The Black Expat Experience Podcast
by Kindall C. Tyson, M.Ed., LPC-S, NCC
The Black Expat Experience podcast is a safe, engaging space for Black expats, nomads, and study abroad students to share the genesis of their journey abroad, share how they prioritize their mental health and wellness and make the connection between the lessons that one's family and culture and their present lived experiences have impacted their understanding and acceptance of mental health, and share how they build bridges in their host country that impact their community.
Episodes
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Episode 53: Letting go to acquire peace, purpose, and healing with Christelle Pellecuer
Christelle Pellecuer is a certified coach empowering black adoptees to navigate their adoption story and identity, fostering self-awareness, personal growth, and success. With a background in diverse sectors such as higher education, beauty and fashion, arts and culture, and charity, Christelle...
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Episode 52: Personal evolution, world exploration, & providing culturally competent care w/ Dr. Londi Cox
With a Doctorate Degree in International Psychology, Master’s Degree in Social Work, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Dr. Londí has studied psychology across 18 different countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia to be able to provide culturally contextual...
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Episode 51: Passionately exchanging knowledge while on a journey to self discovery w/ Jody Belcon
Celebrating two decades in education, Jody began her journey by establishing a tutoring business at the age of 16. She has contributed to international education for eight years, spending four in Kurdistan, Iraq, and currently marking her fourth year in China. Jody holds a Bachelor's degree in...
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Episode 50: Leading, loving life, and cultivating a generation of change agents with Chineme Ugbor
Ms Chineme Ugbor has over 15 years of extensive experience in the education and international development sectors, holding diverse roles across Europe, the US, and West Africa. As the co-founder and executive director of Linden Global Learning Support Services, Chineme leads a dynamic…
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Episode 49: How living intentionally leads to growth, rediscovery of self, & healing w/Ashley Cheron
Ashley, originally from Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Texas, embarked on a journey that blends her love for education and a commitment to lifelong learning. Boasting a 15-year career, she has held various impactful roles, including that of an Educator and Instructional Coach, with a profound...
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EP. 48: Centering honesty, self-care, & professional alignment with Cheryl-Ann Weekes
Cheryl-Ann Weekes is a High School Counselor who has worked globally since 2010, she currently lives in Dubai. Cheryl-Ann is an expert in social emotional counseling, mental health and university counseling. She loves the opportunity to have individual conversations with her students and uses...
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Episode 47: Expanding my horizons & exposing myself to the international world w/Vanessa Shaw-Dore
Originally from Ohio, Vanessa is a single mother of two children: Ariana, age 16, and Isaac, age 8. Vanessa, Ariana and Isaac began life abroad almost 7 years ago when they moved to Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2017. Originally from Ohio, Vanessa is a single mother of two children: Ariana, age 16,...
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Episode 46: Getting 1% better and expanding my life and community with Dr. Aaron Jones
Dr. Aaron Jones has lived in Qatar for the last 4 years. All of Dr. Jones' educational experiences have focused on human thought, human development, human behavior, and human learning. Dr. Jones leans on his academic, professional, and personal experiences when supporting students' mental health,...
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Episode 45: Manifesting a life of exploration, connection, and cultural exchange with Tia Goolsby
This conversation with Tia Goolsby was so engaging and filled with nuggets about motherhood, community, culture, and taking a leap of faith. - Entrepreneur Tia (Tie-a) Savonne Goolsby has many talents. She is a travel coach, author, wife, mother of three, and has a bookkeeping company, The...
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Episode 44: Being a world citizen, seeking freedom, & financial independence w/ Donald Williams
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Donald grew up in Marlboro Project Housing in Coney Island and eventually moved to a The Flatbush area during his childhood. After college, Donald joined the U.S. Navy to see the world and earn money for college to become an MD. Donald has led a storied life- from being a…
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Episode 43: Triumph, Thriving, and Living an Intentional Life with Quinnesian Joyner
Hailing from Newbern, North Carolina, Quinnesian Joyner is a mom of two beautiful children and wife to an amazing husband. She and her family have been living in China for the last 4 years, and she's been working as an international educator. Quinnesian states," I love working internationally...
