Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I have two other sisters and four brothers. So there are four boys and three girls, including me. Between all of us we have 17 kids and then those 17 kids have had five kids. My parents have been married I think 54 years now. They are still married, alive and well. So they have been able to see not only their grandkids, but great grandkids as well. I myself have three kids and three grandkids. I have a set of identical twin boys and a three-year-old grandson, who are my absolute heart. My family is not all based here. I have two brothers here and then I have siblings in Hawaii, California, Texas, and my parents were literally just in Costa Rica. They just moved back so were all over the place.

My family has always been very deeply connected to spirituality and Afrocentricity. That’s what we work through. So we have never been a centrally religious family but spiritually we have always been really strong and connected to each other. I think it’s worth noting that my whole entire family is alive and well. We have  always faced any challenge as a group. I don’t think any of us go through anything that the others don’t know about. We always take everything on as a group. Not to say we don’t have our own issues, but none of the issues ever get to the place where one of us aren’t going to get involved with what the others are doing. So that’s something about our family that I love a lot is that were so close knit and we are always there for each other. It is always ongoing loving, learning and growing. I am really proud of my family.

Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I started working in Texas in the medical field when I was 18. I started off as a medical assistant. I went from high school to technical training. I had my son when I was 18 and I knew I needed to work to support him. I remember asking my mom, “How does he have insurance?” because I didn’t know how it worked. I was a kid. She said, “Well you get a job that carries benefits.” And she started telling me so I was like, well, I need to get one of those jobs. So I got a job in the medical field and worked there for about 12, 13 years. I got my LPN but didn’t want to stay there. I was married and divorced by the age of 23. So then I went on to get my nursing degree as a single mother. I was a single mother all the way up. So as I got older and my kids were getting older I realized I needed to wrap up school. So I ended up taking all of my science credits and nursing background and got a degree in psychology. I ended up with so many credits I had a Bachelors in Science in one thing and a minor in another thing because I had been going to school for so long trying to get it figured out.

After I was done with school I began a serious relationship and it brought me to the state of Oregon where I got a job. I was doing social work and other different capacities as I moved up the ladder. In that timeframe I ended up being in a situation in 2015 where me and my son were assaulted by EPD and that was the beginning of the end for me working for the State of Oregon. Looking at my position as a Black woman trying to work there I realized we did not have the same mission and they were good-hearted people, but had no clue what I was talking about and experiencing. So I started to look at all the work I had been doing in race equity and diversity. All the way through those years, I had done trainings and I had helped other people put the information together. I facilitated conferences since I was young, but never with me being the center piece. Although I had the information, I was always pushing other people forward. I have always had a talent for talking and for people listening to me. For some reason, people want to listen.

My health started deteriorating to the point that I was in the hospital and I realized I could not keep working even though I tried. I continued to try to go back. I was able to be supported by the State of Oregon while I got my health together and that provided me the ability to start putting the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) education together. With my spiritual healing, with my physical healing and my emotional healing from everything that happened it was a good six years that this was developed. “Black Girl From Eugene” started as podcast where I thought I could sit and just explain things to people. When I started it was about healing more than anything else. I really wanted to be able to say my peace, and say what I was really thinking and feeling because that is what most Black folks can’t do, and that was part of my pain. I wanted to speak for all the years that I was silenced. I had come to a realization that the white folks that were close to me in my life were not actually hearing me ever or seeing me — ever. So when I finally figured that out I wanted to be heard, uncensored. So that’s what I did.

When I started talking on the podcast, it was just for me. I decided I would never edit it, I would never go back and listen to it. What I said is what I said, and I’m posting it. That was the healing part. That was really hard for me to do at first, but now I don’t think twice about it. As I started doing it, more people starting listening it. Then I started having my niece on and I had friends on, and we would just be talking. I started noticing no matter what there was this constant race conversation and it became more people listening and then it turned into an actual podcast. When this first started I had moved away to Houston and then some stuff in my family happened so I had to move back to Eugene and it wasn’t even a year later when 2020 happened and I realized it was now or never and I started talking more directly to my podcast and it just started growing, growing and growing. I love that I am able to show up 100 authentically me and not having to think about what is expected of me, and business has taken off.

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Ume Grill, Café Soriah

Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I have lived here in two stages. I was born here and lived here until I was 15 and then I moved away. I came back when I was 31 years old until now. So collectively 28 years.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Bedo Craft. She is a Danish, Jewish woman in her mid ’80s that is a fierce feminist, Mother, daughter, and wonderful friend. Her stories are WILD!

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Portugal, Columbia, Bali and Greece. Those are definitely on my to-do list! As soon as I can get out of here, I’m going!

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I have moods, so each show is a different mood in a way. I will watch “When Harry Met Sally” 5,000 times in row. It can even just be background noise. I also love “The Devil Wears Prada.” That speaks to everyone. It really is a women empowerment movie. “Bridesmaids,” I can do that movie anytime! For tv shows “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Law & Order SVU” for sure. Also “Wild ‘N Out.” That show is hilarious. One more movie I love: “Hidden Figures”!

Q: What advice would you give to people?
Life is happening for you not to you. All of the interesting people have had something hard they had to go through. That is why we’re interesting.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
Traveling. I have some places to be. I just cleared some things off my bucket list. I was a mother young, so a lot of the things I wanted to do I couldn’t because I needed to focus on my children. So my bucket list has a lot of individual goals that are about my personal growth.

Q: What is your go-to band when you cant decide what to listen to?
Again, it’s all about the mood. When I want to get up and go and I am trying to get my groove on, it’s always between Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion or Timba, Salsa music. When I am trying to chill I love Reggae and Jazz.

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Skate World. I do think it was the original carpet in there haha but I have a lot of memories there. There also was this ice cream shop that use to be here and it makes me sad that it is not, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor.

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
There’s so many it is so so hard to narrow it down. Right now I think I would love to hang out with Trevor Noah. He would be spending all day with me, he doesn’t know that, but we would have breakfast on campus, lunch at Meiji’s and then for dinner I would take him to Marche.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
I like that we center environmental awareness very casually. I love how it is even in the educational system–being aware of our environment. The nature that is here for us and small kids are even aware of all of the nature around us.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I see myself living in a community out of the country and still doing this diversity and equity work very lightly. I love teaching, so having some sort of self-awareness, self-confidence, type of teaching that I would like to do outside of the country. I see myself happy and life happening freely.

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
That I prefer to be alone.

Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
About 60 feet under water in Cozumel, Mexico. I went scuba diving and I don’t think I have ever seen so many colors of fish and wild life. It was probably the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
My favorite month is July. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, but I don’t call it that. We recognize it as the Day of Mourning. It is my favorite because all of my family is together and we eat a bunch of food. My favorite single day is September 30th, that’s my mom’s birthday. I love getting her gifts and just celebrating her.

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
When you are exhausted and you lay down into your bed, into a really fluffy and soft pillow. That’s a 10 out of 10 every time!

Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My children.

Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
I love warm bread. I also love the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, even though I don’t drink it much. Last sweet peas, I love sweet peas.

Q: Finally, what three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Comfort, children, laughter and music.