“I’d rather fail on my own, than wait to get fired by someone else.” Stacy Spikes hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to be fired VIA EMAIL from the multi-million dollar company he co-founded, but he didn’t let it stop him from bouncing back smarter and stronger. Quitting was NEVER an option for him. When he found himself back in the same office he’d had previously at MoviePass, he knew he already had all the tools he needed to rebuild. Stacy shares with Jeanne how stories about Malcolm X, Muhammed Ali and Former President Obama were transformative for him, the valuable lesson he learned from one of the Ben and Jerry’s co-founders, and why he believes there is no such thing as failure.

About Stacy

CEO and co-founder of MoviePass and author of the book Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider, Stacy Spikes’ career has spanned across the entertainment industry. He started out working for Motown Records with acts like Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, Spike Lee, Queen Latifah, and Eddie Murphy. A few years later, Stacy worked at Sony Music Entertainment on movie soundtracks for Jungle Fever, Bad Boys, House Party and House Party 2. His executive roles continued in marketing at Miramax and October Films. He founded the annual Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City. After co-founding MoviePass with Hamet Wyatt, he was fired when another company bought it. He was able to take back ownership about 10 years later due to a bankruptcy filing and is now working on a comeback.

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“I am going to be who I am. Unapologetically.” Dr. Ian Smith made a conscious decision long ago that he didn’t mind being the odd man out, doing his own thing, not following tradition, even while becoming a doctor. He says his philosophy has served him well—he’s always comfortable with who he is. But he’s had to deal with uncomfortable situations. He shares with Jeanne how he bounced back from his biggest career setback, what he learned from his beloved grandfather that still rings true today, why a support system is key to survival, how cutting across the grain feeds your passions, how being an identical twin shaped his life, and why your job title isn’t your identity.

About Dr. Ian:

Dr. Ian Smith is the author of the 21 books including #1 New York Times bestsellers, Shred: The Revolutionary Diet, and Super Shred: The Big Results Diet, and Blast the Sugar Out. His literary career expands into the mystery field, with a series featuring Chicago-based private investigator Ashe Cayne. Dr. Smith served two terms on President Obama’s prestigious President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. He's the former medical contributor and co-host of the nationally syndicated television show The Rachael Ray Show, along with former co-host of the Emmy award winning syndicated daytime talk show, The Doctors. He also served as the medical/diet expert for six seasons on VH1’s highly rated Celebrity Fit Club, and is the creator and founder of the national health initiatives The 50 Million Pound Challenge and The Makeover Mile. Dr. Smith is the former medical correspondent for NBC News network and for NewsChannel 4 in New York, where he filed reports for NBC Nightly News and The Today Show as well as WNBC’s various news broadcasts. He has appeared extensively on various broadcasts including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, Dr. Oz, Steve Harvey Show, The Talk, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360, CNN, MSNBC and many more. Dr. Smith is a Harvard and Columbia University graduate. He attended Dartmouth Medical School and completed his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Instagram: @doctoriansmith
Facebook: Dr. Ian Smith
Twitter: @DrIanSmith
Website: doctoriansmith.com

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Kim Lewis credits her community for helping her get over her doubts about the purpose of her natural hair care line, and says they helped her realize all the good she was really doing. Kim believes how you feel about your hair can give you the confidence you need to go after your dreams. Kim shares with Jeanne all her struggles with hair care from a young age, why she turned down the sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank, the kismet of finding the perfect location for her business, and at the end of the day how the relationships with our closest family and friends can make or break our success.

About Kim:

She’s the creator of CurlMix, a Chicago-based brand of hair products for curly hair. Their mission is to serve Black women and create clean, natural hair products that are so easy and effective to use. Kim's journey into entrepreneurship began after her husband Tim's amazing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" win, where he put his knowledge of random facts to good use by winning $100,000.00. After her first failed startup of a niche social network, Kim launched CurlMix in 2015, which started as a Do-It- Yourself box for curly hair. After two years of stagnation, Kim sought advisors and pivoted CurlMix in January 2018. She turned their best- selling boxes into a complete hair-care line. After turning down a six-figure deal on Shark Tank in 2019, CurlMix's sales catapulted to $6 million in annual revenue. In 2020, the Lewises landed on the Forbes' "30 under 30" list, and Kim was included in Crain's Chicago Business' "20 in Their 20s" list. After landing on Oprah's Favorite Things, CurlMix was listed at #93 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing, privately-owned companies in America.

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube: @curlmix | Instagram: @kimlewisceo


Kimlewisceo.com



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As co-host of the Steve Harvey Morning Show for 23 years, Shirley Strawberry firmly believes that relatability and sharing parts of herself are key factors to her success; if her audience can’t relate to her, then they won’t listen. She loved Chicago broadcasting from a very young age and always knew she wanted to be on the radio. Despite knowing it would be an uphill battle,, she never stopped pushing herself even though thoughts of quitting kept popping up. She shares with Jeanne what kept her going, her best trick for calming her nerves, and why we should not take ourselves so seriously.


