Month: August 2020

Today business is thriving, and I’m growing and learning every day. I will never again let anyone tell me something is impossible.

IMPOSSIBLE just needs an apostrophe. I’M POSSIBLE.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dipal Shah.

Dipal Shah is a Medical Intuitive, International Speaker and Spiritual Teacher. She connects with people globally to help them become Pain-FREE. She is the creator of Ananda 4 Life, LLC which provides holistic quantum energy healing services. From a career in pharmaceutical sales to energy medicine, Dipal uses her experience to help others switch on the body’s natural healing processes. She has helped 1000’s of people in over 90 countries get back their quality of life. She is featured on the top Telesummits around the world and hosts her own podcast “Conversations with Dipal”. Dipal knows what it takes to go from Impossible to possible and not giving up on her vision and dreams. Dipal’s new inspiration is an online platform called “The Global Gathering”.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I lived in New Jersey for the first part of my life, then my family moved to Kentucky when I was 14. I remember this being a very difficult adjustment. My younger brother and I relied on one another a lot during this time because our parents were very busy trying to provide for us. I remember feeling very lonely and frustrated during my teen years. Many things seemed impossible then. But I watched my parents and realized that there was a whole world out there, beyond just myself, which can be yours if you walk toward it. When you’re feeling stuck in a rut like I was then, you have to figure out why you’re there and where you want to go. This has played out again and again in my life, like the universe is reminding me of what I am capable of when things feel impossible.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes! In April, I began an online healing platform which was intended to be a one-time healing event to help people get through the early days of the pandemic. There was so much uncertainty, fear, and anxiety I knew I had to do something. I brought 3000 people together with 15 healers within 7 days.

Because of the overwhelmingly positive response, it has evolved into the only online healing platform where anyone can seek assistance and positive energy to transform their life. “The Global Gathering” allows healers, visionaries, singers, meditators, and spiritual activists from around the world to unify as ONE for an hour and a half to share their gifts and divine light. It is a place where consciousness awakens, transformations are made and deepened, and weakened support systems are strengthened for all who attend.

As this pandemic has worn on, I have seen that people need lots of support — mental and physical. Again, the universe reminds me that it is the POWER OF ONE that heals us and what people thought was impossible to create in a short time frame became possible.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Ananda 4 Life, LLC has something for everyone. If you are looking for personal growth, or seeking to learn a healing modality, or maybe needing a community to be a part of, Ananda 4 Life is always there for you. Ananda means “divine bliss” which is what I try to share with everyone involved. Everyone is on some kind of journey and Ananda 4 Life can help you take those steps along that journey, be it spiritual, healing, or finding purpose. Everyone has goals in life, even if they don’t know them yet, and I try to help all of my clients find them and move toward them. Every journey is important to me, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you have what you need to get to feeling the joy again in your life.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

Everyone has heard the phrase, “That’s impossible,” many times during their life time, even as a child. And that’s a shame because children are open to so many things, but often are shut down with those few words. So many ideas and theories and creations could be lost because a child was told that it is impossible.

I remember being told, “Dipal, that is impossible” when I was young, but I look back and realize I was still able to do it. I believe now that you must try something to know of it’s possible or not. Sometimes something works and sometimes it does not, and what may be possible for you may not be possible for someone else. Life is trial and error, and again, that big universe reminds you that you never know until you try.

One thing that I made what seemed to be an impossibility into a reality was setting up a remote healing practice. When I was first approached by a telesummit speaker, we discussed what I ultimately wanted to do, and she connected me with a host of one of the largest telesummits in the industry. I knew that in-person healings were limiting, and that an online platform had so much potential. This dream seemed so impossible at first, but I had to take that step to believe in myself and follow my intuition. Could I make my passion a real online business? Where did I see this vision taking me? Would it actually work? I realized that I had to invest not only myself and my time, but my money as well. The monetary part seemed so much at the beginning, but I had my belief in MYSELF that kept me going.

I began to see that my vision of being an online, world-wide healer might actually work. I made the investments and dove in. I wanted to make a name for myself and watched as things began to unfold very quickly. The vision came ALIVE. I had some resistance from my family, which didn’t help at first, but I kept my eyes on the goal. I had three mantras — This is my journey, I am unstoppable, and I’M POSSIBLE! As the path unfolded, friends and family didn’t understand or believe in me at first. The universe began to back me up. This was more than a hobby, and this was more than just a monetary investment. This was my vision for my life and what I want to offer to others who are in PAIN and cannot find an outlet.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

When I had my first summit online, 350 people showed up! I had no idea so many people would show up for my LIVE interview! And since then thousands have listened to my many interviews.

After that first interview, clients began pouring in, filling up my calendar. I was helping 10 people a day and was booked for 6 months. I had a real business! I created Ananda 4 Life and have never looked back. I had proved the naysayers wrong, but most importantly, I proved myself RIGHT. I created my company and opened my corporation. I now have a team that works behind the scenes. I have even created a program for students who can go through a training course to become a certified medical intuitive. All this has unfolded as my vision gets grander. Today business is thriving, and I’m growing and learning every day. I will never again let anyone tell me something is impossible.

IMPOSSIBLE just needs an apostrophe. I’M POSSIBLE.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

In my experience I had several women who helped me along this path. One particular lady however opened the door for me, Jenny Ngo. She was the one who introduced me to the telesummit world and has helped me every step of the way, from technical glitches to learning how to do remote healing. There were other ladies in the program who helped me write — and rewrite — the original script for my interview spending hours with me on the phone, sharing their wisdom and knowledge about the telesummit world. If it wasn’t for these people in my life, I’m not sure I could have gone through with it. I learned how important it is to have a good support system in place to help you through your I’M POSSIBLE journey. When you ask the Universe for help trust me it shows up.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

A memory that stands out for me that contributed to building my resiliency is going through a traumatic experience at the age of ten. I was betrayed and manipulated by someone, and that is when I found my true strength to do well in school and learn to say no. I didn’t know I had this strength and resiliency to move forward after what I had been through as it haunted me for years. I know God was the only one who saved me and gave me the voice to take action. At the age of 27, my past came back to slap me in the face, and I went through panic attacks, depression, and felt like I didn’t matter. My husband was there to support me and help me get through those times. Internally, I quickly found the strength to acknowledge, accept, grieve and move forward. I have done a lot of work since on myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically that has helped me get through my past. I survived twice, which only helped build my resilience.

For so many people, past experiences can dictate what is possible and what is not. I made sure that everything I wanted in my life was possible for me.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

Let me just make this clear, the reason you are trying to achieve the impossible is because you want to prove something to yourself, prove to others who didn’t believe in you, make something of yourself, do what others have never achieved, and so on. Whatever your reason to go from impossible to I’m Possible, you need certain strategies to help you get there.

1) “I Can” Mantra

2) Clear Vision

3 Patience

4) Courage

5) Perseverance

I didn’t always have these strategies in place but I intuitively knew exactly how to play it out. I had to gain them through experiences, as does everyone. No one is born with these attributes.

I was picked on in school as a child because I was shy and considered nerdy. Even though I didn’t have a lot of friends, I was still happy inside because I didn’t know any different. I had one goal — to do something with my life. In college, I set my goal to be a pharmaceutical representative. When I was searching for a job, I spent hours reviewing interview questions, knowing it was a highly competitive market and I had to stand out. I didn’t know at the time, but some of these strategies began forming. I knew I could do it. I had a strong and clear vision — I wanted the job. My confidence took hits when I fell just short of getting the job. But I learned perseverance and kept learning it. I was getting closer and closer each day and knew that day would come where I step through that door because of my “I CAN” mantra.

I look back and realize just how much of these strategies were formed during this period of my life. I became relentless. I followed my intuition and did what others did not. I went to hospitals and doctor’s offices, talking to established reps to get advice and hiring tips which took alot of courage. It took almost a year after school to land the job of my dreams, but didn’t stop there. I drew together all of these strategies to advance in the company, setting goals for myself, winning awards, becoming the top performer and creating a hugely satisfying career.

These strategies don’t have to be just for the big, life-changing parts of the journey. You can use them in everyday life. Want to lose weight? Learn to dance? Get on a spiritual path? Look into yourself and see how these strategies can help. You probably use them now and don’t even know it.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and responsibility to pick yourself up” — Mary Hollaway

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

According to the world health organization, 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, emotional violence or neglect in the past year. The first thing that comes to mind in terms of a movement is setting up a global trauma healing platform for young adults for ages 18–25 year old to gather once a week. This online platform is for those who are seeking closure and healing around their traumatic experience in a safe environment. The traumatic experience could be in the form of rape, abuse, harrassment, pornography, trafficing, etc.

I understand there are therapists and counselors but what if you have someone that can actually go deeper and see the blocks intuitively to help these young adults move foward, find peace, grieve, and embody self love at an early age. I have many children and young adults in my practice who are dealing with anxiety and depression due to a traumatic experience in childhood and are searching for natural ways of healing. Young adults need help mentally, physically, emotionally and energetically to overcome this type of trauma and sometimes parents are not always on their side.

This movement is so important because to often people carry unseen burdens from childhood into adulthood and they have no idea why they cannot find joy and healthy intimate relationhsips in their life, or why they struggle with a chronic illness. Behind any traumatic experience is a heavy and dark emotional component which everyone negates. Offering meditation and energy healing may help young adults be physically and mentally healthier older adults.

I cannot help but think that so many would benefit from trauma healing at an earlier age.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes here are links to where you can follow me:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQdx82A98EpoLTgzoEc3Lw

Fb: https://www.facebook.com/Quantumbodyawakening

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Dipal Shah of Ananda 4 Life: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: How Alyssa Conrardy & Lindsay Mullen of Prosper Strategies Are Shaking Up How Nonprofits Can Succeed

It might seem obvious, but I would like to start a movement that would help all nonprofits reach their full potential for impact. That’s what we ultimately hope to do as we get the Nonprofit Impact System in front of more organizations. With the right tools and approaches, I truly believe nonprofits can change our world for the better.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alyssa Conrardy and Lindsay Mullen, co-founders of Prosper Strategies.

Alyssa Conrardy: As the president and co-founder of Prosper Strategies, Alyssa Conrardy is on a mission to help nonprofits realize the full potential of strategy so that the nonprofit sector can realize its full potential to change the world. Alyssa is recognized as an expert by nonprofits across the country thanks to her ability to lead strategy, fundraising, marketing and communications projects that advance nonprofit missions and drive social change. She is also a board member and development committee chair of the Great Books Foundation.

Lindsay Mullen: Lindsay is the co-founder and CEO of Prosper Strategies, the leading consultancy for nonprofits, where she brings strategic vision and a growth mindset to the firm, clients and their missions. In addition to her work at Prosper Strategies, she is a board member of Ignite, a leading human resources nonprofit that supports youth experiencing homelessness.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Lindsay: I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, so I always knew I wanted to run my own business. Several years into my career, I saw an opportunity to step out on my own and I embraced it. My vision was to run a company that supported changemakers and organizations that were doing groundbreaking things to make the world a better place. Shortly after starting my business, I met Alyssa. She was smart, creative and more ambitious than almost anyone else I’d ever met. I thought, “I’d never want to go up against her in a new business pitch.” As luck would have it, I never had to. Our visions and desires for the future we’re so aligned, we decided to partner. I think we can both agree, it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.

Alyssa: I grew up around nonprofits. My dad is the president of a large human services agency in Wisconsin and from a young age, reinforced the idea that I should find a way to use my skills and talents for good, whether inside or outside of the nonprofit sector. My early career interests were in marketing and communications (that’s what I went to school for). I liked the variety of working with a wide range of different organizations, but when I couldn’t find an agency environment that provided that opportunity, I decided to create my own. Over time, as I began to work on deeper and more complex marketing challenges with Lindsay and the team at Prosper, I began to realize that many of them were actually rooted in strategic, fundraising, team and measurement challenges, and we pivoted our firm to work in all of those areas, not just marketing. Now, we’re able to do even more to help nonprofits increase their effectiveness.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Never before has the world needed nonprofits as badly as it does now. And yet, most are having to do more with less. Demand is growing, resources are shrinking, competition is fierce, trust in nonprofits is declining, and the nonprofit starvation cycle is accelerating as funders and supporters continue to look to the wrong metrics to determine nonprofit effectiveness. COVID-19 and this “new normal” will cripple nonprofits across the country unless action is taken to help them rethink how they operate. We’re on a mission to reimagine how nonprofits can thrive and grow in these times of uncertainty.

To date, the majority of models offered to nonprofits for building their brands and improving their strategies have been poor adaptations of models that were born and bred in the private sector. The careless application of for-profit strategies to nonprofit problems isn’t the only issue, either. There is still a pervasive misconception that the best measure of a nonprofit’s performance is the percentage of expenses that go to “overhead.” As a result, the pressure from donors and funders to minimize administrative, fundraising and marketing expenses is still extremely high. This causes many nonprofits to underinvest in the very strategies, systems, people and processes that make them successful, and in turn, they fail to realize their true potential to drive change. That’s why we launched The Nonprofit Impact System™.

