In These Uncertain Times

Katie Martell (she/her) returns to interview me (Derek) for a special Season 1 finale episode. We discuss my journey over the past year, including the creation of this very podcast, how empathy could help us conquer many of the challenges facing society, body image standards and how they were impacted by lockdown, and unpack the very idea of uncertainty.

Derek J. Horn is a designer and podcast host. He works remotely as a Senior Designer for New York City-based agency, Beardwood&Co., where he has contributed to award-winning global design projects. His writing has appeared in publications including Dieline and Ad Age and he started a podcast, In These Uncertain Times, in Fall 2020. Derek is a longtime volunteer and now brand advisor for Out for Undergrad, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ students reach their full potential. He lives in Orlando, FL with his fiancé Joey and Shiba Inu pup, Luna.

Deon Mixon (he/him), Graphic Designer, Author, and Entrepreneur, joins for a thoughtful discussion about his various projects including the Design Eye board game and his proposed redesigned flag for the City of Detroit, how he balances his various creative pursuits, and the causes and potential solutions for racial inequity in the design industry.

Deon Mixon is a graphic designer, author, and entrepreneur from Detroit, MI who specializes in brand identity design. He is an alumnus of Cass Tech (2013) and Western Michigan University (2017) with his BFA in Graphic Design. Mixon is a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar, designer of the Detroit Rise Flag (a new flag for the City of Detroit), the author of the Lethal Creed Saga, and creator of the world's premier graphic design education board game, Design Eye. A movieworm, violinist, Naruto and Jason Bourne enthusiast, and practitioner and student of Krav Maga, Spanish, and Japanese, Mixon believes not in creating for himself but in giving great design to the world to help realize and voice ideas for others.

Black Luxe Creator Charlene Izere (she/her) joins to share how she built her personal brand and several ventures, strike down the notion that guilty pleasures need to be guilty, and share some great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, and well-meaning non-Black allies.

Charlene Izere is a Black Luxe Creator and three-time entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Melanin & Money, a comprehensive hub for entrepreneurially-minded Black women; Soulful Systems, a boutique online business management agency supporting high-level entrepreneurs with sustainable systems; and Wellness Delivered, a self-care and community care brand. Her mission is to leave the world Blacker than when she entered.

Charlene has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, and Disrupt Magazine.

Cj Giovingo (they/them), systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joins for a beautiful conversation about the intertwining nature of systems and creativity, their experience with the ultimate remote work—landing a spacecraft on another planet while working from home—and the invaluable power of telling your story.

Cj Giovingo is a Systems Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California where they’ve worked since 2014. They are currently a member of the Mars 2020 Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Systems team which just landed the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet on February 18th of this year. Prior to their current work in space technology, Cj had a career in environmental and union organizing, skills that transferred surprisingly well to being a systems engineer.

Outside of work, Cj and their wife live as Faculty in Residence on the University of Southern California campus where they serve as mentors, advisers, and advocates for the first-year students in their residential community. In July 2019, Cj joined the National Board of Directors for Out for Undergrad, a non-profit aimed at helping high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates reach their full potential.

Bassam Shawl (he/him) joins for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey with stand-up comedy, our media diets and the attention black hole named Twitter, and have lots of reminiscing about growing up in Upstate New York, including performing together in high-school musical productions.

Bassam Shawl is a comedian, writer, and actor based in New York. Originally from Syracuse, NY, he started performing comedy in Washington, DC before moving to Brooklyn.

He’s been featured in Buzzfeed and Prior Magazine, has written for Emmy-Award-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish and has performed at several venues & festivals across the country, including Comedy on State, The Stand Comedy Club, Oak City Comedy Festival, and Laughing Devil Comedy Festival.

Sarah Williams (she/her), Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Beardwood&Co., joins to chat about how we brought our design and strategy agency’s operations and relationships online at the start of the pandemic, how consumers are forming new rituals and brands are adapting to them, and the importance of young people in keeping our creative process fresh and relevant.

“Make it happen with what you’ve got”— are words that were spoken frequently at Sarah’s house growing up, and she still lives by them today. Take on the challenge, be smart about finding the best solution, and inspire those around you by doing great work together. Sarah has a passion for brands with ambition and a focus on meaningful leadership with clients—understanding their business challenges, and delivering impactful creative to unlock their full potential. Sarah joined Beardwood&Co. in the agency's infancy and is proud of the all-star team they’ve assembled. She began her career at Landor launching Song Airlines, getting foodie with Burger King and PepsiCo, and later telling the story of CBGB’s.