About Shirley:

Shirley's career in radio began in the mid-80s at Chicago’s WGCI-FM, where she was co-host of The Doug Banks Show. From 2000 to 2005, Shirley was the co-host of Harvey’s popular LA-based morning show which became the #1 morning show in Los Angeles. In 2005, months after their final broadcast in L.A., The Steve Harvey show went syndicated with Premiere Networks, and Shirley joined the show as co-host. Heard on more than 100 radio stations by nearly seven million weekly listeners, it’s the number-one syndicated morning show in America. Shirley has been recognized as one of the “Most Influential Women in Radio,”and she was honored with the Alliance for Women in Media’s annual Gracie Award in the National Radio Co-Host category in 2018. She also won an NAACP award for first book, The Strawberry Letter: Real Talk, Real Advice, Because Bitterness Isn't Sexy in 2011, based on the popular Strawberry Letter segment on The Steve Harvey Morning Show.

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Matt Pais says he was lucky enough to turn his passion for pop culture into his dream job. As the movie critic and music editor at the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye for 11 years, he had his finger on the pulse of the entertainment world. He then decided he’d had enough and left. But he soon found his calling as an author, writing three books, including his latest -Talk ‘90s with Me. Matt shares with Jeanne how he knew it was time to leave RedEye; why he came to love being an interviewer; why he’s not afraid to share his opinions; what he credits for his success; how he approaches each new project and where his ideas come from; and why he says, “the quality of the answers is often very much proportional to the quality of the questions.”
 
About Matt

Matt Pais spent 11 years as the movie critic and music editor for the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, reviewing more than 2,000 movies and interviewing Will Ferrell, Brie Larson, LeBron James, Margot Robbie, Harrison Ford and hundreds more celebrities. His latest book is “Talk ‘90s with Me: 23 Unpredictable Conversations with Stars of an Unforgettable Decade.” In 2020, he published "Zack Morris Lied 329 Times! Reassessing every ridiculous episode of 'Saved by the Bell' ... with stats," promoting the book on Mark-Paul Gosselaar's podcast "Zack to the Future" and much more. He released his debut collection of fiction, "This Won't Take Long: 100 Very Short Stories of Dangerous Relationships, Impaired Presidents, Frustrating Jobs and More," in 2019. He lives in Chicago with his wife and sons.

Twitter: @mattpais
Instagram: @mattpais
TikTok: @mattpais
Website: mattpais.com

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At one point Tracy Clark had a three-inch thick file of rejection notices. But she never gave up on her dream of being a mystery writer. She now has one crime series under her belt – about P.I. Cass Raines - and is starting a second about Chicago P.D. Homicide Detective Harriet Foster; the first book in the series - Hide - will be released January 1, 2023. She credits much of her success to stubbornness and spite. In her second conversation with Jeanne (our first repeat guest!), Tracy shares with her the reasons those two feelings propel her forward; how good it felt when she got her revenge; why she loves mess and all the layers of life a character has to deal with; how she views constructive criticism, and how her part of her motivation for writing her books stemmed from the Huggy Bear character in the ‘70s TV show “Starsky and Hutch.”

About Tracy:

Tracy Clark is the two-time Sue Grafton Memorial Award-winning author of the highly acclaimed Chicago Mystery Series featuring ex-homicide cop turned PI Cassandra Raines. She received Anthony Award and Lefty Award nominations for her series debut, Broken Places, which was also shortlisted for the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List, named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Books of the Year. She works as an editor in the newspaper industry in Chicago and is a board member-at-large of Sisters in Crime, Chicagoland, a member of International Thriller Writers, and a Mystery Writers of America Midwest board member.

Twitter: @tracypc6161
Facebook: @tracyclarkbooks
Website: https://tracyclarkbooks.com/

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“I think if I’m really good at my job, I’ll make another me.” Shaka Rawls is the beloved principal of LEO Catholic High School in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood in Chicago. His goal is to give his 210 Black and Brown all-male students the foundation to succeed in what he calls a “cold, cold world.” He shares all of himself with his boys: tears, successes, fears, and failures. He wants them to see it all; to show them that they don’t have to be afraid to be who they are. He talks with Jeanne about why he made sacrifices to come to Leo; what his favorite question is for his students; how he shows them their voice matters, how he’s turned traditional education on its ear at Leo, and why he trades in the most expensive commerce there is – love.