The Nonprofit Impact System™ is a complete set of tools and approaches that helps nonprofits increase their effectiveness. Through Focus, Strategy, People and Progress, the foundation of the system, nonprofits of all shapes and sizes have been able to drive greater impact.

We all need a little help along the journey — who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Lindsay: It takes a village. My dad is an entrepreneur and my most trusted source of advice. My mom showed me what it meant to be a working mom, and a darn good one at that. My former boss, Greg Goldner at Resolute Consulting has been a mentor and champion since the day I told him I wanted to go out on my own. He always tells me, “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what not to do.” I’ve also had the support of other female entrepreneurs and business leaders, including a former client who saw to it that I received a career-changing opportunity when I couldn’t be in the room to make the case for myself.

Alyssa: As mentioned previously, my dad has always been a mentor for me, both in my career and my life. His mentorship has mostly focused on helping me find ways to connect my talents and interests to my desire to make an impact and find a way to do both at once.

Several Prosper clients have also been mentors for me, whether they know it or not. I learn so much from our clients and am always so impressed by how smart, forward thinking and innovative they are. The nonprofit sector gets a bad rap for being slow to adapt or “behind” but that couldn’t be less true, at least based on what I’ve experienced with our clients.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Lindsay: Network with your peers. When I was starting out in my career, someone said to me don’t just try to meet with people who are years ahead in their careers, make friends with smart people your own age. As you advance in your career, you’ll advance together and these people will become your friends, your support system and your clients.

Never burn a bridge. My dad tells me this often, including a time several years ago when one of our contractor relationships wasn’t going very smoothly. Turns out the reason it wasn’t going smoothly was because that person was facing their own challenges. In showing them understanding, we were able to turn the relationship around and this person is now a great friend and partner to our business.

Alyssa:

Never run from something, always run to something. I got this advice from a mentor early in my career as I, like many new grads, found myself unhappy in my first job. Rather than jumping into another opportunity that probably would have been a poor fit, it caused me to slow down and come up with the idea to launch the company that would ultimately become Prosper Strategies.

How are you going to shake things up next?

It can be easy to think that by focusing your work in one area, you’re narrowing your opportunity. When we made the decision to work exclusively with nonprofits, that was a fear. However, what we’ve experienced is that by going deep in one sector, our opportunity and our ability to positively impact the nonprofits we work with has expanded significantly. Our first goal is to scale The Nonprofit Impact System. As we put it to work for more and more nonprofits, no doubt our horizons will continue to expand and we won’t sit idle.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Lindsay: Early in my career, I was getting antsy. I wanted to be the CEO, not the junior associate. Then I read the book, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, which went through the stages of leadership in your career. It reminded me that as a young person, my role was to put my head down and work really hard. If I did that, doors would open. And, that’s exactly what I did from that day until I started my own business.

Alyssa: The two I always think of are 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People influenced my thinking a lot when I was just beginning my career and I have benefitted a lot from the habit of “beginning with the end in mind” and the idea of having a personal mission statement to guide my life. The Desire Map is a more recent discovery that caused me to do a deep exploration of how I want to feel in my day-to-day life and to re-align my priorities, time and mindset around those “core desired feelings.” I recommend both of those books often!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Lindsay: We work and hear from so many nonprofit organizations at Prosper Strategies. Some of them are very similar, some of them are entirely unique, some of them have solved significant challenges on a very small scale or in one location, some of them have developed a solution for one small piece of a bigger puzzle. I want to connect the dots of information as well as the dots of resources, so we are solving problems comprehensively and at their root.

Alyssa: It might seem obvious, but I would like to start a movement that would help all nonprofits reach their full potential for impact. That’s what we ultimately hope to do as we get the Nonprofit Impact System in front of more organizations. With the right tools and approaches, I truly believe nonprofits can change our world for the better.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Lindsay: Well behaved women rarely make history. My one and half year old daughter is a spicy thing. Even though she can only say a handful of words, she has opinions and she makes them known. This and everything about her makes me happy because she is the kind of vivacious little human who’s coming for the world in the best way possible. She will not always be “well behaved” (she already isn’t), but I hope that because of that, she will push the boundaries and be a force for positive change.

Alyssa: Live with intention. I have this tattooed on my foot and it reminds me to live every day fully rather than just going through the motions. It reminds me that we only have one life (that we know of at least — ha!) to “dent the universe” as Steve Jobs would say and that I ought not to waste it. It also reminds me to take nothing for granted and to revel in the simple pleasures of life and everything I have to be grateful for, in good times and in bad.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can read new writing from Proper Strategies on our website every single week, and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram (@prosperstrategies) for new updates and information. You can find Lindsay on LinkedIn here and Alyssa on LinkedIn here.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: How Alyssa Conrardy & Lindsay Mullen of Prosper Strategies Are Shaking Up How… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: How Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland Aims To Shake Up Philanthropy Among The Black Diaspora

…I really enjoy building movements to redirect, if possible, preservation and allocation of resources towards a more just, sustainable future. This means creating new visions, including others to develop them, and then establishing the infrastructure, operations and technologies needed to make the visions real for impact.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland.

A social and environmental justice leader, Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland is Founder and CEO of The Women Invested to Save Earth (WISE) Fund, an innovation enterprise, supporting grassroots Black and Indigenous women climate change innovators in Africa, Brazil, Australia and the USA. She is the Founder of Black Philanthropy Month, a global campaign to document, celebrate and promote African-descent giving and funding in all its forms that has reached 17 million people and is recognized by 30 governments, including the UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent. Dr. Copeland is honored to have created the original design of My Brother’s Keeper that would eventually influence President Obama’s initiative to advance equal opportunity for disadvantaged men and boys of color and is an advocate for gender equity.

An award-winning social change visionary, she is recognized as a HistoryMaker by The HistoryMakers®, the nation’s largest African American video oral history collection, for her impactful civic contributions. Trained as an anthropologist, urban designer, and author with a long social sector executive career, her life mission is to promote the wellness and rights of humanity and the planet that we all share. Visit thewisefund.org and blackphilanthropymonth.com for more background.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

As a youth I was intrigued how forces I could not name or understand could fundamentally influence conditions, employment and educational opportunities. A personal experience growing up in a limited income, highly polluted urban environment with racial segregation and earning scholarships from strangers to get a college education influenced me too. These experiences eventually morphed into a love for understanding people’s history and culture through anthropology, and applying what I learn to create novel ways to promote equal access to capital, including funding and technology, to advance human rights for all people and environmental justice.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I have been doing my best in collaboration with others to disrupt the world for several decades now. Today, my disruption is through Black Philanthropy Month, a global celebration and promotion of Black giving in all its forms that I founded going on 10 years ago. Most people do not know that giving to help others is hardwired in African-descent cultures. The stereotype is that we do not give, although the data over 30 years now proves that we not only give; in the US we give the highest proportion of our income in philanthropy. Giving from relatively modest to larger donations of time, talent and treasure is a fundamental feature of Black culture.

I think my disruption was in helping to look at diversity within Black Philanthropy. Collaborating with others, I was among the first scholars to document Black Diaspora Giving in the US and Africa. Always an advocate-scholar, I used what I was learning to mobilize and to address the challenges facing our community in many places, eventually advising Black Philanthropists in the US, Africa, and the Caribbean since the 1990s.

These experiences led to the creation of mutually supportive networks, especially women, that inspired the creation of the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet) and Black Philanthropy Month.

Much of my innovation emerges from my heritage, community engagement, a natural empathy and a respect for people’s lived experience that comes from being an anthropologist trained in the cultures of Africa, South Asia, and their diasporas. I have a deep love and concern for humanity, the essence of philanthropy, including the future of Black people. Working with a Silicon Valley-based social enterprise advancing diversity in the technology field worldwide was a real eyeopener the last two years. Systemic sexism and racism are difficult to impact even in the most well-intended technology companies. Global travel and direct exposure to the concentration of poverty and destruction of our planet really came to a head for me early 2020 just before Covid hit.

I decided that this year, I needed to expand the Black Philanthropy conversation beyond giving to include the funding disparities for Black founders too. So, I wrote a concept paper for the Black Giving and Beyond Summit, including issues of the underfunding of Black founders by venture capitalists as part of Black Philanthropy Month 2020. I had wanted it to be a hybrid event with a central physical location, but livestream worldwide to increase participation. I approached my partners, Valaida Fullwood, creator of The Soul of Philanthropy, and Tracey Webb, Founder of Black Benefactors with the idea of doing such a Summit for Black Philanthropy Month. They got on board, as did my long-time PAWPNet-associated collaborators, sustaining the global and Diaspora inclusion of Black Philanthropy Month. Now we are hosting doing a global Summit including an August 1st US kickoff; an August 4th and 5th African event; as well as global women’s celebration and revival on August 29th.

At the same time, I was envisioning the Summit, I decided that I would create an organization that would address the challenges facing grassroots Black and Indigenous women and women-benefitting founders with solutions to climate change. Many of these women live in communities hit first and hardest by climate change. But as is typical for Black and Indigenous founders, it is difficult for them to get funding to try their ideas. So, the idea for the Women Invested to Save Earth (WISE) Fund was born to provide funding to renewable energy innovators in Black and Indigenous communities in the USA, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. I was planning to kick-off the Fund at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women in NYC last March. But Covid lockdowns and travel advisories hit and the event was cancelled, making the launch a virtual event.

The prominent lynchings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd combined with the devastation of Covid hit me hard as a Black woman. As an African-American woman, Covid, the continuing vigilante-style executions of Black people by both the police and everyday people, hit me hard at a very deep personal level. The warranted fears, anxieties and racial terror that I and all Black Americans endure at some point all came rushing back as surreal contemporary realities in a period of Covid physical isolation, illness and even death of loved ones, since one-third of US coronavirus mortality is Black.

After much soul-searching, I decided that the best way for me to manage my trauma and make a difference at this critical historical moment of increasing calls for racial and economic justice, was to be in the middle of the struggle. So many of my ancestors and relatives survived slavery and Jim Crow, sacrificing so much for not just my opportunities but to make the nation and world more just. I have a 30-year-old daughter and all people can be safe and well with their rights protected. I intend to do all that I can with others to ensure that she, my grandchildren, and all people can make anti-Black racism history while saving our planet. So, I now work full-time on Black Philanthropy Month and The WISE Fund, trying to advance equitable funding for human creativity and innovation as an economic justice issue. Afterall, the person who cures cancer or solves climate change, given an equal chance, could be a Black or Indigenous girl, boy or nonbinary person from a place in the US or elsewhere that is poor and unknown to most people. It is in our country’s and the world’s best interest that everyone has an equal chance to achieve their full human potential. The planet is depending on us.

We all need a little help along the journey — who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

A key mentor has been a woman named Carrolle Devonish (fka Carrolle Fair Perry), who was CEO of The Philadelphia Foundation. After I did some consulting work for her in the mid-1980s, Carrolle hired me as the community foundation field’s youngest program vice president, a huge leap of faith. By example and with a lot of coaching and understanding, she taught me a great deal about fundraising and grantmaking with a gracious, human touch devoted to equity, access, and inclusion for all people. She had power as a CEO of one of the country’s largest community foundations at the time. But her empathy and humanity broke down barriers of class, race, educational level, national origin, sexual orientation, wealth and more. Everyone felt better in her presence and she taught me new skills in building shared cause and community across every imaginable type of diversity. She taught me that the role of a community philanthropy was to give disadvantaged people access to resources to fulfill their dreams for their constituents, the community, and the world. I remember her insisting that we meet with new grant applicants in their environments to actively listen and even help them develop their ideas, providing “informal technical assistance.” She taught me to be “the funder of first resort to grow the talent of women, people of color and others locked out of opportunity.” I remember that she even told me once that, “A new applicant doesn’t need a fancy grant proposal. They can write a proposal in crayon on a brown paper bag, if that’s all they have, and it’s our job to help them.” Besides my mother and aunts, who taught me very similar core values, she was my best mentor. And to this day, her approach to community intensive, respectful giving that empowers the most disadvantaged is how I approach funding for Black Philanthropy Month as well as The WISE Fund.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

There are so many that I have either been told personally or read that have had a profound impact.

The first one comes from my mother, Willette Copeland, who as a child told me that “No matter the obstacles you face, whoever hates you just because of who your are, because you’re a woman, are dark-skinned, don’t come from a wealthy family, remember this: You are a child of God and God trumps everything. The people who hate you are God’s children too. They just don’t know it.” For me as a bright elementary school student facing racism, skin color hazing, and all manner challenges, this simple statement that “I was a child of God and that everyone else was too” was deeply empowering, allowing me to imagine myself leading, traveling and doing anything I could dream up, as it was my divine right and duty to do so just as a human being. I like to think that it, along with the family principle of “never forgetting where you and your people came from,” has made me confidently humble and hopeful that I can work with people of all backgrounds to make life better for everyone. I also was blessed by my mother with an abiding faith in God and even though I am a Christian, have cultivated a deep respect for all faiths and backgrounds building on her teaching that we are all God’s children reinforced by the Biblical teaching that I should love others as I love myself and that to much is given much is expected.

