Podcasts about Meredith College

Homeschool Interview:  Amanda talks with Dr. Jeanie Wozencraft, music department head at Meredith College. Discussion:  We talk about how musically inclined students can move forward with advanced study. Melanie & Amanda talk about how homeschoolers are able to spend more time on things they enjoy.Homeschool News: Thrive! workshop schedule, NC Transportation Museum - Tractors & Trains Day, Durham Bulls Education Day   

Homeschool Interview:  Amanda talks with Dr. Jeanie Wozencraft, music department head at Meredith College. Discussion: We talk about how studying music can teach more than simply music. Melanie & Amanda tell how they use music in their homeschools.Homeschool News: Thrive! registration, NC Transportation Museum - Tractors & Trains Day, Durham Bulls Education Day    

Social media and smartphones present unprecedented challenges for educators and parents. Parents and teachers often recognize that smartphones and social media do not help students, but they have not had data to confirm this belief.In this episode of Developing Classical Thinkers, Ashley Bahor and Olivia Holliday discuss Jonathan Haidt's 2024 book "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness," and the evidence of social media usage's negative effects.In "The Anxious Generation," Haidt argues that social media apps hamper a teenager's normal social and emotional development. In this episode, Ashley Bahor and Olivia Holliday discuss "The Anxious Generation" and its claims, as well as strategies for parents to help their students avoid these kinds of technology.More information about Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" can be found here: https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/bookMrs. Bahor received a B.S. in Child Development from Meredith College and a M.S.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Mrs. Holliday received a B.A. in Psychology from Bryan College and an M.A. in Counseling with an emphasis in School Counseling from Marshall University Graduate College. Mrs. Holliday serves as Thales Academy's Guidance Counselor and is a helpful resource for every student.

  A new Meredith College poll shows North Carolina governor Josh Stein is off to solid start. Fifty-eight percent of North Carolina voters — including 54 percent of Republicans — approve of his performance thus far, while only 19% disapprove. Stein's ratings have been boosted by his energetic and bipartisan work to promote Hurricane Helene […]

Send us a textTrish Sparks leads Clever as CEO. Previously she was VP of Customer Success and Sales. Trish came to Clever with a wealth of executive leadership experience at companies such as LinkedIn, where she scaled a global customer success organization, and at DemandBase, where she was Chief Customer Officer. As a North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholar, she started her career as a middle school teacher in Wake County Public Schools. Trish holds BS degrees in Business and Education as well as an MBA from Meredith College. After living in the Bay Area for 20 years, Trish now resides in Chapel Hill, NC.

Jerome Davis talks with Steven Roten, director of THE RAINMAKER, long time Burning Coal actor, and educator at Meredith College.  Come see The Rainmaker: 

According to a new Meredith College poll, a majority of North Carolina voters support President-elect Donald Trump's plan to deport undocumented immigrants with help from the military. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie breaks down those numbers.

In this episode, host Emilia Rivadeneira speaks with Thomas Birkland, a Professor of Public Administration at NC State, about how Hurricane Helene might influence the elections, particularly in Western North Carolina. Additionally, Whitney Ross Manzo, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Meredith College, provides a "Polling 101" overview, explaining how polls operate and their importance during election season.

Just weeks after President Joe Biden's announcement that he will not seek reelection and hours after she formally secured the nomination of the Democratic Party as its presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate this past week. It's the Harris campaign's hope that Walz's everyman appeal […]

With North Carolina being one of the most important and hotly contested states in the upcoming November election, national and state-based pollsters are carefully and regularly monitoring voter attitudes and public opinion trends. And as News & Views listeners are well-aware, one of the best and most reliable experts in this realm is Meredith College […] The post Meredith College political science professor David McLennan on top-of-the-ticket political races appeared first on NC Newsline.

Anna Echols is a cake artist, designer and bakery owner who creates life-like cakes celebrating every occasion. With painstaking attention to detail, her goal is to produce a cake that is hard to decipher from the real thing; almost too good to eat. Anna was born in Wilmington, NC in 1984 to Douglas and DeLonna Echols. She has one brother Douglas Echols, Jnr., a custom home renovator. Her father, who passed away in 2006, was a Commercial Real Estate Developer and entrepreneur who loved cooking, and Delonna, a stay-at-home mom. Her father once owned the shopping center where Anna's bakery business is now based although he sadly did not live to see her business develop. Anna attended Cape Fear Academy for pre-k-12th grade in Wilmington and Meredith College, Raleigh, NC for her bachelors degree before she went to Orlando Culinary Academy for the Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Program. It was while she was there that she took part in TLC's “The Ultimate Bake-Off”, which Anna says was a defining moment in her career. In 2011, she returned home to Wilmington to her mother's house where she started her bakery business and operated for the first two years. One Belle Bakery took off and she expanded her space for customers and, which now, has eight full-time staff whom Anna considers her family. Anna's creativity has attracted celebrity clients, including the late Country Music singer Charlie Daniels who gave her a cowboy hat in return. https://www.onebellebakery.comInstagram: @onebellebakery Anna's favorite women artists:Liz MarekNatalie SideserfMaggie AustinBrooke HeltonBrooke LuptonJennifer Rose Playlist:Faith (with Dolly Parton ft. Mr. Probz)Wake Me Up (Avicii)I Just Wanna Shine (Fitz and the Tantrums)Take a Walk (Passion Pit)Sugar, Sugar (The Archies) Host: Chris StaffordProduced by Hollowell StudiosFollow @theaartpodcast on InstagramAART on FacebookEmail: hollowellstudios@gmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wisp--4769409/support.

