Authors
M Shelly Conner, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas. She and her wife live on their central Arkansas homestead with their dog Whiskey where she writes about DIY, black queer womanhood, self-sustainable living and their interesting intersections. Her debut novel everyman (Blackstone Publishing) is available for pre-order from all retailers and will be released July 20, 2021.
Carla D. Wilson Laskey is a blogger and WEOC (Writers and Editors of Color) content creator on Medium. She is the recent founder of the BMISTribe™, an online support group for Black and Brown parents of LGBTQ+ children. Connect with Carla online here, or email her at bmist4lgbtq@gmail.com.
Imani Joye Samuels is a spirituality thought leader who dreams of a world that celebrates stillness as a means to discover inner peace. She is founder of Huru, a sacred space in the heart of Washington, D.C., designed to foster rest. She is also loyalty director at AARP and coleads AARP Rewards. Imani is married and raising two young feminists, both of whom have a great sense of curiosity, purpose and imagination. Find her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Tonja Johnson is the founder of Beautifully Unblemished, a vitiligo support group birthed in 2017 after she had a challenging time finding a local support group in the state of Florida. She also has an extensive background in public health service. She serves as a dental program manager for the Florida Department of Health in Polk County and a board member for Building Strong Families, Inc. She is currently working to educate the Florida legislature, schools, and communities about vitiligo. And she is passionate about empowering individuals to love the skin you’re in. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, praise and worship, spending time with her family, and traveling.
Leslie Nettleford balances her intellectual property legal career with a love for songwriting and gospel music. In addition to negotiating celebrity agreements, book publishing contracts and content licenses, she finds the time to write love songs and record tracks with family and friends.