Michael Counter (he/him) joins for a great conversation about Queer art and honoring our elders while they’re still with us, he shares how his firm, counterCULTURE, is bringing Queer, Trans and POC narratives to life in the COVID-era through projects like Legends of Drag, and together, we pine for the days of collective gatherings and shared experiences.

Michael Counter is a Black Queer United States Air Force veteran, entrepreneur, creative strategist, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant. As the founder of the creative boutique counterCULTURE, Michael amplifies narratives of often marginalized lived experiences to educate, entertain, and edify communities and businesses through signature collaborations, brand partnerships, and talent relations.  Following an Honorable Discharge (Active Duty), Michael began his graduate studies at Southern Methodist University in Creative Writing (Masters), then Arts & Cultural Traditions (PhD), while also gaining years of experience in the public relations and advertising fields with brands like Nieman Marcus, Chipotle, Dallas Museum of Art, Southwestern Medical Foundation, and Michael’s Craft Stores. He currently lives in NYC with his partner and frequently collaborates with leading agencies, brands, and networks securing coverage and partnerships for Queer and multicultural projects as seen in VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, and Rolling Stone Magazine.

Leah Garlock (she/her), Experience Designer and Fulbright ETA Grant Recipient, is here to discuss her various personal projects, the ways in which she’s been virtually engaging with her communities, the exploration of her identity as a Korean American adoptee, and the challenges of coping with trauma in the midst of pandemic isolation.

Leah (She/Her) believes design problem-solving is as much about actively listening, as it is about aesthetics. As an experience designer and illustrator, she takes a multimedia lens to explore social issues, cultural identity, and narratives on personal growth. She earned her BFA in Communications Design and Photography from Syracuse University where she received a grant to explore the cultural identity of Korean American adoptees. Her portfolio includes collaborations with nonprofits like the Center of Urban Pedagogy and Hollaback!, and Adoptee run organizations Also-Known-As, IKAA, Adopteen, and Adoptee Bridge.

Outside of work and personal projects, Leah volunteers as the Communications Manager for Asian Womxn in the Arts (AWA), an organization that creates celebratory and healing spaces centering the work of womxn and LGBTQIA+ cultural workers in the Asian diaspora.

In January 2021, she embarked to South Korea through a Fulbright ETA grant.

Comic and graphic novel writer Julio Anta (he/him) joins to discuss the challenges of working through the pandemic as a parent to a young child, how he collaborates with editors and visual artists, the vast diversity of Latinx people and the lack of political nuance they’re often afforded, and how many of his stories make their journey from the headlines to the page of a comic. 

Julio Anta is a writer based in New York City. Raised in Miami by Cuban and Colombian parents, his writing focuses on the intersection of Latinx identity and American life.  

Rachel Renock (she/her), Co-founder and CEO of Wethos, joins to discuss how her company pivoted their entire business in the midst of the pandemic, how she and her co-founder are trying to curb employee burnout through smart policy (and some tips on how you can do the same for your business), the opportunities of the current moment for the future of independent work, and the responsibility of white business leaders to leverage their power to create equitable workplaces. 

A former advertising creative working across big brands like Covergirl and Hershey, Rachel quit her agency job at 25 in pursuit of more meaningful work. She teamed up with her now co-founder Claire to build technology that helped them scale their own independent studio to $1.4M in revenue in just 18-months. They’ve since released their platform to empower the next generation of independents to team up and launch their own Virtual Studios, providing the financial infrastructure to simplify complexities from pricing projects to paying teammates. Since its founding in 2016, Renock has raised over $5M in VC funding and has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and the New York Times in pursuit of her mission to put more money into the pockets of independents everywhere.

Susan X Jane (she/her) joins for a discussion about the timeliness and timelessness of her work as a DEI training facilitator, the role of racialized power dynamics throughout American history and how they show up in white-centric corporate cultures, the recent insurrection at the US Capitol, and we wrap up with a discussion about how the media can dangerously warp one’s worldview and entire sense of reality.

Susan X Jane is the Principle of Navigators Consulting and is a skilled facilitator, trainer, and coach, with experience in organizational development and strategic planning. She has over 25 years of experience working in mission-focused organizations, supporting communities to create change, and training leaders ready to take on the challenge of our times.

Susan began her work pursuing social justice with youth in the juvenile justice system and marginalized communities, engaging in community organizing programs and leadership training for young activists. Her work in the non-profit sector focused on race and gender equity in communities of color, particularly in using media as a tool of empowerment. Her advocacy for racial justice in the media led her to higher ed, and Wheelock College, where Susan was the founding director of the Communications and Media Literacy BA program, teaching Media Studies, Sociology, and Organizational Communications.

