Living Fabulously Fierce

Keri Lyle is the Founder of Birch Collaborative, serving leaders with a blend of 10 years career and leadership development expertise alongside 15 years hands-on business experience. Drawing on her own career at a startup and at Google, and her experience coaching leaders, working side-by-side with them, and being one herself, she helps leaders uplevel themselves, their teams, and their careers. 

She works with leaders across levels, functions, and industries:

• High potential emerging leaders, people managers, and senior leaders up to CEOs of startups and small companies

• Technical (Engineering, Product, User Experience, Technical Program Management, Data Science, Research) and Non-Technical (Sales, Business Development, Human Resources, Strategy & Operations, Communications, Government / Regulatory Affairs, Finance)

• Outdoor Industry, Social & Environmental Impact, Healthcare, Biotech / Biomedical, Tech, and Financial Services

Challenging herself in the outdoors has been an important way she fosters her own growth and development, hence part of the inspiration for the name Birch Collaborative as birches are called the “Lady of the Woods.”

Lisa is based in Plano, Texas. She is an award-winning diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) +Belonging strategy consultant, speaker, and professional certified executive coach. CEOs and CHROs hire her to co-create their diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy to cultivate cultures of belonging. Her career coaching clients enjoy partnering for success as they advance their leadership skills and develop others. A recognized DEIB thought leader; she has appeared in Forbes, Choice global coaches magazine, Thrive Global’s Authority Magazine, Dallas Business Journal, D CEO Magazine, Journal of Accountancy, and AMA. Her podcast guest appearances include Beyond Barriers, ATD DEI, Catalyst, Paid Vocation, Diverseek, You Can Manage That, Intentional Conversations, Journal of Accountancy, and Living Fabulously Fierce.Before launching Wishing Out Loud LLC, she was a national diversity director in PwC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, HR director, and a financial audit senior manager. She graduated with her BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and her MS in Management and Professional Executive Coaching from the University of Texas at Dallas. Lisa is one of Dallas Business Journal’s 2022 Leaders in Diversity. D CEO Magazine named her to The Dallas 500 in their 2023 directory for the third year as "one of the most powerful business leaders in DFW.” In addition to serving on the TXCPA Board of Directors, she served as Chair of the TXCPA Dallas chapter and as a member of the AICPA Council and the AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. Lisa serves on several Advisory boards and Boards and recently joined the global board of the Infusion Nurses Society. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Instagram @wishingoutloud.

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Happy New Year! Seasonal Interview with yours truly in the hot seat!

Taylor Jay is the vision and pulse behind the Taylor Jay company.  A bay area native, Taylor jay has worked in the fashion industry for over 12 years.  As a high school graduate and aspiring stylist, Taylor moved to Los Angeles where she studied fashion merchandising at the California school of fashion design. And it’s in sunny Los Angeles that Taylor opened her first boutique at the age of 23.

With business thriving and upon returning home to the bay area to open a second boutique, Taylor created her first collection, the Taylor jay collection, inspired by her own journey and body challenges. The clothing she designed impressed local customers and boosted demand encouraging Taylor to pursue her very own brand full time in Oakland, now home to the Taylor jay atelier.

Taylor Jay is more than just a fashion entrepreneur. Tough challenges early in her life only fueled Taylor’s pursuit of her fashion dreams. She has not only become a role model for her daughter, but for many black women entrepreneurs on the rise. She is often featured as a panelist to share her story and perspective. She hopes that her experience and designs can inspire other women to walk confidently and comfortably towards their dreams.

In her words, she will "...continue to design beautiful clothing that lasts a lifetime and makes every woman feel and look amazing.”

Janet Da Silva, M.B.A. has 7+ years in financial services having worked for Fidelity Investments and Chief Operations Officer of EYL University which is an online educational platform focused on financial literacy and entrepreneurship.  She is passionate about fostering economic empowerment in black and brown people groups through education. She understands that by leveraging the gifts and talents in our communities we can solve any problem.

