This week we’re welcoming licensed certified public accountant (CPA), business coach and growth strategist, Deanna Brooks.

Deanna gives us a glimpse into her own career journey from Big 4 accountant to business coach, now using her skillset to support small businesses in establishing a strong financial foundation to become scalable and profitable.

We discuss what to look for in a business coach, what to avoid, and at what point in your entrepreneurial journey should you be working with a business coach. Deanna also debunks some of the biggest social media myths about growing and scaling a business, while also offering her take on the power of leveraging community and resources as an entrepreneur, and the invaluable lessons learned from taking the slow and steady path.

 

To work with and learn more about Deanna Brooks:

• Follow Deanna Brooks (@deannabthecpa) on Instagram
• Sign Up for her upcoming free training - Plugging the Profit Leaks: Financial Mastery for Multi-Million Dollar E-Commerce Brands

Keep the conversation going with us:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Learn more about Black Women Talk Work
• Tell us resonated with you the most from this week's episode!

This week, we’re welcoming Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, Licensed Psychologist and Host of the award-winning mental health podcast, Therapy for Black Girls.

We’re discussing workplace trauma, self-care, and what these can look like for Black women in today’s work environment, as well as who you need in your personal tribe when trying to stay mentally healthy while navigating your career. As she reflects on a decade of Therapy for Black Girls, Dr. Joy also shares what she hopes Black women and girls will continue to takeaway from the platform over the next decade.

 

To learn more about Dr. Joy and Therapy for Black Girls:

• Follow Dr. Joy and Therapy for Black Girls on Instagram
• Listen to the latest episode of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast
• Read Dr. Joy’s first book, Sisterhood Heals

Keep the conversation going with us:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Learn more about Black Women Talk Work
• Tell us resonated with you the most from this week's episode!

Myriha is joined in conversation by Monique Matthews, co-writer and director of the feature length documentary, "Birthing Justice." This film explores the role of racism and inequities within our healthcare system that endanger Black women during this particularly critical moment in our lives. The film also tells the stories and highlights the voices of the people and the organizations that are fighting for systemic change to ensure the best birthing practices for all women at hospitals across the country. 

Listen as they discuss the power of celebrating the joy in the Black birthing experience on the journey to justice, and much more. 

 

To learn more about Monique Matthews:

• Website: moniquenmatthews.me
• Instagram: @moniquenmatthews
• Monique's book pick: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

To view Birthing Justice:

• To schedule a screening of the film Birthing Justice, head over to birthingjustice.com to connect with the team.
• The film is also available right now on PBS:  https://www.pbs.org/show/birthing-justice/

Keep the conversation going with Black Women Talk Work:

• Website: blackwomentalkwork.com
• Instagram: @blackwomentalkwork
• Facebook: Black Women Talk Work

Myriha is joined in conversation by writer, activist, feminist and author, Rebecca Walker. Listen as they discuss Rebecca’s latest book, WOMEN TALK MONEY: Breaking the Taboo, a beautiful and incredibly insightful collection of 29 essays by women writers, activists and more, each offering a very transparent look into their personal relationship with money, and its inevitable impact on other aspects of their lives and identity as a woman.

Rebecca also dives into her own belief systems around money and how they evolved over the years growing up as the daughter of novelist, poet and activist Alice Walker. Ultimately, through WOMEN TALK MONEY, Rebecca is offering women a safe and nonjudgmental calling to embrace their own money story, the good and the bad, and use it to build an abundant and financially strong future.

 

To learn more about Rebecca Walker:

website: rebeccawalker.com Instagram: @iamrebeccawalker 

Keep the conversation going with Black Women Talk Work:

website: blackwomentalkwork.com Instagram: @blackwomentalkwork Facebook: Black Women Talk Work

Myriha is joined in conversation by Jayne Allen, Harvard-trained attorney and engineer, and author of the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted novel trilogy. Listen as they discuss Jayne’s journey to published author, the makings of her novel protagonist Tabitha Walker, and what she hopes Black women will take away from this trilogy that has been embraced by women all over the world.

