Love surrounds Angel N. Livas and Yusuf Henriques, an entrepreneurial couple who were engaged on New Year’s Eve and celebrated their love with an exclusive event at Northwest, D.C.’s The Park at 14th on Feb. 2. Their partnership shows the breadth and possibilities of love, faith, and collaboration.
Individually, the two have accomplished a lot.
Livas has made her mark in the media and entertainment industry, amassing over 20 years of success. She is a Tedx motivational speaker, best-selling author, award-winning media executive and the founder and CEO of ALIVE Podcast Network, the first and only Black woman-owned proprietary podcasting mobile application.
Former Army combat medic, Henriques is a technology and health founder who has established five companies, including IndyGeneUS AI and IndyGeneUs Institute. Through these ventures, he is dedicated to creating the world’s largest block-chain encrypted repository of indigenous and diasporic African clinical data, with his precision genomics company.
Impressive solo, the pair firmly believe they are stronger together. Their relationship is full of love, faith, laughter, and encouragement. Livas expressed her gratitude for having someone who supports her wholeheartedly.
“I love having someone who just gets you, and is genuinely supportive and wants to see you thrive and succeed,” said Livas.
The power couple both graduated from Howard University in the early 2000s, but they didn’t cross paths until nearly 20 years later, well into their trailblazing work.
Meant to Be More Than Business Partners
On a mid-fall afternoon in 2021, Henriques scheduled an afternoon meeting with Livas to discuss the possibility of her joining his team to translate complex messaging around genomics and healthcare for underrepresented populations. Henriques said their lunch conversation quickly extended into nightfall.
“I’m real cerebral, so [I appreciate] having someone who can be in my space, not just in our spiritual connection or emotional connection, there’s also that intellectual connection,” Henriques recalled. “After that 12-hour session, we went and ran it back the next morning.”
From the very start, it was clear that the two were meant to be more than business partners. Henriques explained that their connection was like yin and yang. He joked that he’s “rough around the edges,” and Livas responded sweetly, “I smooth it out.”
When it comes to their professional growth and collaboration, Henriques likened it to the “iron sharpens iron” saying.
Livas proudly shared that she is chief communications officer for his company, IndyGeneUS AI. She explained that her fiance is more mission-focused and will walk into a room with targets and outcomes in mind. But since their relationship began, she’s been showing Henriques the value in building relationships and having people in your corner.
“As an entrepreneur, a lot of times you do feel isolated, you do feel alone. And you feel like ‘Oh, my God, am I on the right path? Am I doing all the right things?’ I’m that voice of encouragement, like, ‘No, you got this, this is what you’re supposed to be doing. This is what you’re destined to do,’” said Livas.
Henriques added that he never did a vision board until he saw Livas’ and wanted to help her bring her dreams to fruition. For him, supporting her and being positive reinforcement to reach her goals is very important. He pours back into her with his technology expertise by showing her new and innovative ways to scale her media-tech ventures.
Next week, the ALIVE Podcast Network turns two years old, and Livas thanks Henriques for guiding her to build a proprietary app. This unique platform celebrates the growth and importance of Black storytelling, as people seek out content that empowers and represents them authentically. According to Edison Research, 75% of Black monthly podcast listeners seek out content that focuses on Black storytelling.
“When it comes down to money and getting folks to believe in the vision, you’re going to need a battle buddy,” said Henriques.
Fusing Families and Cultures
Henriques is a Jamaican-born immigrant, and his cultural background has blended smoothly with Livas, a Michigan native.
Coming from Howard and its Pan-African diversity, Livas was already exposed to Jamaican traditions and culture. From sharing his family’s traditional dishes like jerk chicken and curry goat, Henriques said the cultural fusion has been easy.
The successful couple are both grounded in their Christian faith and divine guidance from above. Livas said a part of their spiritual bonding is reading Bible passages together and exchanging scriptures from the Bible app. She added that she’s the one who will take his hand when they need to recalibrate, and say “we’re going to pray real quick”, and both appreciate worshiping together and with their blended family.
Livas is the mother of two boys, 9 and 11, and Henriques has four girls, most of whom are in college and working. For the couple, it’s the best of both worlds to experience rearing their partner’s children and share the responsibility of parenting. They both agree that an important part of building their Black love is that it’s “unconditional and generational.”
“That Black love extends beyond us. It extends to our children, and how they see it, how they act on it, and how they are going to go out and look for that in somebody else. So it’s the foundation of our legacy,” said Livas.
As the pair move toward their “I do’s,” they both share excitement for an abundant future of companionship.
Livas said having someone who witnesses and shares the time, energy and love invested in building their empire is a special part of their experience.
While the two haven’t yet set a wedding date, the couple are looking at August 2025 for their nuptials.
“I look forward to growth. I look forward to being the best version of myself that I can be. For me, for my husband, for my kids. And for my family,” said Livas.
Henriques told The Informer their relationship has been a highlight in his life.
“This is the best situation I’ve ever been in to build with someone,” he said. “So having that unconditional love and being able to transfer that through generations is what’s most important to me.”
Congrats Angel!!