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Episode 42: Optimizing career success to fuel a holistic life transition with Denise Coleman
Denise is Operations Consultant & Founder of ‘Coming to St Lucia’. Having lived her entire life in the UK, she set her intention, planned her transition, and now enjoying a new life in St Lucia! Having spent years in various sectors including retail and Welfare to work, she spent 4 years as…
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Episode 41: Claiming my peace and seeking world-wide adventure with Heather Proctor
Heather currently calls Lisbon, Portugal her home. She is a Disabled Veteran and a single mom from New Jersey. Furthermore, she is the cofounder of Black in Portugal & the founder of The Lisboa Melanin Collective. While living in Lisbon, she has created an entire thriving community for the people...
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Episode 40: Leading with Integrity and realizing a life of alignment and freedom with Jaime L. Roya
Ms. Roya is originally from Houston, Texas, USA where she worked for Houston Independent School District for nine years in roles such as high school English teacher, Graduation Coach, and New Teacher Professional Development Coordinator before transitioning to Middle School Counseling. She has…
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Episode 39: Leaving a legacy of love while walking in alignment with my purpose with Tara Thompson
Tara is also a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC). She has over 13 years of experience as a School Counselor at the middle and high school levels. While the majority of her experience was in Charlotte, North Carolina, her most recent position is High School Counselor for girls...
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EP 38: Leaning into the Power of Differing Perspectives while Bridging Cultures w/ Jeff Idigo
Born in the US and raised in Lagos Nigeria and New Jersey, Jeff is the Diploma Programme Coordinator at an international school in Beijing. He is married with a wonderful son. Jeff has lived and worked in China for the last 8 years. In his free time, he enjoys sports, the occasional read,...
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Episode 37: Pushing the edges of my life and growing into myself with Zoe Smith
Zoe Smith is a British-Grenadian entrepreneur and former journalist, founder, and creator of the Exodus Collective. She is a self-described repat to Grenada and wants to make it easier for people to move to the Caribbean. "She founded the Exodus Collective as a platform to inspire people in the...
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Episode 36: Engaging in a life of healing and personal liberation with Chrishan Wright
Chrishan Wright is the founder of Blaxit Global, a platform dedicated to empowering and inspiring members of the African diaspora to pursue a life abroad. Chrishan is also the host and producer of the Blaxit Global podcast. Since its launch, Blaxit Global has been featured in numerous media…
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Episode 34: Life as the ultimate opportunity with Sharon Ehrlich
Sharon Ehrlich (pronounced Err-lick) is a Bronx raised native New Yorker. Growing up as Afro-Latina has provided her with access to 2 cultures which has enriched her life immensely. She is a first generation American which informed many of her education and career decisions in her early life....
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Episode 33: Trusting the Journey and Cultivating a Thriving Life with Adrienne Waller
Adrienne M Waller is originally from Metro-Detroit, Michigan, USA. She studied at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor for undergraduate studies with a concentration in Organizational Studies and Sociology. She received her masters for National Louis University in Elementary Education with a...
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Episode 32: Discovering the freedom to figure myself out with Tatiana
Hailing from Illinois, Tatiana is the host of the Hopelessly Tatiana podcast and a community activist and organizer around issues affecting Gender and Sexual minorities currently based in Beijing, China. Tatiana also has a passion for poetry and leads discussions and performances around selected...
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Episode 31: Facing fears and seeking adventure with Ronnie McKenzie
Ronnie Mckenzie, a direct-response copywriter and university teacher, is a New Jersey native... who is curious about life and enjoys meeting people from different cultures. Her passion for travel has taken her to 13 countries. She lived in China for 3 years and currently resides in Australia....
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Episode 30: Being an ambassador for the culture with Tony Jamaal Reid
Born in NY and raised in Lemoore, CA ( near Fresno ), Jamaal Aziz ( aka TJ Reid ) is a podcaster, artist, radio host, editor, voice artist- media professional in Beijing China. Majoring in Psychology at the University of California Merced, he initially wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but...
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Episode 29: Culture and community as a grounding, strengthening force with Dr. Natasha Gordon-Chipembere
Author, Dr. Natasha Gordon- Chipembere has been a professor of African Diasporic literature for over 20 years. She has taught in classrooms from South Africa to New York to Costa Rica. Telling the stories of her ancestral homeland and facilitating the growth of current and future authors is also…
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EP 27: Rediscovery of self and renewal of cultural connections with Kiera Payne
Kiera is a former US Air Force Veteran that is now a Virtual Assistant from Seattle, WA. She is also a aspiring travel content creator. Kiera was drawn to to her African heritage and was excited to learn more about her culture, history, and traditions. At the beginning of 2022, she left the…
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The Black Expat Experience Season 1 Recap: lessons learned
Season one of Black and Abroad was filled with so many revelations and open doors. This series is a long-awaited passion project, and it will unlock so many new opportunities for so many people. I hope that you have had an opportunity to taken an opportunity to view the episodes, leave your...
