2019 PANELISTS & HOST

These ladies come from diverse backgrounds with their natural hair journey. Reflecting on their past experiences, they encouraged the audience to love their curl textures. With their tips, personal accounts, and advice for fellow naturalists, they energized a lively Q&A session and discussion about the meaning of "Celebrating You" through self-appreciation. Thank you to the host of the 2019 BTOR event, Leaundra! She was an amazing moderator, and made all the difference in creating a great atmosphere that surely resulted in a memorable experience for the guests.

Leaundra is a Rutgers University Alumna with a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences. She currently works as a Nutrition Assistant, but she enjoys natural hair modeling and natural hair event hosting. Leaundra has been natural for four years now, and she says that it is the best decision that she has ever made. Her natural hair has opened many doors, and her journey is truly an inspiring one. Leaundra used to only wear her hair in box braids, and she straightened her hair for special occasions, which lead to years of breakage and heat damage. In 2015, Leaundra cut off all her heat damage and vowed to use minimal heat. She joined a natural hair club on her campus at Rutgers called Curly in College. The welcoming and enthusiastic young women there reaffirmed Leaundra's decision to go natural. She would go on to become Vice-President of Curly in College and lead Curls Girls, Curls Ambassadors on campus. This allowed her to create meaningful connections with brands and educate other students on campus. After graduating college, Leaundra wanted to continue to make an impact in the natural community. Her hair allowed her the opportunity to create content for Essence and Shea Moisture, and Leaundra was also featured in HuffPost Black Voices section after attending her first Curlfest. She has also served as a hair model for Mielle Organics. She has walked in runway shows as well, her intention being to show that 4c hair is beautiful.

Often in the media, loser curls or mixed curls are idealized. Leaundra wants to show that 4c can grow and that is beautiful. Leaundra can’t wait to see where her natural hair journey takes her. She met Arielle during a Curly In College event on Rider University's campus. Arielle talked to Leaundra, asking what the process was to create her own natural hair event. She spoke with Arielle, gave her some ideas. Later, Arielle when she put everything together and asked Leaundra to be apart of the panel. Leaundra is proud to support any cause that embraces natural hair and gives others the confidence to be their natural selves.

Casey Joe is a 24-year-old, NYC based makeup artist and social media content creator with a strong passion for natural hair, fashion, and all things beauty. She is a hard worker who believes in inclusivity and producing unique content that helps her followers feel and look their absolute best. Her personal style is versatile, effortlessly going from everyday glam to edgy and vibrant. Casey prides herself on being a type 4 naturalista with extremely dense hair. While Casey's voluminous hair has become a signature look, it hasn't always been this way. Casey suffered from damaged hair for many years, and after finally mastering it, she has made it her mission to teach women just like her how to maintain and love their fros. After being diagnosed with Endometriosis in 2018, Casey began her journey on living a healthier lifestyle by transitioning to a pescatarian.

LaToya uses her passion for natural hair and self-love to grow her platform for which she goes by the name, “LaToya Diana." As a natural hair influencer, LaToyaDiana strives to celebrate and amplify the beauty of type 4 kinks and coils. She uses her platform to share hair care tips, product reviews, as well as highlight other beautiful type4 naturals fearlessly embracing their hair. Currently, she is a 2019 Shea MoistureSheabassador and a Bask & Bloom Beauty for Summer 2019.LaToya hopes to be able to use both her passion for beauty, black women, and digital media to cultivate impactful online communities and she is beginning to do just that! Look out for her upcoming podcast, “Bills, Curls, & Colored Girls” where she, and a variety of colored girls, will be challenging the societal expectations placed on.

Sully G is a natural hair and beauty influencer who uses her social media platform to uplift and empower women. Raised in Brooklyn New York, Sully G attended the University at Albany where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Business. While attending the university, she held executive positions as the Vice President of the NAACP for the Albany Chapter and President of F.A.C.E (the Fashion Association for Collegiate Entrepreneurs). Her leadership roles within both organizations led her to develop passions for visual arts and branding. Years after graduating from UAlbany and working for non-profit organizations, she discovered a new excitement for the digital world. Sully G began building her brand through social media, where she creates beauty content and collaborates with brands to promote their products. Her rising platform led her to work with brands such as DevaCurl, Carol's Daughter, and WeTV. Today, Sully G is expanding her knowledge in user experience design while continuing to create content that empowers women globally. 

Known as Kay Alex on social media, Karlisa was raised in New Jersey. She began her natural hair journey in February of 2014 as she transitioned and big chopped July of 2015. Kay realized how many women were struggling with their natural hair transitions and their natural hair care journey. She started her YouTube channel as a hobby in February 2017 in her college dorm in hopes of being able to help these women. Kay was propelled to branch off and begin to offer more content such as clothing hauls, hair care product reviews, and advice videos on her channel. Every video is intended to help people look and feel their best inside and out!  Since 2017, Kay Alex has grown her YouTube following to over 6,000 subscribers and over 500,000 views. She now has over 9,000 followers on Instagram. Being a content creator has become more than a hobby for her; it is now an additional source of income as brands now pay her to promote their products. Kay Alex has been featured in digital campaigns for brands like NaturAll Club, Friday Night Hair, and HairSpells. In June 2019, Kay Alex was honored by Boss Babes Do Brunch and received “The Women on the Rise Award." Kay Alex has done brand ambassadorship deals with HairFinity, NaturAll Club, and CurlyAF. With all of this, her goal has remained the same: helping empower women by offering affordable products and advice that help them look and feel beautiful!

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