Celebrating Women's History Month and some of the She-ro's in our community. All month long we will be featuring women who have been a She-ro in our communities! Read about these She-ro's below.
Dotie Joseph was born in Haiti and grew up in North Miami, attended Miami-Dade public schools throughout the District, and earned degrees from Yale University and Georgetown University Law Center. Dotie has been a champion for community empowerment, and advocate for civil rights and human rights since she was a teenager – and wants to take her passion for service to Tallahassee. She is running in order to advocate for equal access to quality education, affordable health care, public safety, and economic development to improve the quality of lives for all who live, work, and play in the District.
Florida House District 108 is one of Miami-Dade County's most diverse districts and Ms. Joseph intends to serve the entire community.
Whenda “Wanda” Tima
Media Maven, Digital Influencer and Founder of L’Union Suite, Whenda “Wanda” Tima. featured in Forbes, Black Enterprise, and Ticket Magazine Haiti is making a monumental impact and changing the Haitian American community.
“Wanda became the first person in her family to earn a college degree when she graduated from Bethune-Cookman University with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication."
Wanda worked for broadcast media at a Radio Station, and subsequently two television stations in Daytona and Orlando, FL. She crafted the art of entertainment and tapped into the social pulse. Excited about her heritage and with a passion to give back; in October 2011, Wanda started “L’union Suite”, the #1 Haitian-American blog dedicated to highlighting positive and uplifting stories about Haitian living abroad from celebrities to everyday heroes. For her, this was a personal project aimed to help other Haitian Americans who wanted to learn more about Haiti and its culture, who often felt disconnected from the experience.”
Present day, Wanda has rebranded and expanded L’Union Suite and The Haitian American. She also manages Trace USA, Girlfriends In, and The Suite Podcast.
Simone and Trudy Hylton
Natural TrendSetters is the first natural hair care center in South Florida. The owners of the business are Simone Hylton and Yanique Hylton, sisters and powerful businesswomen who together have built the natural hair care industry in South Florida. Simone and Trudy Hylton were born on the island of Jamaica and raised in New York. Recognizing a need in the community the two entrepreneurial sisters relocated to Florida to begin setting trends naturally and formed the first and best natural hair care salon in South Florida. Simone, known as the creative visionary, and Trudy, the business savvy executive together have built an amazing brand (Natural TrendSetters) that is recognized worldwide for optimal service and top-notch skill combined with unparalleled creativity. In the realm of hair care and keeping hair strong and beautiful, Natural TrendSetters has become a driving force and proven trendsetter in the industry. As one of the first commission-based black operations on the market, they continue to make their mark on the industry. Building operations and creative techniques these sisters have built a seamless operation that has set the standard as well as raised the bar in the hair care industry for over 21 years and counting.
Natural TrendSetters is acclaimed for its powerhouse Hair showcases and numerous recognitions in national magazines. In addition, the Hylton sisters have put together an Annual Hair Expo that raises money for numerous local and national charities and provides the community with cultural awareness. These events also widen and alert attendees to various hair options and textures available to them through our unique consultation process. Natural Trend Setters has also created a unique and amazing training program aimed at exposing hair stylists to a growing unstoppable industry utilizing polished and proven systems and styling techniques.
Future Natural Trend Setters' plans include expansion and franchising the Natural TrendSetters brand, as well as continuing to offer more prestigious training workshops both online and on location in order to continue to raise the bar in the natural hair care industry.
Mrs. Shedly Casseus Parnther, M.B.A., is an award-winning "B.R.A.C.E." Advisor with over 15 years of college and financial aid planning experience. Mrs. Casseus is a mother of 3, one of which who is in college, a high school senior, and a 9-year-old. She is the proud Founder and President of a college and career consulting group CC&C, which recently initiated the
70 Scholarship Challenge and facilitates college and career planning workshops throughout the Broward County, Florida libraries, she is also the Producer of “The Scholarship Plug” on YouTube and IG, Founder, Academic Advisor for Florida Atlantic University Upward Bound Math and Science and Lead Designer of hair adornment company Jewels4mylocs and co-owner of a local tire company with her husband, True Tread Tires in Davie, Florida.
Her mission is to empower students and families with the information needed to successfully plan “early” to fund their dreams. By partnering with colleges, scholarship programs, nonprofit, private organizations, church groups, and after-school programs she is determined to help bring Broward’s FAFSA completion rate up. Many of her strengths are exhibited while assisting students and families on their quest towards obtaining the best financial aid packages and scholarship opportunities. Shedly is of Haitian descent, a Canadian native, and a current resident of Broward County, Florida. Her entrepreneurial spirit, passion for knowledge, and energy for student achievement allow her to continuously excel in the business of education. Her most recent awards include being honored for the 2018 Ford Salute to Education Ross Roberts Mentor of the Year award where her students were each awarded a laptop and a $1,500 scholarship, she was nominated for the Global Trade Chamber’s 100 women in business award, honored as one of the 100 Outstanding Women of Broward County by the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, Northeast High School’s Caliber Non-Instructional Employee of the Year for 2017. Employee of the Month for October 2018 and is being honored with the 2019 Trailblazer Award for going over and beyond the call of duty to make a difference in the community this summer by the KP4KIDS Foundation. As she continues to hit the ground running, and adding to the millions of dollars that she’s helped students obtain, Mrs. Casseus Parnther believes that she still has much work to do in the community and looks forward to being the number one scholarship referral advisor on social media, specifically to ensure that students and parents have access to as many resources as possible.
On July 25th, 2020 Shedly was awarded a proclamation by Broward County Mayor Dale Holness for her dedication to the community and our youth as well as her scholarship plug program.
