Voice Up Saturday Planning — Fall Semester Kickoff
Three Gift Card Raffles — $250, $50, and $50
To enter the minutes raffles, do three things in order: read the minutes, reflect, then answer the three questions at the bottom. That's it. It's free. The third raffle is for reading and reflecting on the research — see below.
This builds the same skills our founder uses in the AI economy — skills that turn into real pay and real jobs. It's based on research on purpose and the benefits of writing and reflection on a regular basis.
$250 Gift Card
Read, reflect, answer — and say you want to try Stepping to Success.
A one-time raffle for trying Raymond Williams' platform built to help anyone find what they should be doing in life.
Over 1.3 Million Plays — Connecting People to Purpose Through Music
From Sep 1, 2024 to Sep 22, 2026, the J Ellington catalog reached listeners across the globe — all achieved on a budget of just $16 per month. Every play helps fund free, proactive mental and behavioral health support for students. We connect people to purpose through music. Start listening today.
1,310,950
$16
48
11,042
Likes
205
Comments
422
Reposts
What the Most Popular Song Titles Indicate
The top-played tracks fall into six recurring themes — a window into what listeners are actually reaching for.
Faith & Spiritual Trust
God Sees You · God is Able · God the Father (He Knows) · Dear Lord · Lord, I Thank You · In God's Hands
Listeners are searching for a higher anchor — music that names God as present, able, and knowing. It signals an audience leaning on faith as a source of stability and hope.
Trustworthy & Reliable
Trustworthy (Always Better) · Trustworthy (Always Greater) · Trustworthy (You Can Rely)
A recurring call to be someone others can count on. Popularity here points to a community that values consistency, integrity, and relationships built on trust.
Community & Togetherness
We Search for Peace (Community) · The Right People (Serving with Humility) · Everybody · Everything is Better (Together)
Titles centered on "we" and serving together. They indicate listeners who want belonging and shared purpose over isolated success.
Personal Growth & Renewal
Build Me (Renew Me) · Be Restored (Mature Towards…) · Plant Your Seed (Grow) · Find Freedom · Steadily
A hunger to grow, be restored, and keep going. These tracks indicate an audience treating music as a tool for becoming their next, better self.
Forgiveness & Grace
Beyond (Forgiveness) · Yes (He Has Forgiven) · You've Overcome (Bad Things) · Be the Encounter (The Power)
Themes of letting go and starting fresh. Their popularity suggests listeners working through pain and seeking release, mercy, and a second chance.
Purpose & Voice Up
Voice Up (Lift, Live, Level) · Voice Up · Let Love Flow (Over & Under) · At Your Feet
The signature Voice Up call to lift, live, and level up. These titles confirm the catalog's core mission: connecting people to purpose through music.
Top Countries
- 1.United States180,000
- 2.Vietnam127,600
- 3.Egypt97,042
- 4.South Korea46,015
- 5.Brazil43,182
- 6.Saudi Arabia42,308
- 7.United Kingdom34,775
- 8.Ukraine33,868
- 9.Indonesia27,691
- 10.Canada26,524
- 11.Germany25,109
- 12.United Arab Emirates22,191
- 13.France20,875
- 14.Pakistan19,309
- 15.Australia17,559
- 16.Japan17,360
- 17.Kuwait16,723
- 18.Oman10,305
- 19.Poland9,512
- 20.India9,050
Top Cities
- 1.Cairo62,105
- 2.Hanoi56,720
- 3.Ho Chi Minh City43,514
- 4.Rio de Janeiro19,003
- 5.Riyadh15,758
- 6.Kuwait City14,732
- 7.Jeddah14,173
- 8.Kyiv12,001
- 9.Giza9,136
- 10.Miami9,103
Who Was There
Meeting Details
- Format
- Virtual team planning call (video)
- Facilitator
- Art Fuller (Founder)
- Duration
- Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes (adjourned 1:30 PM)
- Purpose
- Kick off the fall semester, share major announcements, hear from every team member and student, and assign action items for the coming weeks.
