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Dr. Romella Janene Needs First Place by Thursday to Reach the Top Host Quarterfinals

By Ethan Lee·Published November 11, 2026·Business news

Dr. Romella Janene Needs First Place by Thursday to Reach the Top Host Quarterfinals

She’s second in her Group Finals bracket, and voting closes November 12.

Dr. Romella Janene has until Thursday, November 12, to climb one spot. She’s competing in Colossal’s 2026 Top Host Competition, a national public-vote contest that raises money for the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. By her own count she’s sitting second in her group. Only first place goes straight to the Quarterfinals.

The winner gets $25,000, a six-episode podcast produced by iHeartRadio and a guest spot on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.” Romella already knows what she’d do with the money.

How the vote works

Anyone can cast one free vote a day. Extra votes are available as donations, and every donation is tax-deductible. The money reaches the Ryan Seacrest Foundation through a grant from Action Initiative Team (AIT), a public charity. The foundation builds broadcast studios inside pediatric hospitals so young patients have something to do besides wait.

The field has been cut four times since voting opened on October 5. Groups went to 20 competitors, then 15, then 10, then 5. Romella is still in.

Second place on Thursday wouldn’t end her run. Runners-up enter a three-day Wildcard Round where votes reset to zero, and one competitor per group moves on. It’s a second chance, but a short one.

The remaining schedule:

Colossal will announce the Grand Prize Winner on or before January 15, 2027.

“I need sustained support,” Romella said of the weeks ahead.

Why she wants the microphone

Romella’s case for hosting starts with one belief. People deserve to be heard.

She’s an industrial organizational psychologist and economist who spent part of her career as a federal executive. She’s also an inventor actively licensing her technology. Civil rights work is part of her background too, and she pairs all of it with creative projects.

She also describes a recent spiritual awakening that taught her to trust her intuition and take the first step toward the life she wants. That mix shapes how she interviews. She treats hosting as a shared conversation that an audience can watch, join and be moved by, and she thinks that’s where a private thought starts turning into action.

She already runs two YouTube channels: The Affirmation Practice and Romella Janene Global. A national title would put those conversations in front of a much larger audience.

Where the $25,000 would go

“I would use those funds to expand OurAdvice,” Romella said.

OurAdvice is her peer-to-peer helping community, and it’s AI-free by design. People bring a problem and other people answer it, drawing on what they’ve lived through themselves. No chatbot sits in the middle. Part of the prize would also pay for upgrades to her home podcast studio.

“Technology can provide information, but there are many situations where people benefit from speaking with someone who has actually lived through a similar experience,” she said.

The company behind the campaign

Lucid Pattern is Romella’s consulting company. She founded it and works as its principal consultant, and the practice centers on leadership, organizational effectiveness, emerging technology and human behavior. Both of her current projects sit under it.

OurAdvice is the newer one. It’s being built as a peer-to-peer platform that connects a person facing a decision with someone who has already lived through the same thing. Topics include career changes, entrepreneurship, federal employment and patent development. Lighter subjects are welcome too, such as travel planning, language learning and knitting.

The Affirmation Practice is the second project. It publishes affirmations and personal development content on resilience, confidence, self-worth and personal growth. The audience is people in the middle of a change, whether that’s a new career or a new venture.

Then there’s the patent. In November 2024 Janene received a U.S. patent related to emerging technology, and it’s available for licensing. Companies interested in licensing it can reach her through Lucid Pattern.

A request to companies

Romella isn’t only asking individuals for a daily click. She’s seeking corporate donations too. Those gifts are tax-deductible, and she says they help hospitals with pediatric practices give emotional support to children facing serious, life-threatening illnesses.

She thinks business readers will recognize the story. It involves a founder building a product, a charity that benefits either way, and a deadline. Her interest in hosting didn’t begin with wanting to be famous. It began with wanting people to feel seen and understood.

Thursday decides which path she takes next.

Companies should also reach out to inquire about license-to-build opportunities of her novel AI and ledger technology architecture.

About Romella Janene

Romella Janene is the founder and principal consultant of Lucid Pattern. She’s an industrial organizational psychologist, economist, inventor, entrepreneur, content creator and former federal executive. Her work focuses on leadership, emerging technology and human behavior.

Romella holds a U.S. patent and leads Lucid Pattern’s projects, including OurAdvice and The Affirmation Practice.

Lately she’s started studying Korean and gone back to film and television through Sundance Collab courses. She’s learning to play the bells again. She also saw BTS’s Arirang shows in Tampa and Boston.

Vote and follow

Top Host Voting: Vote for Romella Janene 

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