I Choose the Ladder

In this episode you meet Jacqie McWilliams, Commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). She was the first female to serve as Commissioner for the CIAA and first appointed African American Commissioner out of 100 Conferences representing NCAA Division I, II and III.

Jacqie spent nine years at the NCAA managing NCAA championships to include both the men’s and women’s Division I Basketball tournaments. She started her career in coaching and administration at Virginia Union University with career growth opportunities at Norfolk State University and Morgan State University prior to the NCAA.

Jacqie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Hampton University, a Master of Arts in Sports Management and Administration from Temple University. She is a member of the Hampton University 1988 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship team and was inducted into Hampton University’s Athletic Hall of Fame. She was inducted into Temple University’s Gallery of Success and the Sierra High School Hall of Fame.

Jacqie served as the chair of NCAA DII Management Council and was a member of the NCAA Board of Governors while in that seat.

Her passion to advance women provided her the opportunity to also serve on the board of directors for Women Leaders in College sports and the Collegiate Women’s Sports Award (CWSA). She has received numerous awards to include the Black Women in Sports Foundation Legend Award (2013), Radio One Women of Excellence (2016), Charlotte Career Mastered Award (2016), the café Mocha Salute Her Trailblazer Award in Charlotte (2017).

During our conversation we discuss:

- The importance of mentors and being prepared.

- Dealing with hurtful comments from colleagues.

- Balancing being a single mom with a demanding career.

- How her faith fuels her passion.

- The natural hair journey.

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Enjoy!

In this episode, we kick off the year with my lessons from Liberia. After being away from Liberia for over 28 years, I spent three weeks on the continent of Africa and I changed me in some unexpected ways.

I discuss:

- Why going to Liberia caused me to have anxiety.

- How living through a war impacts how I show up in my career.

- What I did to prepare for my homecoming.

- The good, the bad, and the ugly of the trip back to Liberia.

- The six lessons that I learned that I plan to apply to my career and life this year.

If you enjoyed the episode please share it with someone who you think could benefit from hearing it.

In this episode you meet Sheila Talton, CEO of Gray Matter Analytics. Sheila is an innovative global leader and Big Data strategist with over 30 years of experience in helping organizations increase value, build successful businesses within larger companies and expand into emerging markets.

Her experience in governance extends to corporate, civic and not-for-

profit sectors; currently serving on the boards of Deere & Company (NYSE: DE), Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC), OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE), Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation, The Chicago Network, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Chicago Urban League and Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY). She served for 10 years on the board of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and for five years at Acco Brand Corporation (NYSE:ABD). She was a founding member and chairperson of the Information Technology

Senior Management Forum, where she continues to serve on their advisory board. She also served on the Advisory Committee to the Board Selection Committee for Agenda, a Financial Times Company.

She was the founder and CEO of Unisource Network Services; she was a Senior Managing Partner at Ernst &Young/Cap Gemini, President of EDS’ Business Processing Information Services and the VP Globalization Officer for Cisco Systems in China and South America. She currently serves on the boards of companies focused on agriculture, finance, energy, healthcare, food services and the performing arts.

Most recently, she was designated a “Woman of Influence” by The Chicago Business Journal and an honoree in “Those Having Significant Impact on Business and Technology” by TechWeek. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

In this episode we discuss:

- What she learned in corporate that helped make her a good CEO of her company.

- Understanding the role of mentors.

- The importance of effectively framing what it is that you do.

- Selfcare.

- Why she doesn't think about mistakes.

In this episode you meet Dorothy G. Capers, Executive Vice President, Global General Counsel of National Express Group. National Express is a publicly traded transportation company on the London stock exchange as an FTSE 250 company with subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Spain, Bahrain, Morocco, Germany and North America. Dorothy oversees a diverse legal team across the globe that supports the Company in areas of corporate governance, finance, regulatory compliance, mergers & acquisitions, employment, labor, litigation, environmental, real estate and corporate contracts. Dorothy is a member of the Senior Executive Team reporting to the Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining National Express in June of 2015, Dorothy was Associate General Counsel/Chief Litigation and Bankruptcy lead for U.S. Foods, Inc., a publicly traded foodservice distribution company. Before joining U.S. Foods, Dorothy has worked extensively as a litigator in the state, county and local government as well as in the private sector for law firms and corporations. Her government experience includes her leadership as a Deputy Corporation Counsel with the City of Chicago and as a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

Dorothy has been actively involved in the community for many years as a mentor and board member in various civic, nonprofit and cultural organizations. Dorothy currently sits as a member of the board of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, Children’s Home & Aid and the Chicago State University Foundation. She serves as a mentor for the Chicago Urban League Impact Program.

Dorothy earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law, Washington DC and her B.A from the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL.

We discuss:

- The importance of accountability.

- Learning how to build bridges for others.

- How she overcame imposter syndrome.

- Balancing a full career and a business while being married and raising a family.

- Self care.

- How working out + Law = Husband.

Enjoy!!!

In this episode you meet Melissa Connelly. Melissa Connelly is a first-generation college graduate who, in spite of starting high school in a truancy program, obtained three college degrees with a 4.0 GPA. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for OneGoal, a national college access and success organization. In this episode we discuss:

- How being a first generation college graduate impacted her career choices.

- The impact that colorism has had on her career.

- Recognizing your own privilege.

- How being a wife also helps her as a CEO.

- How changing her perspective on a dichotomy that she created, selfish or selfless, set her family up for success.

- Why daily workouts have become one of her secrets to success.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we talk about the concept of managing up. Do you know the type of boss that you have? Have you adjusted how you engage with them so that you can be more effective? Do you often wonder why everything seems to be a struggle? Well then this episode was created with you in mind.

We talk about the most common types of bosses, I'm team #HandsOff, the challenges they may be facing, and what you can do to ensure that your relationship with them is productive.

Enjoy!

In this bonus episode, you learn what you need to start doing today to prepare for your year end review. I talk to J'ai Brown, the HR Business Partner for U.S. Wealth Management at BMO Harris Bank.

In this role, she serves as a trusted advisor, providing strategic insight and collaborative support to the U.S. Wealth Management business across all aspects of HR including employee relations, diversity & inclusion, recruitment & staffing, compensation, talent review, organization design, workforce planning, and learning & career development. In addition, J’ai serves as the National Chair for BMO’s Black Professionals Network U.S. Enterprise Resource Group.

We discuss topics like, recognizing your blindspots, handling tough feedback, bringing up your raise and how to advocate an internal career pivot. Most importantly, we discuss how to ensure that you do not unintentionally derail your review and tangible ways that you can measure the success of your review.

Enjoy!

In this episode you meet Manika M. Turnbull, PhD, Vice President, Community Health & Economic Impact Officer at Health Care Service Corporation.

We discuss everything from how growing up with a family member living with a mental health illness shaped her career path, to growing in an organization, having children later in life, and how you really can find joy in the work that you do, even after being with the same company for 13 years!

We're back!! In this episode I gave you an update on what career things I am thinking about at this point in the year and give you some updates on important things coming up with ICTL. Hint: The 2020 Career Summit may or may not have been announced in this episode.

A note: Please forgive the audio, my mic was being weird and I had to decide between waiting for the new mic to arrive to record or release the new episode as is. I feel like you have waited long enough for new episodes, so release it I will :-)

In this episode I give you eight ways that you can be intentional about sending the elevator down for other Black women. This topic is near and dear to my heart because it is the only way that we can progress as a community. In case you are curious, one of the ways is by not becoming the boss that you complained so much about before you became the boss... Enjoy!!