What's Your Story?

Lola Bakare, Award-Winning Inclusive Marketing Strategist, helps marketing executives unleash their magic. This is largely due to the fact that she is willing to say the thing that needs to be said in all situations. After listening to her story, you will see that she's always had this ability even as young student who aspired to be a talk show host. Her journey is a great example of what is possible when your experiences foster orthogonal thinking that enables you to connect disparate ways of thinking. 

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Antonio Key, co-founder and managing partner of Sunset Ventures, grew up with a straight forward mindset in is household..."either you did it or you didn't do it." This established a sense of accountability and responsibility for him from the early parts of his journey. It has also contributed to his superpower of remaining grounded to trust that he can push through mistakes that will undoubtedly come up. He also shares how supporting founders that are thinking and building in spaces where he may be a novice allows him to feed his curiosities and learn quickly. His journey is...

Brandon Hoffman, co-founder and managing partner of Sunset Ventures, has had a non-traditional journey to finding his purpose and success. He credits his journey to helping him develop anti-fragility (vs. resiliency) and being comfortable with his non-consensus views on industries. Despite a number of challenges he faced growing up, he has been able to consistently develop strengths that he can now use to address the wealth gap in the U.S. through the intersection of innovation and investment. You have to listen to his story to learn how he has been able to leverage both the left and right...

On this week's episode, we will be celebrating the life of Constance Denise Story by replaying the episode where she shared her story with our host and her son, Matt Story. This podcast and platform for storytelling would not exist if not for the efforts of Matt's Mom. Her impact on our world will continue to be felt through her children, grandchildren, extended family and friends. As she has transitioned into her forever home, her story remains a gift for all of us to learn from as we navigate our own journeys.

Constance Story Obituary

Denella Clark, CEO and President of Boston Arts Academy Foundation, arrived in Boston as a young girl from Jamaica during the height of school busing. She initially followed her passion for fashion to a career as a buyer for Macy's before finding her passion for philanthropy. She believes that philanthropy is the love of humankind. She also has made it her mission to dispel myths and stereotypes around who contributes to fundraising. Listen to her story to learn how she approaches successful fundraising and what being Mommy in Chief means to her.

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For the 100th episode of What's Your Story podcast, I took a moment to reflect on the previous 99 discussions and how they have impacted my journey.  Also, I invited a few of the brilliant minds in my tribe that happen to be members of Gen Z to share their perspectives on what Black History month means to them and how they are creating Black History.  This episode is a dual celebration of the podcast and the bright future we have coming to us thanks to the next generation of leaders. 

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Anne T. Griffin describes herself as a human & product manager, in that order. When you hear her story, you understand why many of us should follow in her footsteps. With two parents in STEM, it's not surprising that her love for technology started at a young age. She was even awarded a prize by Intel for her middle school science project. From that early start, she has gone on to integrate her understanding of humanity to help organizations and innovators see the impact of their products and solutions on all parts of society. When she's not advising or lecturing...

Victoria Albina, Nurse Practitioner and Master Certified Life Coach, believes her work is all about meeting people where they are today with love, care, compassion and grace. She also is able to do this by focusing on what each individual needs to unlock access to healing that enables them to live better lives. Many of the approaches she takes are based on her own first hand experience with illnesses, anxiety and perfectionist thinking. Listen to this discussion to learn how her journey gave her the tools to face unhealed stressors in herself and so many others.

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Ashley Stewart, Executive Coach and Racial Consciousness Consultant, wanted to be an architect when he was growing up. He saw it as a way to build a community where all the people he loved (and those that loved him) could live together. He didn't officially become that architect but he has found his gift(s) that enable him to build human experiences that enable others to live more full and abundant lives. If his journey so far is indicative of what is to come, I see more building for this "architect". Listen to our full discussion to hear how...

Beverly Anderson, President and CEO of BECU, recalls being surrounded by love as she grew up which nurtured her ability to develop as a leader from a very young age. Her story is filled with examples of focusing on being your authentic self as a leader to generate results and community. She also provides many tips and advice based on her diverse experiences for those aspiring to be a CEO. You will leave this conversation inspired, proud and ready to reach your full potential. 