Ubuntu, a word that captures a profound philosophy of the Indigenous peoples of South Africa, meaning that “I am, because you are,” also has had a profound influence on my life. I first heard about it in a speech by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the mid-1990s. Up to this point, I had an intellectual understanding of Ubuntu. But it was not until about five years after hearing the Archbishop that I fully understood Ubuntu. I had arrived early to hear Nelson Mandela do a speech at The Minneapolis Club in Minnesota, USA. I had arrived early and was in the room with just my father-in-law at the time — just the two of us.

Then suddenly, Nelson Mandela walked in with just his assistant. Initially, I just stood in awe of being in the presence of this inspiring hero, whose ANC I used to fund with other students as part of the anti-apartheid movement at Georgetown University. Then remembering my mother’s teaching that we are all just children of God, I collected and introduced myself. At the time, I was struggling with the entire notion of forgiving people in my family who had done me serious harm. Knowing his story, I asked President Mandela, “After all you have seen, endured during your struggle against apartheid, imprisonment and the evil done against Black South Africans for decades, how have you managed to forgive and move on?” And he said, “Ubuntu means that even for those who have done you injury, you understand that your destinies are linked. I forgave them, because I knew I had to work with them to set my people free in the continuing struggle for justice for all.”

Over the past few years, extraordinary friend and social justice leader, Reverend Canon Nontombi Naomi Tutu, Archbishop Tutu’s daughter, added another level to my understanding of Ubuntu. She talked about how everyone from technology companies to self-proclaimed gurus have coopted ubuntu, making it a thing and a sales gimmick. She reminded me that Ubuntu is an ancient way of living and caring for the planet that recognizes what Martin Luther King in his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and most of the world’s faiths see as the inter-dependence of all life: “In a real sense all life is inter-related. All people are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Excited that now her daughter< Mungi Ngomane, is continuing the tradition for our times with her new book, Everyday Ubuntu, a wonderful guide to how one can sustain Ubuntu’s timeless ethical grounding in a complex, fast-changing world.

How are you going to shake things up next?

I have big plans for Black Philanthropy Month and The WISE Fund. Black Philanthropy Month will result in New Black Funding Principles. The WISE Fund, collaborating with others, will work to make the principles real to improve access and impact of Black giving and funding for post-Covid recovery and racial justice. We also are designing ways for all people to donate or invest in grassroots Black or Indigenous women-led or benefitting renewable energy founders in Africa, Brazil, Australia, and the USA to start. We hope to be a model among a growing number of community, women’s and other funds combining philanthropy, social impact investing and venture funding into blended pools that increase capital for diverse, underrepresented leaders innovating to address the world’s toughest challenges, while increasing employment and business opportunities for disadvantaged women and people of color. Finally, we are working on expanding our Reunity™ and Renewell™ from annual convenings to a full lifestyle brand. We have a long way to go but have taken the most important steps: we’ve started, have boundless faith, endless imagination, the humility to learn, deep experience, drive and great partners. So stay tuned.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Besides the Bible and other influential faith texts from Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, as well as Indigenous Yoruba and other African, Indigenous and Asian spiritualities, there are books that have impacted my thinking but I will just talk about three briefly: Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock and Bob Johannsen’s Get Their Early.

Now a part of the American literary canon, Hurston’s capacity to capture the life and folkways of people who reminded me of my elders was very influential. They were the carriers of African retentions in American culture and, like my proud Gullah-Geechee ancestors from South Carolina, created the foundation of the music, dialects, cuisine, oratory and other folkways that are the foundation of the amalgam that we call African-American culture today. The book made me want to be a cultural anthropologist documenting and empowering diverse people with what is good about their culture and sharing it with others. Hurston, who despite all her brilliance and the first African-American women to earn an anthropology degree from Columbia University, died penniless. She also became a cautionary tale about the importance of economic justice and empowerment for Black people and women as we continue the fight for equal pay for our talents and contributions.

As a high school student, I read Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock, my earliest exposure to the use of the social and other sciences to sense emerging trends that shape people’s everyday life and we must understand and shape to promote justice. To this day, I remember how Toffler correctly forecast that developing countries would skip hard-wired telephone systems and instead use cellular technology to communication instantaneously across the world. Although we cannot predict the future, we can certainly sense and shape it for good.

I learned more about the art and science of futurism at Palo Alto’s Institute for the Future where I got to work with the brilliant Bob Johannsen, author of the classic, Get There Early, and learned a systematic process for identifying, and acting on emerging future forces that people now call “foresight skills.” Helping companies and philanthropies such as Proctor and Gamble, Campbell Soup, Bertelsmann Foundation, and others add “future studies” to their strategic plans was a great lesson in how to use these same tools for social change and movement building.

Talking with cutting edge leaders; actively listening to their lived experience of grassroots people and innovators; reading voraciously; while reflecting on my personal lessons learned have enabled me to sometimes see emerging trends and respond in advance with novel ideas such as Black Philanthropy Month and The WISE Fund,. My hope is that these visions and co-creations with my community and networks allow us proactively to shape the emerging future instead of just being its reactionaries.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

As an anthropologist studying the history and evolution of people and the planet, I really enjoy building movements to redirect, if possible, preservation and allocation of resources towards a more just, sustainable future. This means creating new visions, including others to develop them, and then establishing the infrastructure, operations and technologies needed to make the visions real for impact. Over the past 10 years, I have contributed to the development of four such movements and am still leading two of them: 1) Black Philanthropy Month; 2) My Brothers Keeper; 3) 50/50 Women’s Tech Equity; and 4) The WISE Fund

I have already described Black Philanthropy Month, which has included 17 million people and continues to grow as a global movement to celebrate and advance Black giving and funding leadership as well as equity in all its forms. Most importantly, there is a new generation of leadership emerging to take up the mantel, as economic justice to unleash the genius of all humanity to solve the world’s problems is key to everyone’s survival. Empowering fresh, next generation leadership is the key to keeping movements alive and relevant, as well as maintaining one’s own creativity and energy over the years.

I had the good fortune to be hired by a brilliant, committed leader. Loren Harris, then of the Ford Foundation and now with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, to develop a national model for a fund to advance life opportunities for disadvantaged men and boys of color. We named it the My Brothers Keeper Fund and I was delighted to later learn that President Obama and his team used the model we developed to structure their signature initiative of the same name, purpose, and to a large extent, design. My Brother’s Keeper developed into a new field in philanthropy called the Black Male Achievement Movement led by people such as Shawn Dove, CEO of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement and others. I am a feminist through and through, but I am an intersectional Black activist, what Alice Walker would call a “womanist.” Although I am still learning, I work to advance the human rights of all marginalized people, including Black men, women, children, transpeople nonbinary persons and others, understanding that our oppression and destinies are linked. I am most proud of my humble contribution to the BMA Movement, especially as anti-Black racism targeting men is a sad, continuing reality in the US and elsewhere.

As COO of The Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology, over the past two years, I helped the CEO and board revive our founder’s original vision of diversity in tech women hiring to include equity in pay, retention, promotion and funding of technical women, including Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC). Covid and the economic downturn made our originally ambitious goal of 50/50 Equity for All Tech Women a bit unrealistic as the corporate sector and technical women adjust to the shelter-in-place recession. Although I resigned to lead The WISE Fund and Black Philanthropy Month full-time, the more inclusive and equity-focused women’s technology diversity movement now led by AnitaB.org continues with my contributions.

At The WISE Fund, we are part of a growing movement of underrepresented people becoming funders to expand capital access and innovation funding for our businesses and nonprofits towards community recovery and economic justice. In particular, we are trying to create new models of “blended funding” that mix donations with social impact investment and venture capital for promising women’s organizations that would typically not be funded due to racism, neocolonialism and other implicit biases. We also are providing coaching and connections to others for training and other supports as necessary. My hope is to promote an EcoHealth Movement, recognizing that human, animal, and environmental wellness are all interconnected. The pandemic economy is showing us that capitalism or emergent alternatives to is must be designed to sustain wellness and sustainability or companies will not have markets or the natural resources to continue business. The planet and our socioeconomic systems are at a breaking point. Through our approach to funding, our thinktanks, summits and wellness convenings, we hope to empower underrepresented people and their allies of all backgrounds to promote justice and save the planet, my life mission and purpose of my movement building career.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Sojourner Truth is an inspiration. She was relentless effort to fight for the rights of Black people and women in a context where she was often disrespected and in danger. Despite her formidable challenges, she reminds us that “Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.” There are so many words to live by in this statement.

First, life is bittersweet at best. Humor and art are fundamental to managing life’s stresses. I consider my work both art and science but always make time for creative expression in my jazz vocal and Zumba practice. Along with writing, they are portable #BlackJoy that I can activate anytime the statistics affecting my community or personal life in general gets overwhelming. They have been vital sources of stress management during the current Covid and racial justice uprisings.

Second, we all need to get into what the late, great John Lewis called “Good Trouble.” We are the change and the future is now. Collaborating with others, anyone can be a change agent and innovator, creating new visions of the future and actualizing them in community with others.

Third, we all have a purpose and a life force. We have a right to explore, express and become it, despite the negative messaging and systemic discrimination faced by Black and other marginalized people. Sojourner Truth’s life and quote reminds me of L.R. Knost’s advice “Never stay in a situation where you have to make yourself small to make others feel comfortable. It also presages Nina Simone’s wisdom that And, as every grown Black woman knows, “I can do bad all by myself.” As women, especially Black women, we resist the temptation to stay in damaging personal, employment or other relationship that diminish our dreams, our basic humanity and health. I agree that the late poet, Audre Lorde, that ““Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” I am a very loyal, mission-oriented person but have learned, at great cost, that sometimes, as Nina Simone said, ““We have to know when to get up from the table when love is no longer being served.”

How can our readers follow you online?

My handle is @JackieBCopeland. I am primarily active on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: How Dr Jackie Bouvier Copeland Aims To Shake Up Philanthropy Among The Black Dia was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: How Filmmaker Erin Prather Stafford Is Helping To Inspire Girls To Become Creators

Everyone is a creator and should be encouraged to make art for themselves or to share with others regardless of age. Also, every person has at least one life story that deserves to be shared, whether through writing, film or visual arts. How many folks have lost someone and then realized they never asked important questions or heard meaningful stories from their loved ones’ lives? I encourage people reading this to make a list of questions for someone special in their lives and then take the time to have meaningful Q&A.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Prather Stafford.

Erin Prather Stafford is a writer and women’s rights activist. Frustrated by ongoing research that shows the underrepresentation of women in artistic professions (especially in leadership roles), she launched Girls That Create in 2019. This online platform is for parents and caregivers who are raising future generations of filmmakers, visual artists, musicians, dancers, actors and more. Erin began having an interest in the media’s portrayal of women while earning her undergraduate degree in communication at St. Edward’s University.

She went on to earn an MA in gender and international development from the University of Warwick and is the Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES. The film had its national broadcast on Independent Lens | PBS. Erin is also the recipient of a Barbara Jordan media award and IABC Gold Quill Award.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Several years ago, I joined the team behind WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES. The documentary explores the enduring legacy of Wonder Woman and how powerful women are often portrayed in mainstream media. It also encourages girls to be creators of the media they want to see. Fast forward to 2019. I came across research that made my heart sink. Specifically, 2018 data from The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found women comprised just 4 percent of directors working on the top 100 films, 8 percent on the top 250 films, and 15 percent on the top 500 films. I then did more digging and realized the underrepresentation of women creating mainstream work was occurring in other artistic fields, not just film.

I am the mother to two young girls and found myself wondering what I could do in my small corner of the universe to address gender imbalances in media. I want my girls to live in a world where more women’s stories are told, heard and read. One day I was solo at Target, pushing the cart, and it hit me that I could start an online parenting platform that supports the parents and caregivers of creative girls. It was a wave of emotion…one that both exhilarated and frightened me. This of course meant I had to do it. Within a couple of months Girls That Create was online.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Over the last several years there has been an incredible movement to close the gender gap in STEM fields. I applaud that work and absolutely agree that if a girl is interested in STEM, she should be encouraged to pursue this passion. At the same time more and more people are recognizing the A for art should be included in STEM to make STEAM. The A matters. One (of many) reasons is the arts help girls think outside the box and develop creative problem-solving skills. However, what if a parent is raising a daughter who truly comes to life when she is painting, dancing, designing, filming etc.? Sure, she likes math, but what if she is happiest writing stories and exploring the world through interviewing others? I firmly believe there is enough room in the world for the girls pursuing STEM and also for the girls who choose the Arts. Also, there is the lingering stereotype of the starving artist. Yes, not everyone is going to win say a Pulitzer or GRAMMY, but to push girls away from their artistic passions because of fear they’ll not be able to support themselves is extremely detrimental. The Creator Spotlight series on Girls That Create features women who have found success in artistic careers. Its purpose is to inspire girls while also showing parents success in the arts is possible. Also, can you imagine a world without the arts? Art has the power to change opinions, instill values, uplift spirits, translate experiences and so much more. It is absolutely imperative women have a seat at the table in this crucial field, and that begins with girls being encouraged to be creators.

