JULY / AUGUST 2026 ISSUE PREVIEW
CURRENT EVENTS
Keeping the transatlantic friendship
by Nikolai Jason Djabatey
When exploring why the transatlantic relationship is so important, one could argue in many ways. You could talk about the historical and cultural connection between the United States and Europe that goes as far back as the formation of the US as a country. You could also argue with the economic and geopolitical advantages that US-European cooperation and friendship provide. But for times’ sake, I will stick to the most basic common denominator, a fact so simple that it seems trivial (but I guarantee you it’s not).
HOME & FAMILY
The Real War: Why fatherhood is the front line in the battle for consciousness
by Dwayne Meeks, contributing writer
Boys and girls are growing up in a world full of screens, messages, and endless noise. If families do not teach children how to care for their minds, someone else will gladly do it for them.
ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT
KARL PIERRE LOUIS
Batir Consulting
Owner
Hendersonville, NC
"I understand that people, workplaces, systems, culture, communication, and opportunity are all connected. My approach is human-centered, practical, and rooted in helping clients build healthier structures that support both people and performance."
BUSINESS & CAREER
Discernment cannot be automated: Why the future of leadership still depends on lived experience
by Dr. Leslye Renee Kornegay, contributing writer
Too often, organizations speak about wanting experienced leaders while simultaneously removing the very developmental pathways that create them. Entry level opportunities shrink. Middle management layers disappear. Emerging professionals are expected to lead without enough opportunity to develop discernment through actual experience.
BUSINESS & CAREER
Roaring success: Business insights and strategies for Black start-up and emerging entrepreneurs
by Dr. Daryl Green, contributing writer
Small business owners tell me they cannot find good people. My answer is always the same: the talent exists.
TECHNOLOGY
Every generation has its AI: Why new technology always feels like the end of the world
by Chasity Leake, contributing writer
How we end the year often mirrors how we have been conditioned to measure our worth, our risk, and our success. That hidden pattern is what I call financial trauma, the unspoken emotional history that shapes how we relate to money, opportunity, and even ourselves.
TECHNOLOGY
The wealth gap no one talks about: How trauma, technology, and AI are shaping the future of underserved communities
by Shawn Smart
There’s a growing concern that AI will replace jobs, eliminate opportunities, and leave people behind. While those fears are understandable, I believe the bigger danger is refusing to understand its true power. Because AI is not just a technology conversation. It’s an access conversation. It’s an education conversation. And ultimately, it’s a wealth conversation.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Why you feel like you're constantly bracing for impact: How your nervous system is protecting you (and how to soften the brace)
by Punam Medina, contributing writer
How we end the year often mirrors how we have been conditioned to measure our worth, our risk, and our success. That hidden pattern is what I call financial trauma, the unspoken emotional history that shapes how we relate to money, opportunity, and even ourselves.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Infrared Sauna Therapy: A powerful tool for longevity and cardiovascular health
by Dr. Travis Whiteside
Unlike traditional saunas that heat the air around you, infrared saunas heat the body directly at lower temperatures. This allows for a deeper, more tolerable session, especially for individuals who may not tolerate extreme heat well.
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
A case for nurturing our creative health
by Kara Ashley-Gilmore
It is time to stop squeezing our creative instincts into the margins of our lives. When we neglect our creative health, the community feels the impact. A society that lacks creative outlets is often a society that struggles with empathy and innovation. Creativity allows us to imagine “what could be” rather than just “what is”. This is the foundation of social progress and collective healing. Creativity allows us to become more resilient neighbors, partners, parents, friends, and family members.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Beyond traditional benefits: How to build community and foster retention at work
by Lindsay Coward, contributing writer
When it comes to retention and building community at work, there are many options. It is important to remember that retention and community are built beyond the outlines of work roles and traditional benefits. They are built every day through intentional communication, shared experiences, and following through with opportunities and resources that support employees.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
The importance of local food hubs
by Megan Martell
Money spent on local food lifts up our local economy. With successful farms, land is preserved and seasonal temperatures of nearby towns are cooler and more stable. The food we eat is fresher and more nutritious. With economic success, local food hubs can employ more delivery drivers and create more jobs throughout the local food chain. When all that money stays in our neighborhoods, we’re all healthier for it.
EDUCATION
Education or schooling? Reclaiming the original purpose of learning in America
by Niconda Garcia, contributing writer
A 2002 Harvard study on schools in the Charlotte- Meckenberg school district here in North Carolina found that, “Students assigned to high-suspension schools are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated later, and less likely to attend a four-year college. Male minority students are most likely to be affected.” Couple this data with the findings and negative impacts of zero tolerance policies and we have an effective path to fuel our prison systems with low paid workers for industrialized capitalism.
EDUCATION
The Hire Advantage: Rethinking internships to build career-ready talent
by Malayna S. Hasmanis, MPA, M.Ed., Doctoral Candidate, contributing writer;
Tristan Jones, contributing writer; and Dr. Heidi O’Donnell
Internships should be more than résumé entries — they should be deliberate learning experiences that teach the competencies today’s employers truly need. When we reframe internships as competency-building pathways, programs can produce graduates who contribute from day one: technically capable, professionally agile, and ready to learn on the job.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
STEPHEN THOMAS CRAIG
Mixed Media Artist, Sculptor, & Painter
Asheville, NC | Sarasota, FL
“Working on my art literally takes me to a higher plane. It’s the most beautiful feeling of freedom, being able to express myself and share it with an audience.”
ARTS & CULTURE
What nostalgia won't tell you
by Karl Pierre Louis, contributing writer
Every generation has its timeline. Every family has its old photographs. Every community has its period music, its war stories, its grief, its violence, its golden years, and its buried truths. But memory must be handled carefully. Because nostalgia does not always heal. Sometimes it edits. Sometimes it lies. Sometimes it asks us to worship a past that wounded us, simply because the present has not yet learned how to hold us.
EMPOWERING YOUR LIFE
From career success to personal fulfillment: The power of reinvention through executive coaching
by Ravin Gore-Overby, contributing writer
Many high-achieving leaders become trapped by their own accomplishments. They stay because they are comfortable. They stay because they are respected. They stay because leaving feels risky. Yet the very skills that helped them succeed in the past may be preventing them from discovering what is possible next.
EMPOWERING YOUR LIFE
Beginning again: Building community in new territories
by Whitley English, contributing writer
How we end the year often mirrors how we have been conditioned to measure our worth, our risk, and our success. That hidden pattern is what I call financial trauma, the unspoken emotional history that shapes how we relate to money, opportunity, and even ourselves.
EMPOWERING YOUR LIFE
The scarcity mindset
by Wande Okunoren-Meadows, contributing writer
Scarcity crazily twists our minds to think there is only room for one voice. That’s a lie. There’s room for many voices. Shared leadership, many opportunities, many seats not only at the table, but at decision-making tables. If someone else succeeds, we assume there is less available to us. That could not be farther from the truth. I don’t want anyone else’s blessing, and no one can take away a blessing meant for me or another.
