FIERCE Mothers

Zim Ugochukwu is the founder & former CEO of Travel Noire. Travel Noire was founded with one lofty goal in mind: to make international travel more inclusive and representative of explorers of color—in turn, inspiring them to frequently explore new destinations. Travel Noire was named one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World by Fast Company.

In 2017, Travel Noire was acquired by Blavity. At the time of sale, the company reached over 2MM travelers a month.

Prior to Travel Noire, at 19 years old, Zim cloned a gene with similarities to a genetic disorder and became the youngest precinct judge for the state of North Carolina. Her love for solving tough problems and her knack for building communities on and offline has led her to critical acclaim.

In addition, Zim ran a national anti-tobacco campaign, helped open a Civil Rights Museum & traveled through 90% of Asia.

This Forbes 30 under 30 awardee has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, CBS This Morning, ELLE, The Nation, Essence, and NPR, among others, and was recognized by Glamour Magazine as one of 25 Young Women Changing the World.

She was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's Super 100 Soul leaders. She has lived in cities around the world, including New Delhi, Dharamshala, and San Francisco.

In this episode, we discuss Zim's incredible journey and sense of adventure. We discuss what is next for Zim, and her desire to live a life submitted to the Will of God

Zim lists the following as her favorite two books:

1. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

2. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

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October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Igbo Initiative is so proud to talk to Mrs. Nwabukwu.

Ify Anne Nwabukwu is the President and Founder of the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA). Mrs. Nwabukwu obtained a bachelor's degree in nursing from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and a degree in hospital administration at Strayer University.

The African Women's Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA) was birthed and launched on September 11, 2004, as a result of her experience dealing with breast cancer from two women who she loved and had made a great impact in her life. The first was her mother and second was her best friend. She created the AWCAA in response to the lack of culturally competent services for African-born women and the high rate of breast cancer mortality in this group.

Under her leadership, this organization has trained lay health workers and professionals, and successfully conducted outreach and navigation services. She remains active in the community, mentoring youth and volunteering in civic and health-based organizations. She is a 2012 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader, and a member of the Maryland Nurses Association and African community cultural organizations.

In this episode, Mrs. Nwabukwu helps us understand that breast cancer does not discriminate. It has no restrictions on certain educational levels, age boundaries, nationality, ethnicity, religion, financial status or gender. Statistics reveal that 1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Mrs. Nwabukwu discussed her battle with breast cancer and stresses the importance of an early diagnosis. She reassures us that a breast cancer diagnosis is not the fault of the patient and it is not something to be ashamed of.

Work continues through research, education and cutting-edge science to find a cure for breast cancer. But until then, we are all in this battle together racing against time to save more lives.

Mrs. Nwabukwu is playing her part through the AWCAA, working tirelessly with African women to reduce the mortality rate to breast cancer.

Mrs. Nwabukwu can be reached as follows:

Website: http://www.awcaa.org

Email: [email protected]

Address: 8955 Edmonston Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20770

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In this episode, I chat with Chinelo Chidozie, who is the co-founder of Bolden USA.

Chinelo and I went to Business School together a number of years ago, but we only recently re-connected through a mutual friend.

Chinelo and her sister-in-law Ndidi founded the company Bolden to embolden black women to confidently embrace their natural beauty. Through expertly-crafted, responsibly-sourced, and tailor-made beauty experiences, the company promises to deliver on their promise to - make beauty products that really work well for women of color.

Bolden products are now available in 200 Select Target stores across the country, and on Amazon.

I picked up so many nuggets from this interview. Chinelo talks about the importance of integrity and really understanding who your customer is.

She tells me that her fear of regret exceeds her fear of failure, which provides the incentive to try new things.

We determine what success looks like and how if it needs to be defined for each individual.

Quitting is not an option for Chinelo, rather figuring out why something is not working and going through the process to fix it.

