Ballin 4 Peace Presents 2nd Annual "Celebrating Our Wins" All-Women’s Panel To Honor Women’s History Month
Ballin 4 Peace is proud to present the 2nd Annual “Celebrating Our Wins” all-women’s panel discussion to honor Women’s History Month in March and celebrate women in our communities who are overcoming obstacles and striving for greatness each day.
This year’s “Celebrating Our Wins” all-women’s panel will take place on Thursday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST live from Democracy Prep Endurance High School in New York and features a gifted, talented, and successful group led by moderator, Marie David.
"After putting together a successful event held virtually last March, this year we wanted to do something special for the second ‘Celebrating Our Wins’ all-women’s panel as we celebrate Women's History Month,” said Ballin’ 4 Peace Founder, Haron Hargrave.
“This year’s panelists have all overcome obstacles on their way to establishing their professional careers in sports, business, marketing, writing, teaching, music, and activism, and we can’t wait for them to share their story with the students, faculty, and community at Democracy Prep Endurance High School.”
Get To Know The Panelists
Marie David (Moderator)
Media Professional & Mixologist
IG: @_mariedavid / Twitter: @_mariedavid
We are excited to welcome back Marie David to lead our panel discussion and share her insights along the way. Marie is the CEO and founder of women empowerment brand “A Lady Who Knows”, which she launched in 2013 and currently serves as a Digital Producer for The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Middays with Shaila, and ’Déjà Vu In The Afternoons’ for New York’s 107.5 WBLS and HOT 97. She is also the social media manager for The Wendy Williams Show and has previously worked as an online reporter in front of the camera and behind the scenes at WBLS and HOT 97.
Vanessa Gidden
Former WNBA & European League player and Global Merchant for Nike
IG: @vanessagidden43 / Twitter: @veezhoops
A graduate of Hofstra University, Vanessa Gidden is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Sports Management from Liberty University after spending 14 seasons playing professional basketball. The former Stamford High School standout center and Kingstom, Jamaica native reached the WNBA with the Connecticut Suns and Minnesota Lynx before traveling to play overseas (Turkey, Finland, Romania, Italy, Israel, Poland, Angola and Spain), where she won 6 Championships. A member of the medal winning Jamaican Women’s National Team, Vanessa is the founder of two sports organizations – Veez Hoops and Athlete 4 Athletes – where she offers training and consulting both young athletes and professional basketball players, and serves as a global brand partner with Nike.
Jaryn Garner
Overtime Sports Social Media Manager Women's Basketball
IG: @jarthebear & @overtimewbb
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who grew up in neighboring Camden, New Jersey, Jaryn Garner excelled in academics, athletics, and community outreach from a young age. At Germantown High School in Philadelphia, Jaryn was named a McDonald's All-American nominee before moving on to play college basketball at the University of Virginia and St. Joseph’s University, where she earned her Masters Degree and led the team in assists during her first season there.
After playing professionally in Europe, Jaryn returned back to the United States and started a non-profit organization that fosters positive life experiences through basketball for teens 14-18 who’ve had run-ins with law enforcement. Serving as a coach-mentor with Philadelphia Youth Basketball, the former combo guard has worked as a Special Olympics coach and camp counselor over the last four years, and in February was named a 2022 Regional Winner of Positive Coaching Alliance’s Double-Goal Coach Award.
Her passion for basketball has always been important in her life so when the opportunity presented itself to help amplify women's basketball via social media with Overtime Sports as the company's Social Media Manager for Women's Basketball, Jaryn jumped at the chance to expand her career and influence.
Lynn Hobson
Publicist, Author, Professor
IG: @IamLynnHobson / Twitter: @lynnhobson
Lynn K. Hobson has done it all and is still going strong. Starting her career in 1995 as a Junior Publicist and Publicist at The Terrie Williams Agency in New York, the Washington DC native attended both Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia and served as Director of Publicity for Undeas and Untertainment Records with Epic and Sony Records. There she assisted in launching the careers of artists such as Cam’Ron, Charli Baltimore, and Junior Mafia before opening her own boutique PR firm, HobbieCom in 2002.
Working with the likes of Sister Souljah, Mike Tyson, Grammy Award winning music producers Bryan-Michael Cox and Rockwilder, Gucci Mane, Rasheedah, Khia, DipSet, and others during his time as a Publicist, Lynn also produced episodes of “My Super Sweet 16” for MTV and self-published her first book – “Diary of A Hip-Hop Publicist”, which chronicles her 20+years working in Hip-Hop and the entertainment industry. Along with being appointed an Adjunct Professor of Public Relations at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware in 2017, Lynn has toured as a motivational speaker at Georgetown University, Howard University, Pace University in New York City, and St. John’s University among others.
Most recently in 2020, Lynn and her best friend, Trina Stackhouse opened the doors to Hobson Publishing House, a full-service book publishing company which encompasses marketing and social media management for innovative authors. As a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey, Lynn spearheads her two foundations, The Black & Blue Foundation for domestic violence and The Julius Hobson Foundation for Racial Injustice.
Anna Nyakana
Award-Winning & Bestselling Children’s Author, Speaker, Producer, Singer-Songwriter & Activist
IG: @niyah_zuri / Twitter: @Niyah_Zuri
Born in Berlin, Germany in to a Ugandan father and German-Moldavian mother, Anna Nyakana gained inspiration from her diverse upbringing and published her books "Niyah Zuri and The Pharaoh's Throne" and "Niyah Zuri and The Mayan Eclipse” as a way to help encourage kids and young adults today to feel empowered. Building upon the book series, she is creating "Adventures with Niyah Zuri," a cartoon series which is currently in production. In addition to founding and leading Niyah Zuri Books and Niyah Zuri Studios, Anna is also a multi-talented singer-songwriter who released her debut album in 2007 and has been featured on SiriusXM, Entercom Radio, FOX, FOX Soul, PopFuzion TV, NBC CT, ABC WTNH, FOX 61, Connecticut Magazine, Sheen Magazine, Medium, and KIVO Daily.
In 2021, Anna was given the "Living Legend Award” by the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) and was featured in Connecticut Magazine's 2021 "40 Under 40" list and February cover, 2020 "100 Women of Color Award". Along with being recognized by the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut and the Connecticut House of Representatives for her relentless advocacy on behalf of students in her home state to bring diversity back to the classroom, Anna serves on the Board of Directors for the Born Rich Foundation, a Connecticut-based non-profit that addresses the socio-economy disparities in marginalized communities through education.
Once again this year, Ballin 4 Peace will be livestreaming the event on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us on social media for the latest news, updates, and insight on the 2nd Annual “Celebrating Our Wins” all-women’s panel
Facebook: ballin4peace
Twitter: @ballin4peace
IG: @ballin4peace
Website: www.ballin4peace.org
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What: Ballin 4 Peace’s 2nd Annual “Celebrating Our Wins’ All-Women’s Panel
When: Thursday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST
Where: Democracy Prep Endurance High School
240 East 123rd Street
New York, New York 10035
Contact: info@ballin4peace.org