Dreamers and Doers

[View this email in your browser]( Michael’s Monday Motivation Dreaming Forward. The phrases really resonated with my mind, heart and soul amidst three days of Black Excellence in San Francisco thanks to Dr. Sheryl Davis, Dr. Saidah Leatutufu-Burch & Dr. James Spignola. When you are among a room of Dreamers and Doers, everything feels possible and powerful. Let us encourage each other to keep Dreaming Forward. Whenever we think we can't realize those dreams, reflect on the words of Pastor Julian Lowe of the Oasis church in LA. When you are going to your next level in life, it's easier for someone to pull you down than to lift you up.  Surround yourself with Dreamers but also people who will lift you up as you Dream! Thank you for joining us on our weekly Kairos Conversations call. Here are some items of interest that were discussed during the call. We must treat social media like the toxin that it is [Read Commissioner Dr. Vasan’s Article]( We hear there’s a holiday coming up! Support our KAIROS Community: Posterity Paper It’s about thoughtful exchanges on paper, cherished notes saved in shoeboxes, and big doses of laughter. [Purchase Greeting Cards & Stationary]( Everyday Diamonds Everyday Diamonds is meticulously handcrafted in Los Angeles, using only the finest natural diamonds. Our attention to quality ensures that our jewelry not only dazzles but also stands the test of daily wear. Designed for versatility, our collections effortlessly elevate your everyday wardrobe. [Shop Everyday Diamonds by Taylor Davis]( Watch Founder of Barbershop Books Alvin Irby discusses partnership with the NFL for Inspire Change Super Bowl event, and more. BarbershopBooks is hiring a Director of Development and Communications that is based in New York. Barbershop Books is an award-winning literacy nonprofit that inspires Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun through child-centered, culturally responsive, and community-based programming and content. We are seeking an experienced, industrious, and values-aligned Director of Development and Communications with a successful track record of highly effective donor engagement, grants management, and entrepreneurial leadership. This executive must be a detail-oriented creative capable of increasing Barbershop Books’ fundraising and visibility. This position reports to the Executive Director. [Job Description]( Job Announcement: AmeriCorps Special Assistant AmeriCorps is searching for a highly dependable, organized Executive Assistant or Scheduler to join my team. Likely a junior candidate with 2-5 years of experience in office management, scheduling or advance. Ideal candidate will have some government experience, either through internships, or work on the Hill/Admin. Candidates can be sent to Bea Evans at bevans@americorps.org. Weekly KAIROS Conversation with Alvin Bragg and Nikita Chopra Alvin Bragg Manhattan District Attorney, New York Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. is the 37th District Attorney elected in Manhattan. A son of Harlem who has served as both a state and federal prosecutor, Alvin has spent more than two decades fighting to make our communities safer and our criminal justice system fairer. He is the first Black Manhattan DA in the history of the office. Alvin restructured the Manhattan DA’s Office to focus more resources on prosecuting serious violent crimes, meeting the needs of survivors, reducing recidivism by addressing the underlying causes of criminal behavior, protecting everyday New Yorkers from abuses by the powerful, and correcting past injustices by vacating wrongful convictions. Alvin also directly oversees a unit to root out police misconduct. Under his leadership so far, the office has increased gun prosecutions, focused on gun traffickers and ghost gun manufacturers, and charged and secured convictions for numerous armed robberies, shootings, and homicides. At the same time, the office invested in community-based gun violence prevention programs and services to address the trauma suffered by victims and witnesses to gun violence. Alvin created a new Special Victims Division, which includes the Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Bureau and the Human Trafficking, Child Abuse, and Elder Abuse Units. The Division is staffed with specially trained prosecutors, investigators, analysts, and social workers who are dedicated to handling these extremely sensitive cases in a trauma informed and survivor centered manner. In line with his deep commitment to centering the well-being of survivors, Alvin has elevated the work of the Witness Aid Services Unit by giving the office’s counselors and social workers additional resources to meet a wide range of needs for survivors, witnesses, and victims’ family members. Alvin also expanded the Hate Crimes Unit with additional prosecutors, investigators, analysts, victim services staff and community partnership coordinators. The Unit is taking on a record number of complex cases and conducting intensive outreach to build community trust and encourage reporting of hate crimes. Recognizing that criminal behavior is often driven by underlying needs that will not be met exclusively by incarceration, Alvin created the Pathways to Public Safety Division. Pathways ADAs screen and assess every case as early as possible for potential diversion into evidence-based programming, including mental health and substance use treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, education, and job training, with the goal of reducing recidivism and making Manhattan safer. Each case is assessed individually. If diversion is appropriate, services are individually tailored to address the person’s needs and safely reintegrate them into the community. As a long-time white-collar prosecutor, Alvin believes in holding powerful people accountable for harming everyday New Yorkers. He secured a 6-count indictment against Stephen K. Bannon and WeBuildTheWall, Inc., a Florida-based not-for-profit corporation, on charges including money laundering, conspiracy, and scheme to defraud in connection with a year-long fundraising scheme that netted more than $15 million from thousands of donors across the country based on false promises. He also secured the conviction of Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg on 15 felony counts in connection with a long-running tax evasion scheme. He launched a dedicated Housing and Tenant Protection Unit to investigate and prosecute landlords and developers who engage in systemic fraud and tenant harassment. And he is committed to prosecute employers who steal wages and endanger workers. Alvin also believes that police and prosecutors