2026 "The Show" Storytellers

Dr. Kelly R. Little is the Founder and CEO of the Urban Institute for Strengthening Families (UI4SF) in Charlotte, North Carolina. A nationally recognized leader with more than 20 years of experience, he advances fatherhood engagement, maternal health equity, emotional intelligence, and youth leadership development to strengthen families and communities. Dr. Little designs dynamic programs such as Fathers Haven, Kings Roundtable, Fathers Haven Dynamic 4 Trimester Maternal Health Equity and EI Paternal Workshops and Fatherhood University365, integrating healing-centered practices, workforce development, and systems collaboration across child support, public health, and social services. A dynamic speaker, combat military veteran, and global cultural ambassador, he draws on his lineage connection to Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori to inspire legacy building, belonging, and intergenerational healing. His work bridges research and practice to elevate outcomes for fathers, children, and communities locally and globally.

Lindsay Raé Perry knows what it means to live beyond survival mode. A TEDx speaker, healing-centered strategist, she works at the intersection of emotional maturity and systems change, supporting foundations, policy institutions, and organizational leaders in building cultures rooted in healing, accountability, and truth.

She is the host of the Journey to CEO® podcast and is currently writing her first book, a narrative memoir exploring the cost of survival and the freedom waiting on the other side. Her storytelling is honest, full-sensory, and hard-won, the kind that names what others avoid and helps people feel less alone.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Lindsay is a proud mother and a committed truth-teller. Her work is guided by a simple belief: healing is not soft work, it is systems work.

Shara Clark is a recovery advocate and community activist from Charlotte’s northwest side, embodying

hope, resilience, and renewal. As a long-term partner of Chosen City Church under the leadership of

Senior Pastor Walter Bowers Jr., and Executive Pastor Jamal Murchison. Shara is dedicated to empowering others and inspiring perseverance. Currently studying at Jakes Divinity School, Shara is

committed to continuous growth both personally and spiritually and considers herself a lifelong learner.

While deeply engaged in her ministry service, Shara also excels in mentorship, ongoing study, and

leadership through her participation in a dedicated fellowship with Chosen City Church. She has

enthusiastically answered the call to ministerial service, investing countless hours in a ministry cohort that prepares her for a lifelong journey of service and impact.

Support Shara's Brave story by donating here

Dionne D. Hunter is an award-winning poet, author, spoken word artist, and cultural

curator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. A United States Navy veteran, mother, and

grandmother, Hunter’s work blends art and social justice through poetry, film, and

community engagement.

Hunter is the founder, curator, and host of A Night of Artistic Renewal, an acclaimed annual

showcase now entering its fifth year. The event brings together poets, musicians, dancers,

and visual artists in a powerful celebration of expression, cultural equity, and collective

renewal. What began as a local artistic gathering has evolved into a signature platform for

artistic excellence and emotional truth, with filmed editions expanding its reach through

digital distribution.

Sunnee is an intuitive, resilient theater artist who learned early how to stand alone without becoming hardened. From childhood, she has been attentive to truth, meaning, and the quiet instincts that shape her work onstage. Rather than inheriting belief systems, she sought understanding independently, developing strong discernment and emotional range. Sunnee is an actor, comedian, writer, and storyteller whose theater work is rooted in presence, clarity, and purposeful connection with an audience.

Eleanor Shell is a writer, speaker, and community builder based in Charlotte, North Carolina. After a life-altering accident in 2024 resulted in a traumatic brain injury, Eleanor began writing as a way to make sense of the long middle of recovery—the part that comes after the crisis, when the “next day” becomes the “next year.” Her work explores resilience, mental health, and the quiet, practical ways communities carry one another through seasons of loss, disruption, and change.

Eleanor is the founder of Resilient Magnolia, a storytelling and resource platform created to help people name their hardest days without rushing to silver linings. Through essays, poetry, and reflections such as “Borrowed Hope,” she invites audiences to see hope not as a personality trait or a performance, but as something that can be shared—held by others until a person can hold it again.

Before her injury, Eleanor served as a pastor and spent her career building communities of care. She continues that work now through writing, live events, and creative projects that translate lived experience into language people can carry. Eleanor lives in Charlotte with her husband and three children. She is honored to share her story with This Is My Brave CharMeck as part of a collective commitment to reduce stigma, increase connection, and remind others that recovery is real—and no one has to do it alone.