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Episode 4: Creating a Meaningful Life Abroad with Tai Dotson
Born in California, Tai, grew up as a military brat living all over the world in places such as Spain, Germany, Korea, Bahrain, and Kuwait, in addition to various states across the US. Currently, Tai and her family reside in Portugal, and she works as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant. Thank…
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Episode 3: The Importance of Living honestly with mark Karanja Ngina
Mark Allan Karanja Ngina, a Kenyan scriptwriter, content developer, and copy editor, has worked extensively in the fields of entertainment and journalism. Currently based in Beijing, China, Mark provides a platform for a diverse set of Queer voices in China to share their experiences on being…
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Episode 1: Maturity and Entrepreneurship as an Expat with Shagi Defoe
Shagi was born in the Commonwealth of Dominica, a beautiful Caribbean island, where he enjoyed spending time in nature, engaging in casual conversations, eating good food, and drinking good rum. Professionally, Shagi works in the Marketing & Branding sector, building a variety of brands. He...
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Episode 8: Finding What is Possible as an Expat Abroad with Olivia Nadine
Olivia Nadine, a native of Washington, D.C., has been an active member of the expat community since moving to Beijing in May 2016. In May 2017, she was co-lead for a 2-day event called Umoja, that was purposed to bring WeChat connections into real life and create a space for dialogue, art, and...
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Episode 7: Finding Myself and My Voice While Thriving Abroad with Jess Duguet
Born and raised between France, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Jess found a passion for language and decided that teaching others how to love languages would be part of her professional journey. Jess is her mum's only daughter and her dad's oldest daughter. Due to working conditions in the French…
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Episode 5: Studying Abroad and Coming into Your Own with Nathanael Makosa
Nathanael is a 21-year old student from Kadoma, Zimbabwe. He was offered a scholarship to study in China. While in Beijing, he's been studying engineering and is also a start-up entrepreneur. He comes from a large family, three boys and two girls. His family experienced a significant…
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Episode 13: Black Educators Abroad Panel Discussion
During this panel discussion, Black expat educators discuss a wide variety of topics and share their experiences working in cities such as Beijing, Abu Dhabi, and Melbourne. The purpose of this panel was to gain a first-hand account of their lives inside and outside their classrooms and offices,...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 12: Unapologetic Healing and Living a Fulfilled Life in Portugal with Diara Parker
Originally from the Mid-West, Diara Parker is a senior executive and equity consultant, passionate about elevating and centering marginalized voices and perspectives into policy and systems change. As the COO and Chief Organizational Development Consultant for EQT By Design - a consulting firm...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 10: Living an Honest and Ambitious Life Abroad with Andrew Johnson
Andrew hails from the beautiful Caribbean twin island State of Antigua and Barbuda. He is the oldest of three boys in his family. He started college, taking up courses in Banking and Finance but later realize that that was not his calling. After completing that program, Andrew was awarded a…
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 9: Seeking to Create a Life by Design as an Expat in Portugal with Shar Wynter
Sharolyn, is a social entrepreneur who promotes racial equity, social advocacy, and community empowerment. She is the founder and CEO of Xpat, Inc. and creator of The Xpat App, which connects the global Black community that works, studies, and lives abroad. With representation from over 120...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 6: The Strength of Shifting Perspectives as an Expat with Chanel Trammel
Chanel, a Digital Innovation teacher, English teacher, and baker from Illinois came to Beijing the summer of 2016 with the hopes of furthering her career in education. What she obtained in return was worth more than a salary and teaching experience combined. Her life in China has helped establish...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 2: Faith and Family as an expat with Dr. Shannon Evans
Dr. Shannon A. B. Evans, born in Freeport Grand Bahama, is a 6th grade English teacher that currently resides in Beijing, China. Dr. E knew she wanted to be a teacher by the age of 7, and she worked diligently toward that goal. She has an undergraduate degree in Primary Education, and she left…
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The WHY behind and the mission of the Black Expat Experience Live Show and Podcast
I felt this series was vital in order to reframe the narrative about Black people of the diaspora living their best lives, traveling, impacting their communities, and making their mental health a priority. This series is will hopefully spotlight the importance of us taking up space throughout the...
