{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Cheetah Girls and using DNA to trace ancestry after childhood in the foster care system with Deborah Gregory, Ep. 236","description":"Ep. 236: Writer, performer and designer Deborah Gregory is the award-winning author of \u201cThe Cheetah Girls\u201d novel series (Disney Publishing Worldwide). The 22-book series (16 books written by Deborah Gregory plus 6 movie tie-in books including \u201cThe Cheetah Girls Supa Star Scrapbook,\u201d \u201cCheetah Girls 2 X0X0 Postcard Book\u201d and \u201cCheetah Girls Cheetah Chatter: A Dictionary of Growl-licious Lingo\u201d) is about five talented teens who form a singing group and make their dreams come true in the jiggy jungle. The Disney Channel original movie produced in conjunction with Whitney Houston, \u201cThe Cheetah Girls\u201d \u2013based on the book series\u2013airs this summer and stars Raven Symone, Adrienne and Kiely from 3LW as well as Lynn Whitfield. Deborah Gregory serves as a co-producer on the film project. The soundtrack album will be available on Disney\u2019s Hollywood Records. In 2001, the series was chosen at the Blackboard Children\u2019s Book of the Year. Gregory is also an NABJ award-winning contributing writer for ESSENCE magazine since 1992. Her work has also appeared in VIBE, MORE, Heart & Soul, Entertainment Weekly, US magazines. Her pop culture column, THE DIVA DIARIES, appears in GRACE magazine, the national fashion and lifestyle \u201creality\u201d publication targeted at multi-cultural women. She is currently writing an adult novel as well as developing a one-woman show \u201cLEOPARD LIVES\u201d \u2013a coming of age story about a foster child growing up in the New York City foster care system of which Gregory is also a survivor. She has performed segments of her work-in-progress one-woman show at the Women of Color Festival, winning the festival\u2019s Best Comedy Award for 2001; Dixon Place, Caroline\u2019s Comedy Club and Solo Arts Festival. Ms. Gregory has also contributed to several books including, \u201cMen of Color: Fashion, Mission, Fundamentals,\u201d (Artisan Publishing); \u201cBody and Soul, SoulStyle: Black Women Redefining the Color Fashion,\u201d \u201cEssence Total Makeover Book,\u201d \u201c50 Most Influential People.\u201d She also contributed to photographer Marc Baptiste\u2019s book of nudes, Beautiful\u201d (Rizzoli\/Universe Publishing) as well as posed for the famed fashion photographer. The pictures are provocative and include a host of celebrities who also posed nude including Stacey Dash, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Williams, Beverly Johnson, LisaRaye. 25 percent of the proceeds will go to photographer Mfon Essien\u2019s breast cancer organization set up upon her untimely death. This year, Deborah Gregory also launched her company, CHEETAHRAMA, offering her original designs including hand-crafted decoupage art cases and hair accessories. CHEETAHRAMA mirror compacts, pillboxes, business card holders, cigarette cases and vanity cases which are sold at stores nationwide including the Studio Museum of Harlem gift shop. Ms. Gregory received her A.A.S. from Fashion Institute of TEchnology, then received a Bachelor of Science from Empire State University in 1986. She currently lives in New York City with her pooch Cappuccino who poses as the Cheetah Girls mascot Toto. For more on her, please see: http:\/\/www.cheetahrama.com\/bio\/ For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com\/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Huge shout out to our "Super-Duper Supporters" Elizabeth A. Atkins and Catherine Atkins Greenspan of Two Sisters Writing and Publishing Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/ ","author_name":"Multiracial Family Man","author_url":"http:\/\/www.alexbarnettcomic.com\/","html":"