We all need a little help along the journey — who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Influence starts at a young age. I remember riding with my mother to deliver Meals on Wheels and also observing her work on a variety of community projects. She was part of a women’s group who started the first shelter for domestic violence survivors in my hometown. My mother instilled the idea of including not excluding if you want to make necessary change happen in the world.

Another mentor is a supervisor I had while working for a nationally recognized medical center. She continues to be a positive force in my life. A lesson she taught is never make decisions out of fear and to always be authentic in your decision-making. Even if it means you’re going to anger or disappoint people. Also, you’re going to make mistakes. Learn from them and grow.

Last is my great-aunt. In her 70s she began laying the groundwork for an arts center because she saw the need in her city. She oversaw the transformation of a vacant Fire Department Administration building into a facility that now houses art gallery spaces, a theater, clay studio and more. Classes are held for kids and adults throughout the year. My great-aunt showed you’re never too old to make significant change happen in your community.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

The first comes from my maternal grandmother. She told me, “Walk into every room like you’re thinking about buying the place.” I always remember her words right before I’m about to make a presentation. A few years back there was a study on how power-posing and posture can positively influence behavior. One of the examples used was the classic Wonder Woman pose where she stands centered, straight and with her hands on her hips. I think my grandmother wholeheartedly would have agreed with the benefits of striking that one.

The next words of advice come from the musician/actress Cher, “Women have to harness their power — it’s absolutely true. It’s just learning not to take the first no. And if you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.” Once when working on a major feature story, I needed access to sources in a roped-off area. I knew their firsthand accounts would make or break the piece. Several times I was told access wasn’t possible. Instead of going back to the hotel, I walked the event parameter until I located someone whom I could pitch my case for talking with these important sources. Not only did I receive an all access badge, but I got a personal escort through the entrance. Throughout the entire situation I remained rooted in knowing I had every right to those interviews. It was just about finding a way in.

Last piece of advice, “Your job is what you’re paid for, your purpose is what you’re made for.” I heard this recently at a conference and wish those words had crossed my path years ago.

How are you going to shake things up next?

Right now, I am working on developing a Girls That Create podcast and book based on the website. There has been a lot of positive inquiries into both projects. My hope is the podcast will be launched by the end of the year.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Admittedly I am very much on the Brené Brown bandwagon. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to hear her speak in-person, and there were similar points to those she discusses in her Netflix special. You’d be amazed how much using the statement, “The story I’m telling myself” helps when having a disagreement or serious discussion with someone. I highly recommend watching that powerful talk on Netflix or her free TED Talk online. Brown’s book “Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone” was also a significant read for me. Additionally, I love to listen to KERA’s show Think with Krys Boyd (KERA is North Texas’ PBS and NPR station). Boyd is a wonderful host who has these thought-provoking, in-depth conversations with dynamic guests. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast, which I highly recommend.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Again, it goes back to that idea of inclusion, not exclusion. Everyone is a creator and should be encouraged to make art for themselves or to share with others (regardless of age). Also, every person has at least one life story that deserves to be shared, whether through writing, film or visual arts. How many folks have lost someone and then realized they never asked important questions or heard meaningful stories from their loved ones’ lives? I encourage people reading this to make a list of questions for someone special in their lives and then take the time to have meaningful Q&A.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

During high school my mother gifted me one of Maya Angelou’s books. I have been a lifelong reader of her work since. One quote I keep up in my office is “If you teach, you have to live your teaching.” For me that basically translates into if you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.

How can our readers follow you online?

Website: www.girlsthatcreate.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlsthatcreate

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

WONDER WOMEN: www.facebook.com/WonderWomenDoc

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erinpratherstafford

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

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Female Disruptors: How Filmmaker Erin Prather Stafford Is Helping To Inspire Girls To Become… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: How Holly Lyman, of Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha Is Shaking Up The Way Kombucha Is Made

“Never underestimate the power of creativity.” Whenever we run into a challenge at the brewery we bring together our group and look for out-of-the box solutions and I am always surprised by the brilliance of my team in troubleshooting challenges that come up.

I had the pleasure to interview Holly Lyman, founder of Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha.

The WILD TONIC story begins with an artist and her passion for innovation and creativity. Painter, Holly Lyman, worked with beeswax, an ancient medium known as encaustic, for many years until she discovered the art of fermentation. One day, her love of painting with beeswax transformed into working with honey, another labor of love created by the bees. As with many creative endeavors that sometimes spill into other forms of expression, Holly unexpectedly found herself fascinated with a rare ferment known as Jun. She brewed with this living culture day after day until several years and brew experiments later, WILD TONIC® Jun Kombucha was born!

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was born and raised in the backwoods of Alaska and spent time on my grandmother’s homestead near the small town of North Pole. She was always working oil paintings in her makeshift greenhouse that she kept her easel in. Her art was surrounded by the lush tomatoes that would thrive in the land of the midnight sun and I always loved my time in there watching her create art and grow things. She would also ferment wine with wild dandelions and native blueberries every Autumn. She taught me how to ferment in her log cabin with simple ingredients that we would harvest together. I believe that our earliest memories and impressions shape us into who we become later in life. I admired my Grandmother’s courage to follow her passions despite the harsh reality of surviving in rural Alaska. Through her encouragement, I would later go on to study at the Rhode Island School of Design and pursue my passion for the arts. Her influence in my early childhood guided me unsuspectingly into a similar life of art and fermenting and to become the founder of WILD TONIC Jun Kombucha

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

WILD TONIC Jun Kombucha is disruptive because it is an exotic honey based ferment that is quickly emerging as a health drink and gaining popularity. It is displacing traditional sugar laden sodas because people are seeking healthier alternatives. Then we have our Hard Kombucha that I developed a few years later that has been very disruptive because it is displacing traditional alcohol with an alternative that has no sulfites, chemicals or pesticides which are typically found in the making of traditional beer, wine and spirits. WILD TONIC falls into a new category of alcohol, which is “hard kombucha” and that is starting to become the next big trend in the alcohol sections of grocery stores across the country. WILD TONIC was the first honey based hard kombucha in the country and has since grown into a national brand. Now there are many major players in the hard kombucha category including Anheuser-Busch and Boston Beer to name a few and we feel blessed to have been one of the first trailblazers in that new category!

We all need a little help along the journey — who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I began studying books about fermentation by Sandor Katz and he inspired me to begin experiments with all types of recipes from Ginger Beer to Milk Kefir and Kombucha in my home in Moses Lake, WA. I later met with him in person where he welcomed me into his remote rural Tennessee fermenting foundation. Upon arrival he showed me his studio and shared with me some of his ferments and I was completely spellbound. I nervously asked him what he thought of my WILD TONIC Jun recipe that I had made and brought along to share. He said with a smile: “Holly, there are no rules in fermentation” and at that moment, I absolutely fell in love with the idea that it was a creative journey, much like my art had been and then I started WILD TONIC in 2015 and it became my focus and passion.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

“Find people who are more talented than yourself to work with!”

I have always surrounded myself with people who are more talented than myself at whatever job is at hand and have never gone wrong by following that advice.

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

A very successful business man jokingly shared this quote with me and I laughed. However, I always took it to heart, knowing that running your own business would require non-stop devotion for the first 4–5 years until it was successful.

“Never underestimate the power of creativity.”

Whenever we run into a challenge at the brewery we bring together our group and look for out-of-the box solutions and I am always surprised by the brilliance of my team in troubleshooting challenges that come up.

How are you going to shake things up next?

Four years ago I spent the summer researching heirloom apples and specifically what apples made the best hard cider and subsequently had two thousand trees with over 60 varietals planted in our certified organic orchards in Sedona, AZ. We will have our first harvest in the fall and my goal is to experiment with both hard ciders and other lesser known ferments that might end up being the next trend in beverage. I am also in the process of developing an energy drink that does not have any caffeine, but rather relies upon some very esoteric herbs for its effectiveness. So generally speaking, I want to continue to shake up the beverage world with exciting new ferments!

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Sandor Katz won a James Beard Foundation Book Award for his research on unique fermentation recipes from cultures around the world in his book “The Art of Fermentation.” I was truly inspired by how he used fermented foods to repair his own fragile health as well as to inspire others to be healthier through teaching them how to ferment in workshops. Sandor is bringing back the lost art of fermentation one talk, book and demonstration at a time. Fermented foods were once a staple in our diets prior to refrigeration and now we now have lost the once rich diversity of our microbiome with the onslaught of processed foods and climate controlled storage where everything is pasteurized. It is critical that we educate people about the importance of fermented foods in our diet because 75 -80% of the immune system is in our gut. Sandor has done just that and I truly admire him for spearheading the fermentation movement that can now be seen in the food choices showing up in stores from fermented pickles and sauerkraut to coconut kefir.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would like to create a movement around supporting the Bees and help people understand their importance in our lives because pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. WILD TONIC now partners with the local Northern Arizona Organic Beekeepers Association and the work they are doing to educate people about the importance of bees is phenomenal! I would like to expand upon that partnership in many ways as we grow.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote is by Leshan, which is: “Don’t worry about what the world wants from you, worry about what makes you come more alive. Because, what the world really needs are people who are more ALIVE.” I keep that quote on my bookshelf and read it every day. As my life passes, I ask myself if I feel alive in my pursuits, relationships, etc. — and if the answer is “Yes”, then I jump fully into whatever that is. If the answer is “No”, then I point my compass a different direction and run for dear life until I feel once again ALIVE on my new path!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

For more information about Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha please visit www.wildtonic.com and follow them on instagram @DrinkWildTonic

Female Disruptors: How Holly Lyman, of Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha Is Shaking Up The Way Kombucha Is… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr. Branson Boykins of Alliant International University: 5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society

I think I have to always be optimistic that things will improve but we also have a very long way to go. Sometimes the baby steps we take are hard to appreciate because we are fighting for so much and receive so little in return.

As part of our series about ‘5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society’ I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Branson Boykins, Ph.D., assistant professor at Alliant International University.

He is an assistant professor and core faculty for the Couple and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University at the Irvine Campus. Dr. Boykins received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University. His main research interests are within the field of multicultural psychology and understanding contemporary forms of biases (i.e., implicit racial biases) and best practices when working with diverse and underrepresented populations.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

Sure, so I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Being a Detroit native is very near and dear to me and I will talk about why more later, but I grew up in Detroit around a lot of family and friends. Detroit has a unique culture of hard work, grit, and togetherness. My parents were probably the biggest sources of strength for me and helped me in very different ways. I think my father really instilled upon me what hard work, determination, and pride regarding how you carry yourself as a Black man should be. Even after my parent’s separation I had several male figures such as uncles and my grandfather that really believed in these same values and held me to a certain standard. Very old fashioned -respect one another, education, hat off inside the house, manners, that type of stuff. My mother really taught me about love, support, and resiliency in the form of overcoming adversity. I think heavily about all that she endured throughout my younger years and how she put herself through school, work, and raising two children even when finances were low. My childhood mainly centered on family, sports, and education. Though I am not the most athletic person in my family, we always had competitiveness and hard work instilled in us. This followed me and helped me through many pitfalls and times I failed. After growing up in Detroit, I went to college at Michigan State University. It’s funny I initially wanted to go into politics and study law. My mother actually pushed me into psychology which leads me to my current profession where I received my doctorate in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University and now I work as a professor for the Couple and Family Therapy program at Alliant International University in Irvine, California.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

There is not a single book that resonates with me, but I think about the importance in being educated that family members encouraged us. I can remember several significant moments in my life where family members gave me books to help guide or inform me. For example, one of the most memorable books my father gave me was Cane River by Lalita Tademy, which beautifully tells a story of three generations of African American women that lived through slavery and years following. That book was one of the first that I read from a historical standpoint that was not connected to some formal class or for some other purpose outside of pure enjoyment. I learned a lot from that book regarding not only historical accounts of slavery but from a feminine perspective and how even as men sometimes, there are aspects of our shared experiences that are unknown or neglected by us. Also, my grandfather gave me the book 13 Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates. From that book I began to reevaluate my racial identity and saw the complexities of several prominent African Americans such as: Collin Powell, Harry Belafonte, James Baldwin, and others. This book helped me see similarities between these American heroes but also recognize differences and that there is not one universal way to be a Black man in America.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

Several important moments and quotes have helped me to ultimately find my voice. I always say that the most noteworthy moment that was given to me in my doctoral program came from one of my mentors, Dr. Joseph Morris. I remember often being in his office and discussing so many life events and seeking guidance from him. I remember one time early in my doctoral program discussing how I felt unsure of myself or felt timid in discussing racial matters with my peers and classmates. In that moment I remember Dr. Morris telling me that the program and he brought me to Western to do exactly that. To speak to my experience and discuss my lived experiences. In a way it almost gave me permission to speak up, and that my point of view or my racial experiences were valid. Furthermore, he validated that it is scary talking about race, a misconception that it’s easy to have discussions about race especially with people who are color-blind or do not share a similar view.

