I Choose the Ladder

In this episode, Watchen discusses:

- Why you need a mentor.

- What to look for in a mentor.

- How to get a mentor.

- How to maintain a mentor/mentee relationship.

About Watchen: Watchen Nyanue is a strategic marketing and career development expert from Liberia, who resides in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently the Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for the WNBA Chicago Sky. In addition to her role with the Chicago Sky, Watchen is also the Founder of I Choose the Ladder, a company that aims to bridge the gap between ambitious Black women who want to climb the corporate ladder, and the companies who understand who important it is for their bottom line to attract and retain that group.

As an advocate for female leadership and empowerment, her journey has been filled with more than twelve years of executive experience, where she has excelled as a proven strategic leader who understands the importance of building relationships and capitalizing on the “it” factor in order to take the organization and employees to the next level as it relates to the Black female employees.

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Watchen holds a bachelor’s in communication from DePauw University. She is currently pursuing her MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Prior to working at the Sky, she has had the honor of working with a multitude of renowned companies, including Comedy Central, Hearst Digital, Yahoo!, and Johnson Publishing Company.

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Watchen has been recognized as a Chicago Scholars 35 Under 35 Honoree, a 2018 Chicago Business Journal Woman of Influence Honoree, a Biz Women 2018 Headliner, and a 2019 Black Women's Expo, Presented by BET Her, Phenomenal Woman Honoree.

In this episode you meet Tatiana Holifield-Arthur currently serves as Vice President/Head of Digital Strategy for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, an integrated sports and entertainment company comprised of the Indiana Pacers (NBA), Indiana Fever (WNBA), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA G League), Pacers Gaming (NBA 2K League), Pacers Foundation, Inc., and operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena. In this role, she leads the digital and social media marketing strategy for the entire organization. As one of the Pacers’ highest ranking women in leadership, she will also lead the team’s digital strategy for the 2021 NBA All Stars in Indianapolis.

Prior to her current role, Tatiana was Senior Director of Social Media & Digital Marketing Strategy for Viacom’s BET Networks. With a team based in New York and Los Angeles, BET launched over 100 social media campaigns that drive tune-in, attendance to events, pro-social awareness, and build brand affinity. Prior to Viacom, Tatiana spent six years working under the Comcast/NBCUniversal umbrella in various capacities. As Director of Brand Marketing for NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution, she led brand marketing, events,

social media, and affiliate relations for the network’s daytime syndicated shows, including high profile talkers Steve Harvey, Access Hollywood, Meredith Vieira, Jerry Springer, Maury, and more. Most notably, Tatiana established the Maury Facebook page which grew to over 1 million followers in a year.

She currently resides in Indianapolis with her husband and beloved dog.

In this episode, Watchen sits with Talent Acquisition Specialist Joyce Lewis, to discuss navigating the job market during a global pandemic.

Joyce Lewis recruits independent Agents for State Farm Insurance Company. She possesses more than 20 years of experience in Recruiting and Marketing, and has an expertise in Diversity

Recruiting. Before joining State Farm, Joyce was an Executive Recruiter with The Hollins Group, a retained search firm nationally recognized for its diversity practice. Prior to pursuing her passion for recruiting and guiding professionals through career transitions, she spent several

years in Brand Management with the Kellogg Company and Levi Strauss, where she managed the Eggo Waffles and Levi’s Jeans businesses. Joyce holds a MBA from Duke University and a BA from the University of Virginia.

We discuss:

- Recruiters V. Hiring Managers

- Getting past AI when applying online

- Preparing for your interview

- Negotiating in the current job market.

Enjoy!

In this episode, Watchen is joined by special guest, Williette Nyanue for a sister+sister episode. Sparked by The Last Dance, they discuss the biggest career lessons they learned from the documentary. They cover lessons that include:

- Mental toughness

- The pursuit of greatness

- Knowing your role

- Knowing when to bow out

- Betraying yourself

Enjoy!

In this episode Watchen discusses how COVID-19 has drastically changed how we go about landing a new job.

We know that this has fast tracked us to a recession/depression so the condition of the job market is going to be challenging for some people, and whether you find yourself in the job market due to layoffs, or because this pandemic has forced you to take a closer look at the company that you work for and you realize that you just aren’t aligned, or if you are being recognized for your contributions internally and have an opportunity for an internal promotion, one of the things that I am confident is going to continue to change is the way that we interview. I want to make sure that as a community we are prepared for what could be the new normal when it comes to finding a new job.

We discuss:

- Effective preparation

- Technology

- Getting in the right headspace

Enjoy!

