Nina Elizabeth “Lyrispect” Ball is an award-winning lyricist,activist, curator and educator whose creative and social justice work spans 20+ years. Her body of work is a marriage of multiple disciplines including film, music, poetry, live performance and media with a strong emphasis on writing and literacy. She is an activist and advocate for girls, women, people of color and marginalized communities.

Nina is a board member for Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, a youth arts organization in her hometown, and a multiple award-winning voiceover actor.

She has performed internationally and is author of “The PreCursor” a collection of her early and signature works.

What informs her practice is truth telling,complex human nature, cultural preservation, social justice, and unapologetic joy.

Lyrispect believes that honest expression with layered execution can disrupt, heal, liberate and transform.

After the Episode

Find Lyrispect's poetry and latest projects at lyrispect.com

Follow Callie on Instagram and visit callieswanlund.com to learn more about finding your spark.

Today I'm talking with my friend - and soon to be your friend - Yana Jenay Conner. She is a Bible teacher, truth teller, and writer. Yana weaves together scripture and pop culture, talks about occupying white spaces as a Black woman, and shares the importance of having a circle of support.

After the Episode

Find more of Yana's writing at everydayyanajenay.com

Check out Yana's published Jude 3 curriculum called Through the Eyes of Color

Follow Callie on Instagram and visit callieswanlund.com to learn more about finding your spark.

Wordsmith is a Baltimore-based songwriter and hip-hop artist. He partners with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, strives to entertain and educate through a message of purpose, and recently started a nonprofit called Rise with a Purpose.

After the Episode

Find out what Wordsmith is up to at wordsmithmusic.com

Learn more about his nonprofit rise with a purpose at risewithapurpose.com

Visit the Concert for the Human Family site to learn more about Wordsmith's collaboration with Kory Caudill and The Episcopal Church.

Follow Callie on Instagram and visit callieswanlund.com to learn more about finding your spark.