One important famous quote that I often think about is Martin Luther King’s measure of a man: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”. I think about this a lot when I feel pressured to say something about social justice and inclusivity. For me, when things are great and there is no penalty for speaking up, that is not the true measure of someone’s dedication but what do they do when the consequences of calling out racism is unclear, or when they have to challenge a person in authority, or fearful that it will damage a relationship. I think people don’t realize that people of color often do calculations of the cost/benefit of speaking out and picking battles as it is very taxing and tiring to discuss these topics over and over again but we must.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

For me, the reduction of stress requires a lot of preemptive work to be in the days/weeks prior. It is normal to feel stress or anxious before any important moment. That is why first, preparation is key. Being prepared days prior is vastly important as it can help with catching mistakes, rehearsal, and acquisition of knowledge so you know what you are doing. I tell my students often, that it doesn’t matter if you have the background/knowledge if you cannot present it in a professional and coherent fashion, the message will be lost to the audience. I also believe certain behavioral tasks can also be done to relieve stress and help in the days/weeks prior. An extremely important coping strategy is sleep, being well rested and receiving quality and enough sleep can be immensely helpful. Next, practice mindfulness and physically active activities to also help release the stress and tension in your body. Mindfulness is a great practice to relieve stress and calm a person, but I also believe physical activity to provide a cathartic release is something everyone should practice. I think everyone needs multiple hobbies to practice and you should have at least one that is physically active or demanding such as running, biking, hiking, or playing a sport. For me, I practice Brazilian jiu jitsu and it is a huge stress reliever. As a martial art not only is it physically active but it also forces you to be mindful and create a strategy to defeat your opponent, people often refer to it as human chess and I am always trying to recruit new people to try it no matter what their age or body/type is. At the very least it is rewarding to learn as a form of self-defense and control over one’s body and emotions in the moment.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. The United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This is of course a huge topic. But briefly, can you share your view on how this crisis inexorably evolved to the boiling point that it’s at now?

Sure, unfortunately what this moment is highlighting is the continued presence of systemic racism. I think it’s always important to be honest and not minimize the severity of this topic and speak directly to what it is. Unfortunately, racism in this country has been prevalent since its foundation and this moment like many other previous moments has created awareness to the social injustices and practices that serves as life-threatening barriers to some and acts of favoritism and privilege for others. Due to the advancements of technology, we are now seeing what many people of color have reported but were denied or told was in our heads. Not only are video recordings highlighting the difficulty that people of color experience with law enforcement but also how just living their lives can lead to confrontations and racial micro aggressions that only leads to more racial trauma, and people questioning their livelihood without any recourse. Part of the reason why this continues to exist is the minimization of the stories of people of color, and no matter how many times people of color point out racism, White individuals often will minimize this experience, openly state they don’t care, tell us it’s in our own heads, or gives us solutions that in no way address the problem and come from a lack of knowledge about what is racism. For example, one solution that I have often heard is that racism is something in Black people’s head. That if we just stop talking about racism it would go away. When you actually think about this solution it’s quite laughable but also very dangerous. Dangerous in that it only helps the perpetrators, so they don’t have to hear about racism and it maintains a system’s status quo that is inherently racist. Furthermore, this logic would not be applicable to any other societal ill or injustice. It’s like someone said rape and sexual assault is a huge problem within our country and we need to address this topic. The counter argument would then be rape or the fear of being raped is in your head and if you stopped talking about it — it would go away. That is ludicrous.

Another reason for the lack of progress is the expectation of blind allegiance to this country. When we think about changing this country, people of color are often given messages of “shut up and be grateful that you are here”. This sentiment is conveyed in messages of go back to Africa or Mexico. When White individuals want to create societal change or protest, they are not told to go back to Europe or countries of their ancestry/ethnicity. However, for people of color, your protest or addressing issues that you would like to see changed in this country are met with hostility and not seen as patriotic or having the right to make change in this country. Therefore, we are expected to have “blind” or “silent” allegiance.

Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiatives to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?

The biggest impact I believe I have so far is within my organization that I work in being Alliant International University. From the macro level, I try to engage in workshops, trainings, and research to help promote diverse experiences, narratives, and consideration when working with diverse populations. However, the biggest change I try to create is through my students. I’ve been fortunate to have had great mentors that have not only given me support and guidance in my professional development but have also pushed me to be aware that there is so much more for me to learn. Therefore, I try to push my own students to take a social justice lens and become better prepared to work with clients that are diverse and underrepresented. In the field of psychology and counseling it’s important to learn about the cultural identity of your potential clients but even more important, is for the therapist to have a sense of awareness of their own cultural identity, values, and own biases. In my classroom, we talk about these areas and issues regarding privilege, racism, implicit biases, and promoting social justice and inclusivity. Many students (especially Caucasian ones) have never discussed their racial identity or privilege. In fact, I often have to gently and tactfully highlight how they are privileged and manage their reactions and often disbelief. One other way that I promote inclusivity is fighting for admission of students who might have been rejected by other programs. Often times due to upbringing, class, or the inherent racist educational system, students come to our program with not the best GPA, educational experiences, or employment opportunities. I try to see potential in some students and how we can work and mold students to make them just as competitive and knowledgeable had they come from an Ivy League school.

This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

We all have blind spots, and if a company, organization, or university wants to be inclusive you need to look around the room and see who is giving input. Is the staff racially diverse? Are there women in positions of power and authority? Also, you can’t have a token Black person or a single person of color because they can’t catch every micro aggression, or make sure every ad is racially sensitive. That is an unrealistic expectation, and the employee may not even want that responsibility. Rather you need multiple individuals who are knowledgeable about cultural sensitivity. Also, you need each person to have the position for their voice to be heard, respected, and implemented. Far too often people of color’s opinions and ideas fall on deaf ears. So, it’s not just that they are in the room, but they also have to have the power to make decisions or changes. From this then you can start to approach decisions from multiple perspectives. The power of diversity is that you want different viewpoints, ideas, or suggestions rather than relying on the same historical way that obviously is not always working or leads to racially insensitive messaging or the absence of people of color.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share your “5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society”. Kindly share a story or example for each.

Before I list my 5 ideas or steps, I want to say that these are my ideas and the problem with systemic racism is that it’s so engrained and rampant within our society that someone else could think of 100 different ways to answer this question and they might be just as accurate or correct as myself. I want to highlight that there is not one universal answer and many people have different ideas on the subject. That is why one of my answers calls on leadership from people who have spent a lifetime or decades of their work to lead and guide the fight from many different fields of thought or training.

1. Acknowledgement. I believe we cannot even start to make this country more inclusive without first acknowledging that there is a problem. Right now, a significant number of Americans believe that racism is non-existent, very small, or that it’s only perpetuated in some remote parts of this country. We need to first acknowledge and accept that racism exists to this very day, and it is systemic. That we have a system that sometimes is visible but often acts implicitly. Whereas it continues to provide benefits and privileges to some while also serving as barriers to others. As a country we have to first acknowledge without question that racism is a part of this country and do we really want to make changes to become more inclusive and fair, or do we just want to make seem like we care but really do nothing. For example, I recently heard Roland Martin use the term civil rights mascot for Martin Luther King, whereas people like to reference MLK as inspiration quotes but do not highlight how hated, revered, and disrespected daily he was until his untimely death. The same still holds true for civil rights leaders today. People in positions of power, disrespect civil rights icons without consequence currently, because the question of whether or not this country is racist is still up for debate. That is why it is so frustrating in having racial discussions because people are unaware or sometimes this country just wants to appear inclusive but not make systemic changes for actual change. That is why acknowledgment is key, we have to acknowledge racism is prevalent in this country and not just when it comes to criminal justice but also in regards of housing discrimination, voting discrimination, allocation of financial resources, hiring decisions, the educational system, media representation, and more.
2. Education. If we decide to make this country more inclusive and acknowledge the complex racist system we live in, then we have to educate people on what racism actually is historically and in its present form. Far too often people know nothing about racism and talk about it from a perspective of being an expert. For example, you can have an expert on the history of this country and racism from many perspectives, but a single White individual will rely on their personal experience as equal justification. Whereas often arguments end in an agree to disagree ending. I have seen students and individuals for example be presented with a mountain of data, lived experiences, and research from people who have spent decades learning and discussing these issues and a person will just say things like well I don’t believe it or these were single incidents and we will have to agree to disagree. That is why after acknowledging the current racist system it is important to be followed by education of what is racism. Another example is the common justification of I cannot be racist because I have a Black friend. Once you understand racism from a theoretical or conceptual perspective then you can understand why having familiarity with a person of color no matter who they are cannot free you from prejudicial thinking. That when people of color talk about racism, they talk about in systemic language in comparison to White individuals who often focus on single individual acts. This country has never had training as a whole of what is racism, privilege, and why reverse racism is not possible by the definition of racism. Furthermore, racism is often perpetuated in implicit decision making. Whereas if you look at research for example by John Dovidio and Samuel Gaertner you can see how implicit forms of bias are more prevalent today. That everyone can make implicit decisions based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Another part of the problem is that we want to believe that we (anyone in this case) is not racist but in reality someone with a lot of power can be making decisions based on race that provides favoritism to some and bias to others. They could be a random person with no power, or they could be someone who approves a small business loan, a judge, a teacher, or even the president. We have to first learn that we all hold biases including myself that no one is free from prejudicial thinking and we all should be educated about racism, privilege, micro aggressions, and ways to combat racism and make space for more inclusivity. Therefore, my dream would be to treat racism with same vigor as a medical disease such as cancer. That as a society we would heavily invest resources in the understanding of racism, causes, treatment, and societal impact. Furthermore, as we would for any medical condition doctors, researchers, educators, and others who have spent decades of their life’s work to address this issue would lead the charge in this research and finally receive their proper recognition and resources to appropriately address this topic and educate the entire country.
3. Deliberate Actions. Part of the problem is that racism is so prevalent and so engrained in multiple if not all systems of this country it becomes so large how does one combat racism to create a more inclusive and equitable society. Personally, I believe that we cannot make changes to this country without intentional and deliberate actions. Think about for a minute that we are having discussions about removing confederate names and statues of people that would not want me here talking with you or having the opportunity to have a doctorate. Though I think it is a necessary step, but this action is not personally at the top of my list. In my opinion we need deliberate actions to make this country more equitable. As I previously outlined systemic racism is prevalent in so many institutions, and if I take one system that I am in for example (education) how I can take deliberate actions to make my space more inclusive. The current system would tell me that when I think about whom a good graduate student in our program would be, the current system would state someone from an Ivy-League, top-tier research institution, with a high GPA and GRE score. Based on this system, the vast majority of our students would be White men. However, I know for example, students of color are largely underrepresented at these universities. Students of color often perform poorly on some standardized test such as the GRE which are poor predictors of academic success yet still, they are still highly valued in education. That is why I do not solely go by this metric. I want students who also have different educational backgrounds. I will fight for students who I see potential in and with guidance can be just as good as any other student despite what others might see as a marginal student. Here I am making a deliberate action to give students who others might not give a chance an opportunity. Without students who are racially diverse I lose diversity of thought, I lose students wanting to do research on racial minorities, or better understand their experiences. I hope that if we are wanting to make this country more inclusive then we make deliberate actions that go beyond or further than for example, Affirmative Action, Fair & Equal Housing Opportunity, and Anti-Discrimination Laws to deliberately write historical wrongs and change the current system as it requires deliberate and intentional actions.
4. Erasure of Stereotypical Messages. As I said before, I am a Detroit native, and that is very important to me as often people think when I say Detroit, I grew up in a suburb outside of Detroit. In fact, far too often people only equate things with cities like Detroit, Chicago, Compton, or elsewhere with criminality or lowered expectations. However, I grew up with so many other men and women from Detroit who are engineers, social workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Unfortunately, part of the reason is the representation of people of color and lowered expectations or the disbelief in our greatness. When people see a Black child from Detroit, do they see someone who will create the next solar car, or an undocumented immigrant from Mexico as growing up to be a doctor who creates a breakthrough in cancer research, or as the trans child from Chicago as leading efforts on climate change. Unfortunately, people only see negative aspects for people of color and society tells them that cannot be great. Part of the difficulty (and a personal area of interest that I hope to do research in) is the lack of representation for people of color in film, television, and media. It is always amazing to me how people of color have no problem supporting media/films that are predominately (if not all) White cast. My friends and I loved Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even the Marvel avenger’s universe. However, most if not all these films have very little diversity or representation of people of color and yet and still, we support them. What stops these executives from creating Game of Thrones but with in all Black cast? What if Michael B Jordon played Jon Snow and Zoe Saldana was Khalesi. Would White America support us the same way we support them? The absence of people of color, and of diverse backgrounds who others can identity within film and media does not allow for children of color to see a Black Spiderman in a non-animated role. The absence does not allow representations for us to be great, heroic, or patriotic. Also, it does not allow White audiences to view people of color in the same lens. I believe the same is true when we discuss children of color from urban metropolitan cities.
5. Inclusivity/Social Justice. The last suggestion was one of the toughest for me. There were many other suggestions I could have made and initially it started out as love or patience. However, personally I dislike when someone says we need to love one another, or we need Jesus/spirituality because often these suggestions do not tackle the issue of systemic racism and people of color are also tired of waiting for change. However, I think for true social justice and inclusivity we must be mindful of many intersecting factors that prohibit systemic change. Therefore, when I say inclusivity and social justice, I hope everyone is working together to create change and not just a select few.

