OUR BOARD
Our Board is made up of Black Artists. We are who we serve.
Nacala Ayele
Born and raised in Seattle Washington, Nacala comes from a background of art, community organizing and healing work. As a healer, Nacala has practiced Massage Therapy for 16 years.
Nacala is currently enrolled in the Happiness Studies Academy, a certificate program of Harvard University. As a Joy Coach, Nacala provides 1:1 coaching, classes and workshops that focus on joy cultivation in marginalized communities. Nacala believes that joyful people create liberated families and communities.
Nacala's current projects include Like Fine Wine, Black Joy Over Time, a collection of filmed narratives that celebrate the joyful experiences of Pacific Northwest-based Black People over 60 years old. She is the host of The Joy Corridor podcast that celebrates community members who are bringing joyful experiences to the community, and she is part the Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute of Wa Na Wari, learning the best practices for recording Black Oral Histories.
Among Nacala’s favorite things are travel, snacking, food history, cooking, midnight marauding, roller skating, dating, dancing, frolicking, merry-making and kickin’ it with the Homies, Aunties, Elders, and like, hella Cousins.
Nichelle "iNfinity" Alderson
Nichelle Alderson (She/Her), FNTP, LICSW
Holistic Health & Wellness Counselor
My name is Nichelle Alderson. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by nature, arts, & culture. I am passionate about holistic health, social justice, and education and have often been described
as a visionary, a conduit, and a natural healer (and health nut).
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I have lived all of my years as an AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN in many roles, as a: daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, wife and ex-wife, and for most of the past 20 years, as single MOTHER, which brings it’s own set of additional roles: nurse, teacher, disciplinarian, advocate, role-model, etc. I am all of these identities combined while in my roles as a entrepreneur, healer, clinician, artist, student, American, etc. (all of that to say, I understand being a complex being).
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In my spare time, I enjoy organic vegetable gardening, live music, dancing, yoga, being in nature, writing, and playing with animals (I am a bit of an animal whisperer). I love God and spending alone time in prayer and meditation.
Winfield Ezell Jr.
Winfield Ezell, Jr. is founder and CEO of Obsidian Creative Studios(OCS). As a content studio, Obsidian's principal purpose is creating content targeted at today's Multicultural audience. With a mission of Story, Art, Community, OCS will tell stories with global impact and underlying themes of Diversity, Positivity, and Community that appeal across generational, racial, and socioeconomic boundaries. In a nutshell, we inspire people and connect communities through storytelling and technology.
Winfield brings nearly 30 years of experience in Film/TV Production, and storytelling. As a Writer, Editor, Director, and Producer, Winfield has a proven track record in the Independent film scenes in Seattle, Atlanta, and throughout the South. The consummate storyteller and architect of the Content360 Ecosystem, his experience includes extensive work in the corporate arena with a client list over the years that has included companies like Microsoft, Regence BlueShield, BET, and Delta Regional Authority. Obsidian Creative Studios has garnered acclaim working with organizations such as Acres of Ancestry(Justice for Black Farmers), Ashoka(Worldwide Network of Fellows), and The Safe House Black History Museum(Preserving the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement). Most recently, Obsidian had the honor and privilege to work with Converge Media on the Emmy nominated documentary, “Reconciliation Tour”.
Obsidian is poised to launch a slate of original content as we move into 2024. Winfield is preparing to launch projects and platforms with a diverse group of content partners and co-collaborators. Obsidian will continue to grow and activate it’s physical footprint in the Pacific NW, and throughout the Southeastern region of the United States, including the Mississippi Delta, and Alabama Black Belt.
Monique " Verbal Oasis" Franklin
Monique Franklin (Verbal Oasis), is an activist, poet, performer, scientist, and mother from Rainier Valley, Seattle. She has been referred to as “The unofficial poet laureate of South Seattle,” “The Billie Holiday of Spoken Word,” “the Verbal Manifestation of Nina Simone’s Soul” , “The High Priestess of prose, poetry and the art of storytelling" and "The Soul Seamstress". Monique is a 15+ year member of African American Writers' Alliance and has self-published three volumes of poetry entitled Acoustic Accolades, Erotic Annals of a Poet and Mama'z Muezz. She has released three spoken word albums Acoustic Accolades Volume 1, Hot Summer Nights and Mama'z Muezz all are available on soundcloud. As a performer you can find her poetry commingling with the ancestors, musicians, vocalist and dancers. The subject matter of her poetry stems from the rich spectrum of her life experiences. This woman is a creative soul.