Mahoganee, also known as  “Da Sea Island Songbird”, born and raised in South Carolina has a unique style of soulful storytelling, blending elements of Jazz, Funk, Blues, Hip-hop with West African and Caribbean influence and instrumentation, touching on elements of both contemporary and traditional American roots music, making her a quintessential modern FOLK singer alongside her husband, Mr. Bounce Back they are Gullah Geechee Sound Griots who have created what they call “Indigenous Soul Music” shaped by Gullah Geechee cultural memory and an onstage expression that transcends into “The Mahoganee Xperience”.

For Mahoganee the intersecting arts of music, writing, photography and mixed media has allowed for creativity as a lifestyle with an ancestral liberatory practice.  Through their non-profit Responsible ARTistry, Inc, Mahoganee leads as the Executive Creative Director and is proud of their advocacy work with local and international youth making impact on the world by using Art to Entertain, Elevate, Enlighten and Explore the possibilities of utilizing the power of Creativity and Imagination to advance the Gullah/Geechee Culture and Heritage specifically by highlighting the importance of environmental responsibilities of land and water stewardship.

With a career spanning over 35 years in the music arts industry, now a Certified Teaching Artists through the South Carolina Arts Commission in the field of music, member of the Recording Academy (Grammys) as well as having been a GrammyU mentor, Mahoganee is a Leo Twiggs Leadership Scholar, RWJF/NCHE CoHLI Cohort 3 Fellow, TEDx performer, and commissioned to write the Alma mater for TCL Technical College of the Lowcountry.

She's recorded and released 14 musical projects with Mr. Bounce Back and collaborated on projects for other Gullah Geechee artists.  Co-written and performed a song with Grammy nominated artist, Carolyn Malachi, great granddaughter of Jazz pianist John Malachi and professor in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University.

Mahoganee has been featured in the music line-up with Grammy Winner Dom Flemmons “The American Songster” who is one of the most accomplished American Folk Artists… few have pumped as much lifeblood into tradition as he has.”-MOJO Magazine. Also featured alongside South Carolina natives and globally recognized blues musicians Adia Victoria and Nicole Neely, composer, arranger and conductor collaborating with artists such as Beyoncé, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Toni Braxton, Lizzo and H.E.R. Most recently and notably asked to contribute to the Grammy nominated album The Auditorium Vol. 1 by Common and Pete Rock in 2024 as a Gullah/Geechee Sound Healer performing in the official video for grammy nominated song "When the Sun Shines Again" which was nominated for Best Rap Performance.

Register by visiting the April 2026 Charleston Creative Mornings event page.

Okeeba Jubalo is a dynamic force in the world of art and business, wearing many hats as a community builder, artist, activist, gallerist, and CEO. After 30 years working in branding, marketing, and the arts in Atlanta, Georgia, Jubalo returned to Charleston in 2021 to focus on transforming North Charleston into a vibrant hub for African-American arts and culture.

Through his marketing and branding agency, NobleSol Art Group, and two quarterly print publications, he champions independent media and creates countless opportunities for others to make their mark – and their art – in the Charleston community.

As a performance and visual artist, music label executive, and fine art exhibition curator, Okeeba's passion knows no bounds. His artwork often addresses religious, social, and political subject matter, using vibrant paint strokes and aged photography to highlight the struggles and sacrifices of African Americans. As the mastermind behind the Atlanta Fine Art Exhibition, Jubalo brings that same energy into his creation of the Global Art Fair in North Charleston. Jubalo is on a mission to ignite a cultural renaissance in his hometown.

For more information about Okeeba, please visit OkeebaJubalo.com.

Register by visiting the March 2026 Charleston Creative Mornings event page.

Jordan Amaker believes deeply in the power of local-independent businesses to shape a place and to drive community wealth and connection. She believes that an economy should work for all, and sees policy as a tool to ensure the economic landscape serves those rooted in this place. Jordan became Lowcountry Local First's Director of Advocacy & Communications in 2024 after serving 8 years as Director of Marketing for the organization.

Jordan currently serves as co-chair for the nationwide Small Business Rising coalition, and participates in a nationwide working group of advocates examining commercial tenant rights with the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network. She also serves on the statewide leadership team for Together SC's Advocacy Allies. In the past, she served on the boards of directors for Compass Collegiate Academy and Charleston Moves.

When not working, you can find Jordan shopping and dining local around her Park Circle neighborhood, or enjoying time outdoors with her daughter and husband.

