Unmuted Moments

Lance Bennett, Senior Coach and Engagement Lead at Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and founder of L.E.B. Partners, joins Ehis to discuss how to break into elite rooms without becoming someone else. Drawing from his journey across banking, admissions, leadership development, MLT, and Kellogg, Lance shares how underrepresented and nontraditional professionals can make their value visible, navigate unwritten rules, and stay grounded in their values.

This episode explores mentorship, belonging, MBA admissions, the PIE framework of performance, image, and exposure, and why the goal is not only to enter elite rooms, but to create rooms of our own.

Connect with Lance:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lancebennett23/

Website: https://www.lebpartners.net/

Ruth Hubbard, Director of Product Strategy and Partnerships at Fiserv, joins Ehis to discuss what it really means to read the room. Drawing from her career across JPMorgan, the Gates Foundation, Google, and Fiserv, Ruth shares how preparation, observation, and emotional awareness can help you know when to speak, when to listen, and how to build trust.

Connect with Ruth:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthahubbard/

Jennifer Aikoroje, CPA, Finance Program Manager at Microsoft and host of Inside Your Finance podcast, joins Ehis to talk about building career insurance in the age of AI. Drawing from her personal journey, Jennifer shares her perspective on the Black Tax and why giving back to family belongs as a real line item in your budget, not a one-off decision every time someone calls. She breaks down which side hustles survive AI and which do not, and why the goal is not to fight AI, but to use it as a partner in building more options before you need them.

Connect with Jennifer:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenaik/

Inside Your Finance:  https://www.insideyourfinance.com/

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@insideyourfinance

Lalu (Abebe) Beré, Senior Brand Manager at Plexus Corp. and a community leader in Wisconsin's Fox Cities area, shares what it takes to build community alongside a demanding career.

Born to an Ethiopian father who came to the States in the 1970s and an Irish Catholic mother from Minnesota, Lalu reflects on the thread connecting her work across financial access, the arts, parenting, and advocacy: showing up with purpose, using her social capital to speak up, and becoming part of the fabric of a place, not just living in it.

Connect with Lalu:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalubere/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalubere/

Yolanda Reshemah, host of The Places We Call Home podcast, shares her journey from St. Vincent and the Grenadines through England and France to the U.S., reflecting on what it really means to build a life across cultures.

She unpacks why home was never just one place, and why belonging isn't a luxury but the support system that helps immigrants withstand the practical, emotional, and systemic barriers of rebuilding abroad. She also discusses maintaining your identity, resisting the pressure to mute your culture or accent, and building the kind of community that helps you find your people and thrive.

Connect with Yolanda:

Website: https://theplaceswecallhome.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/placeswecallhomepod

Doyin Abitoye, a HR professional, career coach and author of Shush!: Simple, Relatable Ways to Silence Limiting Beliefs, shares her journey from Nigeria to Canada, including the seven-year process of rebuilding her voice after arriving as a senior HR leader and being told she didn't have Canadian experience.

She reflects on the cultural conditioning that teaches many immigrants to confuse silence with respect, walks through the four tools at the heart of her book—reflection, reframing, affirmations, and action—and unpacks the line between mindset work and the real systemic barriers immigrants face.

Connect with Doyin:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doyinabitoye/

Website: doyinabitoye.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdee_abitoye/

Racheal Bamigbade, a LinkedIn coach and personal brand strategist, shares how she built her career through LinkedIn after graduating first class in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Racheal walks through her practical approach to building a strong LinkedIn presence, from optimizing your profile to positioning your experience in a way that attracts the right opportunities.

Connect with Racheal:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachealawe/

Dabney Weathersby shares her journey navigating the corporate world as a Black, first-generation professional. She reflects on the inspiration behind her platform, Let’s Circle Black, created to foster community, connection, and support for Black professionals at a time when formal DEI programs are shrinking.

Dabney also speaks candidly about the power of vulnerability and the importance of using our voices to advocate for ourselves and others in changing environments. 

Learn more about Dabney :

LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/dabneyjweathersby/

Let’s Circle Black: www.letscircleblack.substack.com/

René Peters Jr., a Product Manager at NVIDIA, discusses the influence of Black leaders on his career and the importance of using his voice to shape conversations around technology and public policy. He reflects on his upbringing in Cincinnati and New Orleans, his journey into public speaking, and how community and mentorship helped him grow into leadership roles within tech.

René shares why making complex topics like artificial intelligence accessible to everyday communities matters now more than ever. He explores the responsibility of technologists in civic engagement, the growing intersection of AI and policy, and why diverse voices must be present in shaping how technology impacts society. He also offers insights on the future of AI and the importance of thinking independently in a rapidly changing world.

Website referenced: https://theresanaiforthat.com/

Learn more about René:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjpjr/

Sahar Jamal, Founder and CEO of Maziwa Breastfeeding, unpacks why motherhood and womanhood should be celebrated—not tolerated. She shares her journey across countries, from her Tanzanian and Indian roots to growing up in Canada, living in the UK and the U.S., and ultimately founding a company in Kenya.

We talk about migration, identity, social entrepreneurship, and the powerful ways women contribute across borders and generations.

Learn more about Sahar:

Website: www.maziwabreastfeeding.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/saharjamal