must be held to the highest standards in order to strengthen community trust in our justice system. He created a revamped Post-Conviction Justice Unit to reinvestigate closed cases where there are credible claims of innocence or unjust conviction. He also created a stand-alone Police Accountability Unit to investigate, and if warranted, prosecute officers who engage in criminal conduct in their policing capacity. Both units are insulated from the rest of the office and report directly to the DA. Prior to his election as DA, Alvin served as an Assistant Attorney General at the New York State Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In these roles, Alvin handled a wide array of criminal cases, including armed robbery, assault, gun possession, witness tampering, narcotics and gun trafficking, wage and hour violations, public corruption, money laundering, and antitrust violations. He ended his service in the State AG’s Office as the Chief Deputy Attorney General, overseeing more than 1,500 people, a budget of $225 million, and the office’s criminal and civil investigations and litigation, including health care fraud, public corruption, narcotics trafficking, wage-and-hour investigations, tenant harassment, and securities fraud. Alvin also directly oversaw the Attorney General’s litigation against the Trump Foundation and served as the first Chief of a special unit that investigated deaths caused by police conduct. After his government service and before being sworn in as District Attorney, Alvin was a Visiting Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Racial Justice Project at New York Law School. In that role, he represented Eric Garner’s mother and sister in a lawsuit against the City of New York seeking details concerning Mr. Garner’s death. Alvin earned his A.B. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, clerked for Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Jr. in the Southern District of New York. Alvin is a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York Urban League and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and a Sunday School teacher at his church. -and- Nikita Chopra Founder + CEO, Chronicon Nitika Chopra is the pioneering force behind Chronicon, a renowned media and events conglomerate dedicated to empowering individuals living with chronic illnesses. Nitika's own health odyssey began at a tender age, with a diagnosis of psoriasis at 10 and psoriatic arthritis at 19. These conditions became defining aspects of her life for over 17 years, inspiring her to transform her experiences into a catalyst for change. In 2010, Nitika embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, leveraging the profound lessons from her health challenges. She achieved remarkable milestones, including hosting her own television talk show, 'Naturally Beautiful,' on Z Living, and orchestrating over 40 transformative events attended by hundreds. Nitika has forged dynamic partnerships with more than 150 wellness brands, solidifying her status as a respected influencer in the industry. Nitika's influence extends even further as she has become a spokesperson for large and respected companies, including appearances on QVC, at Healthline, and most recently at Bristol Myers-Squibb, where she continues to advocate for those living with chronic illnesses. A decade into her event creation career, Nitika introduced Chronicon in the fall of 2019, an event tailored specifically for those grappling with chronic illnesses. The inaugural event was an overwhelming success, selling out, attracting over 2,000 livestream viewers, securing high-profile brand sponsors, and continuing to grow. See you Wednesday! Wednesday, February 7 · 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST Video call link: [( Or dial: ‪(US) +1 651-571-1259‬ PIN: ‪460 226 103‬# More phone numbers: [ [RSVP]( Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program Application closes on Friday, February 9, 2024 at 12:00 PM CT We’re looking for changemakers between the ages of 24 and 45 from the Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and United States regions who are already doing great work in their fields and want to deepen their leadership skills and meet like-minded individuals to collaborate with and learn from. Since it began in 2018, the Obama Foundation Leaders program has engaged nearly 1,000 emerging leaders worldwide. Participants learn practical skills and tools to help them lead through complex challenges, meet weekly in regional cohorts, and engage with experts to deepen their leadership practice. [Apply Now!]( NYC KICKS OFF TAX SEASON 2024 WITH FREE TAX PREPARATION SERVICES All New Yorkers who earned $85,000 or less can file taxes for free through NYC Tax Prep New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga today kicked off the tax season and urged all eligible New Yorkers to file their taxes for free through [NYC Free Tax Prep](. Residents who earned $85,000 or less and file as a family, or those who earned $59,000 or less and file as an individual or couple without dependents, are eligible to file through NYC Free Tax Prep. NYC Free Tax Prep provides free, professional tax preparation services that helps New Yorkers keep their full refund, including valuable tax credits, like the enhanced NYC Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which was expanded last year for the first time in 20 years. Last year, NYC Free Tax Prep filed more than 84,000 tax returns, saving New Yorkers more than $13 million in tax preparation fees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin accepting tax returns today, Monday, January 29th through Monday, April 15, 2024. [NYC Free Tax Prep]( Upcoming KAIROS Conversations February 14 Harry Dunn Former Capital Police Officer Candidate, U.S. Congress February 21 Allessandra Bradley-Burns Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, DEILAB February 28 Barbara Arnwine, Esq. Founder, Transformative Justice Coalition Save the Dates Feb 7th Barbershop Books & NFL Las Vegas, NV Feb 13th Carnegie Conversations with Earn Your Leisure New York City[Get Info + Tickets]( Feb 16th-18th Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Caucus Albany, NY[RSVP]( Feb 22nd-25th Festival Of The Diaspora Rio De Janeiro[RSVP]( Feb 26th-March 2nd CIAA Baltimore KAIROS "a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action : the opportune and decisive MOMENT" "The right or critical MOMENT" [Website icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Facebook icon]( Copyright (C) 2024 Atlas Strategy Group. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. 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