Though I am mindful we should be deliberate and specific in who is leading the charge. Furthermore, I state we have to be inclusive of everyone and meet them where they are at, part of what I am discussing is how we all hold biases and we all need to do social justice work not only for ourselves but also who do you fight for that does not look like you or identify the same as you? For example, let us talk about privilege. Topics such as privilege are met by White individuals with resistance or disbelief. Part of the reasoning behind this resistance is White fragility. In my opinion White fragility is a tiring and frustrating experience for people of color to discuss and help White individuals to work through because we are not afforded such privileges. Nonetheless, I must be mindful that I need White individuals who have power and privilege to help in this fight and speak to other White individuals about their privilege. Sometimes this requires more of me as a teacher than the person who has power. Sometimes, I have to be more caring, mindful, and patient with my White brothers and sisters than they ever were with me. The goal is not to promote cancelling culture per se as much as it is to hopefully bring these individuals along in the fight for social justice and hopefully have them understand how their past racist beliefs are incorrect and can be changed to create a more inclusive environment. The same is for people of color. Let me stop before I go any further and highlight what I am about to say is not reverse racism or people of color are just as racist as White individuals. With education about racism you will see that I am making a very different point. My point is that when we say Black Lives Matter, let’s make sure we are saying Black LGBTQ+ lives matter, Black Women’s lives matter. Those by promoting racial inclusivity for African Americans I also want to see progress for my Latinx brothers and sisters and other racial minority groups. I can be an ally for multiple cultural groups and understand that they are as well oppressed and sometimes even within their own cultural group in addition to the oppressive society. I talk about how this is part of the racist system where we fall into what is called the “Oppression Olympics” of who had it worse. The system unfortunately doesn’t allow for Black Lives Matter to also be a movement for other groups because unfortunately we are fighting for a tiny slice of the pie and the fear of losing our moment for another cause will cause division and not inclusivity. Also, we must be mindful that as people of color, we do not hold oppressive stereotypical views of other minorities that have been instilled upon us to maintain the status quo. For example, many people will believe that Jewish, Latinx, Asian Americans, sexual minorities, and others have not contributed to the advancement for African Americans and people of color through the civil rights and social justice movements. Whereas this could not be the furthest from the truth. The goal should be an inclusive and representative country and that requires not only for me to knowledgeable and proactive for the rights of people that are similar to me, but also just like for White individuals regarding race, as a Black Man I should be outraged and intentional about fighting anti-Semitism, for the rights of women, sexual minorities, undocumented immigrants, other racial minorities, and others.

We are going through a rough period now. Are you optimistic that this issue can eventually be resolved? Can you explain?

To be honest I don’t know, I think I have to always be optimistic that things will improve but we also have a very long way to go. Sometimes the baby steps we take are hard to appreciate because we are fighting for so much and receive so little in return. I’m optimistic because previously I thought the Washington football team would never change their name for example, we’ve seen mass displays of acknowledgment that Black Lives Do Matter, and some police and criminal justice reform. However, what about the educational system, what about the low number of people of color who sit in positions of authority, can we talk about unequal hiring practices? How long before we have another Black President? Will we ever have a Latinx female President? Or Native American on the Supreme Court? When you start to see how far we have to go to promote inclusivity and equal representation it’s hard not to feel doubtful. Especially when you know everyone is not in agreement with you on making a change. Those getting to a place of equality means right now we need to focus on people of color and underrepresented groups that have been marginalized and oppressed. However, we have to keep fighting, I remember something my grandfather told me when I complained about racism when I was in undergrad-he responded with “oh you wanna tell me about racism and what’s difficult” and I realize that I stand on the shoulders of people that came before me and my job is not only to keep pushing forward but to bring others with me. That was my father told me and many others have told their children that you are going to work twice as hard and receive half as much but you have to keep pushing forward and working to make this world a better place and I’m hopeful that at least we will leave the country in a better place than the generation before.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

There’s not one person but a few that immediately come to mind is first Barack Obama, I mean who wouldn’t want to meet him. I always say Obama is my favorite president, not because of any policy but because he won. His victory in 2008 showed anyone that was not a White man whether they were a woman or person of color that you can be the president. In addition, I would love to hear his thoughts, views, and some of his insight on creating social justice. In addition, I would love to meet Robert Townsend. Many of the stereotypical messages and the desire for African Americans to be viewed in non-minstrel roles, Robert Townsend addressed in his film. So, I would love to speak with him to hear about his inspiration and how also I could work on a research study that addresses some of these issues. Lastly, there are a few people in my profession I would love to meet such as Claude Steele, Nancy Boyd Frankiln, and Derald Wing Sue.

How can our readers follow you online?

Right now, I’m at the very early stages of my career. I don’t have an online presence, but I have some ideas. I’ve been thinking about a podcast and maybe I can get some help with that or starting a website. Right now it’s just a simple email: [email protected]. But don’t worry, hopefully you will see or be reading more from me in the future.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!

Dr. Branson Boykins of Alliant International University: 5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It really is very, very lonely at the top. We’ve all heard the cliché before, but it isn’t until you get there that you really start to appreciate just how lonely it is. There are very few people to whom you can turn for advice or help, particularly when dealing with complicated problems. While others on my team are clearly accountable for their areas of responsibility, you are ultimately accountable for everything. And, if you are a strong leader, the buck stops with you regardless of the outcome — good or bad.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Magazine.

Todd is Chief Executive Officer of Blink Fitness, a wholly-owned subsidiary and sister brand of Equinox, Soul Cycle, Pure Yoga and Equinox Hotels. Since joining the business in 2012, Todd has helped grow Blink from four locations to over 100 nationwide.

Todd was the architect of the brand’s Mood Above Muscle™ philosophy, which challenges conventional fitness stereotypes by celebrating how exercise makes you feel versus how it makes you look. Blink is the first gym to showcase body diversity and engage people who have been disenfranchised by the clichéd advertising images that feature unrealistic and unattainable bodies.

Blink has been ranked on the Inc. 5000 list three times, was recognized as one of the top health clubs by Club Industry and selected as the best budget chain by Men’s Health.

Prior to Blink, Todd served as President of North America for the over-the-counter division of Pfizer, whose portfolio of products includes Advil, Centrum, Robitussin and Chapstick. Todd spent nine years at PepsiCo where he held a variety of senior executive positions, including President of Gatorade and President of Quaker Foods. He also spent nine years at Procter & Gamble working on well-known brands such as Cover Girl and Jif Peanut Butter.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan, Todd went on to earn an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Todd and his wife, Emily, split their time in rural New Jersey and Manhattan. They have three daughters and two rescue dogs. As a competitive runner, golf addict and aspiring tennis player, Todd brings a hearty passion for fitness and athletics to his role as CEO of Blink. He works out four to five times a week, which includes at least two visits to his long-time Blink personal trainer.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Dumb luck. I had decided to make a career shift and explore entrepreneurial opportunities. I loved my years working for big companies but was exhausted by the slow, internally focused nature of massive public companies. I was introduced to the Chairman of Equinox Group (a portfolio of world-class fitness companies, including Blink, Equinox and Soul Cycle) by a former co-worker at PepsiCo who was CMO at one of the companies. There wasn’t an open role for me, but he and I hit it off and, miraculously, he saw something in me that gave him confidence that I could make the switch from an exclusively Fortune 50 career to a start-up in a category I knew nothing about — fitness. He created a new role leading all of the new businesses in the portfolio with the goal of putting all of them on a growth trajectory. I am very thankful that he took a chance on me.

Can you share one of the major challenges you encountered when first leading the company? What lesson did you learn from that?

As previously mentioned, I had made the switch from running big businesses at public companies to a start-up for a private company. For perspective, I had been responsible for businesses that were as big as $4 billion in revenue and were delivering profits in excess of $1 billion. When I joined Blink, it had four locations and was in investment mode, so it was not profitable. In addition, I knew nothing about fitness, customer service, real estate, design, and construction, etc. So, what major challenge didn’t I encounter when I first joined? I am proud to say that eight years later, the company has well over 100 locations and is highly profitable. The biggest lesson I learned was that if you want to make a switch from big companies to the life of an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to check your ego at the door and do things you haven’t done in many years. I always joke with people who want to make a similar career change that they have to be prepared to ride on the subway versus the company jet because, in the start-up world, every dollar counts. If that doesn’t suit you, then don’t make the change.

What are some of the factors that you believe led to your eventual success?

I think humility and intellectual curiosity. First off, humility. In addition to my subway rides, I went from being the “president” of billion-dollar businesses with household names to the “executive vice president” of a tiny brand no one had ever heard of. The chairman of Equinox Group, whom I still work for today, was willing to take a chance on me but wanted me to prove myself before he would be willing to give me the title of president. I had to swallow deep and accept the challenge, hoping that it would be one step back, two steps forward if I was able to deliver, which I did. This resulted in me getting promoted from executive vice president to the president to CEO. Secondly, intellectual curiosity. As mentioned, I knew virtually nothing about many of the areas I was now accountable for. So, I had dozens of steep learning curves that I had to climb quickly in order to be an effective leader. I had to find the right mentors to learn from, had to throw myself into this new world, and I had to surround myself with a talented team.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO”? Please share a story or example for each.

• It really is very, very lonely at the top. We’ve all heard the cliché before, but it isn’t until you get there that you really start to appreciate just how lonely it is. There are very few people to whom you can turn for advice or help, particularly when dealing with complicated problems. While others on my team are clearly accountable for their areas of responsibility, you are ultimately accountable for everything. And, if you are a strong leader, the buck stops with you regardless of the outcome — good or bad.
• You have to be able to glide seamlessly between the thirty-thousand-foot level and the one-foot level of the business. Throughout the day, I deal with issues and opportunities as vast as what is our international expansion strategy to what color should we paint the walls of our locker rooms. I’m not necessarily making the decisions on each of them, but have to be able to provide helpful thoughts and input to those that do. It’s probably one of the most fun aspects of my job. Specifically, dealing with all different types of issues and opportunities.
• You have to be the chief rainmaker. While we have many talented people in our organization, it is my role, as leader of the business, to be the one constantly thinking about what we can do to improve. In some cases, it’s a little thing like adding trough sinks without counters into our bathrooms so our staff doesn’t have to constantly clean them and can focus on more important things, like delighting our members. In other cases, it’s a big thing, like getting the board of directors to agree to let us add a franchise system to our company-owned efforts, which will greatly accelerate the trajectory of the business in the years to come.
• People notice everything you say and do. Whether you like it or not, you are in a fishbowl. Whether it’s your mood, your attire, your seemingly innocuous comment, or when you come and go to the office — they notice. In fact, I recently gave a talk at our monthly town hall for corporate employees, the title of which was “Todd said, Todd meant.” It was important that people understand that I often think out loud and say things that are intended to be thought-starters or ideas, but get taken as direction and marching orders. Clearly, if my words are misinterpreted, we can waste a lot of time and a lot of money doing something that people think I want to do.
• Managing people is hard; leading an organization of people is harder. There is nothing more rewarding about being a manager or leader than seeing an organization grow and thrive. I have been so very fortunate to be part of Blink from almost the beginning, so I have been able to watch many people grow up through the organization and blossom as leaders. I have also been able to foster a culture that I wanted to work in and one that enables other people to enjoy what they do and make a valuable contribution to the communities we serve. But managing people is hard work. No two people are alike, so figuring out how to motivate, provide feedback or even collaborate differs from person to person. And while I may be able to flex my style a little to better work with each of them, there are always those people with whom you just don’t click. So knowing how to deal with all types of people takes effort and hard work.