The last 6+ years she has sponsored college students in Cabo Verde to assist in the completion of their studies debt free. Through obtaining her Masters in Business Administration with a focus in strategic planning and innovative practices from the University of Rhode Island, she knows the power of education (preparation) meeting opportunity.

She currently owns a multi-unit property where she airbnbs the units and houses travel nurses in Providence, RI. Janet is a real estate investor of almost 4 years, she used househacking as a way to lower expenses and assist with paying off her student loans and now is debt free. She is an Airbnb superhost who is actively looking to add to her real estate portfolio and invest in another property in the near future.

Janet is a budding entrepreneur who is currently consulting and assisting organizations and individuals in accomplishing their goals through functional strategic planning.

Stacy is an Executive Coach and founder of Stride Executive Coaching, LLC where she is a catalyst for individuals and corporations taking decisive, transformative steps on their leadership journeys. Her primary focus is coaching leaders and executives through their desired transformations by evoking their authentic purpose and passions while leveraging their unique talents. Her practice includes individual and team coaching engagements as well as designing and facilitating executive development experiences for companies strategically investing in their talent. 

Stacy’s favorite pastime is to combine her loves of travel and running with her family and friends. She and her husband Alan both grew up in Michigan. They have raised three children, all of whom chose to study in the Midwest. While they live in Atlanta with their two rescue dogs, they return to their “heaven on earth” Northern Michigan cottage as often as possible.

Alexandria Butler (aka Lexi B) is a self-proclaimed Freedom Fighter and leader in building executive leadership and workplace equity in the tech industry. After several years working at some of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley, Butler founded Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech, initially as a way to meet another Black woman in tech to be mentored, as they make up less than 3% of the tech workforce.

Today this community has over 14,000 members in a global online community sharing their insights, challenges, tips, and opportunities. SC:BWiT launched a new and instantly popular Job Board in 2022, attracting the eyeballs of thousands of Black Women with tech skills seeking career opportunities in a bustling economy.

Butler is a dynamic storyteller, motivational speaker, media maven, and mentor to young people starting out in their careers. Butler leads with her engaging personality, giant ambition, and creative mind laser-focused on moving people forward. With her star on the rise, she recently was interviewed by her hometown St. Louis KMOV TV News for a ‘local girl does good’ profile touting her success in increasing the number of Black women in the tech industry. Lexi B is a

unique voice poised for big things.

She’s one to watch!

So excited to be kicking off the fifth season of Living Fabulously Fierce!

Fabi is a finance leader with 20+ years of progressive leadership experience in global brands and Fortune 500 retail companies, including Nike, Levi Strauss, Nordstrom, and most recently footwear brands Sperry and Keds. Born and raised in Latin America, she is passionate about supporting LatinX causes and mentoring women leaders.

Arlyn Davich is an entrepreneurial executive with a proven track record of building and scaling consumer-tech businesses as a startup Founder/CEO (PayPerks...Allswell...ShopShops) and Fortune 50 Intrapreneur at companies like Walmart. She specializes in direct to consumer strategy, brand building, demand generation and digital acceleration.She currently serves as a Board Director for Caliper Foods and The Pingry School while building her latest venture, Little Fish: a company that deploys top-tier executive talent, on a fractional and interim basis, to growth stage e-commerce businesses.

Candace A. Gray (aka Candy Fox) was born and raised in Memphis and has always lived a double life. She’s a Gemini and she’s always operated well in both left and right brain spaces. Candace’s mother (RIP) always told her to never rely on ONE thing to sustain you...and that concept has remained with her since high school!

Candace is marketing and communications professional by day...and a singer/songwriter by night (hence the stage name Candy Fox). She sings mostly Soul Music, which is native to Memphis. And as the Founder and CEO of CG Comms Group, Candace serves several local clients who make Memphis what it is from cultural, economic and artistic perspectives.

