Julie McKnight was born to be a performer. She grew up around famous musicians who encouraged her in Los Angeles. But a pregnancy in college, and an early marriage to Brian McKnight who would eventually become a successful R&B singer, threatened to derail Julie’s career. Like many women, her dreams took a backseat to family. But eventually, she found the strength to break out on her own as a single mother of two young boys. She’s traveled all over the world singing with her band, 9th Street Protocol. Being a singer is just one of the many layers to Julie—she has also worked in therapeutic counseling in the foster care system and has taught preschoolers. She and her extended family have been foster parents to hundreds of children. She has a nonprofit called Carolina’s Child which brings the arts to inner-city youth. Julie has written about her unique blended family in a book called “Mama Bear” which details her journey to create relationships between her children and McKnight’s children with other women. Julie is kind and vivacious, but most of all, she radiates joy in everything she does.

https://www.facebook.com/julie.mcknight2

https://www.instagram.com/itsjuliemcknight/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-mcknight-b4319454/

Holly Richard has gone through the worst thing that anyone can ever experience, the loss of a child. In 2019, her 28-year-old Army veteran son, Derek, died after being diagnosed with a tumor called glioblastoma, the Titanic of brain tumors. It nearly broke her. But instead of staying in a dark place, Holly chose to share her painful journey in a book and to work hard to help support other brain cancer patients and research for this underfunded disease. It’s not surprising that Holly rose to this challenge as her life has always been a challenge…she left high school at 17 to move away from home with a boyfriend, got married, and had children. Holly eventually earned a college degree while working full-time and raising children. Holly has spent her career in the nonprofit world focusing on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She’s a fighter as well as a kind, and compassionate human being who is using her personal experience to help others.

To learn more about Holly and her work:

https://www.facebook.com/holly.richard.505

https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-richard-983a0b6b/

Maura Allard’s journey started down a rocky path. She was a college dropout who was kicked out of her home as a teenager and fell into addiction. Several relationships ended poorly, one in death, the other in divorce. But when Maura finally got sober, her career thrived. She started a business and became a realtor, but something was always missing. It wasn’t until she started learning about the metaphysical world after a spiritual awakening in 2021 that Maura knew something had to change. She was burned out and lacked a true purpose in life. She moved from Boston to North Carolina to marry her passion for healing and finding the perfect homes for her clients through something called intuitive real estate. Now, Maura lives a quieter and more intentional life, something she believes is within reach for everyone.

To learn more about Maura:

https://www.facebook.com/WindWaterWisdom

https://www.windwaterandwisdom.com/

https://mauraallardintuitiverealtor.com/

https://www.instagram.com/windwaterandwisdom/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allardmaura/

https://www.youtube.com/@WindWaterandWisdom

83-year-old Florence Nash is a poet and a storyteller with a melodic voice that I could listen to all day. She’s also an accomplished musician and a believer that the arts make all our lives more joyful. Raised near the banks of the Tar River in tiny Tarboro, North Carolina, Florence eventually spread her wings. They took her all over the world to live in many places including California and Europe. Out west, she found herself in the middle of the counterculture revolution. Like most women of her generation, she was told her main purpose in life was to get married, have children, and be a good wife and mother. She did all that, but she wanted more. This sent her on a lifelong journey to figure out where she fit in, and if she had other skills to contribute to her community and the world. You will love her continual path of exploration and self-discovery which has led her in so many different directions. Florence is guided by the principal that if something gives you joy and is useful to others, you have found your purpose.

B.J. Council came by her career the old-fashioned way, hard work. She came from a farming family, an educator mother, and a foundation of community service. B.J. tried college, and it wasn’t for her. So, after working multiple jobs to pay the bills and sleeping on friends’ floors, she decided to go to the Durham Public Safety Academy. She graduated as a firefighter and a police officer. She spent her career developing programs to support the community and to help them foster stronger relationships with police. B.J. retired amid a scandal regarding overtime payments to officers in 2009, and while it almost broke her, it didn’t keep her from her core mission. In 2015, B.J. started “You and Five-0” to help bridge the often-troubled relationships between the Black community and police. She believes we are all put on this planet to do something good. You will be inspired by her quiet, calm demeanor and her passion for helping others.

To learn more about B.J.:

https://www.youandfive-o.com/

https://www.instagram.com/youandfiveo/

https://www.facebook.com/youandfiveo/

https://twitter.com/youandfiveo

(22) Beverly Council | LinkedIn

Her name sounds a lot like the name of a character in a movie. And in a way, Tina Tart’s life is like a movie. She’s a country girl from a small town in North Carolina who came to the big city of Raleigh to attend college and begin her professional life. But something was always getting in the way…that something was bipolar II disorder. After many years of struggling, Tina was finally diagnosed and properly treated in her forties. A few years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and suffered for years with complications after six surgeries. Frankly, it all sounds pretty insurmountable. But Tina refused to give up. With the help of family, friends, and medical professionals, Tina chose survival. In this raw and emotional interview, Tina goes where few of my guests have ever gone before. She shares her pain and her journey out of the darkness. She tells me she’s not sure she’s worthy of being a guest on my podcast which is exactly why she is…

To follow Tina:

https://www.facebook.com/tina.tart1

https://www.instagram.com/tina.tart1/

https://twitter.com/teenertart

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetinatart/

Martha Lopez-Anderson is member of a club that no one wants to be part of. After the sudden death of her seemingly healthy 10-year-old son from sudden cardiac arrest in 2004 blindsided Martha and her family, she immersed herself in education and training related to the prevention and treatment of SCA in youth. She joined Parent Heart Watch which is made up of parents who tragically lost children from SCA, many of them during a sporting event at school. Martha advocates for prevention strategies like early heart screenings and for lifesaving tools to be available wherever children gather that can be used in the event of a cardiac emergency. Martha could have crawled into a hole and lived in her grief, but instead, she turned her love for her son and her passion for helping other families into her life’s work. You will learn from her experience and be inspired by her courage.

To learn more:

Website: https://parentheartwatch.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phwsca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phwsca

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PHWorg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parent-heart-watch

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@parentheartwatch8881

****PLEASE NOTE THIS PODCAST CONTAINS DETAILED REFERENCES TO KIDNAPPING, CHILD ABUSE, VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.****

You may be familiar with a recent movie that just dropped on Netflix called “Woman of the Hour” with Anna Kendrick. It is the fictionalized version of a true story about a serial killer and rapist name Rodney Alcala. He’s known as the “Dating Game Killer.” There have been countless shows, documentaries, and podcasts about his crimes. He was convicted of murdering 7 girls and women and placed on death row until he died of natural causes in 2021. And while he was convicted of some of his crimes, there was always a belief by investigators that he was potentially responsible for 130 more. One of those unsolved crimes involved Niki Rowe Cross. She says Alcala was one of the johns who raped her in an attic in Ohio in 1977 where she was held captive as a teenager along with two other teens for a year. Niki tells her powerful and disturbing story as a way to bring awareness to human sex trafficking and to help others. The show can be watched here on YouTube, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://sites.libsyn.com/490772

If you or someone you know is the victim of human sex trafficking you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at: 1-888-373-7888 or text them at 233733.

To learn more about Niki and her work:

staarministry.com/home.aspx

GiveSendGo | LIKE DADDY USED TO SAY Movie Development Funds

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Niki Rowe Cross (@crossni.nc) • Instagram photos and videos

(30) Niki Rowe Cross | LinkedIn

NC woman who was victim of sex trafficking now tries to help other victims