What advice would you give to your colleagues to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

I’m not sure I am the right person to answer this. I have always been a pedal-to-the-floor kind of person who is on the verge of burnout most of the time. This might sound horrible to some, but if you love what you do and you are motivated by the work and the people around you, going hard and fast becomes a way of life. All that being said, I am very fortunate that I have a wife and kids who are able to pull me away from work. And I have a variety of hobbies — mainly golf and exercise — that help me stay as balanced as I can be. Truth be told, keeping balanced will be a work-in-progress for me until the day I retire — if I ever do.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

After college, I joined an advertising company in Manhattan and worked on the Quaker Oats account. I loved advertising but wanted to go to the client-side and become a marketer. While a BA in English Literature from the University of Michigan was nice, it wasn’t the best college major for becoming a marketer, so I decided to get my MBA. I applied to a variety of schools, but the one I wanted most, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, which was known for its powerhouse marketing education, waitlisted me. So, I decided to write to the Chairman & CEO of the Quaker Oats Company, who coincidentally, was on the advisory board of the Kellogg business school. My letter talked about the amazing experience I had working on one of his brands and requested a call or face to face meeting. Within a few days, I heard back from him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t meet with me but said that he appreciated my commitment to his business and, as such, he was going to write me a letter of recommendation to Kellogg. Just to be clear, this guy never met me, nor did he even talk to me on the phone; however, he appreciated my loyalty to his business and the commitment I made to help it be successful. Suffice to say I received my acceptance letter from Kellogg a few weeks later. Hmmm…I wonder what tipped the scales?

But the story doesn’t end there. About 20 years later, I became the president of Gatorade, which was also owned by the Quaker Oats Company. The chairman and CEO I had written to had long since retired, but I reached out to him and invited him to breakfast. It was my first time meeting him and got the chance to tell him my story and thank him. He had no recollection of my letter.

The moral of the story: don’t ever underestimate the power a little help or assistance can have on someone’s life or career.

What are some of the goals you still have and are working to accomplish, both personally and professionally?

I am a lifelong learner and always willing to try something new. I took up golf at 28 and became obsessed shortly after. So, I often wonder: how many other “golfs” are there out there — things I haven’t yet tried or experienced that might make me happy? But I am also a perfectionist. I spend very little time celebrating wins and generally focus my energy on the issues or the next big opportunity in front of me. Maybe that’s why I am always on the verge of burnout.

What do you hope to leave as your lasting legacy?

I am so proud of the Blink team and the millions of people whose lives we have changed over the years. We bring such good to so many communities that it makes it easy to get out of bed every day knowing that you did something to help so many people.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would enhance people’s lives in some way, what would it be? You never know what your idea can trigger!

I feel like I am already part of a movement with Blink. The stories I hear either directly or indirectly from the members who tell us about the changes we helped them accomplish. That movement is to make people and communities healthier and happier.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I have always believed that the story should be about the brand, not the people who run it. As such, your readers may be bored by my social media activity. They can follow me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddmagazine/, but I think they’ll be more interested following Blink https://instagram.com/blinkfitness?igshid=17mbfg0fmkk9p.

Todd Magazine of Blink Fitness: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became the CEO was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

My “tipping point” probably occurred before my professional career. Growing up, I was one of the smart kids who didn’t have to work too hard to get good grades. It wasn’t until I got rejected from my top college choice that I really understood it took more than just brains to make it. Immediately after, I worked twice as hard — eventually getting into the school of my choice with a scholarship in hand. That helped me build the focus and work habits I now have today. This also taught me that regardless of what happens if you work hard enough, you’ll find a way. That’s carried over into my professional career whenever we’ve come across barriers in fundraising, growth, or other aspects of the business.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years I had the pleasure of interviewing Obi Omile Jr.

Obi is co-founder & CEO of theCut, the largest technology platform modernizing the barbershop experience for barbers and the people who need them. theCut boasts more than 65K barbers, 1.7M users, and over 15M appointments booked nationwide, disrupting the $20B barbershop market.

Obi brings experience across tech and financial services industries prior to launching theCut with his co-founder Kush Patel. Previously, Obi was a Software Engineering Analyst at Accenture Federal Services and a software developer at Wells Fargo, where he worked with both business executives and fellow developers to build out products. He also interned as a Data Analyst for cognitive enhancement startup, truBrain and built and released Payday, an app making it easier to forecast paychecks and improve savings habits. Obi earned a B.B.A. in economics, with a concentration in finance, from James Madison University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Absolutely! Thanks for taking the time to learn more about our story. Like many entrepreneurs, starting a business was a way to solve a problem we were confronted with. It just so happened that in 2016, my co-founder, Kush and I had both moved back to Virginia after working in New York and North Carolina respectively. While away from home, we both had such terrible haircut experiences, that we felt the problem quite acutely. At the same time, we had both been working at companies where we developed the technical skills that we could use to build a solution. So one night, after playing basketball, we spent time venting about why it was so hard to get a great haircut. Especially at a time when apps were popping up left and right solving everyday problems. We discussed amongst ourselves, then with local barbers, we had relationships with, to get a better understanding of their day-to-day issues. We realized that both sides had real concerns that software was well-suited to address. In February of 2016, we started working on the prototype and a few months later in May, we went live in the iOS App Store.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

We spent the summer of 2018 in Los Angeles while in the Techstars program. It was an incredible experience where we learned a ton and met some really impactful people. It was one day after work, we were leaving the office and heard music playing downstairs. We walked around the building, eventually finding the source. Next door, there was a pop-up gallery with a DJ. The DJ turned out to be Snoop Dogg and rapper Dave East was in attendance. We talked our way in and got to hang out for a few hours and ended the night by giving Snoop one of our company t-shirts.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

My “tipping point” probably occurred before my professional career. Growing up, I was one of the smart kids who didn’t have to work too hard to get good grades. It wasn’t until I got rejected from my top college choice that I really understood it took more than just brains to make it. Immediately after, I worked twice as hard — eventually getting into the school of my choice with a scholarship in hand. That helped me build the focus and work habits I now have today. This also taught me that regardless of what happens if you work hard enough, you’ll find a way. That’s carried over into my professional career whenever we’ve come across barriers in fundraising, growth, or other aspects of the business.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

It definitely takes a village and we’ve had a number of people who’ve helped us along the way. Whether it be Melissa Bradley at 1863 Ventures or the Humble Ventures team. We wouldn’t be where we are today, without their help. Early on, they took a chance on us and filled our knowledge gaps. As well as introduce us to individuals who we built relationships with, that have continued to be fruitful to this day.

And even earlier in the company, people like Rashad Moore, an entrepreneur in the D.C. area, were incredibly valuable. He let us share his office space, which was a nice change of pace from our childhood bedrooms or the local Panera. That along with his experience and insights into building technology tools shaped the way we looked at the business in the onset.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

As you mentioned, the technology we’re using exists today in other industries. But yet, haven’t been fully utilized across the beauty industry, especially in barbershops. Mobile computing, cloud storage, and digital payments can all transform business for many of these entrepreneurs. The ability to manage appointments 24/7 anywhere in the world, on your phone is incredibly powerful. For barbers who have upwards of 1,000 clients, it would have been nearly impossible for them to build meaningful relationships with their clients. With theCut, that entire process can now be managed from your phone. By implementing digital payments, barbers are no longer tied to physical registers and can run their business and be paid on the go. By making many of these technologies accessible to the masses, we’re empowering entrepreneurs in the beauty industry to run their businesses more efficiently and effectively.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

As more and more data is collected and stored in the cloud. The tools needed to protect them become more salient. Everyone deserves the right to privacy and to feel that their information is guarded from bad actors. At theCut, we’re constantly thinking about how we can better protect our users. When we plan new features, one of the first times that we consider is how vulnerable this makes those in our community. Payment security is even more important. When you hear how often banking institutions are targeted by hackers, it’s painfully clear that secure payment systems will continue to be top of mind in the coming years.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Barbers and barbershops have been staples in communities of color. They provide a safe space for people to be themselves and provide a confidence boost with every haircut. I’m excited to be able to return the favor, and empower barbers with the tools they need to run their business and help make them more confident entrepreneurs. At the same time, everyone at some point has had a terrible haircut or struggled to find the right Barber/Stylist for them. The ability to give consumers more choices and convenience when it comes to something as personal as one’s hair, is a great feeling. Technology is eating the world, and the beauty space won’t be immune to its impact. The opportunity to reimagine what commerce looks like in barbershops really excites us at theCut.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

• Lack of institutionalized retirement planning
• Uniformed and accessible education & training

At theCut, we’re always thinking of ways to improve the experience of barbers on our platform and to add value in all parts of their lives. We have plans to address both of these issues in the future.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Great haircuts: A great haircut works wonders for confidence. When you look your best, you feel your best. Finding the right haircut or hairstyle that makes you feel comfortable and confident is key to feeling beautiful.
• Avoid negative thoughts: Telling yourself that you’re beautiful or that you love the way you look is another way of tricking your brain into believing it. The mind is a powerful thing and too often we can be our own worst critic.
• Unfollow social media accounts: Social media is a great tool for connecting with people. But at the same time can be incredibly overwhelming. When you continuously see people who don’t look like you getting tons of likes and comments, that can affect the way you see yourself. Unfollowing those accounts and realizing that beauty comes in a variety of ways, can help restore your sense of self-worth.
• Standing tall: Fixing your posture is another great way to boost your confidence. Standing erect and sitting straight up, signals to your brain that you feel good about yourself. Keeping your shoulders back, and chest open also makes your look taller, slimmer, and more self-assured.
• Gratitude: A simple “thank you” can go a long way. When people compliment you, accepting it without pointing out your flaws will do wonders for your confidence. Once you’ve internalized what people think your best traits are, it’ll be easier for you to identify and take pride in them. In turn, making you more confident in yourself.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Reallocation of government spending. Our country’s budget has skewed more and more towards defense at the expense of other public goods and services. If we were able to spread that wealth around, we could replenish the budgets of health and education services that have been depleted in the past decades. Both would have great impacts on the general well being of society. As well as make life across the country more equitable giving everyone an opportunity at a better life.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails”- William Arthur Ward

Most of my life I’ve viewed myself as an optimist. But at times, you can’t just believe things will happen. You have to take the reins and control your own destiny. Willing myself towards the college of my choice, learning how to code after graduation, and starting a company with a friend were all examples of me not waiting for things to happen. But instead, creating the future I wanted to see.

How can our readers follow you online?

Company

IG: @thecutapp

Twitter: @thehaircutapp

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Of Beauty: How Obi Omile Jr of theCut aims to modernize the barbershop experience was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Surround yourself with people who appreciate you. You are worthy of kindness and love. I’m not going to give the old spill about hair and makeup. You’ve got that. What you need now is good, clean, positive energy around you that will help you radiate beauty. I remember this when I ordered a weird facial mask and had it lying out on the counter. My husband left a post-it on it, saying, “You don’t need this. You’re already gorgeous.” It was something so powerful yet so simple. You know what? I threw that mask away, and I kept that post-it. It’s now in the drawer with all my beauty creams, and I take time to look at that note often. That’s what helps me feel beautiful.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Chelle Neff. She has been a leader in the U.S. salon industry since founding Urban Betty in 2005. Neff has successfully grown Urban Betty year after year and today has a salon company that houses more than 60 employees and 2 locations. In 2018 & 2019, Urban Betty was named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies by Inc. 5000. If you want to learn more about Chelle, please follow her on Instagram @urbanbetty or visit chelleneff.com.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I began my journey as an entrepreneur first by being an employee in the salon industry. I knew from a young age that I wanted to do hair. I jumped at the offer to enroll in cosmetology school while in high school at the age of sixteen. This opportunity was amazing because it meant directing my path toward exploring a real passion of mine. During my junior and senior years, I attended half days of regular classes and a half-day in cosmetology school.

When I received my license, I started working behind the chair at Supercuts. I slowly worked my way up the ladder to more high-end salons. Five years later, I got a small suite at the Gallery of Salons in Austin, Texas, and became an independent contractor. That was my first stepping stone towards running my own business. In 2005, Urban Betty opened and now has two locations and almost 60 employees.

Can you share the most exciting story that happened to you since you began your career?

