L.E.N.S. Featured Author for December 2021
Emanuel (Outspoken) Bean
Spoken Word Performance Poetry
Professionally known as “Outspoken Bean”, is a performance poet, writer, compassionate mentor, electric entertainer and educator. He is the recipient of the 2017 Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Artist in Resident, and the 2016 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and The Idea Fund Recipient.
Bean uses poetry to collaborate with other mediums and institutions such as being the first poet to perform on a main stage production of Houston Ballet’s Play. Also, creating his own festival, Plus Fest the EVERYTHING plus POETRY Festival. That work ethic has taken him to perform in Trinidad to Miami to South Dakota to Broadway, over 35 states, 200 universities, annually performing in front of thousands of people and across the vast Houston Metropolitan where he inspires people from all walks of life. Also, Bean was commissioned to write and perform a national campaign on diversity for Pabst Blue Ribbon and VICE.
He was the 2011 Texas poet laureate nominee, ranked 9th in the Individual World Poetry Slam 2013, ranked 2nd in collaborative poetry at Group Piece Finals 2013, and ranked 9th at National Poetry Slam 2014. He started performing spoken-word in 2005. In his senior year at Prairie View A&M, Bean founded and coached the University’s first poetry slam team. In their first year, they won the title in their region and grabbed the 8th place ranking in the country at College Union Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI ’08).
Bean has also worked with many youth organizations from across the country such as, Inside Out in Detroit, Youth Speaks in San Francisco, and WordSpeak in Miami. While balancing a very busy touring schedule, Bean also serves as the project coordinator, lead coach, and mentor to Meta-Four Houston, a project of Writers in the Schools (WITS) that works with professional performance/slam poets and encourages self expression and literacy among Houston’s youth through creative writing and performance.
“An energetic pioneer for poetry, in all its different sizes and shapes, Bean is dedicated to making sure that poets get heard”
To contact Emmanuelee “Outspoken Bean”:
Website: www.Outspokenbean.com
Social Media: @Outspokenbean
Email: outspokenbean210@gmail.com
Number: 210-415-7148
September 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
Sandra Reese Jolla
As an inspirational speaker, Sandra Jolla challenges her audience to use God’s Word as the foundational basis for issues that face women. She is a native of Montgomery, Alabama where at an early age she began her faith walk. Sandra authored her first solo book, The Joy in my Journey with cancer, after her battle with breast cancer in 2016. Her book is motivation for anyone dealing with or having to care for someone dealing with Cancer or any of life’s obstacles. Her next book, “Overcomers” was released November 1, 2020 on Amazon.com
She is a veteran businesswoman retiring from IBM with over 31 years and Comerica Bank with over 8 years of Sales and Program Leadership experience where she received numerous awards.
Personal Sandra is married to Rev. Dr. Michael Angelo Jolla, and she serves her congregation at the exciting West End Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas in a number of areas, to include Young Adult Bible Teacher, Curriculum Developer, and Pastor’s wife. At the state level she serves as Debutante Director, Missionary Baptist Convention of Texas, Women & Girls’ Conference. She is also President of the San Antonio Ivy Educational Fund; President of Guadalupe Ministers Wives, President of WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving and Sharing. She has two beautiful daughters, Brasha Jibrel and Brianna Michelle.
Her Motto is JOY! Which is an Acronym for JESUS, OTHERS, YOURSELF!
To contact Sandra Reese Jolla:
Website: www.joy4lifeministry.com
Social Media: @sandrajolla
Email: sjollajoy@gmail.com
Number: 469.682.8199
August 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
Shirley Thomas
You Are #1,
You Are the Greatest
It’s What You Do With Your Time and Your Mind
Shirley Thomas is an author, a public speaker and a teacher of principles on how to live and have a wonderful, fantastic and phenomenal life. Shirley was born near St Louis, Missouri in a little town called Hayti, where she grew up chopping and picking cotton in the hot sun. She and her mother later migrated to Flint, Michigan and has since held many positions. She worked in the radio and television industry doing commercials and worked as an extra in TV shows like, “House of Card”, “Westwing”, and the “Transformer”. She worked with a 24 hour internet TV station called “Access2Heaven Network” as a host of a Network show called, “Strictly Positive”. She also worked as a Production Assistant, and was a radio announcer at WUST radio station in DC. At Howard University, she hosted an inspirational segment every Sunday morning on WHBC Student Radio Station.
