TG Geeks Webcast Episode 273

The Two Gay Geeks have a chat with our good friend Mona Elyafi, publicist and Champagne Expert. We chat real briefly about her life as a publicist and then continue the conversation about how she became an accredited Champagne Expert and all things Champagne. Have a listen and we hope you enjoy this as much as we did.<br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />About Mona Elyafi<br /><br />Mona Elyafi was born in Beirut Lebanon and immigrated to Paris France in 1975 when the civil war started. She was raised in Paris benefiting from a mix of both a European and Middle Eastern culture. With a muslim father and a catholic mother, she grew up exposed to both religions - its traditions, celebrations and beliefs. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to pursue a BA in Political Science. She left LA to for New York City where she attended New York University to complete a Masters in Liberal Arts (with a minor in Journalism). She then returned to LA and started her PR career at the Lee Solters Company with the famed Lee Solters (credited to have created the field of PR).<br /><br />ILDK Media is a one- woman owned business created 17 years ago with one tiny seed and over a decade later, turned into a widely respected expert in LGBTQ+ PR strategies with a focus on diversity & inclusion as well as global Women Empowerment campaigns.<br /><br />The drive in Elyafi to amplify women’s voices runs in the family, starting with her maternal grandmother who was her mentor & role-model as well as her great uncle, Abdallah El Yafi, on her father’s side. Abdullah El Yafi, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was a pioneer in defending women’s rights & equality. He was at the forefront of the struggle to give women the right to vote, which he was able to achieve with his cabinet in power in 1952. This is a man who had quite an ‘avant-garde’ ring to conservative Muslim ears.<br /><br />As she celebrates 17 years in business this year, 16 years of sobriety, 6 years married to her wife, she is beyond grateful for the trials a