About Shaka:

Shaka Rawls, a 1993 Leo High School graduate, has been Leo’s principal since 2016. During that time the school has experienced a 50-percent enrollment increase, as well as significant upgrades to its curriculum, technology and physical plant. Mr. Rawls holds a bachelor’s degree from Aurora University, where he played football and wrestled, and a master’s from the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he is completing a doctorate in educational policy. Mr. Rawls is regarded as a national leader in urban education and is a sought-after speaker on issues related to the topic. He has received a Chicagoan of the Year award from Chicago Magazine, a Defender Man of Excellence award from Chicago Defender Media and the Helen Dumas Excellence in Education award from the Faith Community of St. Sabina. A member of the Leo High School Hall of Fame, he was the Leo Alumni Association’s Man of the Year in 2020. Mr. Rawls and his wife, Rukiya Byrd Rawls, have a teenage daughter, Samira.

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T.J. Harvey knows exactly who she is and she’s not afraid to let people know it. She’s spent her whole career working in the pharmaceutical industry and has learned how to stay true to herself amidst all the corporate demands and deadlines. She shares with Jeanne why how we do things matter; how to be a disruptor for good in your business; why she’s so unapologetic about who she is; what failing forward means; the three reasons you need your own “Board of Directors” for your career; and why you should never be silenced.

About TJ:



T.J. was recently named Vice President, Sales Area Commercial Lead, at Novo Nordisk Inc. With more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, TJ brings extensive breadth and depth of experience in sales leadership managing a diverse mix of products and business models across the primary care, specialty, hospital and vaccines markets. Previously, she was the AVP, US Vaccine Sales and Customer Engagement Organization at Merck Pharmaceutical Company. She held numerous other positions across the organization including Customer Team Leader, Sales Strategic Planning, Director of Commercial Operations, Director of US Learning and Development, Executive Director of Global Human Health (GHH) Compliance, Executive Director of GHH Learning and Development, and Chief Learning Officer. Under her watch as CLO, TJ’s organization won multiple awards including Learning in Practice, Excellence in Partnership Award, International EHS Innovation Award and numerous Brandon Hall Excellence awards, to name a few. T.J. is a former alumna of the Women’s Leadership Program, past recipient of the prestigious Presidents Award, Global Chair of the League of Employees of African Descent (LEAD),  Executive Sponsor for the PA Rainbow Alliance EBRG and is the second recipient of the Merck Women’s Leadership Excellence Award.


LinkedIn: Tivonnia Harvey

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ABC 7 Chicago’s Val Warner’s career choice was never in doubt. She knew from a young age that she would be a news anchor - despite her mama telling her she needed a back-up plan. Fast forward to today and her belief in herself has paid off in so many ways: Oprah’s replacement; ten years of ‘Windy City Live;’ four Emmy awards; beloved co-host, popular news anchor. Val shares with Jeanne what simple advice she has always followed; why her gut and heart are her biggest allies; what she does when self-doubt creeps in; how she’s learned to get out of her own way; and what you should never let anybody tell you.

About Val:

Val Warner co-hosts ABC 7’s “Windy City Weekend, a weekly spin-off of “Windy City LIVE,” which ran for a decade. She also anchors the 7 a.m. weekday show on the station’s digital network. Her talent as a host and interviewer contributed to ABC 7 winning three prestigious Chicago Emmy Awards for special programming she did on bullying, breast cancer and stopping violence in Chicago. She won another Emmy for her role in ABC 7's New Year's special, COUNTDOWN CHICAGO. She volunteers with numerous charitable organizations around Chicago, including The Make-A-Wish Foundation and Chicago Bulls Charities. She’s married and has two children.

Instagram: @valwarnertv

Facebook: @Val Warner

Twitter: @valwarnertv

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“You can’t wait for life to get fair” is one of Ryan Chiaverini’s favorite mantras. The Emmy award-winning co-host of ABC 7’s “Windy City Weekend”, formerly “Windy City Live,” had a difficult childhood but he never let it slow him down. He has channeled his struggles into a successful career as a TV host, sportscaster, musician, and actor. And he shows no signs of stopping. He shares with Jeanne what he learned about leadership while co-hosting a TV show for 10 years; how perspective is the key to surviving whatever life throws at you; what three words help him stay positive; why showing up is so important in all aspects of your life; and why sometimes your best move is no move at all.

About Ryan:

Ryan Chiaverini is co-host of ABC 7 Chicago’s weekly talk and entertainment show, “Windy City Weekend,” and Chicago Bears reporter for the station’s daily newscasts. For more than a decade, he hosted the Emmy award-winning daily talk show “Windy City Live” with Val Warner. Prior to “WLC,” he was the weekend sports anchor for ABC 7. He is also a singer and guitarist, producing two singles: “This is Country” in honor of his late mother, and “Chicago.” Ryan has acted in several TV and cable shows including Showtime’s “Shameless,” ABC’s “General Hospital,” and Lifetime’s “Switched Before Birth.” He’s also partnered with several charity organizations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Cancer Society.

Facebook: @Ryan Chiaverini
Instagram: @ryanchiaverini
Twitter: @RyanChiaverini
Website: https://www.ryanchiaverinitvcom.com/

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