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If you haven't had a chance to listen to all of the amazing stories from this season of What's Your Story? podcast, Matt Story shares the 5 themes he took away in the season 3 finale. 

Be on the lookout for season 4 coming in January 2023.

Anitra Marsh, Chief Communications Officer P&G Beauty, has always been on the talkative and chatty side. She told her grandfather that she would one day make money from that skillset. You could say she delivered on that and more. Her story is filled with great examples of going after new experiences and the capabilities that you unlock along the journey. Listen to her story to hear how she uses her superpower of bringing people together around a passion in her day job.

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Tyrona Heath, leading B2B marketer, speaker, author, athlete and community builder, is passionate about building with other people. She is a great example of what happens when we are able to navigate the world as our full human self. As the Beyonce of B2B marketing, she believes B2B marketing can step into creative greatness by betting on contrarian ideas. All of this is enabled through her superpower of getting people excited about ideas that bring us all together. 

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Patrice Ford Lyn, CEO and Founder of Catapult Change, has always been a coach for most of her life and it just took knowing that coaching was a profession for her to monetize it. Many are lucky that she made that realization as she has helped them transform their lives and organizations. She credits her impressive journey and accomplishments to her family as their shared values were deeply entrenched and non-negotiable. Listen to her story to learn how she has developed her superpower of creating safety for others to live their best lives.

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Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, an award winning researcher, entrepreneur and writer, is old enough to know who Lauryn Hill is but didn't grow up with her. This tells you a lot about who Anna is but our conversation uncovers so much more about the impact she is making on inequalities in our world. As a Zillennial, she seeks to reach forward and back to build connections across generations to ideas, people and resources. She wants to make information and stories more accessible vs. sitting behind hidden curriculums. I couldn't agree more and am excited for you to be inspired by...

Brenda Harrington, Certified Executive Coach and founder of Adaptive Leadership Strategies LLC, didn't have a specific profession she aspired to when she was growing up. However, she did recognize very early on that she wanted to have freedom and more specifically the freedom to create. She initially achieved this through fashion and design before having the opportunity to begin her corporate career. That career led her to recognize her potential to help leaders through coaching. Listen to her story to hear how the social injustices of 2020 led her to becoming an author. 

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Rachel Felix, Chief Marketing Officer at Boston Medical Center Health System, has been on a journey to align her career path with her own mission. The combination of a move and the pandemic allowed her to find the right opportunity to reach that alignment of mission. While she has collected a significant amount of marketing experience and skillsets, it is her superpower of connecting with all kinds of people that has helped her to be successful professionally and personally. The grit she developed growing up in Detroit doesn't hurt either. Listen to her story to hear how she has...

Zenica Chatman, speaker, personal and executive coach, has spent most of her life disrupting systems and structures. She credits her family who encouraged her to always be curious, resourceful and courageous to make a difference. During 2020, she made a pivot following the realization that she had encountered workplace bullying. She'd later go on to discover that 30% of American workers have either experienced or witnessed bullying in the workplace. She has since gone on to help women recover from this trauma to smash their career goals and have fun doing it. Listen to her story to hear how she has...

Jor-El Washington, CEO of Out the Trunk Films and Co-founder of All Love No Beef, has always felt encouraged to be himself and to follow his creativity and interest. He journey hasn't always stayed on that path but his superpower of optimism has helped him to connect with people in a unique way to reach their collective dreams. He's admits that he still has a lot to do but I can say as his big cousin that I take inspiration from his story so far and think you'll enjoy it too. 

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Dr. Crystal Menzies, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of EmancipatED, recalls spending a lot of time in the library while growing up. She had her world changed when she finished a book on ancient Egypt. From that point on, she knew she wanted to pursue a career that allowed her to be curious about the world. As she learned more about the world and more specifically Black history, she wanted to share that with future generations so that they would feel empowered by their ancestors. As with many of us, it wasn't a straight path but her journey is filled...

