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