To learn more about Jayne Allen:

• website: jayneallen.com
• Instagram: @jayneallenwrites
• Jayne’s Book Genius Book Marketing and Publishing Course

Jayne's book pick: The Creation Frequency 

Keep the conversation going with Black Women Talk Work:

• website: blackwomentalkwork.com
• Instagram: @blackwomentalkwork
• Facebook: Black Women Talk Work

Today’s episode features T.V. writer, producer and award-winning filmmaker, Felicia Pride. Felicia has written on Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar,”  and is currently a producer on “Grey’s Anatomy” in addition to developing shows with FX and Netflix.   In 2020, Felicia’s film Really Love, for which she is the writer and executive producer, debuted on Netflix, becoming a Top Ten Movie on the platform and quickly cementing its place among the classics, depicting the expansiveness of Black love through romance, friendship, art and much more. Through her production company, Honey Chile, Felicia is committed to producing cultural content centering the full lives of Black women over the age of 40.   Listen as Felicia takes us through her journey from writer to screen writer and filmmaker, including how a seven year hiatus from her craft ultimately led her to embracing the gift, commitment and purpose of being a storyteller.   To learn more about Felicia's work and her production company visit: feliciapride.com and honey-chile.com   Keep up with Black Women Talk Work:

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• Facebook

This week’s episode features Renée Watson, #1 New York Times Bestselling author, educator, and community activist. With a focus on Black youth and particularly Black girls, Renée’s poetry and fiction explores themes of home, identity, and the intersections of race, class, and gender. Her children’s books and novels for teens have received international recognition and awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award and the Newbery Honor.    Renée most recently co-authored the children’s adaptation of Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, titled The 1619 Project: Born on the Water.    Listen as we discuss Renée’s journey to becoming a writer, including how a school assignment led to her first published novel portraying the experiences of Black youth during Hurricane Katrina, and how her upcoming book, Maya’s Song, was an opportunity to honor one of the biggest influences on her career, Maya Angelou. We also discuss the importance of Black writers staying true to their vision and continuing to tell our stories, even amid legislation and national movements that seek to limit their ability to do so.     To learn more about Renée’s work visit: www.reneewatson.net   Keep up with Black Women Talk Work:

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Today’s episode features Natalie and Derrica Wilson, founders of the Black and Missing Foundation. 

  Natalie and Derrica’s work championing the voices of the Black and missing and their families was recently highlighted in a four-part HBO Max documentary series by Emmy-Award Winning Geeta Gandbhir and award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien.   Listen as we discuss the critical roles of law enforcement, media and community in bringing awareness and resolution to the cases of missing Black people, as well as how Natalie and Derrica utilize their expertise in these areas to mobilize and provide support to families through the foundation. We also discuss the power and necessity of being willing to be the individual  fire starter for change in our communities and how you can support the work of the Black and Missing Foundation.   Flyers of Current BAMFI Cases:

• Tiffany Foster
• Marvin Lloyd II
• Zion Foster
• Eodis Harris III
• Sherrian Howe
• Paris Williamson

Click here to make an online donation to the Black and Missing Foundation.   Additional show notes at blackwomentalkwork.com    

This week’s episode features Oludara Adeeyo, former editor at Cosmopolitan and XXL, current psychiatric social worker and author of the new book, Self-Care for Black Women: 150 Ways to Radically Accept and Prioritize Your Mind, Body and Soul.   Oludara made the decision to embark on her own radical self-care journey after walking away from the media industry due to burnout and workplace racial trauma. After embracing a new career path that better aligned with the life path that she wanted, she found her way back to writing to author this self-described "love letter to Black women everywhere.”   Listen as we discuss Oludara’s personal experience and learnings while writing her debut book, generational shifts in self-care for Black women and how that is reflected in how we are showing up in the workplace, and how putting her happiness first led her to the beautiful next phase of her career journey. 

This week’s episode features Latoya Drake, Head of Media Representation at Google. Latoya landed in the world of media after pivoting from her path to law school and quickly finding herself immersed in the world of messaging, soundbites and ultimately becoming the voice and face for global corporations.   Inspired by the quote, “I am a voice in this world and I deserve to be heard” from 90s tv show “A Different World,” Latoya has built a career elevating underrepresented voices and creating a more inclusive and equitable media ecosystem.    Listen as we discuss how Latoya identified the need for her current role at Google amid the challenging social and media landscape of 2020, her take on higher education addressing DEI and the importance of a multicultural lens in the media industry as a former Adjunct Instructor at NYU, and why she advises Black women to chase the role not the company.

This week’s episode features Dwana Smallwood, International Dance Icon and Founder and Executive Director of the Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dwana spent more than a decade as the Principal Dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and founded the dance program for the prestigious Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.    Listen as we discuss her journey into the world of dance at the professional level, her perspective on race, diversity and inclusion in the dance and entertainment industry as a whole, the importance of the arts and artistic expression in the development of young Black girls, and her commitment to bringing dance back to her community in Brooklyn amid the pandemic.