THE DISTRICT: Episode Character Bios
WHUT-TV
Producer/Director: Will McKinley
Exec. Producer: Eric Easter
EPISODE ONE:
The Goodman League:
Miles Rawls:
Miles Rawls is Commissioner and Play-by-Play announcer for the Goodman League, taking
over both roles since 1996. Under Miles leadership, the Goodman has become one of the
premier summer basketball leagues in America. Miles has been featured in numerous
media outlets including the Washington Post, ESPN and Nike.com
Social:
Twitter: @inside_da_Gates Instagram:@insidedagates
Facebook:
facebook.com/insidedagates
Battle for Barry Farm:
Schyla Pondexter Moore:
Schlya has lived in DC Public Housing with her four children since November 2007. Schyla
became involved in community organizing when renovations – funded by both public and
private sources – and forced relocations began at Highland Dwellings, the property where
she resided. Schyla is now a full-time organizer with Empower DC, fighting for the rights of
public housing residents city-wide.
Social:
Twitter - @schylardblkgrn Facebook – Schyla RedBlackngreen
Detrice Belt:
Detrice Belt is a barry farm resident and native Washingtonian. Detrice is a certified dental
assistant and mother of a 8 year old daughter. She has lived in Barry Farm for 19 years and
is the Chair of the Barry Farm Tenants and Allies Association, a group dedicated to the fair
treatment of public housing residents.
Word on the Street:
Brian Carome:
Brian joined the staff of Street Sense in November 2011. He has over 20-years of senior
management experience at non-profit homeless service and child welfare agencies in the
Washington, DC metro area. Previously he served as Executive Director at Housing
Opportunities for Women, Project Northstar and A-SPAN. Additionally he worked at New
Hope Housing, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless and
the Father McKenna Center. He also completed an executive certificate program in
non­profit management at Georgetown University’s Center for Non­profit Leadership.
Twitter: @streetsensedc Facebook: Street Sense
Episode Two:
Dr. Beverley Wheeler:
Beverley R. Wheeler, Ed.D. is the Executive Director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, which is an
initiative of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). Dr. Wheeler has over 20 years of
experience working with the District of Columbia (DC) government and the DC Council at
the executive level as Executive Director of the State Board of Education and
Neighborhood Action; Chief of Staff to Phil Mendelson; and Special Assistant to three City
Administrators. She is the former president and CEO of Center City Public Charter Schools.
She holds a B.S. in Social and Decision Science and a M.S. in Management and Public
Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Master’s and Doctorate in Education
from Harvard University. She is a lifelong Washingtonian who currently resides in
Columbia Heights.
Facebook: dchungersolutions Twitter: @dchunger
Julie Kirkwood:
In 2012 Julie Kirkwood co-founded DC UrbanGreens, Inc., a non-profit organization
focused on reducing the impact of food deserts in the District of Columbia. DC
UrbanGreens converts small pieces of urban land in Southeast DC into sustainable,
productive neighborhood farms that provide healthy, affordable food to the surrounding
community. The food is sold within the urban farm neighborhoods via individual pop-up
farm stands that accept both WIC and SNAP. Through job training and employment
opportunities for low-income DC residents, DC UrbanGreens uses healthy foods as a
vehicle to grow stronger individuals and communities.
Social:
Twitter: @DCUrbanGreens Dcurbangreens.org Facebook.com/DCUrbanGreens
Union Kitchen:
Jonas Singer:
Jonas Singer is a DC native whose mission is advancing DC's culture and economic
opportunities. Since Jonas and co-founder Cullen Gilchrist launched Union Kitchen in 2012,
the business has worked with over 100 businesses. These businesses have supported the
creation of over 500 jobs, generated $75 million in revenues across all of Member
businesses, hired and/or placed nearly 70 returning citizens.
Social:
Instagram: @unionkitchendc
Twitter: @unionkitchendc
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7T3Y3jfhYG8uI5TIZI5qFw
Darnell Perkins:
H Street, Main Street:
Anwar Saleem:
Anwar Saleem is the executive director of H Street Main Street, Inc., a position he has
held since 2007. Mr.Saleem founded this non-profit organization in 2002 to guide the
revitalization of an important, and long-
neglected, neighborhood commercial corridor in
Washington D.C. He served as chairman of the Board of Directors until taking the direct
responsibility for the delivery of commercial revitalization and business retention services
as executive director. The economic growth strategy that Mr. Saleem developed has
resulted in more than 2,600 new jobs on the H Street corridor. Through direct recruitment
and partnerships, he helped to attract more than 286 new businesses to H Street NE.