In this episode, I discuss six resources to aide in your professional growth. As some of us may find that we have a little more time to spend on developing ourselves, this episode aims to help you do that in a way that won't break the bank.

Enjoy!

Watchen

In this episode, ICTL Podcast host Watchen Nyanue discusses how work has shifted in the wake of some unprecedented times and the lessons she's learned during this forced slowing of pace. She also covers some exciting things coming up for the ICTL community and shares an opportunity for you to be the first to test a new product that ICTL is rolling out at the end of the year, so make sure that you listen to the entire episode.

Enjoy!

In this episode you meet Arshele Stevens, CEO of Girls Inc. of Chicago. Arshele is a seasoned not-for-profit executive, a champion of and leader in urban education and a veteran expert in the traditionally male IT industry. As a girl, she was raised to challenge limitations and now as the mother of an amazingly strong, smart and bold daughter, —Stevens is deeply connected to Girls Inc.’s unparalleled commitment to empower girls to success.

In her most recent role as president of Kennedy-King College, she led the organization to reaccreditation with the Higher Learning Commission and spearheaded efforts to secure over $1.2 in development funding to supplement the college’s operating budget. During her tenure, degrees awarded increased by 14% and the number of students transferring to 4-year institutions grew 11%.

Prior to her appointment as president, Stevens served as the Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer at City Colleges. In that role Stevens oversaw the provision of technology for the City College of Chicago’s seven campuses and six satellite sites that together serve more than 115,000 students and approximately 5,500 faculty and staff. She previously served as the Chief Information Officer for Chicago Public Schools—leading approximately 300 staff who supported all things IT for nearly a half million users across over 700 unique locations. During her time there she managed the 21st century upgrade of CPS’ administrative systems creating a more collaborative educational environment and diminishing barriers between CPS families and access to technology resources.

Stevens holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. She currently serves as a board member for Friends and Family Health Center. She is married to Craig and they have two children; Tristan and Raegan.

In this episode we discuss:

- The difference between how men negotiate salary and how women negotiate.

- The two ways in which Black women quit when they feel they are being mistreated.

- The importance of being honest at work.

- What the absence of joy in your work may mean.

Enjoy!

Amy Elisa Jackson is an established expert in entertainment and lifestyle journalism, content management and social media strategy. She is currently the Editorial Director at Glassdoor.com, one of the fastest growing job sites. The Stanford University alum and proud 'LA girl' has spent nearly 15 years as an award-winning journalist on both digital and print platforms. She served as the Lifestyle Editor for Ebony Magazine, executing cover stories and exclusive interviews with Magic Johnson, Mariah Carey and Mike Tyson. More recently, Amy Elisa has brought her talents to Silicon Valley creating content for Levo League and Facebook.

Amy Elisa kicked off her career at PEOPLE Magazine where she earned a coveted LA Press Club Award. She continues to work with top brands, both in print and digital media, such as Facebook, MSN, BET, Lexus, Essence Magazine, Latina Magazine, AOL Makers, Business Insider, Fast Company and iVillage. An on-air entertainment expert, Amy has appeared on Good Morning America, E! News, Access Hollywood, and Inside Edition. Whether she is conducting a milestone interview or launching a new digital property, she handles it all with poise, passion and a unique blend of sassy sophistication.

I will admit that I was already a fan of Amy Elisa before our interview, as you will be able to tell by how fast I’m talking, ha, but after our conversation, I officially became the president of the Amy Elisa Jackson fan club.

Some of the things we discuss in our conversation are:

- Choosing a career path that is outside of the family career path.

- Black #girlbosses who inspire her.

- Dealing with the different seasons of your career.

- Leaving the dream job to struggle

- Having the life of you dreams and losing that shortly thereafter.

- Adjusting to what is v. what you thought would be.

- Why she hasn’t chosen entrepreneurship.

- Being vocal about Diversity and Inclusion at work.

I think you are really going to enjoy this conversation, so as always grab your favorite beverage, your notebook and pen, and get ready to catch these gems.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with at least one woman in your network who you think would also enjoy it.

In this episode, we explore a few of the career lessons that Kobe Bryant taught us along the way. Kobe was known for his drive to be excellent and how he pushed others to be the same.

While he was a superstar, Kobe was also an employee who worked for a company, the Lakers, and worked with a team, so the lessons that he shares can be applied regardless of where you are in your career.

I discuss:

- Mentors from afar

- Getting over yourself

- Preparing for the race you're running

- The impact of strategic thinking

And so much more.

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Enjoy!