Summary of the Conversation
The Conversation at a Glance
The September 12 call was the official fall semester kickoff for Voice Up. Twelve people joined — the founder, co-founder, doctoral-level staff, mental health coaches, behavioral health specialists, and students from multiple universities. The call ran from noon to 1:30 PM and carried one steady thread underneath everything: Voice Up grows one conversation at a time, and the work only matters if it keeps its human commonality.
Where the Organization Stands
Voice Up enters the fall with real momentum. A single conversation with a professor brought 20 doctoral students into the fold. The Overcome UK partnership now delivers mental health coaching across five countries from a base in Nigeria. The new Your Voice Works writing platform reached students in more than 13 countries in its first week — with no marketing push. And a growing Spanish-speaking team is building a dedicated resource for that community.
The Deeper Conversation
Beneath the announcements, the call was really about three things: how to scale purpose-driven work without losing the human touch, how to turn students into owners of the work they create, and how to uncover history that the world has tried to forget. The student raised the court-report documentation challenge — the struggle of turning clinical information into language the courts can use. Jose Rosiles talked about moving from an unpaid internship into compensated work and building something he owns. Carah Ann shared her research on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, "the Black Mozart," whose name most people have never heard.
Why This Meeting Mattered
This was not a status update. It was the moment the team aligned on direction for the semester — welcoming doctoral students, standing up new partnerships, pairing people to solve real problems (the student and Jose on court reports), and setting a weekly Monday 8:30 PM brainstorming rhythm to keep momentum between Saturday calls. Every person who spoke named something they are building or a challenge they are facing. That is the model: one conversation at a time, turning into real work that connects people to purpose.
Key Points From Each Speaker
Art Fuller
Founder
Voice Up has grown "one conversation at a time" — and that personal, human approach is the model that scales.
Sets the cultural anchor for the whole organization as it enters a period of rapid growth.
Announced 20 doctoral students joining from a single conversation with a professor.
Any student working on a project can now get direct insight from a doctoral student — a major capacity upgrade.
Set a new weekly rhythm: Monday 8:30 PM brainstorming sessions.
Keeps momentum going between Saturday calls and gives the team a regular place to think together.
Jeff Cheeks
Team
AI will likely take work, but it has to have a human commonality in the equation.
Frames how Voice Up should adopt AI — as a tool that serves people, not replaces them.
This is a good opportunity to create something meaningful for you and your coworkers.
Connects the work to purpose and dignity, not just output.
Connecting to the AI Economy — 170% at Your Fingertips
Jeff's point about keeping a human commonality in the AI equation is exactly what Voice Up's 170% at Your Fingertips letter is about — using AI to amplify human purpose, not replace it. Read the full letter to see how Voice Up connects people to the AI economy.
Raymond Williams
Co-Founder
I don't have to create the wheel, but when I see it, my brain goes to how can I make it go faster and smoother.
Defines his role as an optimizer and accelerator of existing good work.
Anyone and everyone should be able to step into this space and move forward.
Reinforces Voice Up's commitment to access and inclusion at every level.
Dr. Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez, DHS, MLS
Team / DHS, MLS
Shared her journey from a single teenage mother without a high school diploma to earning her doctorate summa cum laude.
Embodies the Voice Up thesis — that lived experience and perseverance are the foundation of purpose and expertise.
Alabi Omotola ("Mariam")
Mental Health Coach, Nigeria
Connected Voice Up to Overcome UK and now delivers mental health coaching to clients in the UK, Pakistan, India, Croatia, and Australia.
Demonstrates Voice Up's global reach from a single relationship — purpose-driven work crossing borders.
Jose Rosiles
Student, Alliant University
Started with an internship and Art helped him keep going and get compensated for it.
Models the path from unpaid intern to paid contributor — a pattern the team wants to repeat.
We have no ownership of it at all — I created this thing.
Raises the importance of student ownership of the work they create.
Student
Social Worker, Sacramento County
The language and turning clinical information into a language presentable for the courts — that's where I'm seeing the struggle.
Identifies a real, felt problem that Voice Up can solve with a dedicated tool.
There has to be a better way than this.
The team agreed to pair her with Jose to build it — a concrete action item from the call.
Sy'Viceeaa Hall
Student
The goal is to connect others with their own way of sustaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Frames her work as helping people see that a healthy life is not impossible to reach.