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the Black Expat Experience Season 1 Introduction
thank you for tuning in to the show today. In the spirit of transparency, I wanted to share with you that The Black Expat Experience was rebranded shortly after the first season was completed; therefore, as you listen to episodes from season 1, you may hear the episodes in this season being...
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Episode 11: Black Men Abroad: The Audacity of Hoping and Striving for More in Life
Black Men Abroad is a special episode of the Black Expat Experience live show and podcast. The mission of the series and this episode is to provide Black expats of the diaspora a constructive platform to share the genesis of their journeys abroad, share how they make their mental health a…
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Episode 26: Exposure to culture and community & expanding the hearts and minds of students with Dr. Raphael Moffett
-A native of Washington State, Dr. Raphael X. Moffett began his career in higher education and motivational speaking at Clark Atlanta University in 2002. He was inspired by working with college students and made the decision to pursue a career in student affairs. During the past 20 years, he has...
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My word of the year for 2023!
A custom I notice that many people are getting into is choosing a guiding word at the beginning of each year. My word of the year for 2023 is TRUST! As always, I will use this word to guide my steps and help me remain mindful of my goals, my resolve, and capabilities. - What is your word of the...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 25: Living in the space of worthiness w/ Jevon Hercules
Born and raised in Barbados, Jevon always loved his vibrant culture and the small island he calls home. Growing up, his parents instilled in him the importance of traveling the world to experience new cultures and to see that there is life beyond the shores of Barbados. "The world is your oyster"...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 24: Courage, Curiosity, and Cultivating Relationships w/ Marlene Mboyo
Hailing from the country of Ireland, Marlene has been living and working in Beijing for almost 4 years as an educator. She describes herself as a bubbly, forward, and honest person, and she lives by the mantra, "Don't look back. Live life to the fullest." Thank you for taking some time to listen…
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 23: Envisioning a New, Aligned Life Abroad w/ Gina Nelson
An artist, writer, and educator whose perspective on “the female experience” has been distinctly molded by her upbringing, Ms. Gina P. Nelson is the Founder and Chief Creative Director of Bella and Bella Productions, a platform (launching on March 8, 2022) dedicated to uplifting, inspiring and...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 21: Unlocking my Potential as an Entrepreneur and Expat w/ Uriah Long
Born in Washington, D.C., Uriah is a Master Cosmetologist and the creator and founder of JustSkin, a natural skincare line made with organic and high quality ingredients. Shortly after moving to China, Uriah realized that there was a lack of recognizable and available skincare products…
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 20: Excellence in Martial Arts and the Stunt World as a Black Man w/ Stephon Reynolds
Born in Washington, DC and raised in Waldorf, Maryland, Stephon has spent the last year living and working in China. For years, Stephon worked as a Professional Stunt Performer for film and live theatrical shows, and now he is a precision driver, living and working in Qinghuangdao China. Stephon...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 19: Honoring my Truest Self and Doing Work that Matters with Adalia Aborisade
Adalia Aborisade is a veteran educator, world traveler, and financial coach. After reaching financial independence on a teacher’s salary, she packed up her then 15-year-old daughter, canine sidekick, and sewing machine for a move to Honduras and has never looked back. Adalia's podcast and YouTube...
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The Black Expat Experience Episode 18: Dreaming and Doing in Mexico City W/ Meckell
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, raised in Las Vegas, NV, Meckell, an entrepreneur and business owner living in Mexico City, is a queer travel addict, digital nomad, and content creator. Through her travel brand, Travel Well with Meckell, she creates content that inspires people to follow their…
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About this show
The Black Expat Experience podcast is a safe, engaging space for Black expats, nomads, and study abroad students to share the genesis of their journey abroad, share how they prioritize their mental health and wellness and make the connection between the lessons that one's family and culture and their present lived experiences have impacted their understanding and acceptance of mental health, and share how they build bridges in their host country that impact their community.
Hosted by
Kindall C. Tyson, M.Ed., LPC-S, NCC
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