Shirley’s main hobby is singing and has released two musical pieces. An album called, “I’m Excited about Jesus”, and she released a Christmas song in 2007, titled, “Merry Christmas to You. Her work in song and film afforded her to receive the DCTV Academy Award for the best inspirational Programming for the Year of 2008. She attended and graduated from Bible College in Temple Hills, MD in 2010, and attended and graduated from Columbia School of Broadcasting in Television Announcing in 2011.
Shirley currently is Executive Producer and Host of the talk show title, “SUCCESS FILLED LIVING”, aired on amsnews.tv. She is the author of a recent release called, “It’s What You Do with Your Time and Your Mind”.
Other publications are, “Success Filled Living” named after the TV show, and an e-book titled, “You are #1, You are the Greatest”. She also has a release of an Exercise DVD, Titled, “Extra-cising in the Spirit”.
Website: www.successfilledliving.net
Email: successfilledliving@gmail.com
Number: 202.941-0737
July 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
Dr. O. Raye Adkins
Children’s Short Story:
“When The Deer Rings Your Doorbell”
On the evening of July 17, 1944 at approximately 10pm, the San Francisco Bay area awakened to the explosion of ammunition and bombs that resulted in the largest domestic loss of life in World War II. 320 military and civilians died in that explosion, which included 175 African American soldiers, one of which was the father of O. Raye Adkins, who was born 4 months after the disastrous Port Chicago Naval explosion. The event had a major impact on her childhood and life which set her on a poignant journey, to confirm that despite difficult and challenging experiences, miracles are birthed from that which seems impossible. Raye has since spent her life helping children and positively impacting the lives of others. She spent over 3 decades serving in public education and concluded her career as an elementary school principal. She also served as a national consultant, conducting workshops and speaking engagements with a company recognized as a noted authority on generational poverty.
Raye tapped into her personal and professional experiences and wrote her first book titled, ”Letters to My Father: The Gifts. The book contains letters written to her father as she shares thoughts, dreams, and insights of her life and the discoveries she uncovered surrounding his death in the explosion.
Her 2nd book is a selection for children and the young at heart and delves into the challenges a young girl faces in dealing with the loss of her father. The book, “When the deer rings your doorbell” is her first children’s book and was release and publicized as “a book for the child in all of us” and penned as a delight read for both children and adults. Raye currently resides in San Antonio Texas and has traveled to places such as South Africa and Haiti as she lives out her life’s conviction based on 2 Corinthians 1;3 & 4 which states, “Comfort is what we receive when God gives us the victory. Then, we must give that same comfort and help to meet the needs of others.
For book purchase and/or inquiries, contact Dr. O. Adkins at:
Email: radkins@satx.rr.com
Social Media: Paypal.me/deerbook
Phone: 210-317-6769
June 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
Candice Georgia Preau
Brilliant Literacy Volume 1
Fun with Words for Teens & Adults
Is the owner of Brilliant Literacy. An organization that publishes educational content for teens and adults whose ultimate goal is the improvement of literary skills such as grammar, vocabulary, set instructions, critical thinking, and reading comprehension. Through these offerings, the organization promotes teens and adults to be their best selves through literacy. She came upon this realization when she taught ESL classes, experience as an educational tutor to ages 5 to 10, and her experience as an evaluator of standardized tests focused on english and reading. During which she saw a need for providing relatable, multi-cultural and engaging content for an exciting learning experience.
Candice started writing as a child of 10 years old when she fell in love with the poetry of Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. She continued perfecting her writing in college as a newspaper journalist, various online blogs and magazines and even had the opportunity to contribute her skills toward public relations and marketing materials for designers during New York Fashion Week. Her professional writing experience is also expressed in writing poetry and short stories for her blog.
When not writing Candice enjoys reading, traveling museums, festivals, live music, art and design. She lived in New York for 8 years during which time she immersed herself in the art of storytelling in a variety of ways such as Broadway shows, live musical performances in Harlem and poetry in the Village. Candice received support and encouragement from her strong Caribbean heritage of both her mother and father (Antiguan and Trinidadian respectively, to use her creative talents in ways pleasing to God.
For e-book purchase and/or inquiries, contact Candice at:
Email: candi.preau@gmail.com
Website: www.brilliantlit.com
To purchase book: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B08M355TTD
May 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
L.E.N.S. Author
Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr.
