Global Action Starts at Home: A Conversation with Rachel Bowen Pittman on Advocacy, Leadership, and the Power of UNA-USA

In this episode of the Global Take,  we sit down with Morgan Mickle, an international development expert and Chair of the Madam Ambassador International Affairs Career Exposure Program with BPIA, to explore how international development professionals are pivoting after the dismantling of USAID and what finding new opportunities for the next generation of development leaders looks like.Thank you to the BPIA Podcast Team for making this episode possible:Host: Linda TusiimeConcept Writers: Linda Kyemba, Diarra MolockMarketing Manager: Stephanie BookerSound Engineer: Karen KyabegaExecutive Producer: Diarra Molock 

How is social media reshaping the way stories are told, information is shared, and influence is exercised around the world?In Episode 2 of The Global Take, host Vanessa Coker sits down with journalist Eromo Egbejule and influencer Isimbi Belinda to discuss the growing impact of social media on communication, influence, and diplomacy in today's interconnected world.Tune in for an engaging discussion on the opportunities and challenges of the digital age, as we continue to bring fresh perspectives to the conversations shaping our world.Thank you to the BPIA Podcast Team for making this episode possible:Host: Vanessa CokerConcept Writers: Diarra Molock, Vanessa CokerOperations Manager: Linda KyembaMarketing Manager: Linda TusiimeSound Engineer:  Karen KyabegaExecutive Producer: Diarra Molock

Welcome to the very first episode of Season 5 of Global Take with Black Professionals In International Affairs! Our host for this episode Oona Nelson is joined by Alexandria Maloney, a dynamic leader at the intersection of nonprofit work and international affairs. She is the President of BPIA, author, mentor and forever student. In this episode, President Maloney reflects on her professional journey as well as her trajectory as a global influencer. Her insights facilitate a deeper conversation into how we can all better impact the world around us. Thank you to the BPIA Podcast Team for making this episode possible:Host: Oona NelsonConcept Writers: Oona NelsonOperations Manager: Linda KyembaMarketing Manager: Vanessa CokerSound Engineer:  Karen KyabegaExecutive Producer: Diarra Molock

In this episode, host Oona Nelson sits down with Robert L. Traynham — President & CEO of The Faith & Politics Institute and Professor at Georgetown University — for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of public-policy communications. Together, they explore how media trends and emerging technologies are reshaping the public square; the intersection of global communications, politics, and culture; how organizations across sectors can think more strategically about media, reputation, and global audiences; and what the next decade may demand from leaders navigating an increasingly interconnected world.Host: Oona NelsonExecutive Producer: Ethel MwedziwendiraSound Engineer: Karen Kyabega

In this episode of Global Take, we sit down with Lual Mayer, CEO and Founder of Junub Games , to explore how gaming can serve as a powerful tool for storytelling, empathy, and peacebuilding across global conflict zones.Host: Oona NelsonExecutive Producer: Ethel MwedziwendiraSound Engineer: Karen Kyabega

In this episode of Global Take, we sit down with Rachel Bowen Pittman, Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), to explore the power of grassroots advocacy in shaping global diplomacy. Rachel shares her journey, the vital role of UNA-USA in strengthening U.S.-UN relations, and how everyday Americans can make an impact on international issues. From mobilizing communities to influencing policy, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone passionate about global engagement and leadership. Host: Oona NelsonExecutive Producer: Ethel MwedziwendiraSound Engineer: Karen Kyabega

In this episode, Global Take Podcast host, Alexanderia Haidara, catches up with Carnegie Endowment Fellow. Dr. Christopher Shell on his recent research exploring Black American views on various U.S. foreign policy issues from Ukraine, the Israel and Hamas War, and the Chicago migrant crisis. In his article, "How views on Race Relations Shape African-Americans perspective U.S. Foreign Policy Preferences,” he stated that  "numerous African American intellectuals and grassroots organizers—most notably W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few—grappled with whether or not to cosign aspects of the Cold War agenda (such as anti-communism and the policy of containment) while the full rights of citizenship were denied to the majority of African Americans living under Jim Crow rule. Is this still true today? What is the historical relationship that Black Americans have had with US foreign policy on the Vietnam War, Cold War, and apartheid South Africa? We discuss these issues and more on Global Take Podcast. 

In this Hollywood edition of Global Take Podcast, we discuss the challenges of promoting black films overseas and how racism and social media in America impact Black American movie sales and films overseas, especially in Asia. Juanita Ingram discusses the ups and downs of producing the second season of The Expats International Ingrams, sharing stories of black women dating overseas, and promoting black beauty through winning Mrs. Universe 2023. Global Take Podcast Host, Alexanderia Haidara, and Juanita reflect on the obstacles that Black Hollywood Producers face promoting their content in global markets. They dive deep into the fallout over Netflix's Queen Charlotte's true heritage and whether she had African ancestry, why Disney's Little Mermaid tanked in China's movie box office, and why Egyptians could not accept that Queen Cleopatra could be black. Join the conversation at Global Take Podcast! About Juanita Ingram Juanita Ingram, Esq. is breaking down barriers and empowering others as an award-winning attorney, filmmaker, author, fashion philanthropist, and actress. Currently living in Singapore and formerly residing in London and Taiwan, she is also a wife, mother of two, and the newly crowned Mrs. Universe 2022/2023. She is the Founder and CEO of Purpose Productions Inc., a 501(c)3 women-led production company with a mission of creating content that celebrates authentic BIPOC narratives while empowering women and youth through film. Purpose Productions utilizes the visual arts as a vehicle for challenging negative stereotypes and providing cross-cultural experiences for audiences throughout the world. Purpose Productions is also a conduit for sharing a balanced depiction of diverse cultures and powerful under-represented narratives while serving to foster educational and cross-cultural exposure for global audiences. ​On Juneteenth 2021, she launched Purpose Streaming, a streaming platform dedicated to content that inspires, informs, and empowers through BIPOC-centric content. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Tennessee State University and her MBA and Jurist Doctorate degree from the University of Memphis.  She is a US-licensed attorney and a former adjunct professor of Business Law. She is also the founder and Board Chairwoman of Dress for Success Greater London and Dress for Success Chattanooga.