Anna Echols is a cake artist, designer and bakery owner who creates life-like cakes celebrating every occasion. With painstaking attention to detail, her goal is to produce a cake that is hard to decipher from the real thing; almost too good to eat. Anna was born in Wilmington, NC in 1984 to Douglas and DeLonna Echols. She has one brother Douglas Echols, Jnr., a custom home renovator. Her father, who passed away in 2006, was a Commercial Real Estate Developer and entrepreneur who loved cooking, and Delonna, a stay-at-home mom. Her father once owned the shopping center where Anna's bakery business is now based although he sadly did not live to see her business develop. Anna attended Cape Fear Academy for pre-k-12th grade in Wilmington and Meredith College, Raleigh, NC for her bachelors degree before she went to Orlando Culinary Academy for the Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Program. It was while she was there that she took part in TLC's “The Ultimate Bake-Off”, which Anna says was a defining moment in her career. In 2011, she returned home to Wilmington to her mother's house where she started her bakery business and operated for the first two years. One Belle Bakery took off and she expanded her space for customers and, which now, has eight full-time staff whom Anna considers her family. Anna's creativity has attracted celebrity clients, including the late Country Music singer Charlie Daniels who gave her a cowboy hat in return. https://www.onebellebakery.comInstagram: @onebellebakery Anna's favorite women artists:Liz MarekNatalie SideserfMaggie AustinBrooke HeltonBrooke LuptonJennifer Rose Playlist:Faith (with Dolly Parton ft. Mr. Probz)Wake Me Up (Avicii)I Just Wanna Shine (Fitz and the Tantrums)Take a Walk (Passion Pit)Sugar, Sugar (The Archies) Host: Chris StaffordProduced by Hollowell StudiosFollow @theaartpodcast on InstagramAART on FacebookEmail: hollowellstudios@gmail.com

Have you ever struggled to reconcile fundraising with your faith? Join us as we explore this topic with Barbara Shantz, a seasoned fundraiser and founder of GiveWayVisioneering. In this profound conversation, Barbara shares her journey and offers practical advice for aligning fundraising with Christian values. What you'll learn: How to view fundraising as a partnership, not just a transaction. The surprising connection between faith and finances. How to cultivate generosity within your community. Practical steps to improve your fundraising efforts. The essential role of business people in God's mission. And much more! Bonus: Listen to key moments from the episode, including: Barbara's inspiring insights on stewardship and wealth. Practical tips for building strong donor relationships. The interplay of foreign funding on local ministries. Ready to dive in? Click play and be equipped to raise funds with confidence and conviction! Links: Giveaway Visioneering: https://givewayvisioneering.global/ Barbara Shantz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bshantz Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review!   Barbara's Bio: Barbara was born in Canada to a first-generation immigrant family. She believes that the work of the Great Commission unites the global Church as a team. With Christ as our head and Revelation 7:9-12 as our vision statement, we look forward to seeing believers from every nation as part of the multitude who will one day, together, praise God for ever and ever! After some 30 years in ministry with TWR (Trans World Radio), Barbara now has her own advising business, GiveWayVisioneering, where she serves nonprofit clientele globally in the area of contextualised, local fundraising. She has a BS in business administration (Meredith College, 2017) and continues her quest for life-long learning in an MA program studying global organisational leadership with York College. Barbara and her husband, Steve, enjoy living in eastern Canada near their two children and four grandchildren.