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My guest on today's thoroughly enjoyable episode is Maureen Umeh. Maureen Umeh is an anchor and reporter for FOX 5 Morning. Maureen's career on TV started a number of years ago, landing a full-time reporting job at WCIA-TV right after she graduated from college. She has been honored with several awards for her work. They include an Emmy for Best Investigative Series and Best Newscast. She has also been honored by many other organizations, including the South Carolina Television and Arts Association; the Illinois Broadcaster's Association and the NAACP. Maureen has served as the Chairwoman for the Upstate Leadership Council of the American Cancer Society and also worked with nonprofit organizations including Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Mathew House, an agency for disadvantaged youth. She also serves on the board of the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association and mentions their upcoming gala in the Washington D.C. metro area on Saturday, October 26th. In spite of these major accomplishments, she says that her daughter is undoubtedly her biggest accomplishment. I found Maureen to be humble, down to earth and so warm. In today's episode, we discuss her journey and advice she would give to anyone wishing to follow a similar path. Maureen discusses the fact that no knowledge is lost knowledge.

Maureen can be reached using the following platforms:

• Instagram: Maureen_Umeh
• Twitter: Maureenumehfox5
• Email: [email protected]

Maureen references a recent book that she read, an autobiography on Strom Thurmond.

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This week I chat with the vivacious Ekene. Ekene Onu is the founder of Refresh with Ekene, a coaching and consulting company. She is a certified professional and emotional intelligence coach, who is also certified in Organizational and change leadership. Ekene started her working career as a pharmacist and practiced for close to two decades prior to starting Refresh with Ekene. She started her company in response to the need she saw with the professional and high achieving women who came to her pharmacy every day with prescriptions for high blood pressure, insomnia, depression and other challenges. She also felt a need to shift in her own life. She went through her own personal journey and transformed her career path, health state and way of living. Now she travels the country teaching, training, speaking and creating amazing beautiful experiences for women to get refreshed. She is the author of four books, two of which are fiction. I just finished reading her second fiction book "Aristocrat Wives" and I could not put it down. It was amazing. Ekene recently launched a new podcast called "Iconic Womanhood with Ekene." She launched the podcast to learn wisdom from fabulous women across the diaspora. In this episode, we discuss her tenacity, which clearly she inherited from her mother, as you will hear when you listen. We discuss her journey to transformation and how she knows she is living her life's purpose and passion.

Ekene has authored the following books:

1. Can I be real? Notes on life, love and faith.

2. The Mrs. Club

3. Aristocrat Wives

4. Thrive - The 28 Day Self Care Journal for Women

You can access her podcast here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Click here to find out more about her upcoming retreat

You can follow Ekene on the following platforms:

Instagram - @refreshwithekene

Twitter - @EkeneOnline

Facebook - RefreshwithEkene

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Today I sit down with Ngozi Enyia Ibe. I met Ngozi a few years ago through a friend of mine and I knew right away that she is a "girls' girl". The Urban Dictionary defines a "girls' girl" as "A girl who has respect for female etiquette. A girl who is not petty and strives to be ethical and decent in her dealings with her female friends." We wanted to do something a little different in this episode. Ngozi is a smart accomplished Project Manager and proud Igbo girl, but we wanted to focus on something a little different, that we knew that the audience would relate to – female friendships. I could think of no one better to talk about this subject with. Ngozi recognizes the need for human connection and debunks the theory that women cannot form deep connections. In this episode we discuss Ngozi's quest to learn Igbo. We also discuss "girl code", reveal Ngozi's celebrity girl crush, and the best way to complete the sentence "Life is short".

Ngozi recommends the book "We are going to need more wine" by Gabrielle Union.

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Today I speak to the brave and daring Ugo Arinzeh.

Ugo has experienced a lot of different things, which made for an amazing and interesting discussion.

After Business School, where she specialized in Finance, Ugo worked as a banker for a number of years. She started her own business as an interior decorator in DC. Eight years ago, she packed up and made the bold move of relocating to London, where she has become something of a London Real Estate Expert.