Born and raised in Charleston, Luke Shirley grew up with a love for the water and the outdoors. After graduating from the College of Charleston in 2018, he spent a year in Barcelona teaching English and traveling before returning home to co-found a small business during the pandemic. It was then he noticed a growing need for affordable, community-driven mental health care for young adults. Having faced his own struggles with depression, Luke felt called to act. In 2022, after hosting a recovery awareness tennis tournament—and losing a friend to an overdose—he launched Quest, a community-building organization aimed at helping college students feel safe, seen, and supported. Today, Quest has its first student-led chapter at his alma mater as well as at The Citadel, and Luke hopes to be a lighthouse for others navigating their own recovery journeys as they continue to grow.

Quest in Recovery | Charleston

Hailey Lowe Fennell is a Psychic Medium and the founder of House Guest, a podcast devoted to making connection—both spiritual and human—simple, accessible, and grounded in real life.

Through private readings, group sessions, and intentional rituals, Hailey helps people connect with loved ones who have passed, guides, and their own souls. Her sessions offer clarity, direction, and a sense of being deeply supported—even (and especially) during life’s hardest moments.

Hailey’s style is down-to-earth. She believes psychic connection doesn’t require elaborate rituals or a perfect state of mind—it can happen in a quiet moment over coffee, during a walk, or while lighting a candle at the end of a long day. Her work is rooted in the idea that connection should fit into your life, not the other way around.

What sets her apart is the way she blends the sacred with the everyday. Whether she’s guiding a corporate team-building experience or helping someone navigate grief, Hailey’s readings are practical, heartfelt, and often surprisingly funny. She’s known for helping people reframe dark thoughts without fear, invite in support with ease, and feel more at home in their lives.

Hailey Lowe Fennell

To celebrate Black History Month, Shaniequa L. Washington is joining Creative Mornings to explore the theme of “layers” — how our experiences, identities, and passions shape the fabric of our lives. Shaniequa will share her unique path from corporate executive to fashion designer, discussing how the many layers of her journey have woven together a powerful connection to community, purpose, and business.

Shaniequa is a Charleston-based content creator, wearable art and earring designer, mental wellness advocate, and cultural awareness speaker. With 24 years of senior leadership experience at a Fortune 500 company, she is also a certified diversity and inclusion trainer, Life and Leadership coach, and the lead curriculum writer for Atiras International Coaching Academy. As the founder and CEO of Zuriel Kingdom Collections LLC and Blue Penguin Logistics, LLC, Shaniequa uses fashion as a tool for community impact, encouraging self-love and authenticity. She is the author of Leading From The Front (2015) and an international speaker. Her work has been featured at the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston, The Gibbes Museum, Meyer Vogel Gallery, Charleston Women Mag, Fox News, Charleston Magazine, and more.

For this month’s theme of “Journey,” we’ll meet Kate Boyette, a creative visionary on a mission to redefine the historically cutthroat publishing industry. With the launch of her new feminist literary magazine, Revisionist, Kate is paving the way for a more equitable future for writers—one that values and fairly compensates the artists whose creativity fuels the industry’s success.

Kate Boyette started in N.Y.C. with independent film production, which led her to L.A. to work at Creative Artist Agency. Underwhelmed teaching celebrities how to drive their Priuses, she left CAA and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. Since then, her culinary pursuits and events took her from Texas to Park City, Utah, to eventually, Charleston, S.C. as the first editor-in-chief of the culinary publication, The Local Palate. She recently launched her boutique cookbook publishing company, Mise En Place Publishing, and earned her MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, combining her two loves—cooking and storytelling.

Get to know Maria Kelly, founder of AMOR Healing Kitchen

What do you love most about what you do? Every single day is different and I’m constantly learning.

What inspired you, and how did you become involved in your current career(s)? I planted the seed of AMOR Healing Kitchen after a 14 year career in teaching high school in Charleston County. My love for plant-based food, local farms, working with teenagers, and supporting people in a time of need is the foundation of AMOR.  I had been with my mom during her journey of a Colon cancer diagnosis and she was the one that instilled in me a love of cooking and healthy food.  Growing up, no matter how busy everyone was, we always sat down together at the dinner table. I learned at an early age, that food connects us and heals us. I would often cook for  my mom and take her food when she wasn’t feeling well and I felt that  was a little bit of comfort and strength that I could offer her during that time. Being a teacher for 14 years showed me that the youth have so  much to offer in shaping the future of our community if you offer them the tools to guide them.  When I learned of an organization in California that works with teens and serves people with health challenges,  I just had this deep feeling of connection and that something similar could work in Charleston.