fWotD Episode 2476: Annie Dove Denmark Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Wednesday, 14 February 2024 is Annie Dove Denmark.Annie Dove Denmark (September 29, 1887 – January 16, 1974) was an American music educator and academic administrator who was the fifth president of Anderson College (now Anderson University) in Anderson, South Carolina, from 1928 to 1953.A talented musician in her youth, Denmark attended the Baptist University for Women (now Meredith College) and graduated with an artist's diploma in piano in 1908. She began her teaching career later the same year. For a period of eight years thereafter, she taught piano at Buies Creek Academy, the Tennessee College for Women, and Shorter College. She continued her studies as her career began; she spent the summer of 1909 in New York City studying under Rafael Joseffy, the 1916–1917 academic year studying under Alberto Jonás, and many successive summers during her time at Anderson attending the Chautauqua Institute. She began teaching at Anderson at the start of the 1917–1918 academic year. After the resignation of Anderson president John E. White in September 1927, her name was put forward as a potential successor and she had gained the full support of the trustees by December of that year.Denmark took office as Anderson's fifth president in January 1928; she is commonly cited as the first woman president of a college or university in South Carolina, though this claim is incorrect. Inheriting the school's substantial debt, she guided the school through the Great Depression and oversaw Anderson's transition from a four-year college to a two-year junior college, the first of its kind in the state. The remainder of the college's debt was paid off by the South Carolina Baptist Convention in May 1938, and attendance increased as World War II ended and the school enrolled more men than it ever had since becoming co-educational in 1931. She announced her resignation in April 1952 and ultimately left office in May 1953 following that year's commencement, concluding a 25-year presidency that remains the longest in Anderson's history. She was promptly elected president emeritus by the trustees and given an apartment on campus, though she instead retired to her hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina, where she lived until her death in 1974.She was the recipient of multiple honors during her life and following her death: Furman University awarded her an honorary degree in 1941, Anderson established the Denmark Society and the Annie Dove Denmark award in 1944 and 1976, respectively, she was made the namesake of a dormitory building on campus in 1966, and was inducted into the Anderson County Museum Hall of Fame in 2004.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:03 UTC on Wednesday, 14 February 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Annie Dove Denmark on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Raveena Standard.

Meredith College pollster Professor David McLennan on what voters are thinking (and in many cases not thinking) about the March 5th primary, as well as some other important issues that confront our state and nation. Read the full results from the latest Meredith College poll here. The post Meredith College pollster David McLennan on what voters are thinking ahead of the March primary appeared first on NC Newsline.

Summary: Chris and I discuss exhibit design and construction at Marbles!Big Take Aways:-The difference between goldsmithing and silversmithing.- The power of “we didn't know what we didn't know.”- Exhibits as “working prototypes.”________________________________________________________About Chris: Chris Alexander is the Vice President of Exhibits at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC. His passion for designing and fabricating playful and engaging learning environments is driven by his curious nature, desire to problem solve, and the unique challenge of designing for a young and diverse audience. After receiving a BID in Industrial Design from the NC State College of Design in 1993, Chris helped found the Antfarm Studios- a still operational creative collective for artists and designers in Raleigh's Boylan Heights. It was during this time that under the mentorship of acclaimed Goldsmith Mary Ann Scherr, that Chris continued his education in design by exploring metalwork through jewelry as inspiriting and interactive wearable objects. The ability to play with scale, material, color, and whimsy eventually led him to his current work with Marbles creating exhibits that spark imagination, discovery and learning through play. Chris continues to engage and collaborate with the creative community in Raleigh, he has taught Design Camp sessions at the College of Design at North Carolina State University, and Metalsmithing at Meredith College as well as Penland School of Crafts. He has spoken on “Fear and Failure in Design” at Hopscotch Design fest. Chris designed and built his home employing adaptive reuse techniques to blend modern design with existing traditional structures. Most importantly, Chris is doting father to his daughter, Tess and husband to wife Emily. He believes in the power of play to transform children's lives, and the power of design to create extraordinary experiences for children, families and communities. Connect with Chris: Website | LinkedIn Mentioned in the show:- Mary Ann Scherr- NCSU College of Design- Antfarm Studios- Giving at Marbles________________________________________________________Show Notes: Welcome to Dirt NC where we talk all about the places and spaces of North Carolina and the people who make them awesome, I am your host Jed Byrne.Throughout my career in engineering, construction, finance, and development, I have covered just about all sides of the land use ecosystem. This show creates an opportunity for me to share what I have learned with you as well as introduce you to some of my friends, both new and old who are doing transformative work.With each episode of Dirt NC my goal is to make sure you walk away learning something new about land use. I promise to keep it simple and straight to the point.As always, I am grateful that you have chosen to share this time with me! If you have comments/questions/suggestions about Dirt NC or anything land use related you can find me on twitter at @OakCityCRE and if you want a simple and to the point update on Raleigh commercial development you can subscribe to The Top Five, my free weekly newsletter at www.oakcitycre.com 

In this episode, we speak with Meredith College President, Dr. Jo Allen. As the first alumna to lead the college, President Allen has a unique and personal connection to the institution. During our conversation, we explore her path to becoming president and how her experiences have shaped her approach to leadership. Under President Allen's guidance, Meredith College has experienced transformative growth and change, achieving new heights in educational excellence and community engagement. We discuss her strategic initiatives, including the 'Meredith Forever' strategic plan, and her approach to fostering a culture of innovation and empowerment, especially for women in higher education. Listen in to hear President Allen's personal insights on leading a college, the power of education in shaping lives, and her hopes for the future of Meredith College. It's a conversation full of real-world experiences and practical wisdom that you won't want to miss. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chelip/message

Downtown Raleigh is full of parking lots – but you never know when a plain-looking parking lot is hiding some amazing history. Did you know that there once was a castle on the former campus of Meredith College? In today’s episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah and news production assistant Arri Woodhouse unlock the secrets of this mysterious place.  

