Welcome to Your Live Out Loud Era

You are ready for more. More joy. More freedom. More softness. More of a life that actually feels like yours. DG Speaks is your home for travel, culture, language learning, lifestyle design, and real tools that help you create a life you do not need a vacation from.

Explore Services
Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes Airbnb Consultant

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Learn

Grow through language, culture, travel, and intentional living. Whether you are improving your English, exploring new countries, or adopting soft-life rituals, this is where your personal expansion begins.

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Earn

Build pathways that support your freedom. I guide women through coaching, strategy, and practical tools that help them create income and opportunities that align with the lives they want to live.

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Evolve

Dive into stories, interviews, poetry, and reflections from my journey and the women I meet along the way. This is where inspiration turns into transformation and you find courage for your next chapter.

Services Let’s Chat
DG Speaks - Wellness - Dr. Cheyenne Bryant: Headshot-smiling-white-outfit
Juliette Kuehnle, Author of “Who You Callin’ Crazy?!”
LA Dunn, Founder of Black Girls Eats
Porshia Ward, Founder of Saintly Naturals
DG Speaks - Blog - Meet Mercedes - Dian Griffin Jackson (Big Dian), author of “The Phoenix - Rising from the Ashes.”
Author, Cortney McDermott , writer of "Give Yourself Permission"

Women Who Inspire

Celebrating the voices, stories, and journeys shaping our world.

DG Speaks is not only about my story. It is a space for women whose lives, creativity, and courage deserve to be seen. Through interviews, features, and honest conversations, I highlight women who are living boldly, leading with heart, and recreating their own narratives. Their stories remind us that growth is never a solo journey—we rise higher when we rise together.

Meet the Ladies Be Featured

Live Beyond the Borders of Your Comfort Zone

Let your journey shape you in ways standing still never will.

My life has been shaped by the places I have lived, the cultures I have learned from, and the women I have met along the way. I share stories and insights from the road so you can expand your world too, whether you are traveling across continents or exploring new parts of yourself

Start Your Journey

Meet Mercedes

Speaker, Consultant, and Coach: Your Guide to Living Out Loud

I am Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes. My motto “living out loud and having my say,” reflects my unwavering dedication to speaking truth to power and inspiring others to do the same. 

I was born in Panama, raised in North Carolina, and shaped by stories, struggle, and a whole lot of reinvention. I have worked in sustainable food systems, global health, gender equity, language education, and consulting, all while traveling, parenting, and healing. DG Speaks brings together everything I have learned along the way. Here I share travel stories, cultural insights, soft-life practices, hosting and income ideas, and the mindset shifts that helped me build a life that feels like freedom. I want to help you do the same in your own way.

Meet Mercedes
Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes Airbnb Cohost
  • DG Speaks - Lifestyle - Color - Pink - Mercedes - Making memories at SHE Media's Meaningful Marketplace pop-up at LA3C!
  • Navigating Progress: Capacity Building in Bani Suif, Egypt
  • Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes Analyzing Greenhouse Operations in Guyana
  • DG Speaks - Travel - Mercedes Presenting at the Ladies, Luggage, and Lipstick Conference on Travelling Light
  • DG Speaks - Sustainable Development - Mercedes with indigenous family in Ecuador hunting for palm grubs

    • Postcards From the Soul

    My book, Postcards From the Soul: A Journey in Haiku, gathers quiet moments from years of travel, healing, and personal change.

    Get Your Copy
    • Postcards from the Soul iPad by Mercedes Diane Griffin Forbes

    • She delivers essential information with clarity and connection.

      She brought vital training on gender equality and strategic planning in a clear, dynamic way, and community members were grateful for her support and cultural openness.
      Isabel Cristina RodrĂ­guez Zalamea
      Agronomist, NCBA CLUSA Ecuador

    • Her expertise and delivery left a lasting impression on every student.

      Her clear, engaging lecture on digital marketing in agriculture was exceptional. She connected complex ideas to real-world examples, inspiring students to think critically and creatively about the future of the field.
      Dr. Ravshan Asamov
      Vice-Rector, Tashkent International University

    • Professional, attentive, and deeply engaged with the people she serves.

      Executed her work professionally, connected well with communities, respected their culture, and supported each person’s learning with care and attention.
      Joyce Malasha
      Country Director, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

    • A strategist who delivers high-quality work with professionalism and impact.

      Mercedes guided our nonprofit through business planning, websites, marketing, newsletters, and grants, consistently delivering on schedule and providing invaluable strategic insight.
      Shalakee Edwards
      Founder, Carolinas Hierarchy of Needs

    • She delivers soothing, relevant, and actionable guidance.

      Mercedes has the ability to tailor meaningful topics to client needs, work with groups of all sizes, and offer real-life, real-time steps that audiences can immediately put into practice.
      Alanna K. Wright
      Associate Director, Intentional Philantrophy