Tawanna Wilson is a dedicated community advocate, nonprofit founder, and systems change leader

committed to advancing public health, violence prevention, and social justice. She is currently

completing her Community Health Worker Course to expand her capacity to serve individuals

and families through education, outreach, and resource connection. Tawanna earned a Social Justice

and Community Organizing Certification, equipping her with the tools to mobilize communities,

address inequities, and promote sustainable change.

As a North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialist, she provide trauma-informed, person-centered support to individuals navigating mental health challenges, reentry, and life transitions. She is the Founder of Mecklenburg Endure, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization focused on healing-centered engagement, violence prevention, and strengthening community resilience.

Coined as “Olivia Pope 2.0,” Meeka Clark is a mother, adoptee advocate, and legal-policy professional with experience across public benefits, criminal legal systems, and child welfare policy. She holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications and an ABA-approved Paralegal Certificate, bringing a research-driven, systems-level approach to equity and institutional accountability.

She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (Gamma Delta Chapter) and serves as Vice Chair and Community Relations Representative for a Mecklenburg County Board, where she strengthens relationships between county leadership, community-based organizations, and system-impacted residents.

Meeka serves on the board of Hearts for the Invisible and is an alumna of the Angela Rye Professional Development Program, Civility Localized Civic Leadership & Engagement Cohort, and the Black Women’s Leadership Collective x Emerge Action Fund Cohort. Her work includes policy monitoring, compliance-aligned research, eligibility and intake analysis, and translating complex legal frameworks into accessible guidance.

Grounded in her lived experience as both a mother and an adoptee, Meeka is committed to advancing equity-driven leadership and strengthening public institutions so they deliver clarity, accountability, and meaningful outcomes for marginalized communities.

Melody C. Gross is an award-winning keynote speaker, author, prevention specialist, and workplace consultant whose work sits at the critical intersection of domestic violence, workplace culture, and the lived experiences of Black survivors. With nearly a decade of platform-building, policy advising, and organizational partnership, she has established herself as one of the most dynamic and credentialed voices in the gender-based violence space. As the founder and principal of Courageous SHIFT, a speaking and consulting agency, Melody partners with mid-size to large corporations, women-owned businesses, and gender-based violence organizations to build psychologically and physically safer workplaces through keynote presentations, training, coaching, and consulting.

A native of Harlem, New York, and a proud product of its rich cultural legacy, Melody relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2011, where she eventually transitioned from a nonprofit communications professional to full-time entrepreneurship. Her academic foundation is equally strong: she holds two undergraduate degrees in business administration and management with a marketing concentration. She is also a certified professional life coach and a member of the Mecklenburg County Community Services Domestic Violence Speaker Bureau. These credentials, combined with more than a decade of hands-on experience in management and marketing roles at renowned nonprofits including The Harlem School of the Arts, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas, and Levine Museum of the New South, have sharpened her ability to translate complex, sensitive issues into powerful, actionable frameworks for organizations and communities.

Keith Kendrick is a proud native of Charlotte, where he was born and raised on Beatties Ford Road. Now 57 years old, Keith’s life reflects resilience, reinvention, and a deep commitment to faith and family. Growing up in Charlotte instilled in him a strong work ethic and sense of community that continues to guide his journey.

Keith is an experienced technology leader and entrepreneur who thrives on building ideas from the ground up. Married and later divorced, he is a proud father to his 28-year-old daughter, Madison, who is currently attending medical school at East Carolina University. Her dedication to serving others is one of his greatest inspirations.

A self-proclaimed wine enthusiast, Keith once stepped into the hospitality world by opening a wine bar in Cornelius. Though the venture lasted just a year and closed one year ago, it reflected his willingness to take bold risks and pursue his passions while embracing new challenges.

Today, Keith is focused on his newest venture, the Leaderboard Live golf application, designed to modernize tournament play and connect golfers through real-time competition and community engagement.

Having faced significant health challenges, Keith approaches life with gratitude and renewed purpose. He loves his family deeply and credits his strength and perseverance to his unwavering faith in God.