On January 14th, 2025, Stephanie was laid off. According to Black Girls Code, Black women hold only 2% of tech roles in the U.S. She was one of them. Again.

After 15 years in tech — the last three as a Staff Content Designer at a SaaS company working in data and AI — she spent 54 days scrambling. Updating her resume. Refreshing her portfolio. Taking another course just to prove she was still relevant. Carrying the strange combination of relief, anger, terror, and sadness that nobody tells you about. Telling herself she had time. Feeling like she had none.

And then she decided to do something that scared her more than the layoff did.

She bet on herself.

In this first episode, Stephanie introduces Storycrafted: Loud on the Inside — a weekly audio diary about what betting on yourself actually looks like day to day, why an introvert who solves problems alone in closets decided to start a podcast, and what it really costs to be willing to be seen.

Source: Black Girls Code — Only 2% of tech jobs are held by Black women