NASHVILLE, TN — Cha Jones is an inspiring and motivating international speaker, expatriate coach, and a best-selling author of several books. She is also the founder and chief executive officer of Expat Women of Color. As a self-proclaimed Nomadic Chick, she has lived and worked in South Korea for over three years, traveled to countries like China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Dominican Republic.
Her traveling stories and advice can be found on blogs such as Women of Color Living Abroad, The Nomadic Chic, My Soul to Seoul, and Black Atlas. Ms. Jones has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from a master’s degree in Intercultural Leadership and Management with a focus in International Education.
This international jet setter and educator is now sharing her knowledge of global travel and empowerment with the launching of the first annual LADIES LIPSTICK AND LUGGAGE CONFERENCE (www.ladieslipstickandluggage.com). The 4-day travel confab will take place here in Nashville, August 11 -14 with an impressive lineup of guest keynote speakers, workshops and it’s ‘Pretty in Paris’ gala.
TRIBUNE: Give us a few highlights of what people can expect at the upcoming Ladies/Lipstick/Luggage conference.
Cha: We want people to be able to feel like they are not only learning something but gaining knowledge of themselves. So it’s centered around beauty, fashion, and travel, however, we’re not talking just about external beauty. We’re talking about empowering the inner beauty so that people will really have a clear understanding of who they are. Hopefully, it will help them be able to travel anywhere in the world. Even if you’re not really a traveler, it’s still a great conference because you can learn to travel in your own circle on purpose and know who you are.
TRIBUNE: What is the ‘Pretty in Paris’ event all about?
Cha: ‘Pretty in Paris’ is a gala that’s benefiting our new Boarding Pass program, which is an intercultural education program for high school young ladies who have probably never really traveled anywhere. We want to help expand their knowledge of themselves, as well as introduce them to the world of intercultural understanding and learning…One of our featured guests is Nya Breslin. She’s an eleven-year-old professional makeup artist who’s done makeup for catwalk events, models, weddings and worked with big fashion designers.
TRIBUNE: You have been speaking, encouraging, and empowering women since your wonderful experience of living over in South Korea as a teacher. Have you had ladies say that you’ve inspired them to study or travel abroad?
Cha: Yes, I have some young women that I’ve been mentoring. I especially encourage minority females to study abroad. We recently had an event for International Women’s Day at Lipscomb University, where a lot of young college women told me they had never thought about studying in a foreign country but are now very interested in learning more.
TRIBUNE: Do you still have your blogsite Expat Women of Color (www.expatwomenofcolor.com)
Cha: Yes, Expat Women of Color is still active. We’re actually going through some transitions in the fall and expand it a little. We’ll have more of a membership site. We actually have grown to about 3800 women throughout the world, and 28 different countries. And we’re very active on Facebook.”
TRIBUNE: Are you finding a stronger interest among African American women who might be considering moving to other countries and if so, which countries?
Cha: Yes,I think there’s more and more of an interest, especially with all the stuff that’s going on with the police brutality in America. Right now we have about 10 women who become members on Expat Women of Color every week on Facebook. I’d say there aren’t any particular countries that Black women are interested in. But I do see a lot of interest in Korea; some in South Africa, and definitely the United Arab Emirates. One of our featured keynote speakers for the conference is Evita Robison, founder of the Nomadness Travel Tribe (www.nomadnesstv.com/home). They’re about 1300 African Americans members who are young, so they’re the millennials and they travel around the world.
TRIBUNE: How can people get tickets for the conference?
Cha: The ticket information can be found on our website: www.ladieslipstickandluggage.com