Tiffany "Delilah" Miranda is an accomplished DJ, producer, engineer, singer, and founder of the nonprofit organization, Girls Make Beats. The Miami native started as a recording artist at age 15, appearing on shows like American Idol and X-Factor. After facing many challenges in a male-dominated industry, Tiffany found a sense of creative control by learning about the music production and audio engineering fields.
Building her own home studio to interning at various major studios in Miami, she quickly noticed there were not a lot of women in these fields nor was there a sense of support for women trying to break into these positions. Despite often being the “only woman in the room”, she landed an in-house engineer position and obtained her Avid certification. She then helmed her skills to become one of the most sought-after recording engineers and producers in the industry working with heavy hitters Lil Uzi Vert, French Montana, TI, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, and much more.
In efforts to position girls at the forefront of music technology, Tiffany founded Girls Make Beats (GMB) in 2012. The organization empowers young girls to become music producers, DJs, and audio engineers. She has forged partnerships with industry titans like Apple, Spotify, Facebook as well as various major record labels to create unparalleled opportunities for the girls in the program. This includes an official remix for Janet Jackson and spearheading programs to engage the girls with music industry professionals such as Janelle Monae, Chloe x Halle, Tinashe, and Eve. The work she is doing with GMB has been featured on Billboard, grammy.com, Good Morning America, and more.
Tiffany has been a keynote speaker and panelist for many events with a focus on female empowerment, diversity, and inclusion including Today at Apple, Avid Learning Partner Summit, the State of California Education AME Conference, JBL Black History Month, and more.
With the Girls Make Beats movement, Tiffany has mentored hundreds of girls globally and she continues to break glass barriers for women and young girls. Most recently Miranda’s song ‘Queendom’ which she wrote, produced, and recorded with some back vocals of “MEANGIRL’ was featured on the hit film ‘Coming2America’ soundtrack.
To learn more about her work visit www.girlsmakebeats.org
Gia Tutalo-Mote is an Emmy award-winning television host and producer.
Founder and CEO of the non-profit organization Forever Family, Gia has taken her concept of media awareness for children in America’s foster care system from a small grass-roots initiative on Miami’s WTVJ in 2002, to a multi-market platform on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates in Florida and North Carolina.
The program has garnered more than 25 million dollars in free earned-media since its inception and has raised nearly 1 million dollars for children in foster care and those aging out of the foster care system without families.
In addition to overseeing all aspects of Forever Family, Gia is the on-air talent for Forever Family on NBC 6, ABC 7, and NBC 2, featured in national television programming, and a frequent radio guest.
Awards and Recognition include:
- Adoption Excellence Award for Media/Public Awareness of Adoption Presented by United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Children’s Bureau – Washington, DC
- Congressional Award – Angels in Adoption presented by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute - Washington, DC
- Florida Department of Children and Families Advocate of the Year Office of the Governor & Florida Statewide
- Guardian Ad Litem Award and the for Community Advocacy on behalf of abused and neglected children
- Emmy for ‘Selling Innocence’ – shed light on Child Exploitation and the Internet
Ebony Johnson is a community activist, educator, and natural leader. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she is the proud mother of two children, Tamaya and Jayson Jackson. An educator at heart, Ms. Johnson learned her calling early in life after falling in love with teaching and caring for toddlers at age 12 in the church’s nursery and her experiences on her first job as a childcare worker at age 15. Determined to become a good teacher Ms. Johnson earned a Master’s Degree in Reading and Learning Disabilities from the University of Miami. She became an Elementary School Teacher for Miami Dade County Public Schools serving Brentwood Elementary, Linda Lentin Elementary, and Phyllis Miller Elementary schools for almost a decade. After accomplishing this, she then organized a non-profit community center in 2001, The Resource Room.
As Executive Director of The Resource Room and The Resource Room Child Care & Learning Center, Ms. Johnson works tirelessly to educate children through aftercare and day programs. Overseeing four centers, serving over 200 children daily; Johnson also dedicates time to help adults connect or reconnect with programs and services to gain access to resources that will help them lead successful lives. In 2013, Ms. Johnson joined D.A. Dorsey Technical College as a Case Manager for Adult Education where she guides young adults through career pathways while helping them gain access to services that assist them in supporting their families and staying in school to complete their program of study.
Ms. Johnson prides her position as Miami Dade NAACP Youth Council Advisor and Region V Adult Representative to the National Youth Work Committee. When Ebony was asked in 2009 to become the Advisor she said “How could I not, my grandfather Samuel Bailey worked hard as President of the Mississippi Branch, and my mother Dr. Shirley B. Johnson formed the Miami Dade NAACP Youth Council in 1988. NAACP is part of my family’s legacy and I will continue.” As a lifelong member of the oldest civil rights organization and Advisor of the NAACP Youth Council Ms. Johnson, has lead peaceful sit ins, marches for causes that affect our community, organized town hall meetings, distribute Thanksgiving baskets to families in need, and a host of other community service projects. Ms. Johnson advocates for youth and is dedicated to providing leadership that guides them in being civically involved.
Johnson is passionate about helping youth and families succeed. She has received recognition for her work and dedication and hopes to continue to inspire, equip, educate and connect people to successful possibilities.
Awards and Acknowledgement:
- 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 Ebony Johnson was awarded NAACP National Youth Advisor of the Year
- 2013 Awarded Community Leader by Iota Phi Lambda
- 2015 Awarded Florida State Youth Advisor of the year
- 2015 Awarded Community Leader by D.A Dorsey Technical College
- 2016 Unsung Hero
- 2017 Featured in AT&T Black History Calendar
- And a host others
Affiliations:
- North Dade Youth and Family Coalition
- Live Healthy Miami Gardens (ATOD Sub-council member)
- CERT Member & Trainer (community emergency response team)
- Executive Member of the NAACP Miami Dade Branch
- United Teachers of Dade
- FEA member