Rinaldo Walcott is a Canadian academic, writer, and a Professor and Chair of Africana and American Studies at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. He holds the Carl V. Granger Chair in Africana and American Studies. Thank you to Episode 98’s guest, Lyndon K. Gill, for connecting us. Rinaldo's published works include “The Long Emancipation: Moving toward Black Freedom and On Property (2021)”, “BlackLife: Post-BLM and the Struggle for Freedom with Idil Abdillahi (2019)”, “Queer Returns: Essays on Multiculturalism, Diaspora and Black Studies (2016)”, and “Black Like Who?: Writing Black Canada (1997 and 2003)”.

Shelley Nicole is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, actor, poet, healer, and the frontperson and founder of the band, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe. In a league with artists like Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Labelle, Joan Armatrading, and Meshell Ndegeocello, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe is equal parts rock, soul, blues, jazz, and funk. Shelley has collaborated with various artists—including Vernon Reid of the band, Living Colour and the American improvisational band, Burnt Sugar.

Tim Vincent is co-founder and president of Brothers of the Desert, “…a non-profit organization with a mission to support Black gay men and allies through education, advocacy, social networking, volunteerism, philanthropy, and mentorship.” Aigner "Anye Elite" Ellis is a member of Brothers of the Desert and the founder and chief project manager of Icon City Entertainment, LLC, a company that “…embodies a spirit of transformation and empowerment.” On March 22, 2025, Brothers of the Desert’s 6th Annual Wellness Summit will be at The Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs, CA.

Aurora Krotoa Moses is the South African founder and CEO of Aurora Kaleidoscope Movement. She’s also a Global Ambassador for Theirworld, and an alumnus of FutureElect. In 2023, she was the focus of Carl Collison’s documentary, ‘Aurora: Beyond the Boundaries’. Her portrait was one piece featured in Cape Town-based visual artist Selvin November’s December 2023 display at Cape Heritage Hotel.

Nzube Ufodike is a British entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. Thank you to Gamal ‘G’ Turawa for connecting us. Nzube is a co-founder of Amoo Angels, a UK-based angel network. He's a board member and advisor to early and growth-stage businesses in the UK and emerging markets. Nzube is also a fundraising coach / entrepreneur-in-residence for other accelerator programmes. He's a trustee at The Africa Centre, a chair at the BCS Foundation, IoD Emerging NEDs Special Interest Group, and is on the board at Queen Mary University of London.

Niki Lopez is an Afro-Latina interdisciplinary visual artist, curator, and social practitioner. She is the founder of What’s Your Elephant™, a “…charitable arts and educational organisation dedicated to catalysing awareness and fostering vital dialogue around under-addressed topics.” Niki is a renaissance person, doing her part to make the world more inclusive, honest, and colourful.

Brad Walrond is an American poet, author, activist, and conceptual artist. Every Where Alien is his first collection of poems published by Moore Black Press, affiliated with Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers. Brad’s poems have been published in The Atlantic, Academy of American Poets, African Voices magazine, About Place Journal, and other publications. He’s collaborated with artists like Erykah Badu and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Brad’s first recording is the single Underneath the Metal, on the 1997 spoken word compilation album Eargasms: Crucial Poetics Vol. 1.

Lyndon K. Gill is an Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Thank you to Episode 83’s Ajamu X for connecting us. Lyndon’s interests include queer aesthetics in the African Diaspora, the erotic, LGBT art and activism in Caribbean cultures, African-based spiritual traditions in the Americas, subjectivity, and community building. In 2018, Lyndon published Erotic Islands: Art and Activism in the Queer Caribbean. With a focus on the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the book details how queer histories in the Caribbean have influenced Carnival and calypso.

Alle Eriksson is a Swedish publisher at Nypon och Vilja förlag. Alle’s credentials include owning a bookstore and publishing company and being a librarian for the city of Stockholm. They were also part of starting an LGBT+ youth space in Stockholm. In early 2024, Alle was on the Nordic Council’s Youth Literature Prize committee. It’s an award for works of fiction written in the Nordic languages of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. Intersectionality has been an important component throughout Alle’s professional career.

Eric Yassine is the British-based Ivorian director of Yassine Consulting Limited. With over 10 years of experience analysing operational & financial business processes in different companies across various sectors in Europe, Africa & the Middle East, Eric’s expertise includes Internal Control Framework (COSO) & Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) implementation, documentation & testing of controls. Eric and I met in December 2022 at a Black Men’s professional networking event in London organised by Episode 23's Gamal ‘G’ Turawa.