Throughout her communications career, Candace has worked in the private (archer malmo, inc.) and public (FedEx) sector, for-profit and non-profit (Freedom Prep Charter Schools). In true Memphis spirit, she started my own full-service, boutique communications agency, DURING THE PANDEMIC! And she’s seen much success, as a result of a great work ethic and referrals!

Throughout her music career, Candy Fox has sung with some of the best in the business, from R&B and Soul to Blues to Gospel, to Hip Hop, including 8Ball & MJG, Al Kapone, Charrelle & Alexander O’Neal, Howard Hewett and Shalamar, Jennifer Holliday, Richard Smallwood, Kurt Carr, Chico DeBarge, The Legendary Barkays, and the list goes on.

Candy Fox also released her own project, Soul Stir, independently after leaving the Hip Hop collective Free Sol, who won the Mid-South Grammy Showcase in 2004 and released the album 11:11 on Memphis Records. Soul Stir, a true work of art, is available on all electronic platforms.

Somewhere in betwixt all of that, Candace found time to get married to her wonderful partner and bring life into this world, in the form of a son, at the age of 41! She’s also a dog mom, and her little family currently resides in Memphis.

Candace is the epitome of Memphis. She makes things happen, as opposed to waiting for them to happen. And she’s just getting started!

Join me as one of my coaching clients interviews yours truly!

Cara Shortsleeve is the CEO at The Leadership Consortium (TLC), a leadership development platform for high potential leaders with a specific expertise on accelerating women and people of color. Cara joined TLC in 2018 to launch and scale the business. Since that time, TLC has forged a strong partnership with professors at the Harvard Business School, attracted best-in-class clients (including Google, Walmart, IBM, P&G, GE, SAP and dozens more), and enabled 3,000+ executives to lead stronger teams and businesses. Prior to joining TLC, Cara spent 10+ years in various leadership roles at Google and YouTube -- most recently focussing on commercial and product strategy as a Global Director for GTM at YouTube. Previously, she helped launch and scale Google’s east coast, mid-market sales presence and then led the North American mid market sales teams for Financial Services and Healthcare. Before Google, Cara managed the US running apparel business at New Balance, served as a Sales Director for Hind/Saucony, and spent three years with Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division. Cara received her BA from Williams College and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Natalie Barlatier – Marathon Runner, Living with Multiple Sclerosis, Graphic Designer who also loves making creative meals. 

Loves the journey on a good run and improving on ones health on a mentality that you have to start somewhere to get there.

Elisa Johnson grew up in the greater Minneapolis, Minnesota region and now resides in San Francisco where she has been leading the People & Talent organization as CHRO for Brown & Toland Physicians. Her experience spans more than 25 years in human resources in a variety of leadership roles and industries ranging from start ups to Fortune 10 organizations. 

A good portion of her experience includes living abroad where she led teams in multiple countries when based in Singapore, Japan, France and South Korea. While on expatriate assignments, Elisa also experienced multiple “awakenings” both personally and professionally. She has deep roots and beliefs that character, authenticity and leadership transformation grows in crucible experiences and spaces of discomfort.

So excited to be with you again!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving in the US, taking the opportunity to share a special episode dedicated to all of YOU!

Join me as I'm joined by Zoraida Colon, Living Fabulously Fierce Coaching Client and HR Professional Extraordinaire, as she takes me through some transparent reflection, dedicated to sharing more of me with you!

Enjoy!