Susan started Navigators Consulting to continue her work with organizations in the public and private sector, helping others to better understand the realities of race in American and what is needed to move beyond the buzzwords to build sustainable communities of belonging. Her approach integrates work exploring the very personal nature of identity with the structural realities of organizations and communities. She encourages clients to map out their own unique pathway to creating healthy culture and works with them to expand diversity beyond HR into every aspect of their organization. Always down for a good debate, Susan writes and talks about media, race and culture at smntks.com and for publications including Glamour, WBUR, and The Christian Science Monitor.

LEGO Design Manager, singer-songwriter & illustrator Marcos Bessa (he/him) joins for a conversation about all things LEGO, his experience living and working through the pandemic in Denmark, and how he finds the motivation for his many other creative pursuits outside of his very creative day job.

Marcos Bessa is a Design Manager at the LEGO Group and the Creative Lead for the LEGO Harry Potter franchise. Marcos was a member of the Adult Fan of LEGO, or AFOL, community before he was hired as a LEGO designer in 2010. Since then, he’s worked on award-winning products for franchises including Marvel and DC Superheroes, Disney, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Jurassic World, and The Simpsons. Outside of LEGO, Marcos is a writer, illustrator, and singer-songwriter and has competed on Denmark's Got Talent and The Voice Portugal, where he reached the Semi and Quarter finals, respectively. He is a native of Paredes, Porto in the north of Portugal and currently lives in Denmark with his partner and French Bulldog.

On this special holiday episode, my BFF Lucy Tomkiewicz (she/her) joins to chat about how she is helping small businesses find their voice in the era of COVID, how she started a quarantine venture that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, and we wrap up with a conversation about the importance of giving during the holidays and especially this year. We also have some fun playing a game about bad Christmas movies, which are a favorite vice of ours.

Lucy is an Art Director for OUTFRONT Media’s Colorado branch, where she builds out campaigns & marketing solutions for mostly small businesses and the local community. In quarantine, she began baking, filling, and intricately painting the tops of French macarons - and more recently selling them under "FromLu" on Instagram. Lucy is also a loving mother to Maple, one of the cutest dogs on Earth.

Malcolm Whitfield (he/him) stops by to make me laugh and share how he’s adapting his life as a comedian and writer and how he has found an unexpected release in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Malcolm’s ability to differentiate satirical headlines from real ones is put to the test in the show’s first-ever game segment (!!!) and we make a hard pivot to wrap up with a conversation about restorative justice.

Malcolm Whitfield is a Rochester born and raised stand up comedian. In only the last 5 years, he has performed with a variety of great comedians, Like Mateo Lane, Aasif Mandvi, Chris Kattan, Samantha Ruddy, and many more. He is also a writer for The Hard Times, a satirical news site, focusing on music and pop culture.

Paul Weiner (he/him) joins to discuss his process of creating abstract art, how the themes and iconography of our current moment are showing up in his work, and about how online culture can fuel some of our most intense rhetoric and deepen trenches. We also do a post-mortem analysis of the 2020 election cycle and think forward to what will happen in 2021 and beyond.

Paul Weiner is a 27-year-old artist who makes abstract paintings imbued with political and social meaning. Many of Weiner’s violently obscured and distressed artworks grapple with the contemporary identity and history of the United States. He also makes sculptures, prints, and drawings that contain a library of political and cultural symbols. Aside from abstraction, his work is best known for addressing the American flag and the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, which occurred in his hometown. Weiner’s recent text drawings address the COVID-19 pandemic, American activism’s relationship to power, and social media’s role in contemporary culture.

Weiner’s recent solo exhibitions include venues such as Krupic Kersting Gallery in Cologne, Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art in Houston, Carthage College in Kenosha, Long Road Projects in Jacksonville, and TWFINEART in Brisbane. His work was included in group exhibitions at Pablo's Birthday in New York, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art in Georgia, Museo Jumex in Mexico City, se! rum in Denmark, Delphian Gallery in London, Arvada Center in Colorado, Neuer Aachener Kunstverein in Germany, Re: Art in Brooklyn, Marquee Projects in Bellport, New York, and Mana Contemporary in Chicago among many others. He recently completed a commission of multiple paintings for Kehinde Wiley at the Black Rock Senegal residency.

Teejay Hughes (he/him) chats with Derek about how social media can be a positive platform for inspiration, what people are getting right and wrong about influencers, and what your brand needs to pay attention to when dabbling in new social media platforms like TikTok.

Teejay is an Entrepreneur & Content Creator with a collective audience of over 600,000. Over the last 2 years he's been traveling the world working with brands to create inspiring content that empowers people to travel more often, and more freely. His fun-loving energy and creative direction has garnered partnerships with international brands like the Global Hyatt Corp., Marriott International Inc., Hostelworld, and various Boards’ of Tourism.

