S1E19: Interview with Ellie Knauss

 It's hard to believe how many old and new hardships Amber Valdez has had to overcome — but they've made her stronger for herself, and an inspiring mentor to others. Listen in to hear how you can change "you're crazy" into "your life purpose." Follow @iamambervaldez and visit www.ambervaldez.com.

Dawn Averitt was diagnosed with HIV in 1988 at age 19 and has since become one of the nation's most prominent HIV and AIDS advocates as well as an accomplished speaker and published writer on women's health issues. As the founder of the Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS (WRI), Dawn has been instrumental in shifting the research paradigm to include more women and people of color. Ms. Averitt is the founder of The Well Project, a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to improve the lives of women living with HIV and AIDS and change the course of the AIDS pandemic through a comprehensive focus on treatment and prevention for women. She joins Dr. M to kick off HIV and AIDS Awareness Month, to share how she transformed herself from fearing the worst when she first learned of her HIV status, to becoming the fierce advocate for others that she is today.

Mary Randolph Carter is the quintessential American style icon, executive, and muse to Ralph Lauren for over 30 years. She's a regular contributor to Country Living Magazine and has authored book after book about creating a warm and inviting home with things that others may even call junk. In this sometimes raw interview, she shares how she learned about resilience from her parents after her family survived not one, but two,  devastating house fires that took the lives of loved ones, heirlooms, and family homesteads — but never her perseverance or steadfast love of family, home, and welcoming others. 

Carmeon Hamilton, is a wife, mom, interior designer and lifestyle blogger based in Memphis, TN. A stickler for the details, she's sought after by residential and commercial clients alike, to bring life and style to everyday spaces.  She and Dr. M discuss how they both strive to help others love the way they live, not just during the pandemic, but every day.  A lifestyle rising star, Carmeon is likely to find a place in your heart, just as she does in the homes of every one of her clients. 

Willie Moore, Jr is perhaps best known for his work in the entertainment industry, as the Grammy recognized R&B artist, Pretty Willie, and for his wildly successful "The Willie Moore, Jr. Show" with over 2 million listeners weekly. In celebrating National Adoption Month, Dr. M asks him about one of his less well-known passions — helping families foster and adopt children —soon the be the subject of a documentary, The Missing Peace Movie, with a release date of 12-20-2020. He is the Founder of the WilFlo Foundation that helps parents provide homes to children who need them and he partners with Bethany Christian Services to help with fostering and adoption internationally. To learn more and give, visit www.williemoorejr.org,  www.bethany.org, and www.themissingpeacemovie.com. 

Brad Trotter, CEO of the non-profit organization, The Pink Wig Project, shares his heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking account, of how his wife Teri, discovered joy and inspiration after chemotherapy in a bright pink wig and decided to create thIs organization to share her joy with other cancer warriors like herself. Sadly she lost her fight to breast cancer, leaving Brad to raise two children alone, who together as a family have continued to promote breast cancer awareness through The Pink Wig Project.  This is a resilience in action story of a family that turned their heartache into a legacy that helps women all over the world feel better about themselves and forget about cancer for a few priceless moments.  Visit www.pinkwig.org and for a small donation, The Pink Wig Project will send the gift of a pink wig and all of the love, support, and joy that the wig represents. 

Mother of three, Casey Somerville, sits down with Dr. M to discuss how how she opted to have preventative surgeries after learning that she was BRCA1 gene positive,  before she developed cancer like so many of the women in her family. She is an ambassador for www.BeBrightPink.org, a non-profit organization that promotes Risk Assessment and cancer Prevention among young women at www.assessyourrisk.org .

Educational philanthropist, Ellie Knauss, talks about how she came from a family where many had breast cancer and of being a 15 year survivor of breast cancer survivor herself. Her story of overcoming triple negative breast cancer to become a cheerleader to other women who are fighting the disease themselves today is inspirational.   

In this highly personal and sometimes raw episode, Dr. M shares a story about his own emotional journey during the pandemic dealing with his sister's death to complications of COVID, and his spouse needing open heart surgery.  He was reminded of a young family that he worked with years ago who were dealing with the death of their mother. Remembering how he helped them to cope with their feelings long ago help him cope with his own today.

Dr. Laymon Hicks is one of the most highly sought after youth motivational speakers in middle schools and high schools all around the country. He sits down with Dr. M the value of teaching kids how to overcome failure, the importance of being an authentic adult with children, and the challenges of remaining optimistic when observing racism in America today. His book, A Kid's Book About Failure, can be found on www.akidsbookabout.com and he can be invited to speak at your school at www.laymonhicks.com.