THE ABILITY PROJECT

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this month’s episode, we interviewed Celena Evans, an enterprising business professional with exceptional repertoire of experiences across many industries. Celena Evans is the founder and president of Meliora Consulting. She is a strategic senior-level professional with over 20 years’ experience across several industries in business management, market strategy, product management and development, and project management roles with multi-billion-dollar corporations. She is known for developing innovative solutions that successfully meet both customer and company needs, while bridging strategy and execution to consistently deliver exceptional results. A licensed REALTOR in Georgia and a Project Management Professional (PMP, she is highly skilled at leveraging internal and external relationships and leading through change. During her corporate tenure she realized that she has tremendous passion for working in a consultative manner with a variety of businesses to solve unique problems, optimize processes, and bring new opportunities to fruition.

Celena is also passionate about community, mentoring, talent development, and diversity. She is an avid supporter of organizations that focus on women, minorities, children, and education. She is a member of the board of trustees for Literacy Action, the oldest and largest adult education program in the Southeast. She served on the Emory University Executive Women of Goizueta alumnae board from 2008 to 2013 and held positions of President, as well as Chair of the Advisory Board. She served as a board member of Economic Empowerment Initiative from 2004-2010. She has mentored many young women through programs offered by Emory University, Spelman College, Pathbuilders, and several non-profit organizations. In recognition of her leadership in business and commitment to the community, Celena was named to the 2009 “Top 40 under 40” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Ms. Evans holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an M.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. She is a 2009 graduate of the Pathbuilders Achieva program for high-performing people. She is also Pragmatic Marketing Certified, and a Toastmasters Competent Communicator.

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this month’s episode, we interviewed Dr. Vincent Parry, an imminent project management professional and educator. Dr. Parry is an astute fellow Santaclausian with a knack for precision, learning and research. His unique stories are relatable to many professional diasporas in their search for professional success and an ending desire to making a difference within their communities.

Dr. Parry is an Associate Professor at DeVry University and holds a green belt certificate in Lean Six Sigma. His work in Information Technology has helped to transform best practices at Oklahoma State Department of Health and Koch Industries, among others.

We started the Podcast Series with the intension to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these worrying COVID-19 times as they seek their new careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of their college campuses. We have invited employers and HR-related professionals from various industries to share experiences, guidance, information, instruction, and recommendations for graduates. Our hope is for new and recent graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this special international women’s month episode, we interviewed Christine Chasse, a lawyer, a master's prepared registered nurse, and a plain-speaking advocate for fair-mindedness. Her combined professional experiences are intertwined with cardiac nursing, hospital education, and nursing leadership for a career in healthcare law.

Ms. Chasse is an Associate Attorney for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, a U.S. general practice law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California with offices in 52 cities and 29 states and Washington, DC. She focuses her practice on representing healthcare institutions such as skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities regarding claims of professional liability, healthcare or medical malpractice liability, premises liability, and wrongful death. Ms. Chasse also represents healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and chiropractors. Her riveting post on LinkedIn about her experiences with a misogynist went viral, trending with over a million views from across professional networking platforms.

This Podcast Series is a special one, with the intention to inform the people of Georgia about who they need to know and vote for in the upcoming Gubernatorial elections to held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

For this episode, we interview Dr. Kandiss Taylor, a South Georgia native and seasoned educator. For more than 19 years as a public servant, Dr. Taylor has served as a public school system teacher, school counselor, testing coordinator, student services coordinator, and homeless liaison. She is passionate about the plight of Georgia’s working class and willing to boost small business growth and the overall economy. Her passion runs deep on many causes, including the state of mental health, education, and election integrity. 

Dr. Taylor is running to give Georgia a true representative, non-establishment alternative leadership based on conservative principles for all Georgians.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, we interviewed our first guest with roots from southeast Asia.  Dr. Irene Molina is a registered nurse with 26 years of combined experiences in critical care nursing, nursing administration, nursing education, research, and public health practice experience.  Her clinical background allows her to practice critical thinking, decision making, and organizational skills to work efficiently under extreme pressure. Dr. Molina has taught as an adjunct faculty for nursing undergraduate and graduate programs for colleges. She has a wealth of practical experiences in health program evaluation, grant reviews, public health advocacy, and legislative policy support.  Dr. Molina had the opportunity to provide technical assistance support to several community-based organizations serving the minority communities in Maryland. As a public health researcher, her special interests included dissemination and translation research, and health disparities research.

Dr. Molina is a staunch advocate of health disparities improvement and minority health.  As a member of American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), American Association of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and Maryland Association of Healthcare Executives (MACHE), she utilizes social media platforms to advance her advocacy works. Her vision is to improve health disparities by addressing the impacts of social determinants of health to enhance health outcomes, and health care utilization.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, we interview Akua Gyabaah, a strategic content and process management guru who is focused on improving efficiencies within organizations. Ms. Gyabaah is a data-driven, collaborative and results-oriented professional with over 20 years of experience with data collection, integrity, and management, grant writing, training and technical assistance and evaluation procedures as related to diverse organizations, requirements, resources, and objectives. She brings organizational and project management expertise around proposal development, financial and resource management, project design and implementation, change management, and continuous improvement. As a trainer, Ms. Gyabaah connects seamlessly with adult learners from variety of backgrounds and perspectives, as well as mentor team members to connect them with personal and professional development resources.  Additionally, she exhibits excellent spoken, written, organizational, presentation and communication skills.  All in all, Ms. Gyabaah has developed a strong portfolio of expertise in project and data management, training and technical assistance, information and technology transfer, quality assurance management, and business development.  She prides herself on her ability to serve as a valuable resource at both the organizational- and project-levels.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, we interview a multifaceted lady professional from the “Great White North” with a resume to die for. Ms. De-Heer is a policy analyst for the Public Health Agency of Canada (Agence de la santé publique du Canada), serving as a Subject Matter Expert on Black Canadians (MHBC) at the Intersectoral Partnerships and Initiatives, Social Determinants of Health Division. Prior to that, she was a Clinical Health Analyst for University Health Network, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre which was named as one of the world’s top 10 hospitals list by Newsweek. Ms. De-Heer is the Anti-Racism Ambassador for Experiences Canada (formerly SEVEC), a nominee for 2021 YMCA Young Woman Excellence Award, and the founder of Power of Love Foundation Canada, an emerging grassroots organization that aims to improve the overall well-being of Ghanaians residing in Canada.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, we interview Dr. Coleen James, a highly qualified educator with over fifteen years of teaching experience.  Dr. James is a detail-oriented professional with extensive management experience.  She applies a variety of teaching styles and adapt instruction to students with diverse learning styles.  With a unique ability to excel in a demanding, outcome-oriented, and dynamic work environment, Dr. James is also skilled in many disciplines such as real estate, management, marketing, and sales.  She is a successful small business owner of Tiguan Trucking, LLC., a Certified Residential Appraiser and a Real Estate Agent.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, our guest is David Wilson, an experienced Ghanaian talent manager and HR consultant with an established history of working in various countries in the West Africa region including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana across many industries. He currently is the Head of HR, West Africa for Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) group, a Swiss multinational company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland which provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services. It has more than 89,000 employees and operates over 2,600 offices and laboratories worldwide. It ranked on Forbes Global 2000 in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Davis is experienced in Industrial relations, negotiations, talent development, recruitment, compensation management and others. With an MBA (Human Resource Management) and a Psychology degree with Industrial and Organizational Psychology emphasis, David has multi-functional responsibilities as ex-Board Member and Trustee for a youth-driven, Africa-focused volunteering and grant-making charity. He is also a personal Finance coach and a support foster caregiver for young people with Autism for dating back to 2008.

The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, our guest is an experiential marketer, brand storyteller, marketing consultant in luxury, fashion, and retail and a professional coach. She is the CEO and Founder of Image Architects & Management, a global marketing, fashion, and professional coaching firm. She consults and coaches retail and fashion brands, corporations, universities, career professionals, and professional athletes.

Her business knowledge and industry experiences yield from one of the most famous luxury organizations in the world, Neiman Marcus. She enjoyed an exciting and rewarding career as a luxury marketing/business consultant, theory retail clothing buyer where she managed a $1.5 million dollar business, the third largest in the company out of 41 stores in swimsuit and cashmere buyer and million dollar sales person ranking in the top 10% of associates in the company. She worked with a lot of studios and movie production companies to assist wardrobe consultants with character dressing for film and television.