Neha is an experienced facilitator specializing in designing and delivering programs to encourage group discussion alongside individual reflections. She wears many hats in her business and personal life and constantly seeks new learning and growth opportunities. Her global experience has shaped her diverse and inclusive thinking, which she attributes as the cornerstones of her work. Neha was born, raised, and educated in India, now lives in the Metro Atlanta Area, and together with her husband, finds everyday joy in raising their third-culture little ones!a day ago

Pamela Mattsson is VP of People and Organizational Development at the fast-growing unicorn sales engagement startup, Outreach. Before Outreach, Pamela was the Global Head of Executive Development for Amazon. Pamela is seasoned executive coach, dynamic facilitator, course designer, and innovative leader in Executive Development and Organizational Culture. Pamela is a respected member of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) faculty alumni and a PCC credentialed member of the International Coach Federation (ICF). Pamela is also a certified Immunity to Change (ITC) Executive Coach as well as a credentialed facilitator of Dr. Brené Brown's Dare to Lead. Native English Speaker and fluent in Swedish, Pamela has lived In Switzerland, France, the US, and Sweden. Pamela currently shares her time between Sweden and the US. She is a proud mother of four, an avid chef, and world traveler

Nikki Barua is an acclaimed serial entrepreneur, international keynote speaker, bestselling author and C-Suite advisor who is passionate about making the world more inclusive and innovative. Nikki is the Co-Founder & CEO of Beyond Barriers, a global platform for leadership coaching, personal transformation and community engagement for women in the workplace. Nikki has won numerous awards, including Entrepreneur of the Year by ACE, named as an EY North America Entrepreneurial Winning Woman, recognized as LA Woman of Influence by The Business Journals and Women of Entrepreneurship by LA Lakers and Comerica Bank. Her inspiring story of turning barriers into breakthroughs has been featured in national media including CNBC, Bloomberg, Fortune and Forbes

.Hola! I am Michelle, the founder and CEO of Afro Expats. As an expat mentor, travel insider, and relocation consultant with a background in management, customer service, public relations and entrepreneurship, I help people confidently navigate their visits as well as temporary or permanent moves to Mexico.

Amalia Mallard is an artist, scholar, and the founder ofThe Laughing Archive, a repository and critical analysis of laughter in recorded music. With degrees in Political Science and Africana Studies, her Master’s thesis, “Locating and Retracing the Modern Black Aesthetic in Hip-Hop,” explores the intergenerational commonalities between hip-hop, the Black Arts Movement and the Harlem Renaissance. She has worked for or done work at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, NY; Hudson County Community College; the Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University - Newark; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Universal Music Enterprises; and The ARChive of Contemporary Music.

Kettianne is an organizational design and leadership development professional with experience working in Cross-functional leadership, leadership training, program development and capability development. She started her professional career in the International Development sector where she lived and worked in 4 countries over the course of 5 years. She has since obtained two advanced degrees, a masters in International Relations in London and an MBA at the Ross School of Business. Prior to business school, Kettianne founded and creating her own Workforce Development company, Women With Purpose and more recently has started another venture called, Kettianne, LLC. She is currently a management consultant, and besides her businesses, she is a speaker, facilitator and moderator where to date she has spoken at over 50 events and spoken to more than 2200 audience members.5 days ago.

.LaTanya Ford is a Senior Learner and Capabilities Manager supporting Marketing and Innovation at GSK Consumer Healthcare. With nearly two decades of experience in sales and marketing, LaTanya fuses data-driven insights with her unique storytelling ability to create brand narratives that resonate with consumers and deliver sales results. She is passionate around Inclusion and Diversity and serves as co-lead for the Warren, NJ chapter of the Women’s Leadership Initiative ERG at GSK. The group develops other women looking to excel in their careers. She is a certified facilitator for the #IamRemarkable program through Google that empowers women and underrepresented groups to speak confidently about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond. LaTanya also impacts others through mentoring, coaching and volunteering her time with children and those in need. She earned her B.S. in Marketing and Human Resource Management from Boston College. LaTanya lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin daughters.

A former professional opera singer, Sarah Nisbett learned how to draw by sketching strangers during her daily commute on the New York City Subway. 

A totally self-taught artist, she turned her hobby of drawing “on the way” into a successful Instagram account and blog. Her Drawn On The Way project is dedicated to helping people find the extraordinary in the everyday and to see themselves and those around them as works of art. 