We talk about her move, things to understand about real estate and tips for anyone interested in the property market.

Ugo encourages us to not define ourselves by fitting into pre-defined boxes.

At the end I have a little fun by asking Ugo to practice her Igbo, something she was not expecting but she was a trooper.

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Ugo

You can access Ugo's real estate tips and so much more on the following platforms:

- You Tube - Ugo Arinzeh

- Facebook - Ugo Arinzeh

- Instagram - @OnyxLondonLife

- Twitter - @OnyxLondonLife

- Website - onyxpropertyconsultants.com

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In this episode I had so much fun chatting to Ifunanya Nwanonyiri.

Raised in the U.S, Ifunanya did not grow up speaking Igbo but had a curiosity to learn about the culture, and was super conscious of where she is from.

Ifunanya is a student studying for her doctorate in Physical Therapy.

In spite of her busy schedule, she recently started a Podcast called "Oji Abiala Igbo Podcast". In Igbo "Oji Abiala" means The kola nut is here.

The podcast is a play on several things. In her words the kola nut can only be blessed in Igbo so the podcast is a call to action to celebrate and keep the Igbo culture alive. So you can already tell Ifunanya is an inspiring young woman after my own heart, I just knew we would get along.

The podcast documents her journey in learning the language and she invites her listeners to learn along with her.

You can listen to the Igbo Podcast on

1. Apple Podcasts

2. Spotify

3. Soundcloud

4. Anchor

We discuss the best way to learn the language and the reason we should not use the excuse that there are so many dialects in the Igbo language, as an excuse not to learn.

We also have fun testing out our skills and we exchange pleasantries in Igbo.

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In today's episode we have an incredible discussion with Dr. Adaeze Enekwechi, former White House Associate Director of Health Programs.

Adaeze was born in New Jersey and went to elementary School in Nigeria.

Adaeze has experienced a highly successful career in a relatively short time. She started her career at the Congressional Budget Office, where she analyzed the federal budget and wrote about setting priorities for our future. A bit over a decade later, she went on to lead health programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Obama, and worked across the entire federal health landscape.

Today she is the President of Impaq International and its subsidiaries. In addition she is a research associate professor at a University in Washington D.C.

In today's discussion we cover a number of valuable nuggets. Adaeze talks about the importance of a sponsor. She talks about not allowing fear to dictate the direction that you take, and provides interesting insight about not being grateful in the workplace. Adaeze encourages us to figure out what makes us happy and focus on that. She believes that failure is a necessary part of success and speaks about going for it.

Adaeze recommends the following books:

1. Daring Greatly - Brene Brown

2. The Gifts of Imperfection - Brene Brown

3. Year of Yes - Shonda Rhimes

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Today I chat to the incredibly accomplished Linda Nkechinyelu Oramasionwu-Leverette. Linda is the Founder and CEO of Kupanda Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on investing in Pan African companies across all sectors. She's invested in some really cool companies, including Mavin Records, Don Jazzy's record label. Linda is VERY passionate about development on the continent, and is also very down to earth despite her huge success. Linda grew up in Manitoba Canada, but was firmly grounded in Igbo culture. She joined the Umunna Igbo Association as a child and learned to celebrate the culture, even though she grew up outside Nigeria. As a child of first generation immigrants, Linda learned from her parents a level of entrepreneurship and resilience that served her very well. Linda moved to the U.S a decade ago and fell in love with the "Audacity of the American Dream." Every day is different for Linda and in her words there is "No Dulling" We talk about the importance of following good people and how people matter in business and in life. Listen to this episode to discover what Linda means, when she says to be audacious and to follow your intellectual curiosity.

Linda recommends the following books:

1. Americanah - Chimamanda Adichie

2. Speak no evil - Uzodinma Iweala

3. David and Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell

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