Sabrena Marie
Student, Alliant University
I don't necessarily know my purpose yet, but I want to be an advocate for people who need services.
Shows that purpose can start as a direction before it becomes a destination.
Diana Cisneros
Student, Alliant University
I would like to work with families who have experienced deportation, especially children — because I connect with that.
Lived experience directly shaping the population she wants to serve.
Carah Ann
Public Health Student, UT Arlington
I was never aware of him as a composer before — just like a side character. We hear of "the Black Mozart," but nobody actually knows their names.
Names the core purpose of her internship — recovering the history the world tried to forget.
Erik Armas
Behavioral Health Specialist, McLean Hospital
Oh, you know I am. I'm waiting for further instruction.
Confirmed he is ready and waiting for the next assignment — a team member fully bought in.
Meeting Themes & Focus Areas
Fall Semester Kickoff
This call officially opened the fall semester for Voice Up. The team reviewed where the organization stands today and set the direction for the weeks ahead — including welcoming new students, launching new partnerships, and lining up brainstorming sessions.
Purpose-Driven Work at Scale
A recurring theme was scaling purpose-driven work without losing the human touch. Art Fuller emphasized that Voice Up has grown "one conversation at a time," and the team discussed how to keep that personal, human commonality even as AI and automation become part of the work.
Global Mental Health Reach
The Overcome UK partnership and Mariam's coaching work showed how Voice Up's mental health support now reaches the UK, Pakistan, India, Croatia, and Australia — with services delivered from Nigeria.
New Writers, New Countries
The Your Voice Works writing platform launched and drew students from more than 13 countries in its first week. The team celebrated the organic, word-of-mouth growth and discussed how to support the incoming wave of writers.
Spanish-Speaking Community
With more Spanish-fluent team members and students, the team committed to building a dedicated resource for the Spanish-speaking community — making Voice Up's tools and content accessible to more people.
Doctoral Student Influx
Twenty doctoral students are joining Voice Up in the coming weeks, the result of a single conversation with a professor. The team discussed how any student working on a project can now get direct insight from a doctoral student.
Court-Report Documentation Challenge
The student raised the struggle of turning clinical information into language presentable for the courts. The team agreed to pair her with Jose Rosiles to build a tool that addresses common court-report mistakes and makes the process clearer.
Compensation & Ownership for Students
Several students spoke about moving from unpaid internships into compensated roles and creating things they own. Jose Rosiles shared how Art helped him get paid for his work, and the team reinforced that students should be able to "step into this space and move forward."
Honoring Hidden History
Carah Ann's internship researching composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor — "the Black Mozart" — highlighted the theme of uncovering and honoring figures whose names and contributions have been overlooked.
Monday Brainstorming Rhythm
The team set a new weekly rhythm: Monday 8:30 PM brainstorming sessions. Art committed to sending calendar invites to Dr. Angee, Jeff, Raymond, the student, and Jose to keep momentum going between Saturday calls.
Key Announcements
20 Doctoral Students Are Joining Voice Up
In the coming weeks, 20 doctoral students will be joining Voice Up — created from one conversation with a professor. Any student working on a project can now get insight directly from a doctoral student.
Overcome UK Partnership Is Building Real Tools
Voice Up is building something for Overcome UK — a mental health organization that supports people across the UK, Pakistan, India, Croatia, and Australia. Mariam, based in Nigeria, connected Voice Up to this partnership and now delivers mental health coaching to clients around the world.
A Spanish-Speaking Team Is Growing
Voice Up now has more team members and students fluent in Spanish (including Jose Rosiles and Dr. Angee). A new resource built specifically for the Spanish-speaking community is coming.
Key Quotes From the Team
"One conversation at a time. I mean, that's how far Voice Up has gotten to where we are today. One conversation at a time — it's effective, and it works."
— Art Fuller
Founder
"They always say that AI is probably going to take our work, but at some point it has to have a human commonality in that equation. This is a good opportunity to create something meaningful for you and your coworkers."
— Jeff Cheeks
Team
"I don't necessarily have to create the wheel, but when I see it, my brain goes to how can I make this thing go faster, smoother. Anyone and everyone should be able to step into this space and move forward."
