Black Women Talk Work

This week's episode features Lisa Ellis, Entertainment Executive and Founder of Provenance Ventures, an integrated multimedia production and entertainment company that creates, develops, and produces content that champions untold stories from underrepresented voices. A University of Maryland and Harvard Business School Graduate, Lisa has formerly held titles that include President and General Group Manager of Sony Urban Music, Executive Vice President of Sony Music Label Group and most recently, Global Head of Music at SoundCloud. She has worked with some of the biggest names in music including, John Legend, Maxwell, Nas, The Fugees, Mariah Carey, Destiney's Child and the list goes on. Lisa was also ranked #3 in Billboard magazine's "Most Influential Women in Music 2006, 2007, and 2009, as well as ranked #50 in Fast Company Magazine's "100 Most Creative People in Business" in 2011 and 2012. With more than 25 years in the music industry under her belt, she made the decision to pivot into film, founding Provenance Ventures, combining her business acumen, previous experience working on soundtracks for box office breaking films, and innate passion for amplifying the untold stories of the Black community and our history. Listen as we discuss the challenges Lisa faced early in her career as a Black woman promoting pop and rock music and later overseeing the urban music genre, how she preserved and landed countless chart topping, grammy nominated artists and what drove her pivot from music to film. She also gives us a deep dive into two incredible film projects that she is executive producing, the first Never Caught, which will be the film adaptation of the 2017 book, "Never Caught: The Washingtons Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge" by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, and an upcoming HBO Limited Series titled, "Say Their Names," which will examine the Grim Sleeper murders, occurring over a 30-year period in which Black girls and women were killed in a wave of unsolved murders in South Los Angeles.

Today's episode features Sherhara Downing, Public Speaking Coach, Executive Trainer and Founder of Level Comm, a communications agency that teaches customized communication practices and strategies that educate and empower employees to improve performance and productivity. With a B.A. in Journalism and a M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications, Sherhara chose the path less traveled in the communications field after realizing that her innate talent for public speaking, as displayed in her work as an engaging MC and event host, was in high demand, particularly for those navigating the corporate world. She made the decision to turn her talent into a teachable skill, and thus began her career journey as a public speaking coach and trainer, working with corporations, executives and individuals on communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace. Since launching Level Comm in 2014, Sherhara has also expanded her offering to specializing in teaching women entrepreneurs to concisely speak with confidence, charisma and credibility. Listen as we discuss Sherhara's perspective on the specific communication challenges that Black women often encounter in the workplace, how to find the balance between showing personality and maintaining your power, the pros and cons of code switching, and her top tips and practices for developing strong public speaking skills, whether you're in corporate or being the voice for your own business.

Today's episode features Dr. Kristian Edwards, Professor of Public Health and Founder of BLK+GRN, an all-natural marketplace by all Black artisans.

With a B.A. in the History of Science and History of Medicine from Yale University, a MPH from Yale University School of Medicine, and a Doctorate in Healthcare Management and Leadership from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Kristian has dedicated her career to providing knowledge, tools and resources to highlight health disparities in the Black community and help Black men and women lead healthier lives.

After discovering a sobering stat that 75% of the products marketed to Black women are formulated with ingredients that are considered toxic and linked to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive damage, Dr. Kristian made it her mission to make all natural products easily accessible to the Black community, while also providing an online retail space for Black women artisans. In 2017 she founded, BLK+GRN, a marketplace connects Black people with natural lifestyles to high-quality, toxic-free brands that share in the mission of health, wellness and community cultivation.

Listen as we discuss how Dr. Kristian's background in public health has influenced her journey to entrepreneurship and creating BLK+GRN, supporting Black-owned brands and the power of Black consumers, and how when leading your career with purpose at the helm, money and success will naturally follow. Dr. Kristian also sheds lights on how yoga, therapy and her loving family aided her road to recovery after a devastating car accident in July of 2019.

Today's episode features Christine Michel Carter, multicultural marketer and Forbes contributor who has been deemed the "Voice of Millennial Moms." A best-selling author of two books, "Mom AF" and "Can Mommy Go To Work?" Christine has built a career grounded in advocating for working mothers and has doubled down on her mission amid a pandemic that has placed an unprecedented amount of new challenges on working moms and driven millions of women from the workforce. Listen as we discuss the pivotal event early in Christine's career that drove her to become an advocate for working moms, her predictions on the impact of the loss of millions of women in the workforce due to COVID and the future of work, the specific challenges that Black working moms are facing right now, and how she balances working from home with her children, never-ending mommy guilt and taking care of herself.

Today's episode features Dr. Akilah Cadet, Founder and CEO of Change Cadet a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging consulting firm.

Dr. Cadet embarked on a career in public health, advocating for communities of color and other underrepresented groups. However, faced with bureaucracy, not feeling valued, a never ending pattern of "isms" and barriers that Black women often face in the workplace, along with feeling limited and boxed into the ideals and expectations of the corporate workforce, Dr. Cadet made a decision to bet on herself for her happiness, her mental health, and her power to make a real impact for BIPOC and other underrepresented communities on her own terms.