EPISODE THREE:
Germination (Cannabis):
Adam Eidinger:
Adam Eidinger is Dr. Bronner’s Social Action director and since 2001
Adam has worked for Dr. Bronner’s on a wide variety of projects and protests ranging from
labeling GMO food, promoting organic integrity in body care to allowing farmers to once
again grow hemp in the USA. In 2013 he formed D CMJ.org and in 2014 successfully passed
Initiative 71 with 70% of the vote in the November 2014 election. He has one daughter and
has lived in Washington, DC for 25 years.
Social:
Twitter @Aeidinger, @dcmj2014
Corey Barnette:
Corey Barnette is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of District
Growers, LLC, a full service grower and producer of cannabis, cannabis concentrates and
cannabis-infused products. Upon successfully founding District Growers, he also purchased
ownership of Metropolitan Wellness Center, a dispensary in Washington DC, which
currently boast more than 30 percent of the patients in Washington, DC – despite being
one of five.
Social: @districtgrowers
facebook.com/districtgrowers
Kyla Hill:
Kyla Hill is owner, creator, and CEO of Get Hemp Butter, DC’s premier topical company
specializing in Hemp based products for hair, hands, body, lips and more. She was
awarded best new product for the 2015 Cannawards. She is an advocate for Hemp in
support of full legalization for the purpose of creating alternative resources and
sustainable practices. Kyla has been involved in the industry for three years and is a
certified Medical Marijuana Provider in the District of Columbia. She was featured on a
reality TV show, in various magazine articles and most recently in a feature story in the NY
Times.
Social:
Twitter: @gethempbutter Instagram: @gethempbutter
facebook.com/gethempbutter
Transportation:
Kewana Battle:
Kewana is a professional driver with 19 years of experience driving everything from buses,
trams and various types of limousine vehicles. Currently, she is a member of ATU Local
1764 and is a Bus operator and drives for Uber in her spare time.
Ernest Chrappah:
Chrappah was named by District Mayor Muriel Bowser on June 8, 2015
to serve as the Acting Chairman of the DC Taxicab Commission and confirmed as Chairman
by the City Council on November 3, 2015. Previously, he served as the Deputy Chief
Information Officer for the Child and Family Services Agency where he implemented
innovative technology solutions leveraging analytics, mobility, cloud, APIs, and user
oriented design for an 800+ workforce to improve child welfare outcomes. In addition, he
created an IT governance framework and project portfolio management system to
enhance fiscal management, transparency and accountability.
Social:
Twitter - @dctc3_dc
GoGo Gone:
Sugar Bear:
EU (Experience Unlimited) is one of the original Washington DC Go-Go bands. Fronted by
founding member Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, the original members all attended Ballou
High School in Washington, DC. The band chose the name Experience due to their respect
for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Unlimited because they did not want to limit the
range of their music. Although they are best known for their Grammy nominated, massive
worldwide hit DaButt from Spike Lee’s “School Daze” soundtrack, EU scored hits with Salt
& Papa (Shake Your Thang), with rap innovator Kurtis Blow (Party Time), and on their own
with Buck Wild and Taste of Your Love. Da Butt won Soul Train’s best R&B/Soul Single,
Group in 1989. Sugar Bear received the Legend Award at the second annual WKYS Go-Go
Awards in 2007.
The JoGo Project:
The JoGo Project is a Washington, DC-based band that fuses elements
of Jazz, Go-Go, R&B, and other styles to create a unique new sound, while paying homage
and respect to the Go-Go tradition. Formed by saxophonist Elijah Balbed, who played with
the Godfather of Go-Go, Mr. Chuck Brown the last year of his life, Elijah decided he wanted
to contribute to the cause of preserving and advancing this unique art form. In the 2 years
since its inception, The JoGo Project has performed at venues such as Strathmore,
Kennedy Center, Anacostia Arts Center, Velvet Lounge, Bayou, Silvana (NYC), festivals
such as the DC Jazz Festival, H Street Festival, Art All Night Festival, and the Funk Parade,
and members of the group have participated in workshops and lectures about Go-Go
music.
Twitter:
@ejbjazz
@thejogoproject [email protected] [email protected]