Simidele Adeagbo has a long list of achievements and accolades that include: First Nigerian to compete in Winter Olympics, First African and Black woman to compete in the skeleton at the Winter Olympics, 4x NCAA All American, Inaugural Obama Foundation Africa leader, TedX speaker, Yale World Fellow, Author, Entrepreneur, Brand Ambassador. All of that comes together to make her a world class change-maker. In our discussion, she shares why there are times when we don't see someone that has done it so it is up to us to go out and do it for others to see what is...

Rickkay King, Co-Founder and Director at Phoenix International School of the Arts, knew that he would see what else is out there beyond his neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago. He didn't know that education would be his key to unlocking many of those experiences traveling the world. His journey is one filled with entering new environments that enabled him to develop new "muscles" and find his superpower of helping others shine a light on their own maps to discover new places.

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Davianne Harris, Chief Client Officer & Head of Equitable Futures Practice at sparks & honey, has always been a bit strong-willed. This comes in handy as she often sits with leading C-suite executives to ask the tough questions that help them achieve their DEI commitments. She credits her family for showing her how to find and then follow your passion and purpose in your work. Listen to her story to learn how she developed her superpower of diligence.

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Dante Simpson, CEO ESPAT TV, believes that not all of us find our path at an early age but if you keep walking you'll eventually find it. With a journey that includes initially wanting to be a minister to playing football at The Ohio State university to working at Gucci and Sony Music group, Dante has focused on the journey and moments with his teammates in place of the accolades. He's now taking the next step into the new space of gaming and is creating world class content with leading story tellers like Ridley Scott. Listen to his story...

Chef Daryl Shular pulled inspiration from the work ethic of his mother to set out and achieve the highest honor within the culinary industry, Certified Master Chef. As the first Black or minority to reach this designation,  he recognizes the importance of blazing a new path and leaving the crumb trail for those that seek to follow in his foot steps. Throughout his journey, he has used his superpower of influence to make an impact on young men and women seeking to be a leader in the hospitality industry.

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Curtis May, creator and owner of Practical Wealth Advisors (PWA) and host of The Practical Wealth Show Podcast, sees himself as a conduit to financial information that many people who look like him don't receive. Coming from a family of business owners/entrepreneurs, he has spent most of his life studying the habits of wealthy people to tap into their strategies for reaching financial freedom. Listen to our discussion to catch the multiple gems that he drops throughout collected through his endless curiosity of the world of finance and beyond. 

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Erin Chin, Chief Marketing Officer at Logitech For Creators, began her journey into advertising and marketing thanks to seeing someone that looked like her doing it in the movie Boomerang. With that inspiration, she'd go on to seek (and complete) challenges academically and professionally that aligned with her passions of media and entertainment.  She credits her success to her superpower of optimism and the foundation set by her parents that anything is possible. She also believes that marketing leaders have the duty to drive the change that we all want to see in the world. Lucky for us, she h...

Cora Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Young King Hair Care, has always understood that it is ok to move on to your next interest. Her journey has benefited from this understanding as she's collected valuable lived experiences that pair nicely with her superpower of being a hustler. From working in a school wearing multiple hats to navigating the corporate world of healthcare, she's been a CEO in training for many years. Lucky for us and many young black and brown boys, she's focusing her energy on changing the narrative of the beauty industry. Check out our conversation to hear...

Lizette Williams, Global Head of Vertical Solutions Marketing at Facebook, has built her highly awarded career driving the convergence of brands, culture and digital. Her secret to success was unlocked early in her career when she decided to be a really great version of the Afro-Latina girl from the Bronx. When many spend their time trying to replicate what they think a leader should be, she has shown up authentically with a focus on those three pillars (brand, culture, digital) that set her contributions and value apart. Listen to her story if you want to be inspired by a...

Fahad Khawaja, Founder & CEO of Hue, has cultivated his superpower of connecting with people to find common interests with those from all different types of backgrounds. He credits this ability to being raised in a third culture environment. His journey is filled with great experiences from his start leveraging his creative talents in the advertising agency industry to focusing on human behavior with brands for lasting impact to now leading an organization that seeks to help us all overcome the network gap.  Listen to his story to hear more about his approach to supporting the health and wealth of h...