Listen as we discuss Dr. Cadet's path to founding Change Cadet, what meaningful diversity and inclusion work looks like in 2021 in light of the protests of 2020, the biggest pitfalls and errors that companies and individual make when trying to educate themselves on being anti-racist, talking race and politics in the workplace, and how she maintains her personal boundaries and self care amid a year where demand for her work is at an all-time high.

Today's episode features actress, comedian, author and speaker, Kim Coles. The New York native made her TV debut on "Showtime at the Apollo" in the late 80s, went on to appear on season one of "In Living Color," before moving on to star as Synclaire James in 90s sitcom "Living Single," which centered the lives of six Black friends and young professionals living life in Brooklyn for five seasons. Starring alongside Queen Latifah, Kim Fields and Erika Alexander, the iconic show was pivotal in moving the needle on expanding representation of Black women on television. Since "Living Single," in addition to continuing her acting and comedy career, appearing in series such as "Frasier" and "One on One," hosting BET's game show "Pay It Off" and most recently Bounce TV sitcom "In The Cut," Kim has expanded her life's work to include helping others find their gifts through storytelling. As a strategic coach, speaker and author of three books, including Amazon Bestseller "Open Your G.I.F.T.S." Kim is teaching inspiring entrepreneurs to own their authentic stories to inspire others to learn, laugh and leave their own powerful legacy. Listen as we discuss how Kim found her path to acting and comedy growing up in Brooklyn, her experience breaking into the entertainment industry and conquering rejection, the legacy of "Living Single" for Black women, and how to pivot on purpose to hone all of your strengths, talents and treasures.

Today's episode is a solo one with Black Women Talk Work host, Myriha Burce. Listen as I give a quick update on what I've been up to professionally, the key takeaways that the pandemic has taught us about work and what you can expect from Black Women Talk Work in the new year. Points discussed include:

• The case for shifting from goal setting to intention setting
• The limitations that the language we use can place on our careers
• Doing what you have to do until you can do what you want to do
• The importance of also prioritizing your creative and side projects during this moment

Be sure to keep the conversation going by following us on Instagram @blackwomentalkwork and if you enjoy this week's episode leave us a review!

Today's episode features Dr. Julianna Hynes, Leadership Development Strategist, Career Coach and Author of the book based on her dissertation "Leading on Purpose: The Black Woman's Guide to Shattering the Glass Ceiling" Dr. Julianna Hynes completed her PhD in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, a path that she was inspired to pursue after being confronted with some of the harsh realities and stigmas of being a Black, single mom in the workforce after college. Dr. Hynes works with leaders at various levels throughout organizations in industries across Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, and Technology. Dr. Hynes challenges her clients to shift their thinking from auto-pilot to a more purposeful and deliberate mindset. She's successful in helping leaders be more effective in their current roles while also developing the skills that will enable their success in the future. Listen as we discuss the post college work experience that led her towards her career path, the key learnings from Dr. Hynes's research on Black female leaders during her PhD program, why a leadership position isn't needed to be a woman who leads in the workplace, and her advice for working women looking to maintain momentum in their careers amid the COVID/remote workplace.

Today's episode features Dumebi Egbuna, Co-Founder and CMO of Dyversifi, the career insight platform for diverse employees, helping you de-fog the glass ceiling before you break through it. Dumebi completed her BA in Marketing and Strategic Consulting from Emory University in 2018. Upon entering the corporate workforce she was confronted with the harsh realities that many Black women ultimately face, dealing with micro aggressions from both sides of her identity, being Black and a woman. She found herself not always feeling completely seen and her work truly valued. After one particular workplace experience that left her frustrated and looking to take action, she teamed up with her brother, Toby to launch Dyversifi with the goal of sharing minority workplace stories, good, bad and in-between, so that other minorities can learn from them and ultimately find a company and career where they can thrive and be successful. Listen as we discuss how Dumebi's educational and professional experience shaped her vision for Dyversifi, some of the recurring themes and challenges expressed in the stories shared by minorities on the platform, how companies and employees can get the most out of Dyversifi, and how Dumebi is personally balancing entrepreneurship and climbing the corporate ladder.

Today's episode features Jamé Jackson, Senior Beauty Editor at Verizon Media and Founder of internationally read fashion and beauty site, The BlondeMisfit. Jamé completed her BA in English Language and Literature, and Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature from Howard University. Her career as a beauty and fashion writer has spanned multiple publications including, FashionBombDaily, Time Inc, Yahoo Inc and Buzzfeed.

When I interviewed Jamé late last year she was the Style & Beauty Writer at Buzzfeed, but has since gone on to even greater opportunities, currently as Senior Beauty Editor at Verizon Media and creator of the BlondeMisfit Podcast, where she explores blackness and its impact on the fashion and beauty landscape.

Listen as we discuss how Jamé was able to create her own path into the beauty and fashion editorial world, despite not having the coveted, high profile internships and connections often necessary to gain entry into the industry. The seeds initially sown during her time at Howard University, Jamé details the necessity of telling stories that demonstrate the vastness of blackness in beauty and fashion, the power of ownership and creating your own platform, lessons she learned during her career journey in her early twenties, and how in the end, you'll end up exactly where you're supposed to be.