When I initially structured the pricing list for services at my salon, I offered package deals and all sorts of special discounts. I thought surely this was the best way to draw in new business. After struggling to make ends meet, I finally ran a report to see how much money we were giving away. It was an astonishing $50,000 in just one year! After that, I hired a salon consulting company and a business coach — Summit Salon Business Center. Within the first three months of hiring Summit, we restructured the pricing on our service list to an a la carte menu with only a limited amount of discounts. Our revenue grew by 30% the following year! Once our profits quickly turned around, I was able to retire from doing hair in 2016 and focus solely on managing Urban Betty.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

Yes, there was a massive trigger for me that I regard as my tipping point. I was in a relationship with a person who wasn’t right for me. I started having extreme dizzy spells, and I knew then I needed to get out of that relationship and focus on myself and get in a safe place. I started therapy, and after a few years, only then did I slowly learn how to love and accept me. I immediately noticed a reflection of that within my business. When you’re in a bad spot emotionally, your business will always reflect that. Once I started to improve myself emotionally, my business took off financially. Whenever we want something to happen on the outside, we have to start with the inside.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I would not be where I am today without my life coach/therapist, Rebecca Hamm. I met with her once a week for the first five years after I opened my business. I am down to every other week now. When you are an entrepreneur, you always need someone in your corner who can call you on your B.S. in a gentle way. She does that for me. She has helped me overcome my ego and become a boss in every sense of the word.

Okay super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

The future of technology and beauty is rapidly changing, especially this year with the pandemic. We have utilized virtual consultations, product affiliate programs, and checking guests in through text messaging. It’s just a few ways we’ve been able to serve our guests in the beauty industry with technology instead of touch. I feel this is going to remain the norm and forever change how my salon interacts with guests. I believe that virtual consultations are the wave of the future for guests seeking hair color, cuts, or even full makeovers. With Zoom becoming so popular during the pandemic, this has enabled us to consult with guests without them entering the salon company. This technology will help people who live far away or otherwise skip coming in because they don’t want to take time out of their day for a consultation. This solution makes it simple and something that they can do from the privacy and comfort of their own home.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Yes, I can. With all the beauty filters out there on popular social media apps, it’s created a crazy sense of false expectations from the public. People seek out doctors to get their faces sculpted to match a filter, but they are also asking for hair colors that aren’t achievable. We have guests consistently bringing in photos that are over-filtered and not real life. It’s a constant explanation of why the Kardashians can have black and white-blonde hair in the same week. Wigs and app filters give people this perception that you can do anything with your face and hair. And unfortunately, people get upset if you can’t deliver that. There needs to be more awareness around people using technology to morph images with over filtered color. I can only imagine what it’s like for all the kids growing up, seeing that, and expecting that they can look like that one day. We need to think more deeply about accepting our bodies and faces as they are.

Can you share three things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Three things that excite me about the beauty-tech industry are:

1. Hair scanners. This tool is super exciting, and the technology keeps getting better every year. You can now use a handheld device, which the hairstylist uses to scan the guest’s hair. It utilizes near-infrared and visible light sensors to measure factors such as “inner hair quality,” moisture level, and actual hair color. The hairstylist sends the reading to an app on their phone where the results are analyzed. The guest can then consult with the hairstylist about things like hair color, which they can view on their phone within the app.
2. Lamellar Technology. We carry the brand Kerastase. They have launched a new product with this technology. The radiance-revealing hair treatment is composed of a unique blend of ultra-lightweight molecules, which are up to 10 times smaller than those found in traditional conditioners and masques. When activated with water, these molecules form an ultra-fine topcoat on the surface of the hair. The result? An outstanding, flawless finish. The lamellar technology means that only areas of the hair that need it are targeted for a truly lightweight treatment. Being able to shrink ingredients so that they can further penetrate the hair shaft makes products more efficient, super conditioning and hydrating.
3. E-Makeup. I love the thought of seeing what colors look like on your face before actually applying them. And I can’t wait to go to a store one day, look at a screen, hold a product up to it and see what it looks like on my face. Technology like this will forever revolutionize the makeup industry.

Can you share three things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement three ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

1. The first thing that concerns me, and honestly should concern everyone, is safety in ingredients. Technology is making great strides with ingredients. However, they should also take time to ensure that they are safe to use. Natural beauty products used to be sold mainly in health food stores. With all the studies around health combined with beauty, new brands are positioning themselves as “cleaner” alternatives. It’s not perfect, but it’s better. We need to hold more brands accountable for their ingredients and make sure that they are safe, not just labeled that way. I would reform this by blacklisting cancer-causing/unsafe ingredients and making sure that products are tested before going on to the market.
2. Again, I am concerned about what people see on social media and what is real life. We need more support for people out there, sharing that we shouldn’t all look the same. What you were born with is okay! It seems like everyone posting has the same “app face.” It’s almost snakelike, and the skin looks weirdly smooth. It seems to be even more prevalent, with everyone hunkered down at home. Embrace your natural beauty!
3. Exclusivity and diversity also should be a concern for all brands. Companies need to make sure that they implement beauty and technology that are affordable and usable to everyone. Technology products are usually designed for a specific clientele that tends to be masculine. For example, V.R. headsets still don’t exactly fit everyone’s head perfectly (especially women). At first, I thought I just couldn’t figure out how to put them on correctly, Now I know!

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share five ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Don’t compare. Too often, we look at everyone else’s world and think, I could never look like that. Or what is this person wearing, eating, doing to look so good? And most of the time, it’s angles, filters, and some people even use photoshop! I remember one time at the beach, I took a photo with my husband, and my friend taking the picture told me to stand to the side and turn straight towards the camera. I couldn’t believe how much better I looked in the photo. I never knew this trick, but you know I use it every time now. Sometimes something as simple as changing an angle can help you feel better in photos. And then you’ll notice it the next time you see someone doing it, and hopefully, you won’t compare yourself to them!
2. Know your worth! Self-worth is the value we put upon ourselves. It is also how we communicate to the world what we believe we deserve to receive back. You must improve your beliefs around your self-worth to feel better. And when you feel better, guess what? You look better! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and your eye is most important. I used to base my worth on what everyone else thought about me. I constantly asked for validation after making a change at work, and it felt right for about 5 minutes, and then I was questioning myself again. When you know your worth and step into your power, you learn to ask the universe, “Did I just do that right?” And you know what answer you’ll get, YES! Trust that and let that be your validation, not people around you.
3. Praise others. By lifting others, you, in turn, bring that same energy back to yourself. When’s the last time you said that you like how someone looked or complimented a specific attribute about another person? Remember how good you felt after that? And guess what? When we feel better, we feel beautiful. When I arrive at work, I walk around and make an effort to say hello and talk to people, and if I like something about them, I take time to say it. It’s important, and people will remember that. Nothing will make you feel more beautiful INSIDE than knowing you’ve lifted someone else up.
4. Surround yourself with people who appreciate you. You are worthy of kindness and love. I’m not going to give the old spill about hair and makeup. You’ve got that. What you need now is good, clean, positive energy around you that will help you radiate beauty. I remember this when I ordered a weird facial mask and had it lying out on the counter. My husband left a post-it on it, saying, “You don’t need this. You’re already gorgeous.” It was something so powerful yet so simple. You know what? I threw that mask away, and I kept that post-it. It’s now in the drawer with all my beauty creams, and I take time to look at that note often. That’s what helps me feel beautiful.
5. You are what you eat. And when you eat better, you look better. When I was in my 20’s I could put away a large pizza or a foot-long sub, no problem! And guess what? I always felt bloated, had headaches, and zero energy. When I started having dizzy spells in my early 30’s, I assessed my health. I changed my diet to “mostly” gluten and dairy-free (let yourself live, every once in a while) and started exercising. Now in my early 40’s I look better than I did in my 20’s, and I have TON more energy. The dizziness has all but gone away too. And again, when you feel better, you look better and that is beautiful.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would love to inspire a movement of supporting other people’s successes. The world is not one pie for everyone. We each have our own pie! When one person is successful, they are never taking away from you. Your worth and all that you have are based on your emotional well-being and your beliefs surrounding that. Whenever you celebrate another person’s success, you draw that same energy onto yourself. I would love for everyone out there to want others to succeed and be happy for them!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote is, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I heard this quote right after opening my salon company, and I was utterly overwhelmed with all of the things that I needed to do. I believe that all movement is forward movement. Even the smallest thing like having coffee with another business owner — asking them one question may help you get to where you want to go.

How can our readers follow you online?

Facebook: facebook.com/urbanbettysalon

Instagram & Twitter: @urbanbetty

Chelle Neff of Urban Betty: “Why you need to surround yourself with people who appreciate you” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“An idea isn’t worth anything, execution is.” I always say this because I think that if we just spin around ideas and keep chasing the next shiny objects, we don’t go deep. So it’s important that whenever you build something, you have to work on executing and growing the thing, as opposed to continuously building other things.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachael McCrary.

Rachael is the Co-Founder and President of Infrawear, LLC and the inventor of the RxBRa, a post-surgical garment recommended by plastic surgeons. RxBra contains FarInfrared yarn for increased circulation and blood flow which leads to optimal results. Rachael has founded and advised many startups and has a background in operations, venture capital and early to mid stage growth companies in fashion and blockchain. Having spent 20 years in the apparel industry conducting business in Asia, Rachael has vast product development and logistical expertise.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I started my career as a fashion designer and I have over two decades of product development experience. I studied Fashion Design at FIDM. Throughout my career, I’ve worked overseeing creative product development for major brands, including Maidenform and Victoria’s Secret. I’m no stranger to hard work and certainly not afraid to be the first to do or try anything I believe in. As a female who’s led more than three successful startups, I’ve also entered and won major pitch competitions. I was the first female to raise over 1M in Venture Capital in 2015. Now I’ve taken my supply chain and product development experience to our current company, Infrawear.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

My company, Infrawear, is getting test kits in hospitals and clinics everywhere. We’re currently supplying COVID-19 tests and PPE to 100+ U.S. hospitals, government agencies, and corporations with CLIA-certified laboratories. We’re also working around the clock to help create fully tested events so people in America can enjoy events again while remaining safe. Since we’re supplying tests around the country and facilitating tested events for film crews and concerts, conferences, corporate events, film crews, we’re helping people adjust to the new normal. The more test kits go into healthcare facilities the faster we can ultimately help America separate positive from non-positive citizens and do mass testing safely. All the while, it’ll help more people know their status.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Infrawear has an established history of having the deepest level of sourcing and shipping expertise and supply chain know-how. Infrawear prides itself on being an agile, forward- thinking company. Since the COVID pandemic, the Company has already built new relationships with more than 100+ hospitals, government agencies, and corporations across the U.S., in less than six months’ time. Infrawear is rapidly providing top-quality, high-demand medical supplies, proprietary COVID-19 Tests and PPE to clinical laboratories or to healthcare workers. In addition to this, our new RxMask helps eliminate bacteria growth while remaining active and wearing a mask, and offers health and beauty benefits.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

Absolutely. Everyone warned us that there were a couple of large players in the medical bra space and we wouldn’t be able to compete with that. Then when we ordered those products and took a look at them, we just didn’t feel that they were that great. The elastic was really hard and stiff and it wasn’t even for undergarments. I just couldn’t imagine wearing it in general, let alone if I had had surgery. It has super soft fabric and I added infrared yarn, which we knew made it a productive garment that could actually help people and increase circulation and blood flow. I’ve been making bras for 20 years and I knew there that I could definitely make a better garment than what I was seeing. And now? People order them all the time. We have top surgeons on re-order and women always let us know they love the product.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

One of my advisors, Tom Marcus, is an attorney in Silicon Valley. He has a completely different viewpoint than me which helps me a lot in business. My viewpoint is as an entrepreneur and dream focused, whereas he looks at things from a risk perspective. In the beginning, I thought he was just being negative, but after seven years of working together, I learned a lot. I learned to look at things from a risk analysis perspective and thinking of problems in advance. Entrepreneurs aren’t just product developers. That’s 10% of the job, you need to know the numbers inside and out, so you can understand your business. You need to know the mechanics yourself. There are so many factors to owning a business, and Tom really helped open my eyes in seeing that there isn’t just one way of thinking. You can’t have someone else create your projections. When the business is operational it’s good to have a professional do your profit and loss statements but always analyze them. You’ll find out what is producing results and what isn’t and how to scale.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

In high school, I was working $8 an hour at my job in a restaurant. It didn’t take long for me to realize this wasn’t working for me. However, while there, people always asked me about the clothes I was wearing. So I started making mini dresses and selling them. Then I started screening t-shirts for bands and learned how to run a profitable business while I was in high school. I took this passion for business and clothing and used it to get to where I am today.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

1. Have strong self of self
2. Have a spiritual practice that helps ground you
3. Celebrating small wins, so that you build personal encouragement and encourage others
4. Remember why you’re doing it in the first place
5. Lead by example by supporting other entrepreneurs

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“An idea isn’t worth anything, execution is.” I always say this because I think that if we just spin around ideas and keep chasing the next shiny objects, we don’t go deep. So it’s important that whenever you build something, you have to work on executing and growing the thing, as opposed to continuously building other things.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Gather safely. Understand that we’re going to be in this situation for a while. Masks and mass testing are imperative. Learn how to live in this new world because people keep waiting for this to be over, but that’s going to take a long time. We need to learn how to carefully and safely live normally and that’s what Infrawear is doing.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: @nycbella and Twitter: @rachaelbydesign

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Rachael McCrary of Infrawear: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.