The 2024 primary election in North Carolina is only just over three months away and according to the most recent Meredith College poll, we may very well already know which major party candidates are likely to prevail. According to Meredith College political scientist and pollster David McLennan the latest poll found Democratic Attorney General Josh […] The post Pollster David McLennan discusses how the 2024 gubernatorial candidates are faring appeared first on NC Newsline.

Dr. Michael Bitzer is often quoted in the media on all things #ncpol in addition to contributing to political discussions with his engaging and informational social media posts.  The political scientist at Catawba College sits down with Skye and Brian to talk about his career, scholarly work, the 2024 election, and his fascination with North Carolina's ever-changing political landscape.   Plus, more campaign announcements were announced this week, Auditor Beth Wood's resignation, Meredith College polling, Taylor and Travis, #TOTW, Thanksgiving, and more.   The Do Politics Better podcast is sponsored by New Frame, the NC Travel Industry Association, the NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the NC Pork Council, and the NC Healthcare Association. 

In just five months, North Carolinians will go to the polls in the 2024 primary election. In addition to helping select the nominees for the presidency in the Democratic and Republican parties, voters will nominate candidates for every major political office in our state, save for U.S. Senate. So, what do we know at this […] The post Meredith College pollster David McLennan on NC voter attitudes ahead of the 2024 elections appeared first on NC Newsline.

In S2E4 I sit down with Department Head of Religious & Ethical Studies at Meredith College, Professor Shannon Grimes to discuss her book "Becoming Gold", Zosimos of Panopolis, and the Hellenistic/Hermetic alchemical tradition of late antiquity. Patreon: http://patreon.com/arcanvm Follow on IG: @a.r.c.a.n.v.m Contact: arcanvvm@gmail.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arcanvm/support

On this episode, we Build with Mary-Kathryn Connor!Mary-Kathryn Connor is the Director of Hayes Barton United Methodist Preschool. She is a native of Goldsboro, NC and holds a Bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences from Meredith College and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Intervention and Family Support from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has her B-K, K-6, and 7-12 teaching licenses. She has a vast resume of experiences having been a teacher, department chair, and adjunct instructor at Moore Square Magnet Middle School, Needham B. Broughton High School and Meredith College. Through her skillful leadership, Mary-Kathryn brought about instrumental change and success not only in programming but also in student achievement and staff support. The Wake County Public School System recognized her work by naming her Wake County's Diane Kent Parker First Year Teacher of the Year, Broughton High School Teacher of the Year, Wake County Teacher of the Year Finalist, WRAL Teacher of the Week, WCPSS Employee Excellence Award recipient, and the Richard M. Jewell Teaching Excellence Award. This was such a fun conversation. We discuss so much in this episode, beginning with her journey through early childhood education (and some fun stories!). We discuss how she has surrounded herself with amazing talent and what advice she has for young families and those about to enter the real world. As Director of the Preschool, Mary-Kathryn has been surrounded by 150+ children for the last 5 years and I've seen firsthand how she has transformed an environment that has positively impacted the lives of so many, including my children. I want others to know her journey, what she's learned and be inspired to grow!Enjoy! Books Recommended:The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark ComerThe Lives We Actually Have by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Ringer's Ben Lindbergh to talk about Luis Arraez's run at a .400 batting average. The Athletic's Steph Yang also joins to discuss the U.S. women's national team's World Cup roster. Finally, college golfers Maycee Kay Aycock and Sarah Marshall come on to explain why they stuck with the sport despite shooting some of the worst scores of all time.   .400 (3:14): Why it's still a magic number in baseball.   USWNT (21:57): Will injuries doom them at the World Cup?   Bad golfers (42:26): How two women from Meredith College became sports heroes.   Afterball (1:02:08): Josh on meat judging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Ringer's Ben Lindbergh to talk about Luis Arraez's run at a .400 batting average. The Athletic's Steph Yang also joins to discuss the U.S. women's national team's World Cup roster. Finally, college golfers Maycee Kay Aycock and Sarah Marshall come on to explain why they stuck with the sport despite shooting some of the worst scores of all time.   .400 (3:14): Why it's still a magic number in baseball.   USWNT (21:57): Will injuries doom them at the World Cup?   Bad golfers (42:26): How two women from Meredith College became sports heroes.   Afterball (1:02:08): Josh on meat judging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the Ringer's Ben Lindbergh to talk about Luis Arraez's run at a .400 batting average. The Athletic's Steph Yang also joins to discuss the U.S. women's national team's World Cup roster. Finally, college golfers Maycee Kay Aycock and Sarah Marshall come on to explain why they stuck with the sport despite shooting some of the worst scores of all time.   .400 (3:14): Why it's still a magic number in baseball.   USWNT (21:57): Will injuries doom them at the World Cup?   Bad golfers (42:26): How two women from Meredith College became sports heroes.   Afterball (1:02:08): Josh on meat judging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Believe it or not, you can go to college to learn to become a pilot or work in the airline industry. Just keep in mind how much there is to know if you're hoping to get a career in aviation off the ground. Amy and Mike invited college consultant Malinda Schantz to share admissions considerations for aviation majors. What are five things you will learn in this episode? 1. What are the different aviation majors? 2. What are some considerations to keep in mind when researching professional pilot programs? 3. How is the application process different for students who want to be pilots? 4. What are some current admissions trends for pilot programs?  5. What is the current job outlook for the different aviation majors? MEET OUR GUEST Malinda Schantz is an independent college consultant based in Raleigh, NC. She has a MS in library and information science from Simmons University, a MA in musicology from Rutgers University, and a BA in music from Meredith College.  She also earned the Independent Educational Consultant Certificate from the University of California—Irvine and completed IECA's Summer Training Institute.  Malinda established her consulting practice, Runways To College in 2020.  She is a member of HECA, SACAC, NACAC and an associate member of IECA. Malinda has experience working in music education as well as the airline industry. She has a special interest in helping students pursue aviation.  Her husband has his private pilot's license and her son is a captain at PSA Airlines–American Eagle.  Find Malinda at Runways To College. LINKS AABI International list of accredited programs FAA list of accredited schools for R-ATP Experimental Aviation Association Special Issuances AME Assisted - All Classes - Asthma RELATED EPISODES THE UNWRITTEN RULES OF COLLEGE SUCCESS MATCHING TYPES OF STUDENTS TO TYPES OF SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS CONSIDERATIONS FOR MUSICIANS ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.

