Let's call this a get-to-know-you episode. It was such a pleasure to have Dr. Froswa' Booker-Drew on to talk about her work and what she values most--relationships. A "network weaver," as she calls herself, Froswa' talks about her expertise in social capital, why she's concerned about the lack of connection among generations, how leadership is thwarted by impostor syndrome, and what she has learned about herself through it all. For Froswa', social capital is key to personal, professional, and organizational growth. Talk about relationship goals...for real.

Froswa’ runs Soulstice Consultancy, and she’s the co-founder of HERitage Giving Circle (along with Akilah Wallace, who appeared on episode 35, and Halima). Froswa' is also the co-founder of Power in Action-Dallas. She has done a TEDx Talk and has been quoted/featured in Forbes, Modern Luxury, The Huffington Post, and other media outlets. Froswa' was featured in the documentary “Friendly Captivity,” which followed seven women from Dallas to India.

Froswa's website:  https://www.drfroswabooker.com/

"Proximity+Presence: Social Capital and Polarization":  https://www.ted.com/talks/froswa_booker_drew_proximity_presence_social_capital_and_polarization 

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Why not? It's a question that Austin Levy seems to ask whenever he has an idea for a venture. Recognized as one of Gambit's 2023 "40 Under 40," the New Orleans MC (known as A.Levy) has spent over two decades as a recording artist and businessman. We spent time talking about what it means to grow as an artist, his business ventures, and what he has learned about himself through it all.

Connect with Austin:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alevyworld

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Alevyworld

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alevyworld

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/a-levy/1456275

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5oxFgwORh8tPUYcKcQBEtm

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/8033525

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

August is Black Philanthropy Month. It's a time that celebrates the legacy and traditions of giving throughout the African diaspora.

One group that has uplifted Black philanthropy is HERitage Giving Fund. Based in Dallas, HERitage has awarded over $100,000 to Black women-led nonprofit organizations that serve Black women and girls throughout North Texas.

Akilah Wallace founded HERitage with Halima and Froswa' Booker-Drew. She joined me to talk about how HERitage honors Black philanthropy through its efforts and programming. She also gives helpful suggestions for "everyday" Black folks to practice philanthropy.

Learn about Black Philanthropy Month at blackphilanthropymonth.com.

Learn about HERitage Giving Fund at heritagegivingfund.org.

Learn about Akilah Wallace at akilahswallace.com

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Announcing Edify Ventures, LLC, a brand strategy and experiences company! Find out why I started this thing, and learn more about Edify Ventures by going to https://edifyventuresnola.com.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Yes, there is such a thing as followership, so I invited someone to talk about it in a very creative way. Sharna Fabiano is the 2023 chair of the International Leadership Association’s Followership Member Community and an internationally recognized tango artist. She’s also the host of a great podcast called “Lead & Follow” (linked below). Sharna cleverly uses dance as a metaphor for the leader-follower relationship. We talked about the importance of trusting your partner, what it means to be a skilled follower, and the importance of self-awareness.

About Sharna Fabiano | sharnafabiano.com

Sharna Fabiano is an artist, coach, author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork, and host of the Lead & Follow podcast. Her long study of improvisation and partnering has made her a specialist in Argentine Tango, for which she is recognized internationally. She brings her insights from the world of social dance into the professional sphere with innovative training programs on leadership and followership for teams and organizations.

Sharna’s accomplishments in the dance world include establishing two tango schools, directing her own performing company, and founding a nonprofit organization. Throughout her dance career, she has been an outspoken advocate for learning both leading and following roles independent of gender, a practice that cultivates empathy, inclusion, and creativity.

In 2011, she collaborated with followership pioneer Ira Chaleff on a video training tool using tango to illustrate how followership directly impacts leadership in organizations. In 2017, she received a Hemera Foundation artist fellowship to explore the link between contemplative practice and art making. In 2019, she presented her work on leadership/followership dynamics at the very first Global Followership Conference, and more recently at conferences held by the Association for Change Management Professionals, the Association for Talent Development, and the International Leadership Association.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

If anybody knows anything about overcoming obstacles, P.J. Dixon does. Here's someone who has lived a chunk of his life in a wheelchair, yet that hasn't stopped him from living life to the fullest as a wheelchair athlete, international traveler, 10th degree black belt, and a martial arts and women’s self-defense instructor. So, how has P.J. done it???

In this energized interview, we go in about overcoming obstacles to strengthen personal leadership. From the power of awareness to dealing with baggage to choosing who we are in the moment to putting accountability in perspective, P.J. covers a lot of emotional ground.

Learn more about P.J. and connect with him at https://www.pjswisdom.com.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

When my family talked about getting a dog, I talked about how much work it would be for us. What I didn’t anticipate was how much having a dog would teach us about ourselves. Who knew? Wilfred "Woofred" Hester knew.

As a professional dog trainer, Wilfred works with dog parents to help them understand how their behaviors determine their dogs' responses. If things go well, the result is a host of personal leadership lessons that bring dog parents much closer to their pets.

My big three takeaways?

The thirst for instant gratification distorts vision.

Connect to life.

Know the capacity you have to fit things into your life.

Learn more about Woofred Dog Training at https://www.woofred.com.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Some of the people I admire most are servant leaders. These are folks who put others first. But they do so to help guide groups and communities in specific directions. One of my very cool higher ed marketing and communications colleagues, Jenny Petty, has such a fascination with servant leadership that she hosts a podcast called The Servant Marketer.

Jenny visited For Our Edification for a robust, energetic, nerd-out conversation about servant leadership. We find out what led to her fascination with it, how she infuses it into her marketing work, and how she practices self-care as an ardent believer in servant leadership.

Jenny also serves as the vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Montana.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

On May 27th, USA Today published the article, "How funders, school leaders can step up to combat philanthropic disparities faced by HBCUs.” The only problem is that I felt the article needed a bit more fundraising and philanthropy meat on the bone. Cue our resident fundraising and philanthropy expert--Dr. Halima Leak Francis and the Write to Bear Alms segment.

Having researched fundraising capacity-building at HBCUs, Halima talks about why these fundraising disparities in exist. She also discusses what funders value in their relationships with institutions and more.

References:

How funders, school leaders can step up to combat philanthropic disparities faced by HBCUs (USA Today): https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/27/hbcus-philanthropic-funding-continues-to-favor-white-institutions/70254668007/

Changing the Odds: Lessons Learned from the Kresge HBCU Initiative:  https://kresge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Changing-the-odds_lessons-learned.pdf 

Making Bricks without Straw: The Kresge HBCU Initiative and Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Halima's dissertation): https://www.proquest.com/openview/f7f14fea88534469d95891934e9ea01f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Halima and I continue our conversation about how people struggle with shame. This part of the conversation goes deeply into leadership. We tackle how chaos aggravates one's feeling of shame while hiding others' feelings of shame. We also go into how organizational culture plays into individuals' feelings of shame, and also how accountability can be weaponized.

So, how do we deal with feeling shame in the struggle? Halima believes that tapping into our creativity could be a great answer.

The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.