Outside of creating travel content, Teejay also helps people and brands create better content through short-form video tips. Tiktok knows him as their “Photographer Big Brother” where he empowers people to express their creative skills through photoshoot tutorials, content creation advice, and model/posing tips.

Before pursuing his own ventures full time, Teejay climbed the corporate ladder working at a NYC advertising tech company as a Manager of Brand Development. He led 4 teams across the CPG, Restaurant and Retail industries—overseeing account revenue growth, client relationships, and strategic direction for brands like Staples, Wingstop, and Sol De Janeiro.

Follow Teejay!

Dr. Cindi Love (she/her) joins Derek for a timely and wide-ranging conversation about how she led a team to transition a series of four national conferences for LGBTQ+ students into a virtual setting, why she’s hopeful about the rising generations, the forces of politics, religion and self-esteem and how they coalesce, how to begin the process of mending our political divide, and how folks can embrace spiritual harmony in their own lives.

Dr. Cindi Love is the Executive Director of Out for Undergrad (O4U) and served as CEO of the American College Personnel Association in Washington SC, member of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, member of the Working Advisory Group to the US Secretary of State on Religion & Foreign Policy from 2013-2018.

She was the first woman to serve on the national Board of SigEp and currently serves on the American College Health Association Board. Love was plenary speaker at the final session of the United Nations UUO Compass Coalition for LGBT Human Rights, has authored numerous articles and several books. Love has been the invited guest of two US Presidents in recognition of her human rights work.

In 2018, Stetson University of Law named Dr. Love to the Facilitator Award for her 2016 contributions to the field of campus safety. Love is the former Executive Director of Soulforce. Between 1981-1993, Love was the founder and/or CEO/Chair of eight tech-related firms and developer of strategic alliances with Apple, Motorola and the TORO Company.  One of her firms was the largest Apple Education Sales Agency in the United States. Love was an inaugural member of MIT’s Birthing of Giants program for the top 50 Entrepreneurs in North America and received the David Bohnett Fellowship to the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program for State & Local Officials. Her doctorate was completed at Texas Tech with a research emphasis in due process for underrepresented students.

Courtnee Futch (she/her) chats with Derek about how she’s making cooking accessible, making the most of the resources you have, and how we should start giving ourselves permission and stop gatekeeping our potential. They wrap up with some great advice about how we can all bring a dose of Southern Hospitality to our daily lives.

Courtnee Futch, chef, baker, author, and entrepreneur, believes that the best food is meant to feel like home.  The Atlanta native has been baking and cooking professionally since the age of 17, when founding ThunderCakes Bakery and years later founding The Spred Catering Company. To complement her love of food, Courtnee also trained as a mixologist in Paris. To her, craft cocktail pairings serve as the final frill in a well-rounded dining experience.

In her first cookbook, Early Enough, Courtnee encourages home chefs of all levels to get experimental with their brunch palette while using accessible ingredients. Courtnee is currently based in Jersey City. 

Derek chats with Joon Park (they/them) about how they help their clients future-proof their brands as a cultural strategist, the constant necessity of listening and attuning your actions as an ally, the power of being a role-model by living authentically, and the positive possibilities of uncertainty.

Joon Park is a cultural strategist at sparks & honey, where they consult tech, beauty, and food & beverage clients on how to future-proof their businesses. They are one of the founding members of GLAAD’s Campus Ambassador program and are a recipient of GLAAD’s first Rising Stars Grant, which annually honors LGBTQ+ changemakers across the nation. Since then, they’ve been featured in publications like Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Huffington Post, where they continue to bring visibility to the next generation of leaders. Joon is an alum of the ADCOLOR FUTURES program and is the first transgender non-binary Mx. ADCOLOR. They have also spoken on stages like Cannes and ADCOLOR about topics like precision data, ethical design, and workplace diversity.

Derek chats with Katie Martell (she/her) about the vital responsibility of marketers during this time of public health crisis and racial justice reckoning. They discuss the power of saying "no" to make room for the most important things in life, and wrap up with an unexpected conversation on what makes for a lasting relationship.

Katie Martell is an "unapologetic marketing truth-teller." She is currently working on Woke-Washed, a documentary and book exploring the collision of marketing and social movements. Named “one of the most interesting people in B2B marketing" and a marketing voice on LinkedIn 3x, Katie has been a startup CMO, SaaS entrepreneur, communications consultant and served as Executive Director of Boston Content, New England’s largest community of content professionals.