What better time is there to drop my conversation with Tara DeVeaux, CEO of Burrell Communications, than the very start of our fourth season?

Join us in front of a life-giving Basquiat backdrop as we dive in to topics like bringing your best self vs. your full self to work: how authentically showing your strengths doesn’t always square with revealing every aspect of yourself.

Plus, Tara makes it plain that—and y’all know I’ve been saying it—multicultural IS the new “gen pop.” Understanding cultural nuances helps businesses connect with a wider audience, period. Get on board, or get steamrolled. (Train pun intended.) And, effective leaders aren’t hatched, they’re grown.

Tara shares the importance of investing in leadership development programs to build the leaders you want to see in the world, and how such investments helped her become the CEO you see before you today. Pull up a chair, watch and share.

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

This week’s #BlackTea guest is Grey N.Y. music producer/supervisor Beliansh Assefa. While she may be living in New York now, she’s got the receipts to prove that the Midwest is just as important to culture and swagger as the coastal cities.

Join our conversation as Beliansh speaks to her diversity within the Black experience as a child of immigrants coming up in Middle America. She explains: “Blackness is multifaceted. I’m not an expert on Blackness.”

Hear her expound on her belief that you’re never too cultured to have curiosity about other cultures. Plus, she’s not just a music producer, she’s a historian, y’all. Her love for history and deep retro sounds informs her work in the most interesting ways.

And wait until you learn what she’s listening to right now that gets her feeling inspired. You’ll never guess. Tap to watch and share! See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

This week’s #BlackTea guest is none other than associate media director at Hearts & Science, Woubie Bekele. Meet a dear friend of mine who is truly excited by media and creating the plans that bring creative work into the real world. 

With 10+ years of experience in the industry, she shares rich knowledge about how inclusion comes into play in media planning just as much as creative or production. Woubie stresses the importance and the value of “authentically reaching an audience and not just doing it to check a box.”

She talks about working with Black-owned stations and media agencies for inclusion where you may not see it. Plus, she’s got work in different area codes. Hear about the award-winning campaign that riled up community pride all over the country.

We’ve said it before: have a mentor. That’s Woubie’s advice to newbie Black women in advertising, and she says not to fear looking outside the box to find the right one. Lastly, we chat about how diversity helped sheltered girls like us learn a thing or two about the world. Enjoy!

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

Have you ever met someone who is just so… inspirational? You have now. This week’s #BlackTea guest is Taylor Brodie, a senior strategist at Publicis N.Y., and all around uplifting and energizing person.

In this episode, Taylor details her approach to strategy and the quantification of perspective. Hear how creating content makes her feel free, and also helps her empower others. Find out about Big Tay energy, and how you’re never too green to let people know when they’re doing too much with your identity.

Don’t miss her incredible advice for newcoming women of color in advertising. Plus, even her goals are goals, y’all. She explains the unique way that she sets the barometer for her own success. Watch, share, and enjoy the conversation.

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

On the 11th episode of #BlackTea, we’re getting to know brand director at CookIt, Melanie Piard.

Tune in for the story of how Halle Berry in Boomerang inspired her to get into the industry as a youth in Haiti. Since then, Melanie has vet levels of experience agency side as an art director, but she’s found her true advertising love in brand strategy.

Hear how her agency experience impacts her approach to work on the brand side. (Hint: The standards are up and the feedback is thoughtful.) Plus, Melanie speaks on the value of mentorship, the privilege of failure and how understanding your audience is a branding trend that will never go out of style.

And, don’t miss Melanie’s beautiful passion projects and Black-owned reco. Enjoy this jam-packed interview with a guest who’s living her career goals.

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

On this episode of #BlackTea, meet the ACD at TANK Worldwide who was almost a pharmacist, but just couldn’t put down her pen.

Let’s talk about creative passion and work ethic. Hear how many years Natasher Beecher worked as a writer to build her advertising portfolio the independent way. Tune in to learn with me about the nuances between health, medical and pharma advertising in the U.K.

And don’t get it twisted, Natasher is fly, but she’s an industry vet, from judging at Cannes to making award-worthy work herself. To the newbies, she says, “Stay focused, remember who you are. Your experiences have made you ready.”

Plus, you are not as outside as this one. Find out how she’s birdwatching for the culture. And of course, don’t forget to stay for the British Black-owned put on at the end. Enjoy!

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.

I had a blast catching up with associate director of social strategy at Zambezi, Jasmine Green.

Jasmine has been one to watch for a while in these cultural streets, and was featured in Marie Claire and 30 Under 30 in Kansas City. In this episode of #BlackTea, she speaks on the importance of pitching yourself instead of waiting for opportunity to find you.

She shares her experience so far in the advertising industry and how she has navigated being the “only” or “other” in the room. Her call to action: let’s stop expecting Black employees to teach everyone how to see them as human.

In her rapid career rise so far, she’s already made a tangible difference for her clients, but she’s also got a blog and a clothing line, and has revolutionized networking via brunch for hundreds of women. Enjoy meeting Jasmine.

See more episodes of Black Tea at https://musebycl.io/blacktea.