of family-friendly content including books, merchandise, DVDs and podcasts. For more information, please visit: TrevorRomain.com Video Links: Speaking Reel Comical Sense Series (featured on PBS) Facebook: @TrevorRomain , Twitter: @TrevorRomain and Instagram: @TrevorRomainOfficial Thank you to our Sponsor Level Up Integrative Health Care: Leveluphealthcare.com levelupketamine.launchrock.com/ Facebook: @leveluphealthcare Instagram: @leveluphealthcare GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

On this episode of GET LEVELED, birthmother Kiami Merritt shares her heart-wrenching story of enduring an 11 month court battle to place her son for adoption. This is more than an adoption story. Kiami is using her life experience to mentor others as part of the Mary's Mentoring Program where she is making a difference in the lives of others. Her story is filled with pain, humor and lots of love. She explains how her brave choice allowed her to rebuild her life. GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY Find Kiami Merritt on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teamempowerment.andmotherhood Bio: Kiami Merritt describes herself as a woman of God, motivational speaker, mother, and aspiring writer. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI and also spent time in Chicago. Growing up in Milwaukee taught her a lot about faith, family, poverty, violence, survival, determination, ambition and racism. These are the things that helped create her foundation along with her parents’ guidance. She became a mother and statistic at age fifteen. Being a teenage mother taught her the importance and value of education. Kiami decided not to let statistics and societal judgement stop her from following her dreams. She graduated high school six months early and by that time already had two children. Despite childcare and financial challenges, Kiami pursued her college degree in Business. While in college she picked up side jobs in healthcare and hair to help pay for expenses. She became pregnant in college and made the courageous decision to place her son for adoption. Adoption taught her about the ultimate sacrifice as a mother. Soon after placing her son for adoption she earned her degree. She always dreamed of taking her kids away from the violent streets of Milwaukee and after college decided to rebuild her life and step out on faith. Kiami and her three children moved to Texas with only her degree and two suitcases. While making a transition to Texas she faced homelessness and being in shelters. It was her perseverance and belief in God that got her through. Growing up everyone would tell her she should be a speaker and would do something big in her life. So she decided to take that advice and take her dreams to the next level. She is now pursuing motivational speaking, mentoring opportunities and being more active in the community where she can make a difference.

Incarcerated children are often written off as “juvenile delinquents” or “trouble makers.” On this episode of GET LEVELED we hear from Akuyoe Graham, a pioneer in the field of CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, who has been healing the wounds of incarcerated children for the past 24 years. Akuyoe asks the question, “What kind of society locks up it’s children? And what would make a child do the things that would make us want to lock them up?” She’s an award-winning actor, author and educator who founded the SPIRIT AWAKENING FOUNDATION in 1995 to give detained and at-risk youth the internal and external tools to grow beyond on their circumstances. Akuyoe has been nominated in the same category as Oprah Winfrey and is a true humanitarian. Here is a video that shows the impact of SPIRIT AWAKENING FOUNDATION https://youtu.be/qnXMCEZXDM0 If you would like to support the SPIRIT AWAKENING FOUNDATION or to learn more about their events, visit spiritawakening.org Facebook - @SpiritAwakeningFoundation Instagram - @saf_voices GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

In this episode, Miliana Singh, an advocate for equality, describes her complicated journey as a trans woman of color. She explains how she overcame the painful resistance she faced from her family and community in order to emerge as her true authentic self. Miliana shows us that no matter what challenges we face, creating a life of truth and liberation is possible if we have the courage to take action. Miliana works diligently within her personal and professional life to ensure the betterment of others especially those who are oppressed. Miliana is a California transplant, however she's no stranger to Orange County as she just moved from Orange County Florida where she worked to create safe spaces and open forum for those without a voice. If you would like to reach out to Miliana, she is MOST ACTIVE on INSTAGRAM - @xoxomknation She can also be found on Facebook - @Lana.Patel.549 GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

Meet Clint and Greta Harman. Clint is an artist, AutoCad designer and volunteers as a coach for his son’s basketball team. Greta runs a successful private educational therapy practice and has been working alongside Dr. Shefali helping to spread the conscious parenting movement. Married 7yrs with 3 children combined, they have weathered the ebbs and flows that come with a blended family. In this podcast they share how radical authenticity and deep self awareness took their relationship to the next level. With the help of Oprah’s favorite parenting expert, Dr. Shefali, Clint and Greta are leveling up and are working to heal the holes in themselves so they can heal the hole in their family. To contact Greta or Clint directly: Greta@coastaledgroup.com Clint@hiprei.com