The 2021 Haitian migration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border stirred many emotions and became a reminder of the unequal treatment of Black migrants by the United States government. In addition, the United States has not had a positive track record in Haiti and has often supported leaders that are the target of antigovernmental protests or not supporting those embraced by the population. In this episode, Alexanderia Haidara sits down with Senior Reporter for the Miami Herald, Jacqueline Charles, to discuss how the history of U.S.-Haitian relations has impacted the current political and security crisis plaguing the country. We discuss the outcome of the investigation of U.S. Border Patrol agents riding on horseback whipping Haitian back across the Rio Grande River. Given the focus of President Biden on immigration, how are his policies being received by those advocates promoting fair treatment of migrants from Haiti and African nations? How will President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau work together to address political insecurity, the rise of gang violence, and kidnappings? What is the role of the Haitian Diaspora in America to influence U.S. policy and local politics? We also reflected on the impact of the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on other democracies in Latin America. Please write a review! About Jacqueline Charles, Jacqueline Charles is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Emmy Award-winning Caribbean correspondent at the Miami Herald. She began her journalism career at the Herald as a 14-year-old high school intern before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she was later honored for her contributions to the field of journalism as a 2022 inductee into the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame. Charles' assignments have taken her throughout the Caribbean as well as Liberia, Kenya, Italy, and in recent years, Mexico, Canada, and Chile to report on the plight of Haitian migrants. She is a founding member of the Carolina Association of Black Journalists, a college-affiliated chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). She is also a past president and scholarship chairwoman of the South Florida Black Journalists Association and a longtime assistant director of the University of Miami/Dow Jones High School Journalism Workshop. The first to tell the world that then-Haitian President René Préval had survived the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake, she spent 18 months living in Haiti as part of the Miami Herald's commitment to have a journalist stationed full time after the tragedy. Charles served as co-producer on the Emmy-winning documentary on Haiti, Nou Bouke (We are Fed Up), which was broadcast in more than 50 PBS markets in the United States. Her numerous other awards include NABJ Journalist of the Year for her Haiti earthquake coverage, and she was a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist for that same coverage. She was also recognized for her contributions to the Miami Herald's Panama Papers investigation, which was awarded a 2017 Pulitzer Prize. In 2018, she won the Maria Moors Cabot Award, the oldest prize in journalism and the most prestigious for coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean. Her 2018 Pulitzer Center-supported reporting series, Cancer in Haiti, was the recipient of numerous awards, including the The AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism. Charles is a longtime member of NABJ and currently serves as a member of UNC's Hussman School of Journalism and Media's Board of Advisers. In 2015 she was recognized by UNC as a Distinguished Alumni. Credits: Host, Producer and Editor: Alexanderia Haidara

When the morning news broke to the world that WNBA Star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia, it brought the invasion against Ukraine up close and personal to the Black community. The WNBA Star, age 32 at the time, was detained in Russia on February 17, 2022, for allegedly possessing cannabis oil in her luggage after arriving in Moscow from New York City. Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, along with a host of celebrity friends like Lebron James, pressured the Biden Administration to bring Griner back home, adding an international spotlight to her case. On August 4, 2022, she was sentenced to nine years in prison following weeks of a long trial. Black America poured out their frustrations on social media criticizing President Biden's slow efforts to negotiate her release with Russian President, Vladimir Putin as there were concerns of her personal safety given that she was both black and lesbian. Griner's case was even more complicated given that her negotiation was during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More importantly, how would Griner's prisoner swap affect U.S. national security? In this episode, Alexanderia Haidara talks with Dr. Nola Haynes to discuss the implications of Griner's case, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the geopolitical shifts with China. Dr. Nola Haynes ⁠Dr. Nola Haynes⁠ is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is an academic, policy writer, and advocate. Her interests center on emerging threats, WMD in space, strategic competition, and intersectionality. Recently, Dr. Nola was named one of the top 50 leaders in national security and foreign affairs by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Diversity in National Security (DINSN). She is the former Director of the West Coast chapter of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS) and sits on several boards, including the Women's Caucus for the International Studies Association communications team (WCIS), Foreign Policy board for the American Political Science Association (APSA), and ISA West. She is a Black Professionals in International Affairs (BPIA) member and an alumnus of the WestExec Advisors mentoring program. As a Pacific Council on International Policy member, Dr. Nola works as an Ops Coordinator to help resettle Afghan allies with Evacuate Our Allies (EOA) and is a policy advocate for the Afghan Adjustment Act. Dr. Nola has over ten years of experience working in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and is a proud New Orleans native. Donate and follow Black Professionals in International Affairs at ⁠⁠⁠www.iabpia.org⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠.