The Forte' Effect

What does it take to raise two Division I quarterbacks while building a career, sustaining a marriage, and creating a lasting family legacy?

On this episode of The Forté Effect, Forté welcomes Quiwintre Frye, Executive Director of STRIVE Birmingham and mother of Ashton Frye of Grambling State University and Aaron Frye of Alabama State University.

From Friday night lights to HBCU football Saturdays, Quiwintre shares the sacrifices that rarely make the highlight reels: countless hours of travel, home-cooked meals, family teamwork, financial commitments, and the discipline required to help young athletes succeed beyond the field.

But this conversation is about much more than football.

Quiwintre reflects on her professional reinvention, from corporate manufacturing and education to nonprofit leadership and workforce development. She shares how her earliest experiences—including a hospital position earning $7.10 an hour—helped prepare her to create opportunities for others.

She also opens up about motherhood, marriage, boundaries, finding her voice, and why she considers her sons' transition into adulthood her personal championship.

“For me, this is my championship. I just won.”

Recorded in summer 2026, this conversation explores what it truly means to build a legacy rooted in education, accountability, service, and love.

The Forté Effect — Where technology, creativity, and the future of work meet.

Connect: https://linktr.ee/instructorforte

Guest inquiries: [email protected]

“If you’ve got chaos, AI can scale chaos. But if you’ve got clarity, AI can scale clarity.”

David A. Craig joins The Forté Effect for a powerful conversation about AI, leadership, decision intelligence, project management, reinvention, faith, and the future of work.

As founder of ProdigyIQ and an architect of intelligent systems, David explains why simply adding AI won't fix an organization—and how technology can magnify what's already there.

He also gets personal about his Alabama roots, military service, career journey, entrepreneurship, the sacrifices behind success, and learning to pivot. David didn't become an engineer until age 37—a reminder that reinvention doesn't have an expiration date.

If you're navigating AI, career change, leadership, or simply wondering how to stay relevant as work changes, this conversation is for you.

The Forté Effect — Where technology, creativity and the future of work meet.

What happens when the thing that has always defined you suddenly stops working?

Afftene Taylor grew up in Bessemer, Alabama, where academic excellence was expected and college was always part of the plan. As valedictorian, she arrived at Duke University confident in her abilities—only to discover she was surrounded by students who had been the smartest in their classrooms too.

In this episode of The Forté Effect, Afftene shares her journey through identity, self-doubt, resilience, technology, accessibility, and innovation. She opens up about navigating moments when grades, titles, and achievements no longer provided the answers, and how those experiences helped shape a career building products used by millions.

Host Instructor Forté and Afftene discuss:

• Growing up in Bessemer, Alabama
• The impact of GEAR UP and educational opportunity
• The culture shock of arriving at Duke University
• Self-worth beyond grades and accomplishments
• Breaking into technology
• AI, coding, and the future of work
• Why access and exposure often matter as much as talent
• Lessons for students, professionals, and career changers

This conversation is a powerful reminder that success is not about being the smartest person in the room—it's about continuing to grow when you're no longer the only one.

The Forté Effect: Where technology, creativity, and the future of work meet.

#TheForteEffect #AffteneTaylor #DukeUniversity #WomenInTech #FutureOfWork #CareerDevelopment #Leadership #Accessibility #Technology #BessemerAL

Former White House National Security Council Human Capital Director and Army veteran Jodie Minor joins Forté for a powerful conversation about leadership, war, purpose, reinvention, and returning home to rural Alabama.

From Iraq combat zones to Capitol Hill and the White House, Jody shares the moments that changed his life — including the experience that made him walk away from power and return home to serve his community.

This episode explores:
• Military leadership and emotional intelligence
• Combat, grief, and purpose
• Rural healthcare and community rebuilding
• AI, workforce disruption, and the future of work
• Education, teachers, and small-town values
• Leadership without titles

A deeply human conversation about service, sacrifice, and what happens when calling becomes bigger than career.

Hosted by Forté.
The Forté Effect — where technology, creativity, and the future of work meet.

Project Management Without Tech? From Bessemer to Boardrooms | Katrina “KC” Dada, PMP

What does project management really look like outside of tech?

In this episode of The Forté Effect, Forté sits down with Katrina “KC” Dada, PMP — Senior Project Manager, engineer, wife, mother, and proud daughter of Bessemer, Alabama — for a conversation about leadership, reinvention, purpose, and building what’s next.

KC shares her journey from chemical engineering to becoming what she calls “the people’s engineer,” why project management is really an act of service, and how leadership often begins long before the title.

We explore:

• Project management beyond tech
• Pivoting careers into PM
• Leadership without a formal title
• The power of community and legacy
• Why “leaning in” changes careers
• Balancing ambition, purpose, and family
• What it means to build a real future in motion

One of the most powerful moments in this conversation:
“I never saw myself as a career engineer — I always saw myself as the people’s engineer.”

Whether you're navigating career transition, curious about project management, or building what’s next, this conversation is for you.

The Forté Effect — where technology, creativity and the future of work meet.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & iHeartRadio
📺 Watch on YouTube @TheForteEffect

#ProjectManagement #Leadership #CareerPivot #FutureOfWork #WomenInLeadership #PMP #Bessemer #TheForteEffect

Project Management Without Tech? From Bessemer to Boardrooms | Katrina “KC” Dada, PMP

What does project management really look like outside of tech?

In this episode of The Forté Effect, Forté sits down with Katrina “KC” Dada, PMP — Senior Project Manager, engineer, wife, mother, and proud daughter of Bessemer, Alabama — for a conversation about leadership, reinvention, purpose, and building what’s next.

KC shares her journey from chemical engineering to becoming what she calls “the people’s engineer,” why project management is really an act of service, and how leadership often begins long before the title.

We explore:

• Project management beyond tech
• Pivoting careers into PM
• Leadership without a formal title
• The power of community and legacy
• Why “leaning in” changes careers
• Balancing ambition, purpose, and family
• What it means to build a real future in motion

One of the most powerful moments in this conversation:
“I never saw myself as a career engineer — I always saw myself as the people’s engineer.”

Whether you're navigating career transition, curious about project management, or building what’s next, this conversation is for you.

The Forté Effect — where technology, creativity and the future of work meet.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & iHeartRadio
📺 Watch on YouTube @TheForteEffect

#ProjectManagement #Leadership #CareerPivot #FutureOfWork #WomenInLeadership #PMP #Bessemer #TheForteEffect

What happens when everything you’ve built in your career suddenly changes?

In this episode of The Forté Effect, Forté sits down with Shquila (Quee) to explore leadership, unexpected transition, and rebuilding with purpose.

After 25 years in banking and financial crimes, Shquila shares how she moved from corporate leadership into entrepreneurship with 6 Nineteen Freedom and into the classroom as a fifth-grade teacher.

This conversation highlights:

trusting the process

owning your blueprint

navigating career change

choosing peace, alignment, and purpose 

“Feed your focus. Starve your distractions.”

“My health is non-negotiable.”

At 63, Birmingham’s own Jerri Haslem — known as “The Peach of 63” — is still moving, still showing up, and still choosing discipline every single day.

In this episode of The Forté Effect, host Instructor Forté sits down with Jerri for a powerful conversation on health, longevity, and purpose. From starting her running journey at 38 to completing over 60 half marathons, Jerri shares what it really means to stay consistent and keep moving — at every stage of life.

Rooted in Birmingham and grounded in community, this conversation reflects the spirit of a city that continues to rise through resilience, discipline, and legacy.

This is more than a conversation about fitness. It’s about how you show up for your life.

Because if you’re still breathing… it’s not too late.

🎙️ The Forté Effect — Where technology, creativity, and the future of work meet.

🔗 Connect with Instructor Forté: https://linktr.ee/instructorforte

✂️ Turn your content into viral clips with OpusClip:
https://www.opus.pro/?via=reinventwithforte

“My health is non-negotiable.”

At 63, Birmingham’s own Jerri Haslem — known as “The Peach of 63” — is still moving, still showing up, and still choosing discipline every single day.

In this episode of The Forté Effect, host Instructor Forté sits down with Jerri for a powerful conversation on health, longevity, and purpose. From starting her running journey at 38 to completing over 60 half marathons, Jerri shares what it really means to stay consistent and keep moving — at every stage of life.

Rooted in Birmingham and grounded in community, this conversation reflects the spirit of a city that continues to rise through resilience, discipline, and legacy.

This is more than a conversation about fitness. It’s about how you show up for your life.

Because if you’re still breathing… it’s not too late.

🎙️ The Forté Effect — Where technology, creativity, and the future of work meet.

🔗 Connect with Instructor Forté: https://linktr.ee/instructorforte

✂️ Turn your content into viral clips with OpusClip:
https://www.opus.pro/?via=reinventwithforte

Meet Xavier Rice — 17 years old, Aliceville High School junior, dual enrollment student, videographer known as CMZ, and future meteorologist.

When Xavier was just 6 years old, an EF2 tornado touched down near his home in Aliceville, Alabama. That moment didn’t just scare him — it sparked a calling. Now, he’s training with the National Weather Service, building Small Town Big Dreams Productions, and preparing to protect the communities that raised him.

Host Instructor Forté sits down with Xavier for a conversation about purpose, preparation, and what it means to dream big from a small town.

This one will stay with you.