Bio & Favorite Links

Biography

Always in search of something interesting and creative to pursue, Aliona had her first book Nappy published by a small Black-owned press in New York. The book was her first published writing ever. A few years later, she followed up with For Black Writers, which she self-published and originated as a workshop for the African American Women on Tour conference (www.aawot.com/). She co-presented the workshop with friend and fellow author Monique Gilmore-Scott (www.writingminds.com/). Influenced by a high school graduation trip to Kenya, she joined the Peace Corps (www.peacecorps.gov/) as an opportunity to be of service to the world and to experience living in Africa. On February 4, 1999 she landed in South Africa to begin a two year stint as a School & Community Resource volunteer. In 2000 she started the Great Black South Africans project while in Timbavati village, Acornhoek, where she lived with a family. Once she returned to the States, the project became an obsession and she worked three jobs to make it happen!

Fueled by a failed attempt to compile an anthology of African-American Returned Peace Corps volunteers, she came up with an idea to make a documentary. To learn the in's and out's of creating digital videos, she enrolled in a video production class at Laney College, a junior college in Oakland. She then joined her local public access station, Berkeley Community Media www.betv.org, and the rest, as they say, is herstory! Head Designs: For Your Frame of Mind, her first documentary short, will begin the independent film/video festival circuit in the summer of 2006.

She is currently working on a travelogue about South Africa, a portion of which can be viewed at www.iveknownrivers.com (in the movement section, also check out Cedric Brown's piece on Brazil). The anthology idea has since been transformed into the Parallel Journeys documentary.

She lives in Berkeley, California where she is on the lookout for delectable vegan desserts.

AlionaGibson.com Bio & Favorite Links
	Kenya, 1985 Contact: Aliona L. Gibson P. O. Box 71387 Oakland, CA 94612 Email: rivoningo@yahoo.com Blog: www.rivoningo.blogspot.com	Biography Always in search of something interesting and creative to pursue, Aliona had her first book Nappy published by a small Black-owned press in New York. The book was her first published writing ever. A few years later, she followed up with For Black Writers, which she self-published and originated as a workshop for the African American Women on Tour conference (www.aawot.com/). She co-presented the workshop with friend and fellow author Monique Gilmore-Scott (www.writingminds.com/). Influenced by a high school graduation trip to Kenya, she joined the Peace Corps (www.peacecorps.gov/) as an opportunity to be of service to the world and to experience living in Africa. On February 4, 1999 she landed in South Africa to begin a two year stint as a School & Community Resource volunteer. In 2000 she started the Great Black South Africans project while in Timbavati village, Acornhoek, where she lived with a family. Once she returned to the States, the project became an obsession and she worked three jobs to make it happen! Fueled by a failed attempt to compile an anthology of African-American Returned Peace Corps volunteers, she came up with an idea to make a documentary. To learn the in's and out's of creating digital videos, she enrolled in a video production class at Laney College, a junior college in Oakland. She then joined her local public access station, Berkeley Community Media www.betv.org, and the rest, as they say, is herstory! Head Designs: For Your Frame of Mind, her first documentary short, will begin the independent film/video festival circuit in the summer of 2006. She is currently working on a travelogue about South Africa, a portion of which can be viewed at www.iveknownrivers.com (in the movement section, also check out Cedric Brown's piece on Brazil). The anthology idea has since been transformed into the Parallel Journeys documentary. She lives in Berkeley, California where she is on the lookout for delectable vegan desserts.

	Favorite Links Berkeley Community Media ~ www.betv.org/ Cedric Brown ~ www.cedricbrownsf.com/ Creative Soul - Kisha Montgomery ~ www.creativesoul.us/ Head Designs ~ www.headdesigns.com/ Jill Nelson ~ www.jillnelson.com/ Lemo ~ www.lemolive.com/ Museum of the African Diasporia (MoAD) ~ www.moadsf.org/ Red Wall Productions ~ www.redwallproductions.com/ San Francisco Black Film Festival ~ www.sfbff.org/ Tina McElroy Ansa ~ www.tinamcelroyansa.com/ Whatchusay ~ www.whatchusay.com/ Woody Johnson ~ www.woodyjohnsonsculpture.com/ I am part of the Immortalization Project - The photo on the site shows my Venda (South Africa's smallest ethnic group) bracelets which I have had on since 2000, and my grandmothers wedding rings which I wear all the time. www.lexawalsh.com/ali.htm

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