Urban Girl Corporate World

Nicole interviews Ellen Bailey (VP of Diversity & Culture @ Harvard Business Publishing) about her journey to leadership, successfully shifting culture through strategy, challenges she's overcome along the way and how they are working together to bring Harvard Case Studies into HBCUs across the nation. 

Nicole & Libby Herman (Business Security Officer, ADP) discuss what it takes to be successful as a Business Information Security Officer, how the role is often misunderstood, strategies we’ve used to influence decision makers and advice we’d give to practitioners interested in the role.

Nicole and Chris Magno (Fortune 500 GM & Columbia University Professor) discuss a course he co-created on cognitive bias, roles that helped him build intellectual curiosity, leveraging storytelling to drive influence, overcoming leadership challenges, the secret sauce to building great teams, and what organizations get wrong with risk management. 

In the opener of Season 5, Nicole talks her new job, board seat appointment, her LinkedIn Learning course on Supply Chain Security, what she's speaking about at RSA and new updates for this season of the podcast. 

Nicole interviews RInki Sethi, CISO @ Twitter, about lessons learned along her path to CISO, the power of assuming positive intent, how to change hearts and minds and what she's most proud of accomplishing. 

Nicole interviews Tareia Williams (Sr. Director of Communications @ Turner Sports) about winning an Emmy, starting her PR career in tech, taking up space in a male dominated industry, escaping stereotypes, what she's learned working with NBA legends and her work on the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.

Nicole interviews Kevin Simmonds (Cybersecurity & Privacy Partner @ PwC) about his journey into partnership at Big 4, an offer from the NFL, building an empowering leadership legacy and what being a partner really means.

Nicole and Nelson "Cheetah" Vails (@RideWithNelly) discuss becoming a history making Olympic medalist, growing up in Harlem, discipline versus dedication and why working is the key to winning. 

Nicole & Alexis Robinson (Head of Government Assessments Program @ AWS) talk building a network for the future, how to vet prospects for your circle, creating connections virtually and leveraging the pandemic to your advantage. Join, be an ally to or support the Haven by registering at www.EmpowHerCyber.org 

Nicole interviews Chenxi Wang (@chenxiwang) about her exciting career, the inspiration to found Rain Capital - a women cyber venture capital fund - and the challenges and triumphs along her path to creating a phenomenal legacy. 

Nicole and Monica (@MonicaMotivates) break down components a perfect pitch, disparities in venture capital funding, why you should treat your life like a fortune 100 company & how to remain prepared in an ever-changing environment.

Nicole interviews Vida about her path from high school dropout to Columbia graduate, what inspired her to rewrite her story, the skills she's picked up as a management consultant and her podcast, "Crown Jewels"

Sasha & Nicole reflect on the journey of Stacey Abrams' and are inspired by her path from loss to legend. 

Nicole and Sasha reflect on their biggest 2020 moments, collaborating on a global PSA, HBCU homecoming withdrawals, having dinner with CT Vivian and learning to trust the process.

Nicole and Dianne (VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy & Ops) talk the right and wrong ways to address micro-aggressions, managing imposter syndrome, why a personal board of directors is important and how to leverage authenticity as a connector.

Nicole interviews Romy Newman (President & Co-Founder, FairyGodBoss) about her path to executive leadership, the craziness of leading a tech startup and the importance of community, especially among professional women. 

Nicole talks with Caron (SVP, Human Resources) about her career transition from engineering into HR, her lens into executive talent strategy and why performance, planning, people and the power of storytelling are critical components to securing executive roles.

Nicole and her former manager, Kim Albarella (VP of Security Advocacy & Risk) talk their paths from Wall Street to tech, knowing when to leave a role, finding your people, what they've learned working with men and the power of asking dumb questions.

Nicole & Olivia Rose (Chief Information Security Officer) map out milestones to the C-Suite, discuss unicorn job descriptions, why failure is OK, asking for what you want and how to hack common strategies men use to rise up the ranks.

Nicole & Dr. Dennis Kimbro (professor, speaker and #1 Best-Selling author) break down key milestones to achieving net worth over $1M from his latest best-seller, “The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires,” the criticality of entrepreneurship, level 5 leadership, the marketing strategies of Steve Jobs & MLK, 2 Short lyrics and the power of pivoting.

Nicole interviews her 94-year old grandfather, AJ Rivers, about being the first black elected official in 1972, partnering with a klansman on his campaign, appointing the first Black Chief of Police and being recognized for his accomplishments by  US Congress.

Nicole & Jermaine Burrell (Former Mobile City Councilman, Operations Executive, D&I Champion) explore his earliest inspirations and how servant leadership has been the key to million dollar results in both his corporate and political careers. 

Nicole & Ruva (@Ruvalicious) discuss her journey to Ivy League, studying abroad in London, co-leading Harvard's Black Student Theater Community and the importance of representation in the arts. 

Nicole D. & Nicole P. (@InnerMeStudios) reflect on their friendship of 20 years, studying abroad and how heartbreak and the '09 market crash led to Nicole’s career shift from Private Equity to CEO of a pole dancing & fitness studio.

Nicole & Obama White House US GSA Senior Advisor Meredith Lilly, Esq. (@attymlilly) discuss her path from law to politics, being honored by the Atlanta City Council and how her servant leadership enhances the lives of over 600,000 Georgia residents.

Nicole & Denise (@NewRootsLiving) remember starting their careers on Wall Street, running into CEOs on elevators, the value of preparation and the importance of showing up to drive sustainable success.   

Nicole & Dr. Le'Jon Payne spill the tea on their experiences as black women living in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, black privilege abroad and recap their community service work in Kenya and Malawi.

Nicole & Maame (@msadjei) dissect how disrupting her sophisticated life in Philly led to finding her happy in Ghana as a creative entrepreneur. We also cover her Ted Talk on overcoming fear, managing imposter syndrome, her media projects that shift misconceptions about Africa and being featured on CNN and in Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Essence.

Nicole & Ken (@kenlightened) discuss how he shifted his entire enterprise to virtual amid the COVID pandemic, the importance of digitization to investors and why music education yields enhanced academic performance and critical thinking capabilities in students. 

Nicole & Shawn explore the significance of hair throughout the Black experience including its roots in African society, American legislation, unconscious biases, corporate culture and their personal journeys to self-acceptance and freedom.

Nicole & Brooke (@the_brooke_stovall) explore how COVID-19 will shift the future-state workforce landscape and share best practices on successfully working from home for single and attached professionals, individual contributors and leaders of people. 

Nicole & Walt (CEO of Lounge Studios, Randall House Records & Wraith Audio) discuss his path from athlete to CEO, negotiating with Beyonce, landing 7-figure deals and successfully navigating the highs and lows of a self-made BOSS.

Nicole and Amazon Exec, Kevin (@kbs_ii), discuss horology, evolution of workplace dress code, corporate culture and when you should stunt on your peers. 

Nicole & Sasha (@richesiiroyalty) have an impromptu 6 AM exchange on their 3-year long mentor / mentee relationship including finding the right fit, what it takes to be a good mentee, having coffee with the most powerful woman on Wall Street and how their professional relationship inspired their personal journeys. 

Nicole celebrates International Women's Day by launching the inaugural episode of the Urban Girl Corporate World podcast, sharing her reason and purpose for creating this platform and giving listeners a sneak peak into what they can expect each and every Wednesday.