Through her expressive, minimal illustrations and paintings, Sarah is creating a movement of self- acceptance and awareness, showing people that when you make art about the world, you make the world yours.

Yes indeed, it has been quite some time!!!  That being said, I couldn't be more excited to jump into Season III of the Living Fabulously Fierce podcast!

As usual, we'll go with the flow of what's top of mind, while also honing in on the second priority of living with A.I.M.-Intention.

This season opener is a real treat as Tandy Falala and I, just jump into a candid conversation about.....aaaaalllllll of the things, and our intentions for moving forward from current state of affairs!

ENJOY!

Season Finale!

Join Tandy Falala, a couple of podcast listeners and me in our reflections of the past few weeks!

Daisy Auger-Dominguez has made it her mission to make workplaces more equitable, compassionate and inclusive. A human capital executive and workplace culture strategist, Daisy inspires and equips global organizations to think inclusively, lead with purpose, embrace courage and shape the future of work.

As the Chief People Officer at VICE Media Group, Daisy shapes, builds and reinforces the culture of the Vice teams, promotes professional growth, engagement and development, helps to accelerate business performance, and champions an equitable and inclusive employee experience. 

Prior to VICE Media Group, Daisy founded and led Auger-Domínguez Ventures, a consultancy that transformed the leading companies and organizations of our times by taking them from inclusive workplace culture theory to practice through organizational psychology, applied experimentation, strategic planning and organizational capacity building. She has designed and executed organizational transformations at Moody's Investors Service, The Walt Disney Company and Google.

Her impact over the past 20 years reaches across the global business, social impact, entrepreneurial and philanthropic communities. A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Daisy writes about reimagining diversity, equity and inclusion, workplace culture and leadership. She serves on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood Federation of America as Vice-Chair, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum as Secretary of the Board, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and on the advisory board of Facing History and Ourselves.

Sending some cheer your way as I reflect authentically embracing this unique state of affairs we're all in!

Nakeya Miller is a National Senior Manager of Employee Experience, FINANCE/HR/OPERATIONS.

Based in Massachusetts, Nakeya has a passion for helping individuals unlock their potential to reach a level of excellence.

Nakeya is committed to helping leaders inspire and motivate others using the approach of taking complex listening strategies and translate them into actionable behaviors that synthesize ideas into efforts that yield breakthrough results.

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmiller

Lisa Lee is the VP of Global Culture, Belonging, and People Growth at DoorDash, the nation's largest and fastest-growing on-demand platform for door-to-door delivery. Lisa oversees Employee Connections, Diversity & Inclusion, Internal Communications, and Learning & Development, weaving together these four critical areas to create an interconnected strategy so DoorDash’s employees can do the best work of their careers.

She joins DoorDash from Squarespace, where she led the creation of its first diversity and inclusion strategy. Before Squarespace, Lisa served as Pandora Media’s first Director of Diversity and Inclusion Strategies, where she led Diversity and Inclusion, Employee Experience and Marketing, Giving, and University/EDU programs.

During her tenure, she built and executed Pandora’s overarching diversity strategy. Balking the norm, Lisa led the company to publish its workforce demographic data as one of the first ten publicly-traded tech companies to do so, and just three years later, was one of the few companies to publicly announce measurable diversity goals. Numbers aside, Lisa architected a winning employee culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion at its core, and it reflects outwardly in Pandora’s business strategy. Pandora’s diverse and inclusive culture has been ranked as one of the top themes by employees when asked “What do you love about Pandora’s culture and what are we doing well?”

Prior to joining Pandora, Lisa was at Facebook where she led initiatives in User Operations, Product Operations, and Diversity Programs. She served as the publisher of Hyphen magazine, an award-winning publication about Asian American arts, culture, and politics and co-founded Thick Dumpling Skin, a positive body image community for the Asian American community. During her spare time, Lisa sits on the board of Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality and volunteers with Year Up.