EarthShare NC partners with businesses to engage employees in environmental causes and sustainability. Through team building, sustainability challenges, education, and virtual and in-person volunteering, employees connect with the community, each other, and other businesses and make a positive impact.Executive Director Heather Beard was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. She earned a B.A. in Business Administration at Meredith College and an M.A. in Environmental Policy at Tufts University. Heather worked with the Neuse River Foundation to establish the first Upper Neuse River Foundation program. She joined EarthShare NC in 2001 and has served as Executive Director since 2006. Outside of work, Heather spends her time backpacking in the NC and VA mountains, cooking, and silversmithing.To review an Earth Day Impact Challenge Fact Sheet, click below.Earth-Day-Impact-Challenge-Fact-Sheet.pdf (earthsharenc.org)To connect with EarthShare NC, visit https://earthsharenc.org/Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.Support the show

Professor David McLennan, director of the Meredith College Poll tells us what North Carolinians are thinking about an array of hot-button policy issues, including election conspiracy theories, abortion rights, medical marijuana and more. The post Professor David McLennan, director of the Meredith College Poll appeared first on NC Policy Watch.

Kimberly Floyd is the co-founder, Executive Director, and brains behind the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum. Established by community members in 2017, the North Carolina Beverage Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting North Carolina's craft beverage story and celebrating its role in building and defining the community. She graduated with a degree in History from Meredith College and received her Master's in Public History and Museum Studies from North Carolina State University. Kimberly joins me today to share updates on the museum's permanent and traveling exhibits. She describes the museum's Pour Me Another traveling exhibit and how it tells the story of North Carolina through the beverage. She discusses the museum's three permanent exhibits in Asheville and its partnership with the Asheville Free Walking Tour. Kimberly also explains how the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum is actively involved in research and artifact collection and shares her vision for the museum for the year ahead. This week on Consuming the Craft: ●     The Pour Me Another traveling exhibit●     Launching the museum's first three permanent exhibits in Asheville●     The museum's walking tour in partnership with Asheville Free Walking Tour●     Booze Clues: New Belgium's citrusy mimosa●     Pepsi's T-Swiftie drink and what “retronasal” means●     How the museum is researching and actively collecting artifacts●     Kimberly's preparatory work on next year's traveling exhibit on temperance and prohibition●     How prohibition is still impacting us today●     The museum's hub-and-spoke model and the need to increase outreach and sponsors Connect with Kimberly Floyd: ●     North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum●     North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Instagram●     North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Facebook●     North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Twitter●     Kimberly Floyd on LinkedIn●     Email: info@ncbevmuseum Consuming the Craft Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech's Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay  Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts. To learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast, visit our website.