The Importance of Mindfulness and Meditation for Children In this episode, we learn from Amandeep Chowdhary about how mindfulness and meditation can help children deal with stress. Dr. Shirley Wang shares the scientific perspective on how meditation can help our health. AMANDEEP CHOWDHARY Born and raised in Delhi, India, Amandeep began meditating at a young age. She was drawn to mindfulness and self-awareness through watching her parents practice on a daily basis. After earning her college degree in Business, Amandeep moved to Dublin, Ireland and later settled in the US. Amandeep supports the Oprah Winfrey Network as an OWN Ambassador by promoting the network’s life-changing content. Oprah’s inspiration has been a vital part of Amandeep’s journey toward her life’s calling of teaching meditation to children. After attending a 10 day Vipassana silent meditation retreat, Amandeep realized she could use mindfulness techniques to help children deal with the struggles of life that cause so much anxiety and depression. She understands the powerful healing ability of meditation and the importance of giving these tools to children early on. To contact her directly – amandeepc@gmail.com Instagram: @amandeep_c Recommended book for Kids – Just Breathe – Malika Chopra www.mallikachopra.com SHIRLEY WANG, MD (“Dr. Shirley”) Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in Southern California, Dr. Shirley learned how to combine both Eastern and Western approaches through watching family members who worked in the healthcare field. In college, she studied psychology, which gave her a deeper understanding of the human psyche, the impact of early childhood trauma and the power of the mind. Dr. Shirley taught elementary school for a few years before deciding to become a physician. After graduating from USC Medical School, Dr. Shirley decided to practice Functional Medicine in order to treat the whole person using an integrative method. She later went on to open her own Functional Medicine clinic, LevelUP Health Care, in Orange County, CA. She was compelled to forge her own path and take medicine to another LEVEL, hence the name LevelUP. While conventional medicine is excellent at addressing acute medical conditions like broken bones, heart attacks and communicable disease, Functional Medicine takes a more proactive approach, optimizing the patient’s own innate healing power and addressing the underlying cause of illness. Dr. Shirley is an affirming physician who believes that everyone is entitled to basic human rights. She proudly serves the LGBT community and also collaborates with Project Kinship to remove tattoos from people coming out of incarceration. To contact Dr. Shirley directly – visit leveluphealthcare.com GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

In this episode Nishti, of NISHTI'S CHOICE, shares tips on how to live a happier and healthier life from growing up in Denmark, "the happiest place in the world." Despite enduring painful life experiences, Nishti has discovered how to create a happy and meaningful life, which she shares in this episode. Nishti arrived in Denmark in 1985 as a baby refugee. She was one of the lucky ones. Today she is a registered dietitian with the Health and Care Professional Council in the United Kingdom and the National Board of Health in Denmark and Faroe Islands. Born in the Middle East but raised Denmark, she went traveling shortly after completing her A levels. After years of working in various retail shops, she finally discovered her passion. Health, Food and Children. Nishti is a multilingual and an award wining dietitian for children and parents who classifies herself as a world citizen which is why she created an online business - NISHTI'S CHOICE “I can relate to all people and all cultures around the globe and and I love to interact with all people regardless of cultural or religious background. Working online has made this possible” - she says. Nishti has over 10 years of experiencing working in the area of Children’s Health and Nutrition, this includes the National Health Service in the UK, the Fitness Industry and the Private Sector. She is also dedicated student of Dr Shefali’s work on conscious parenting. “The legacies of emotional pain from society and culture leave us blinded to our own divinity and wholeness. This inability to see our own worth and live our own truth - authentically - is the pitfall of parenting. Children know they are whole and they are authentic and joyful. When parents become conscious of how unconscious they are, we help to create a future of wholesome children and adults”. She has also volunteered abroad in Children’s hospitals and participated in improving Health in Children with severe malnutrition in the developing world. Nishti is the founder of Nishti’s Choice who’s mission is to empower parents to change the way they feed their children’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Her charity ‘Yade’ - Educate Every Child supports less fortunate children in the Middle East. “ Education set me free. My mother never had the chance to go to school - This is my wish for every child - educate the mind and set yourself free”. For more information on Nishti & to contact her directly - Website - nishtischoice.com Facebook - @NishtisChoice Instagram - @nishtis_choice GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY

A candid conversation on ways to improve transracial adoption in America. Social Worker Brandi Jordan sheds light on the complexities of building a healthy racial identity for transracial adoptees. A personal adoption story is shared by Jay Jensen who shares a surprise that ended up changing his life for the better. The conversation ends with New York Times best selling author, Dr. Shefali who challenges parents to go deep and get honest about their own biases in order to help their kids. GET LEVELED EDITOR - BRYAN RAMSAY