How do you start your day and end it? Start - coffee, breathing practice, sitting outside listening to the birds. End - Cooking, eating dinner with my husband, watching a show, going for a walk, and then reading.

Tell us about your proudest moment or accomplishment. The moment I took the leap and decided that I was going to leave my teaching career to start AMOR.

Who or what gives you creative inspiration? A lot of creativity comes after my breathing and meditation practice. Being in nature, traveling and surfing makes me feel an innate sense of freedom and inspiration as well.

Rapid Fire

Morning person or night owl? MORNING 100%

Summer or winter? SUMMER

Mountains or beach? BEACH BEACH BEACH

Fiction or nonfiction? Fiction for books, nonfiction for podcasts

Tina Heath-Schuttenberg is an AZ native who moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, eventually co-founding Kwei Fei and Beautiful South, both extremely popular Asian inspired local eateries. Creative Mornings Charleston is proud to have her as the featured speaker for the April 2024 theme: Spicy.

1. What do you love most about what you do?

There’s so much to love, but it’s the people. First of all my Partner, David. We balance each other. The team, we’re incredibly lucky to be able to work with a dedicated group who works with care, humor and creativity. The guests, when you work in a restaurant you’re brought into people’s lives in these really important moments. People leave with a memory, we just hope it’s a good one. The community, our fellow restaurateurs are our lifeline. 

2. What inspired you and how did you become involved in your current career(s)?

It was out of necessity.  We started a pop-up and someone had to work the register. I spent my youth working retail, so I knew I could work the front.  I also knew I wouldn’t be great, but I was working for free. A few months later I was laid off from my full-time gig. That meant that Kwei Fei had to work. There was a point before we opened Kwei Fei at The Pour House where I was able to ask myself if I wanted to continue down this path. There was a talented team who wanted to work with David. I could move along if I wanted. When I thought about it, I knew that I wanted to be on the ride with David. I also really love a challenge and this fills that need.

3. How do you start your day?

I wish I was one of those early birds who jumped out of bed ready to go. I am not. I wake up a bit later, check social media with cat cuddles then move onto coffee. I hope to be a full functioning human who’s tackling the world by 11am. 

4. Tell us about your proudest moment or accomplishment.

Other than being a Mom, it’s opening Beautiful South. We opened that space without an investor and with no first hand experience. It was (and continues to be) the hardest thing we’ve ever done. 

5. Do you have a hidden talent?

I wish! 

6. Who or what gives you creative inspiration?

A challenge. I love digging in and seeing how we can create an opportunity. 

7. Coffee fuels our morning events. If you’re a coffee drinker, what’s your go-to order?

Cold Brew. Hot Beverages make me gag, so it has to be cold. Maybe warm. Not hot.

8. What is your favorite place in Charleston?

My back porch. She’s seen weekly Sunday hangs, girls nights, family dinners and lounging in the sun with piles of neglected magazines. 

9. How do you unwind or de-stress?

Read about fashion, dig for archival pieces and sell clothes. I’m not in the industry anymore, but I pretend the restaurant floor is a runway.

Be sure to join Creative Mornings Charleston on Friday, April 19, 2024 from 8 to 9:30 AM at Beautiful South in downtown Charleston to hear more from Tina Heath-Schuttenberg as she speaks on this month’s theme: SPICY.

Joey Welling was born and raised in Charleston, SC and is a graduate of Bishop England High School and The Citadel. He’s been in the fitness industry for 19 years, working his way up from folding towels to becoming a personal trainer to traveling to NYC, ATL and Nashville, to finally co-owning his first gym in 2016 and later delivering his dream to his hometown in 2021 through Ethos Athletic Club. Joey is passionate about 3 things: health, hospitality and the New York Yankees. And he still folds towels to this day.

Joey entered the fitness industry because he fell in love with the environment of a gym. All of the “wrong” jobs he held taught him to appreciate the power of a positive environment and good people. This soon collided with his desire to better people’s days through health and wellness. The eagerness of the teen who mopped floors led to the entrepreneur who founded an athletic club based upon character, community, creativity and a fundamental “WHY”: make someone’s day better.

Ethos Athletic Club was established in the chaos of 2020 – in part to add positivity and health to a world full of negativity and fear. Joey took a leap to build a brick & mortar business when the gym industry as we knew it was threatened to ever exist again. Instead of following the trends of the time, he decided to go directly toward the obstacle - not reinventing the wheel, just spinning it in a different direction. 

Joey believes, and has instilled in both his Team and the members of the Ethos community, that we all have a responsibility to do good – to create a positive impact that goes beyond the individual and the walls of Ethos Athletic Club. 

Own it.