Trisha R. Thomas is the author of the bestselling Nappily Ever After, a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction and a Gold Pen Awards nominee for Best New Author and Best Mainstream Fiction.
Early in 2009, Trisha visited the Black Employees Group at Warner Bros. Studios where she gave a passionate speak about the publishing business and writing. Through laughter, honesty and a light spirit, Trisha made us all want to become the next great American author.
Lisa Nichols has reached millions, both nationally and internationally with her powerful message of empowerment, service, excellence & gratitude..
Her participation in the self-development phenomenon, The Secret, catapulted her popularity across the globe. Lisa has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Extra,” “Larry King Live” and on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning show, “Starting Over.”
In June 2009, Lisa gave a passionate and inspiring lecture on overcoming obstacles and more importantly, saying Yes! Yes! to life. She was warm, inviting and personal. It was an honor to have her as part of the joint-studio speaker series.
Lisa is the founder of Motivating the Masses and CEO of Motivating the Teen Spirit, LLC. Her transformational workshops have impacted the lives of over 210 thousand teens and over 1 million adults.
Her new book, No Matter What! Hit 6 bestsellers list, including the New York Times list, in the first 37 days of being released and has already been sold in 20 foreign languages. Lisa has been coined “The Break through Specialist” by her peers in the industry.)
Lisa has been honored with many awards in recognition for her empowering work, including the Humanitarian Award from South Africa, the Ambassador of Good Will Award, Emotional literacy award, The Legoland Foundation’s Heart of Learning Award. The Mayor of Henderson, Nevada has proclaimed November 20th as Motivating the Teen Spirit Day. And recently the Mayor of Houston, Texas proclaimed May 9th as Lisa Nichols day for her dedication to service, philanthropy and healing.
Lisa is a dynamic speaker with an extraordinary story and a tremendous ability to touch people’s hearts and souls. She is a master at accomplishing unfathomable goals and teaching others to do the same.
Lisa Nichols has transformed her life from struggling single mom to a motivational millionaire entrepreneur, and she has dedicated her life to teaching others how to do the same.
On a warm, balmy southern California evening, the legendary Suzanne de Passe spoke to the joint studio mixer group at Universal Studios, Hollywood. Engaging and ever graceful, de Passe spoke of the great years – Motown, Michael and Berry. A trailblazer, de Passe encouraged the crowd to continue in the tradition and focus on making great art.
Suzanne de Passe is an American entertainment executive; the CEO of television production company de Passe Entertainment; and the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for screen writing. In February 2008 Essence Magazine bestowed the first Black Women In Hollywood: Visionary Award on Ms. de Passe acknowledging her contribution as a trailblazer. She currently serves as Visiting Professor at Emerson College in Boston.
De Passe first became notable as an executive for Motown Records, a company which she joined in 1968 after being introduced to Motown chief Berry Gordy by Supremes member Cindy Birdsong. At Motown, de Passe helped to produce television specials such as TCB and G.I.T. on Broadway, both starring Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations, and was responsible for signing, coaching, and developing Motown's most popular act of the 1970s, The Jackson 5. She first became notable as an executive for Motown Records, a company which she joined in 1968 after being introduced to Motown chief Berry Gordy by Supremes member Cindy Birdsong. At Motown, de Passe helped to produce television specials such as TCB and G.I.T. on Broadway, both starring Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations, and was responsible for signing, coaching, and developing Motown's most popular act of the 1970s, The Jackson 5.
In 1973, both she and Lonne Elder III became the first African-Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award for writing. She was nominated for co-writing the screenplay for the Berry Gordy-produced Lady Sings the Blues starring Diana Ross as singer Billie Holiday, while Elder was nominated for Sounder. De Passe co-wrote Lady Sings the Blues with Terence McCloy and Motown recording artist Chris Clark. De Passe continued to work for Motown, mostly producing television specials such as Motown 25 for the company's Motown Productions film/TV division into the 1980s. In 1989, Berry Gordy sold Motown Productions to de Passe, who renamed it de Passe Entertainment. The company has since produced such television shows and feature films as Class Act, Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, and Showtime at the Apollo. Additionally de Passe produced a spate of Awards shows including multiple "NAACP Image Awards," "Essence Awards" and the critically acclaimed "Black Movie Awards."
A number of de Passe Entertainment productions harken back to de Passe's Motown days, including the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream and The Temptations, and Motown 40: The Music is Forever. De Passe also was executive producer for the miniseries Lonesome Dove, Buffalo Girls, Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk, along with the syndicated series Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years. All of these projects were based on the writings of Larry McMurtry. She has won Emmy Awards for producing the Motown 25 and Motown Returns to the Apollo specials which won for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
In addition, she received Emmy nominations for Lonesome Dove, Buffalo Girls, The Jacksons: An American Dream, The Temptations and the Farrah Fawcett crime miniseries Small Sacrifices. All these nominations were in the Outstanding Miniseries category. De Passe was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1990. She is currently working with best-selling urban adult entertainment author, Zane, on the Cinemax series Zane's Sex Chronicles.
Greg Mathis is a retired Michigan 36th District Court judge and syndicated television show judge. His show Judge Mathis is produced by Telepictures Productions, and distributed by Warner Brothers. It is seen five days a week in most television markets in North America. in 2002, and Inner City Miracle, a memoir was published by Ballatine Books.
As the kick-off speaker for the 2009 joint-studio speaker series, Judge Mathis shared his passion for the inner-city while humbly sharing his past with event-goers. At one time, the crowd was so engaged that they formed a circle around the Judge. The event proved to be a success and served as the benchmark for future joint-studio events. The audience was also entertained by spoken-word artists, one of which was accompanied by a guitarist.
Through perseverance and with the help of a close family friend, Mathis was admitted to Eastern Michigan University where he discovered a new interest in politics and public administration. He became a campus activist and worked for the Democratic Party, organizing several demonstrations against South African Apartheid policies. He graduated with a B.S. Public Administration from the Ypsilanti campus and began to seek employment in Detroit's City Hall.
In 1995, he was elected a superior court judge for Michigan's 36th District, making him the youngest person in the state to hold the post. During the five years he was on the bench, he was rated in the top five of all judges in the 36th District; there are about thirty judges each year.
Mathis began his political career as an unpaid intern, and then became an assistant to Clyde Cleveland, a city council member. It was at this time Mathis took the LSAT and applied to law schools; he was conditionally admitted to the University of Detroit School of Law, which was located in downtown Detroit, walking distance from city hall. He passed a summer course and was officially admitted to the night program which took four years to complete.
Mathis was appointed head of Jesse Jackson's Presidential campaign in the state of Michigan in 1988. Mathis later became head of Mayor Coleman Young's re-election campaign and after the victory was appointed to run the city's east side city hall.
Mathis has continued to be involved in politics after rising to national entertainment prominence through his television show. Urban politics and African-American movements have been his focus. He has been a guest speaker for black trade union conferences, such as the A. Phillip Randolph Institute’s National Educational Conference on Social Justice and he was an on stage guest during the Nation of Islam’s Savior Day conference in Detroit’s Ford Field in 2007.
In September 2008, Mathis wrote a book called Street Judge, a novel based on a judge who solves murders. It was co-written by Zane, a well-known erotic series writer of Zane's Sex Chronicles. Mathis also wrote a book titled Of Being a Judge to Criminals and Such.
or of the bestselling Nappily Ever After, a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction and a Gold Pen Awards nominee for Best New Author and Best Mainstream Fiction.