Poet Jayme Ringleb is an assistant professor of English at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ringleb's debut collection So Tall It Ends in Heaven was published by Tin House in 2022. Ringleb's poems have appeared in AGNI, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry. They are the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize, scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and fellowships to the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop and the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat. Ringleb is an alum of the UO's Creative Writing Program, where they earned their MFA. On January 18, 2023, Ringleb will give a reading with poet Alycia Pirmohamed as a guest of University of Oregon's Creative Writing Program.

Show Notes:Kelly Fletcher is the founder and CEO of Fletcher Marketing & PR. She is a graduate of Meredith College with a degree in communications. She is the host of Ms. InterPReted Podcast: Public Relations Demystified. (2:00) How is the marketing, PR, media, and crisis communications industry changing today? The how and why of reaching the female audience. (14:30) You can't fix communications problems unless you fix operational issues first. (21:00) Why Kelly "the expert" hired an expert to help her with her personal "rebranding."Dr. Trillion Small - Business/Mindset Coach (24:00) What I appreciate about Kelly...her leadership, humility, and experience. (27:00) How Kelly continues to grow and navigate through difficult times. (30:00) Kelly hires a mindset coach to help her go to the next level. Why do high performers have a coach and why does it matter? (40:00) Why Kelly is hiring business coaching for her son for Christmas. (46:00) How to build your culture in a remote environment and why it is so important for a business and relationships with your team. (51:00) What is the biggest challenge of the remote workplace environment? Book Recommendations The Secret Life of the Savoy Hotel - Olivia Williams (57:00) If Kelly could give a State of the Union Address to the American people this is what she would say. "Sphere of Influence vs. Sphere of Control"  "We all need to do the hard work of becoming a good person!" As we are about to land the plane Kelly decides to tell a story about her "blanky!" :) Go Kelly!!!

Melissa Turner's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-melissa-turner-pharmd/ Website: www.tarheelpgxconsulting.com Dr. Melissa Turner graduated from Meredith College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and from Campbell University in 2013 with her Doctor of Pharmacy. After graduation, she began working as a staff pharmacist for CVS and was there until May 2021.   Dr. Turner is a graduate of the PGx Consulting Confidence Academy, completed her Certificate in Pharmacogenomics from RxGenomix in April 2021, and opened her own business, Tarheel PGx Consulting, in September 2021. In March 2022, she completed a course in nutrigenomics from PureGenomics.   The mission of her company is to provide patients with personalized medication and nutrition management based on their genetics. She is a member of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, the NCPDP Precision Medicine Subcommittee, and the Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Alumni Board.   Dr. Turner loves teaching her patients about how their genetics can affect their nutrition, health, and wellness and the medications they take. 

Note that our interview with Prof. McLennan was recorded November 8, 2022. The post Meredith College political scientist and polling expert David McLennan shares his take on the outcome of the midterm elections appeared first on NC Policy Watch.

In episode 56, Anna Dougherty shares her story of belonging as she developed - and recently launched - her NYC-locally made wool outerwear collection - Anna Gray Collection. Hear how her background in outerwear wholesale and the street she grew up on as a child came together in her launch collection. Anna Dougherty is a New York City based designer who founded Anna Gray Collection, a women's outerwear brand for those looking to add a little merriment, joie de vivre, and color to their lives. Anna Gray Collection pieces are ethically made in NYC. Anna had a wide range of experience prior to launching her brand. She majored in fashion design at Meredith College, and worked in the retail and commercial real estate industries before moving to NYC. Once in NYC, she worked for a knitwear and outerwear company learning the ins and outs of the fashion industry. After losing her job due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, Anna decided to take the leap, hire herself, and launch her brand. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Anna decided to start her brand The things Anna learned in her wholesale sales job that are invaluable Why she chose outerwear as the focus of her brand How Anna sources her materials What her creative process looks like Why Anna chose to manufacture in NYC How Anna found her factory The benefits of being part of a brand accelerator program How Anna overcame the fear of being vulnerable and putting her designs out there People and resources mentioned in this episode: Anna Gray Collection website Anna's email Anna Gray Collection Instagram Anna's LinkedIn Factory45 - sustainable fashion brand accelerator program Alison's Instagram Live with Shannon from Factory45

This week's episode was recorded at the Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Andrea Lennon sits down with Dr. Tara Dew, who spoke at this year's Ministers' Wives Conference. Dew recalls her own salvation experience at a Billy Graham crusade, and the two also discuss the significance of biblical hope. Dr. Tara Dew is the wife of Dr. Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary & Leavell College (NOBTS). She is a mom to two sets of twins: Natalie & Nathan and Samuel & Samantha. After graduating from Meredith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication, Tara taught second grade for four years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Since then, she has earned a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning Elementary Education from Liberty University and a Doctorate in Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is currently homeschooling her four children and serving the students, staff, and faculty of NOBTS. As a pastor’s wife, Tara has been heavily involved in women’s and children’s ministries over the years. This led to her passion for training, equipping, and supporting ministers’ wives.