"In Pursuit of Wholeness"
Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr. currently serves as an associate pastor and a member of the executive leadership team of West Angeles Church of God in Christ. He is the founder and CEO of Wilfred Graves Ministries, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which focuses on evangelism, spiritual formation, Christian scholarship, and leadership training.
He is the author of In Pursuit of Wholeness: Experiencing God’s Salvation for the Total Person, which explores how God’s grace, love, and power can transform every area of life.
Dr. Graves is the first African American to receive a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Historical Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Fuller, a Master of Science (M.S.) in Statistics from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Science (S.B.) in Mathematics from MIT. He is an adjunct professor of Theology and Christian History at both Fuller Seminary and Biola University.
In his spare time, Dr. Graves enjoys playing Scrabble and Sudoko. He also enjoys baking sweet potato pies. He is happily married to Dr. Malaika E. Graves, a pediatrician and accomplished artist.
To connect with him, please visit www.wilfredgraves.com/wholeness
Email: info@wilfredgraves.org; or call 626-394-6779.
April 2021
L.E.N.S. Author
L.E.N.S. Author
Ann Lynn Noble
"Glow and Grow in The Grace Of God"
Ann grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BS in Education. She met and married military member Robert Noble while in Denver, Colorado as she started her first teaching job and career. They recently celebrated their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary August 2020.
As a military wife, Ann had opportunity to travel much with in the US, and around the world. The Air Force afforded Ann to move 17 times during Robert’s military career, in which she had the privilege of teaching first to eighth grade in both public and Christian schools.
Ann’s first book is ‘RESTORE, RESTORE, RESTORE AND MORE”. Her second book is a devotional based on the God given nuggets of the first book, and is titled, “RESTORE, RESTORE, RESTORE DEVOTIONAL”. “GLOW AND GROW IN THE GRACE OF GOD” is her third book, which is a unique take on a dialog between a grandmother and granddaughter with spirituality at its core. All three of Ann’s books have beautiful five-star reviews which can be seen on Amazon. Ann currently lives in Dallas, Texas and a fourth book is in the works.
Contact at www.annlynnnobelauthor.com; @annlynnnoble@gmail.com and/or email her at annlynnnoble@gmail.com
March 2021 L.E.N.S. Author
TRACY GEORGE
AKA “COACH TRACY”
Fearless Women Rock Project – Courageous Women:
Finding Strength During the Storm, Vol 2
Chapter 11: Living in a Bubble: From Poverty to Provision
Coach Tracy George is a life coach, financial strategist coach, business consultant, and entrepreneur who is passionate about helping others live their best life now. With over 20 years of coaching and scouting talent, traveling throughout the United States and Canada, she has taught others the tools necessary to succeed. She is currently co-founder of KCT Investments and lead talent scout for a prominent consulting firm in Los Angeles. As lead scout, many of her talent actively work as models, actors, and professionals in various industries. Her most recent investment is the purchase of a financial literacy franchise which expands her repertoire, consulting clients on the importance of understanding how money works.
On a personal note, Tracy has a few words of encouragement:
“You have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your way can illuminate the world” – Oprah Winfrey
“Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation” – Zig Ziglar
“We are born to live our best life NOW fulfilling our purpose” – Coach Tracy
Book Synopsis: Growing up as a Generation X baby during the late 60’s in Louisiana was the ultimate test of times as an African American child who knew no harm, no foul, but only love, courage and ambition. This foulness (hate, racism) was never taught to me as a child, nor as an adulthood, opened my eyes and is why I titled the book, Living in a Bubble”. It woke me up as a high school student in a powerful way when I learned of the kidnapping of Black children in Atlanta, as the horrid event went unacknowledged in my Louisiana town.
The book is an honest version of growing up ad growing out from poverty into a place of provision. The book is an inspiration to all, especially during this pandemic. My financial struggles and growth can help those who need help and resources to come out of debt financially, emotionally and spiritually.
If you are looking for a coach, I am available to help you come out of an impoverished mentality, setbacks from challenges and detours in life. As a result, I share my story in the book as an inspiration, because against all odds a church girl like Coach Tracy, being the courageous women that I am was able to overcome challenges while, “Living in a Bubble”, (the unknown) and overcame with courage and ambition and now Living the Life of My Dreams.
Looking for a mentor or coach for life coaching, financial and relationship coaching. To contact Tracy George at www.coachtracy.org or write me at coachtracy522@gmail.com or http://instagram.com/coachtracy65