TheIncluded Conversations

While beginnings matter, Ronald Jean proved against insurmountable odds that his beginning would not dictate his future. As a child, Ronald frequently ran away from home spending days on the streets to escape the abuse. At the age of 13 after immigrating from the Bahamas to the US, Ronald was abandoned by his mother at a bus station in Florida. After being taken into custody by the police, Ronald didn’t divulge much information about his mother for fear of being forced to return to the abuse. This began Ronald’s five-year journey through the foster care system. He finally landed in a home in Boca Raton, where both academics and athletics became the clear vehicle toward a better life.Ronald’s excellence both on and off the field earned him a scholarship to Lehigh University where wellness empowerment became his life’s work. Today, Ronald Jean is the CEO and Founder of Strength, a SoCal based fitness program where he is able to combine his ability for athletics and his heart for people. As an athlete and businessman Ronald finds joy in creating wellness strategies that provide both physical and mental improvements for his clients’ lives. Listen to Ronald Jean as he discusses his remarkable journey transforming tragedy into positive drivers, the power that athletics has in his life and what the word family truly means. This remarkable story is an example for us all that our past does not have to dictate our future.

Writer. Publisher. Creator. Designer. Educator. Victor Dandridge encompasses each of these titles in his own unique way. No one title more descriptive of Victor’s character than the self-proclaimed title of “The Hardest Working Man in Comics.” His now ten-year-old company, Vantage: Inhouse Productions or VIP is a result of this mindset that Victor embodies. VIP has numerous channels including the weekly internet review series, Black, White & Read All Over and the pop culture podcast, Hall of Justice. Victor also launched U Cre-8 Comics, a platform that utilizes comics to teach classroom fundamentals while showcasing the power within the pages. As a kid growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Victor’s interest in comics was spawned by the jarring death of Superman. At the time, his interest in reading was lacklustre until his mother brought home comic books. Victor immediately began enjoying reading and was entirely enveloped within the new worlds presented on each page. By the age of ten, Victor began imagining his own comic worlds and thus began creating graphic illustrations. A lifelong love and career were born. In this episode, Victor dives into a core belief he sums up as “No Them, They, Those.” We also discuss the power in utilizing a platform to show what matters versus just saying it and why politics have always been discussed within the pages of comic books. Stay to the end as we unpack Uncle Mark’s legacy.

In this episode, Jess dives into growing up in Texas, in the church and being the daughter of an interracial couple. We discuss her 2020 journey of self-care through quarantine and furlough and her self-discovery through our country’s racial unearthing.

In this episode, Troy discusses his ideology that both a wealthy mind and body are equally important, the discrepancies within the fitness industry in underserved communities and the daily small tips that everyone can achieve for a healthier lifestyle.

In this episode, Ashley discusses her childhood growing up in a biracial family, the importance of the media taking a role in telling more positive black stories, and the struggle that black businesses and entrepreneurs are over mentored and underfunded.

Listen to Peter discuss his parent's methods of instilling freedom of thought and inquiry at a young age, his path to becoming an educator and our system’s holes, parents responsibility and why educational malpractice should be a real issue.

In this episode, Charity outlines the importance of bringing your whole self into every avenue of life especially your career, her journey in identifying herself as a creative and the complex yet vital intersection between business, impact, equity and community.

Listen to Edwina as she dives into her experiences growing up in Sweden with a global mindset, her brave decision to move to New York at age 19, how segregation is alive and well in America today in both our cities and our workplaces and how the best thing she ever did for herself was admitting she needed help.

In this episode, we discuss a meeting Patrice had with an executive in which he turned his back for the duration of the meeting, marketing as a powerful platform to change minds and her commitment to leave people and places better than she found them. Listen to the end…you will be better for hearing that voice.

In this episode, Jamila discusses her advice for leaning into your life’s journey no matter the path, her career and life experiences through a racial equity lens and her deep emotional connection to women’s empowerment and advocacy through example.

As a life-long advocate for social causes, Ron Walden utilizes his years of experience in sales, marketing and strategic planning to connect both the dots and the people that will create change.

As the Founder of Wild Hearts Agency, a social, lifestyle, digital marketing and PR agency based in Santa Monica, California, Zee uses her keen creativity and insight to cut through the noise and position messages that matter.

In Episode 4: Part 2, We tackle tough questions regarding race, her personal experience with the police and the necessary change needed to move our country forward. Sharifa discusses how changing people’s mind should not be the focus, but instead changing the systems.

In Episode 4: Part 1, Sharifa discusses her childhood love of fashion, her undeniable work ethic regardless of job or title, her mom’s influence on her self image and her drive to support young women from all walks of life.

In this episode, Alicia Easter "Ace" discusses the devastating loss of her mother at age 19, the path to self-acceptance that she’s learned through yoga and her hope for all humans to learn the act of self-forgiveness and acceptance.

Born in Jamaica and raised in New York, chef and entrepreneur, Leighton Murdock talks to us about his family and life influences, leaving a legacy that will impact the world through his cannabis-infused culinary cuisine, Aroma Culinary.

In this conversation, TheIncluded Co-Founder, Edwin lewis discusses his childhood growing up as a black kid in a predominantly white area in Los Angeles, the impact a diverse collection of friends made in shaping his life and black culture in the entertainment industry.