Double hitter!  This week we get double the insight into authenticity with Michelle Banks and Meron Tamrat!

Michelle Banks:

Michelle Banks is a highly driven and passionate Human Resources professional with a strong desire to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces. Michelle is currently a Diversity Program Manager in Tech. Her background includes DEI (diversity, equity, & inclusion), recruiting, staffing, compensation, and HR generalist expertise. When Michelle is not working, you can find her running, feeding her interior design cravings, reading a good book, or wine tasting with friends. She loves to travel, mentoring youth and young adults, and giving back to her community.

Meron Tamrat:

Join me as one of my coaching clients interviews yours truly!

Treneé is a powerful voice of her generation, serving as both a  speaker to nations and advocate for young people in areas of social  economic and racial equality. Her drive for higher education and  theatre led her to earning a BFA in Acting from Marymount  Manhattan College and a certificate in Photography & Food  Studies from The Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy. While in  College, Trenee served as Fine Arts Performance Chair as well as  the President of the Black and Latino Student Association; an on campus club whose legacy lives on today.

Treneé passion for film and the stage began at age 3, when she  booked several television shows and commercials all over the  world. Upon graduation, Treneé, became a teaching artist at Long  Wharf Theatre, a theatre she once frequented as a high school  student. She served as a teaching artist of the National August  Wilson Monologue Competition program, Connecticut’s region.  This year, she officially established her own production company  for new artists and to continually lead young people in pursuing  their passion for the arts.

In 2016, Treneé founded and established Be The F.I.R.S.T.  (Fundamentally Inspire by Redefining Your Scholastic Tenacity), a  program devoted to promoting Higher Education for First  Generation College Students. In November 2019, Treneé won a  seat as Councilwoman of the 7th District of West Haven City  Council, becoming the youngest person to hold this position. She is  excited about her new position and eager to further effectuate  positive change in the City of West Haven and beyond.

Treneé serves as Youth Director for F.I.R.E. (Forcefully Igniting  Revival Everywhere) Youth, Young Adult and Collegiate  Ministries; a ministry that encourages youth to grow in their  relationships with God.

Andrea Berg is a Soul Coach and Speaker sparking transformation using her Alchemy Method.  She teaches high achieving leaders to become intentional and confident so they get to know themselves deeper through the 7 Alchemy Elements and their Human Design.  This process provides incredible clarity and loosens the chains of toxic capitalism, white supremacy, and the patriarchy so that you can BE your true self confidently and step into your your unique ability to help create the world we all want to thrive in!

Kara Valentine is a Founder and the Chief Community Officer of Threads Worldwide, a social enterprise that provides life-changing work with women around the world through the fair trade of artisan jewelry. 

She is also the Creator of We Are The Ones, a community committed to amplifying conversations that elevate humanity. 

Kara is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters and is committed to creating a world that works for everyone.

So excited to be back at it with you!  

It's our final episode of Season 1!!!!

I can't believe it!  And how amazing to have Dr. Dominique Broussard join us this round!

Dr. Dominique Broussard (Dr. Dom) is a psychologist and college professor. She earned a PhD in Counseling Psychology and a Masters in Community Counseling at the University of Georgia. Her bachelor's degree is in Psychology from Loyola University New Orleans. Dr. Dom has spent her graduate and professional career working on college campuses in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and California in therapy and classroom spaces. A New Orleans native, she loves most things New Orleans from the music to the food. Her passion is finding ways to make mental health a priority, especially for young Black women. She believes every person deserves an opportunity to explore how to become their best self.

Get ready, get ready, get ready!

As a native to Silicon Valley, Ashley is passionate about real estate and enjoys going above and beyond assisting her clients in the home buying process. With her mantra of "Own Your Lifestyle", she consistently shows up as personable, creative, and driven to get the job done!  I've personally benefited from Ashley's expertise as a realtor, passion as a proud member of her community, and love and loyalty as a friend.  

I'm so excited I get to share her light with you in today's episode!