Antonia Dean, Director of Startup Pipeline Diversity at Comcast, has always had the perspective that things are going to work out. This is likely thanks to her superpower of finding more than one way to get things done. For example, she made the decision to skip the 6 figure plus corporate law jobs after graduating from Harvard Law school to take a non-paid internship learning marketing at a skin care company. Spoiler alert - it worked out. She credits her family and community for pouring into her and helping her seek to question assumptions and ask the tough questions that...

Matt Scott, Paralympic Gold Medalist and Global Brand Ambassador, is everything you could ask for in a teammate. He has the ideal mixture of confidence and humility that have enabled him to remain driven throughout his inspiring journey. From his introduction on the courts of Detroit wanting to have a cross over and jump shot to playing professionally in multiple countries when not winning gold medals (yes plural), Matt has used the game of basketball to unlock new opportunities and challenges. Lucky for all of us that he hasn't stopped there and gone beyond to be an inspiration for...

Melissa Dawn Simkins, CEO & Founder of Velvet Suite, has always known that she was meant to be in a position that was meaningful and would make an impact. Even though she wasn't sure what that would look like early in her career, she was willing to make sacrifices to ensure she met that end goal. The First Lady of Personal Branding is on the path to help other find their mission, purpose and value in order to quantify their unique value. Her story is one that inspires all of us to to authentically reflect externally who we are internally.<...

Aja Edmond, Chief Marketing Officer at Bloomi, enjoys learning new things. She's spent most of her life seeking to learn so that she can provide value no matter the situation she finds herself. From the south side of Chicago to the cities of Portugal, she has let that desire to explore and curiosity of human behavior guide her steps. Her story is a great example of what can happen when you develop and grow varied interests personally and professionally.

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Walter Geer III, Chief Experience Design Officer at VMLY&R, says that he's stumbled into opportunities in his career by remaining inquisitive. However, a review of his achievements and accomplishments will reveal that he has continued to invent a future where he was able to uniquely do great work and make an outsized impact thanks to his collection of skills, experiences and actions. His story is all things authentic, real and powerful.

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Colette Shelton, Founder of Chirpyest, has always been an ambitious person since she was very young. This is likely thanks the excellence that she was surrounded with in her family and community. Her journey is filled with moments where she ran into walls or obstacles but found a way to shift into new opportunities that became available. This path has helped her develop her superpower of endurance and collect a variety of experiences that give her a unique perspective. She also has some amazing stories that she shares throughout our discussion.

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Rebecca Alvarez Story, Co-Founder & CEO of Bloomi, has spent most of her life creating her own path to her goals and dreams. Her trailblazing spirit was energized by the values her immigrant parents displayed and the community of supporters that surrounded her growing up. She has on multiple occasions had to activate "figure it out" mode to navigate the journey as a mother and founder. Lucky for many of us that she has been able to create a business that scales her expertise and vision that make everyone's love life better. Oh and added bonus that she is my...

Elicia Azali, Mother Hustler and American Family Enterprise Chief Marketing Officer, shares in our conversation that she has been grindin' her whole life. When looking at her list of accomplishments (e.g., Ad Age 40 under 40) , it would seem that has paid off for her and the organizations she has joined through her journey. She was able to recognize early on that what made her unique and different is also what made her powerful. Her story is definitely one of unlimited possibilities thanks to the community that poured into her along the journey.

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Reversing the mic this week, the pod host, Matt Story, sits down with Dr. Johnathan Goree to share his story and unveil how we developed his superpower of facilitation. He shares how having his mom as an advocate early on in his journey enabled him to reach his full capabilities later in life. Throughout the discussion, he answers the fun, hard and interesting questions that he's been asking guests for the past three season, such as "What is your mama we made it moment?".

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- To never underestimate the impact of your voice as...

Copeland Bryan, NFL Player, real estate & tech investor, can be also found acting and speaking when he's not busy taking a crack at corporate life with the Visa Crypto team. Across all of these forums, he aims to be the kind of person that his family would be proud of. His story saw his love for space and aeronautics take him to the University of Arizona where his love for competition extended his athletic career all the way to the NFL.  It's truly the stuff movies are made of and likely one he will star in one day.