— Raymond Williams
Co-Founder
"I started off as a single teenage mother... I didn't even have a high school diploma. Now I have my doctorate degree in human services, and I graduated summa cum laude."
— Dr. Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez, DHS, MLS
Team / DHS, MLS
"I started working with Voice Up before I got to work with them... I am delivering mental health coach services to clients in the UK, Pakistan, India, Croatia, and even Australia."
— Alabi Omotola ("Mariam")
Mental Health Coach, Nigeria
"I started with an internship, and Art helped me keep going and get compensated for it... We have no ownership of it at all. I created this thing."
— Jose Rosiles
Student, Alliant University
"The language and turning that information into a language presentable for the courts — that's where I'm seeing the struggle. There has to be a better way than this."
— Student
Social Worker, Sacramento County
"The goal is to connect others with their own way of sustaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle... to let them know that it's not impossible to get where you want to be."
— Sy'Viceeaa Hall
Student
"I don't necessarily know my purpose yet... but all I know is that I want to be an advocate for people that need services."
— Sabrena Marie
Student, Alliant University
"I would like to work with families who have experienced deportation, especially children — because I connect with that."
— Diana Cisneros
Student, Alliant University
"I never was aware of him as a composer before — just like a side character... We hear of "the Black Mozart," but nobody actually knows their names."
— Carah Ann
Public Health Student, UT Arlington
"Oh, you know I am. I'm waiting for further instruction."
— Erik Armas
Behavioral Health Specialist, McLean Hospital
Action Items
Send a calendar invite for the Monday 8:30 PM brainstorming sessions, including Dr. Angee, Jeff, Raymond, the student, and Jose.
Build a starter Base44 site pairing the student with Jose Rosiles to tackle the court-report documentation challenge.
Begin drafting a HIPAA-compliant training document capturing common court-report mistakes and why they happen.
Continue sharing federal prison social worker openings from USAJobs.gov with interested students.
Send Art the sign-up link for the Stepping to Success platform so the $250 gift card raffle can go out to the team.
Schedule a brainstorming session on Jose's Haven Clinician app for next Saturday, after the team call.
Continue the internship researching composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, building toward a public-facing history feature.
Prepare to welcome 20 incoming DrPH doctoral students in the coming weeks.
Stepping to Success — Enter to Win $250
Art Fuller announced a $250 gift card raffle tied to Raymond Williams' Stepping to Success platform — a program that helps anyone, age 8 to 108, find what they should be doing and align with their purpose.
To enter: read the minutes, reflect, answer the three questions below, and say you want to try the platform. A separate $50 raffle is just for sending in your answers.
Review Art Fuller's Guest Lecture at Georgia State University
On August 31, 2026 — the same day as Charlie Douglass's 86th birthday — Art Fuller gave Voice Up's guest lecture at Georgia State University as a featured speaker. That lecture launched the Voice Up Media Network. If you'd like to go deeper into the foundation Art was describing during this meeting, you can review the full lecture and its reflection below.
Watch the Full Lecture
The complete session page with the video, the carousel, and the full written minutes of Art's talk.
Complete the Reflection
Three reflection questions on the Uncle Charlie story, servant leadership, and the five core principles.
"Leadership is just as much about the relationships you have with people as the task you are actually trying to accomplish." — Art Fuller, Georgia State University guest lecture, Aug 31, 2026
Three Questions — Two Ways to Win
You read the minutes. Now reflect and answer these three questions. Send them in to enter. This builds the same skills our founder uses in the AI economy — skills that lead to real pay and real jobs.
🎁 $250: Answer all three and say you want to try Stepping to Success.
🎁 $50: Just send in your three answers. This is a recurring weekly raffle — being eligible is part of being in Voice Up.
Both raffles need a free sign-up first.
The Three Questions
1. One Conversation at a Time
Art said Voice Up grows "one conversation at a time." What is one conversation you could start this week that might open a door for someone?
2. A Challenge Worth Solving
The student named a struggle, and the team paired her with Jose to build a tool. What challenge are you facing that Voice Up could help you turn into something you own?
3. Hidden History or Purpose
Carah is researching a composer most people have never heard of. What story or purpose in your own community has been overlooked — and you'd want to share?