From the shadows of the auto plants in Pontiac, Michigan to Madison Ave to the studios of Motown Records.  Valerie Graves has left her creative excellence on some of the biggest brands in the world.

Her memoir “Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the women I pretended to be” captures her unique journey in an industry she was destined to be a part of. In this episode we visit some of the stories of her life from creating ads for former President Bill Clinton to putting legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodard on the hotseat in the academic halls of Stanford University. Valerie also shares how moving from general market agency life to multicultural agencies impacted her career. Now this self-described Auntie is focusing her talents on her passion project, The AfroGames Johannesburg — South Africa’s first large-scale basketball, music, entertainment and cultural festival.