Catherine Abrams contributes mainly to Port of Harlem's "Entertainment" and "Travel" departments. Catherine Abrams fondly remembers attending her first concerts – James Brown, the Jackson 5 and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra – as a young girl growing up in Central Virginia. In school, Catherine studied music and played the clarinet for the concert and marching bands. Still passionate about music, she has broadened her interests to include other art forms including film, theater, and television and travel, sports and literature.

She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia before earning a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she was President of the Entertainment, Art and Sports Law Association. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, she is involved in the Arts and Letters Committee, which showcases talent in the visual, performing and literary arts for the cultural enrichment of the community. Catherine currently works for a financial services regulator. She is an avid volunteer who tutors adult learners for Literacy Volunteers and Advocates in Washington, D.C.

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Nicolas Troy Abrams contributes mainly to Port of Harlem's "Money" department. Nicolas Troy Abrams, Certified Financial Planner, is founder and CEO of AJW Financial Partners, LLC.  His wealth management and financial planning firm has offices in Columbia, Maryland and Washington, DC.  With more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, Abrams advises clients on investment, retirement, and insurance strategies. 

He is a regular guest on Morgan State University's WEAA (Baltimore 88.9 FM) Wealthy Radio.  He is the former host of Radio One's WOLB (Baltimore 1010 AM) The 1st Friday Radio Show, which focused on economic empowerment and wealth creation.  He has been a guest on National Public Radio’s Market Place.  Local and national conferences, including the Maryland Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Weekend, have also featured Abrams as a speaker on money and financial issues. 

One of his favorite quotes is from Harriet Tubman:  “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”


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Gregory F. Bearstop contributes to Port of Harlem's "The Middle Passage:  A Story of Survival" department. Gregory F. Bearstop's authored Happiness That is Guaranteed. As an inspirational speaker, therapist and spiritual guide, he has helped hundreds of people transform their lives as they journey from alcohol and drug abuse and dependency to recovery. Bearstop holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Washington Theological Union and is a certified master addiction counselor.

He has been a licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor for more than 10 years and a substance abuse counselor for more than 20 years. Bearstop is currently the manager in the Prince George's County (MD) Health Department for the District and Circuit Court Assessment and Case Management Unit. He co-hosted Turning Point, an Annapolis, MD-based addiction recovery talk show. Bearstop's dream is for all of us to become the means through which the sufferings of other people are lessened to the greatest extent possible.

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Tyrone Colbert contributes to Port of Harlem's "The Other Side" department.T. Michael Colbert is a Washington, D.C. native, raised in suburban Columbia, Maryland. After high school graduation in 1980, he served in the U.S. army domestically and abroad. An addiction to drugs lead to the honorably discharged veteran’s incarceration.

While incarcerated, Colbert developed a passion for writing and has contributed to Port of Harlem since 2000. In Port of Harlem, Colbert focuses on prison issues and provides an eyewitness look at life behind bars. In 2005, he studied journalism at Taylor University via a correspondence course.

His stage play, Skin Deep, won the 2002 WMAR-TV- Baltimore and Arena Players Drama Competition. In 2006, the Baltimore Screenplay Competition awarded him honorable mention for his screenplay, Paranoid. Colbert is also a member of the Jessup Correctional Institute Incarcerated Veterans Group, which helps organize the prison's annual Walk-A-Thon fundraiser, has published an anthology of writings by veterans and works with the Veterans Against Drugs and Violence program.

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Carroll "C.R." Gibbs contributes to Port of Harlem's"Praising the Past" department.

He is the author/coauthor of six books and frequent national and
international lecturer on an array of historical topics. He has appeared several times on the History Channel, French and Belgian television, and wrote, researched and narrated "Sketches in Color," a 13-part companion series to the PBS series,The Civil War, for WHUT-TV, Howard University television station.

The Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture features Gibbs among its scholars at the museum's Online Academy website.  In 1989, he founded the African History and Culture Lecture Series whose scholars continue to provide free presentations at libraries, churches, and other locations in the Washington-Baltimore area. In 1997, he led 26 people across Africa.

In 2009, the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust honored Gibbs for his more than three decades of articles, exhibits and presentations on the military heritage of Africans and African Americans.

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Theo Hodge, Jr., M.D. contributes to Port of Harlem's"Health" department.Born in Washington, D.C., Dr. Theo Hodge, Jr.'s parents raised him in nearby Prince Georges County, Maryland. He attended college and medical school at the University of Virginia. Following a residency in Internal medicine at Georgetown University / Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Hodge completed an infectious diseases fellowship at the Washington Hospital Center / Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

On completing the fellowship, Dr. Hodge entered private practice where he focuses on the care of the HIV infected. He holds an academic appointment at the George Washington University Hospital as assistant clinical professor.

Dr. Hodge is actively involved in a variety of community endeavors to increase HIV awareness and has offered his services in public clinic settings to care for underinsured / uninsured HIV infected patients. He is actively involved in multiple speaker bureaus dedicated to educating healthcare providers in the management of the HIV infected.

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Kennedra Tucker contributes to Port of Harlem’s Features and Health departments. Tucker has a passion for helping people reach their fitness goals and make changes that improve their quality of life. She believes in the principle of lifetime wellness - - that exercising and making nutritious choices should begin in childhood and continue thru adulthood.

Tucker holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and Physical Education from McDaniel College and is in her seventh year as a physical education teacher for Prince George’s County (Maryland) Public Schools. She regularly makes presentations at professional development workshops for County physical education teachers and has presented at the annual Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Convention.

The certified aerobics instructor and Aerobic and Fitness Association of America certified personal trainer, is a licensed Zumba instructor and certified cardio-kickboxing instructor.  Currently, she is completing her master’s program in Exercise Science and Health Promotion at California University of Pennsylvania.

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Wayne A. Young contributes to Port Of Harlem's "Publisher's Point," "Features" and "Travel" departments.Wayne A. Young was a disc jockey while studying business administration at Iowa State University. He completed his graduate degree in Marketing Communications at Roosevelt University in 1984.

Young started Port of Harlem magazine in 1995 as a collectible item distributed at a Black memorabilia and collectible show. The first publication featured a collection of articles that he had written for publications ranging from the Washington Afro-American and Gary Post-Tribune newspapers to American Legacy and UpScale magazines. He named the magazine after the world’s most famous Pan-African community to reflect the magazine’s inclusive, diverse and Pan-African perspective.

After publishing annually in black and white for the first four years and biannually for the following four, Port of Harlem became a full-color, quarterly publication in November 2003. To meet change in reading habits, Port of Harlem returned to biannual publication in November 2009 and to annual publication in November 2011.

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