The pathway to the principalship is paved with passion, purpose, planning, and practice. Dr. Carrie Tulbert, 2014 North Carolina State Principal of the Year, joins Dr. Jackson to share her journey to the principalship, how she supports Assistant Principals in their professional growth, and strategies for Principals in supporting their teammates in their own leadership journeys.Dr. Carrie Tulbert is currently in her 13th year as a middle school principal. She has led schools that truly run the gamut of student populations and sizes. A former North Carolina Teaching Fellow, Dr. Tulbert is a graduate of Meredith College with her Bachelor's Degree in English; a Master's Degree in School Administration from Gardner Webb University, and an Educational Specialist degree and Doctoral degree from Wingate University. Her greatest honor is being a mother of 2 sons. She passionately believes in public school and its power to transform students' lives. She also truly believes that being a principal is the BEST job in education! She is the 2014 North Carolina Principal of the Year, and she has served on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals' Association for 5 years. Dr. Tulbert previously joined Dr. Jackson along with three other State Principals of the Year on a special two-episode mini-series on the EdLeader podcast to discuss recent research on the impact of principals.Dr. Rob Jackson on TwitterEdLeader Podcast on TwitterDr. Carrie Tulbert on Twitter

Does music have the power to impact your mental and physical health? Can you use music and sound to reach beyond your traditional therapy? MEET Joyu LeeFellow of the Association for Music and Imagery, Narrative Therapist MM, NMT, MT-BC Joyu Lee (she/her), is the owner of Music and Your Mind, LLC, and a founding member of Vida Strings. She is a Senior Therapist at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, NC, and primarily works with teens and young adults with eating disorders, anxiety and depression, and crisis intervention. She is also a music therapist at Pasadenavilla Outpatient treatment center and provides re-educative, insight-building music psychotherapy sessions for groups and individuals on a daily basis.  Joyu is a passionate and experienced therapist with 20+ years of combined international experience in creative/expressive arts therapy, cello performance, music education, and arts administration. She is trained in the Bonny Method Guided Imagery and Music (GIM- Music Psychotherapy) and is a Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. Joyu was mentored by Dr. Dag Körlin as an independent “Music Breathing” practitioner and completed the Narrative Therapy Certification through Narrative Therapy Initiative (NTI) in May 2022. Since 2018, she has facilitated "Music Care", and trauma-informed workshops at the National Bornoff Workshop at the University of Kansas, NC State University, Meredith College, Durham Crisis Response Center, UNC Health, Queens University, and Current Wellness. Joyu has presented in SER-AMTA regional conferences in 2021 and 2022 and was the keynote speaker presenting on "Radical Listening" in 2022. Joyu was the recipient of the 2022 Innovation Award at the Rehabilitation Department of UNC Health, and the recipient of the 2021 "Linda Keiser Mardis Education" research grant. She is the primary investigator for the ongoing Music Breathing research at the UNC Center of Excellence for eating disorders inpatient unit (2021-2022). Joyu has developed and presented the new music program "Finding Meaning" at the International Association for Music and Imagery conference in Philadelphia, USA, in 2021, and will be presenting at the European Association for Music and Imagery in Denmark, in September 2022. Joyu completed her Music Therapy degree from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC) and has been a Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) since 2014. She received a BM in Cello Performance from the National Taiwan Normal University, and a MM in Cello Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH). Find out more athttps://subtleyoga.com/ ( )https://www.musicandyourmind.com/ (Music And Your Mind) and connect with Joyu on https://www.instagram.com/musicandyourmind/ (Instagram).  IN THIS PODCAST:What are the healing benefits of music therapy? 4:12 How to use mindfulness with music 10:32  Using music therapy when dealing with depression 20:33 Guided imagery in music therapy 26:30 What Are The Healing Benefits Of Music Therapy?What is music therapy? How do you as an individual interact with music in your everyday life How to incorporate music into your daily routine How to use music and the breath for healing benefits How To Use Mindfulness With Music Focusing on the elements of the music How to monitor your headspace Being intentional when listening to music How to use music therapy with trauma  Using Music Therapy When Dealing With DepressionLearning to reconnect with music when dealing with depression Using a minimalistic approach with music therapy and depression Integrating other creative outlets along with music therapy Learning to invite your clients into the process of music therapy Guided Imagery In Music TherapyWhat is guided imagery? How to use guided imagery in one on one client sessions Understanding the importance of music selection in this practice Guided imagery walk-through with a cello performance  Connect With...

In this episode, the Huddle Guys continue their Women in Accounting series by featuring Kelly Phillips Erb, a writer for Bloomberg Tax & Accounting. Kelly received her BA in History from Meredith College and her JD/LLM in Taxation from Temple University. Previously, Kelly was a Senior Contributor & Tax Writer for Bloomberg. She is also a tax attorney, business owner, and podcaster, under the name Taxgirl. Kelly is all things tax! Listen as Kelly describes how she navigated her career, and how one professor was key to the path that she chose to travel. We hope that this episode will inspire students of all ages to embrace opportunities to become subject matter experts in areas that are unconventional. Calling all college students! If you are unsure of what to major in or career to pursue, consider opportunities in accounting. Catch up on episodes of this podcast as a resource. You can also follow Kelly, aka Taxgirl, across the various social platforms. It's time to Huddle Up!

In my mind, there are two major atrocities at the historical roots of our nation that created legacies with which we are still dealing to this day. One was the enslavement of African peoples and, after slavery was brought to an end, the subsequent segregation and continued oppression of black people through the Jim Crow laws. The other was the displacement, genocide, and forced assimilation of the Americas's indigenous peoples--the Native American/American Indian peoples. A good deal of justifiable attention has been given to understanding and addressing racism directed toward black Americans. Not enough attention has been given to understanding and addressing racism directed at American Indians/Native Americans/Indigenous peoples. In order to take my own steps at correction of my own behavior, I am delighted to welcome as my guest for this episode Lena Epps Brooker. Lena is a Lumbee/High Plains (Sappony)/Cherokee who has written an important memoir of her school years during the time of Jim Crow in the South, titled Hot Dogs on the Road: An American Indian Girls's on Growing Up Brown in a Black and Whiter World. Lena's immediate family was her father, Frank Howard Epps, her mother, Grace Smith Epps and her two younger brothers, Franklin and Cameron Epps. She grew up on the grounds of the Magnolia School in the Saddletree Community of Robeson County, North Carolina. Her father was the principal of the school and her mother was supervisor of Indian Schools for the Robeson County Board of Education. In 1962, Lena was the first American Indian and person of color to graduate from Meredith College, an all-women's Baptist college in Raleigh, North Carolina. Of the things Lena has done in her career, she was an elementary school teacher in Charlotte, served in administrative positions with NC State government, including the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, diversity and community relations director for The Women's Center in Raleigh, and diversity management consultant for corporate headquarters of a multi-state bank in Raleigh. As a volunteer was a certified lay minister with the Western NC Conference of the United Methodist Church serving Weaverville United Methodist Church. In her 25+ years of living in Raleigh, Lena was active in community affairs including serving on the City of Raleigh Human Relations Commission, the Raleigh-Wake County Arts Council, Triangle Native American Society, NC ACLU Board of Directors, the NC Council on the Status of Women. Lena's late husband of 53 years was Jim Brooker with whom she had two daughters, Lora Brooker and Lindsey Brooks. In this episode, in giving us guidance in things we can do to help make changes, Lena especially advises reading books written by her peoples. Among those include the following: The Only Land I Know: A History of the Lumbee Indians, by Adolph L. Dial and David Eliades Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation, and The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle, by Malinda Maynor Lowery Strong Like Rhonda: Exploring Female Power in the Lumbee Tribe, and Poems and Hollers from a Candy Apple Indian, by Dana Lowery Ramseur Upon Her Shoulders: Southeastern Native Women Share Their Stories of Justice, Spirit, and Community, by Mary Ann Jacobs, Cherry Maynor Beasley, and Ulrike Wiehaus The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called 'Father Let Your Kingdom Come' which is found on The Porter's Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter's Gate Worship Project.

The post Meredith College political scientist David McLennan examines the results from several key races in the NC primary, and where things stand ahead of the general election appeared first on NC Policy Watch.

Hey friends, It's Tamara here. I hope you enjoyed the previous 3 audio fiction episodes from the Food for Thought project. As you know, Artist Soapbox produces original scripted audio fiction such as the three FFT projects, as well as interviews with artists about their creative process.  We're back to the interview/conversational format with this episode and most of the ones to follow for this season. Today, I'm dipping in to introduce 2 of our new podcast hosts – Lormarev Jones and Griffin James. If you've been a long time listener of Artist Soapbox, then you will likely know them and you can also read their https://artistsoapbox.org/about/#team (bios on the Artist Soapbox website). Have you looked at our beautiful website? I am so in love with it.  Now, Lormarev and Griffin contain multitudes of course, but here are some bread crumbs for your to follow into their conversation: Lormarev Jones is an Educator, Director/Choreographer, and Actor and Intimacy Director. Lormarev currently teaches at Meredith College while continuing to freelance in all her areas of expertise. She has been interviewed on the Soapbox several times, acted in an episode of ASBX shorts and will be super featured in the upcoming scripted audio fiction piece: Jesus Pancake. She is well-known as a hydration advocate.  Griffin James is an interdisciplinary theatre maker and writer local to the triangle area. They have a degree in English Creative Writing from NC State where they were involved with the university theatre as a performer, stage manager, and more. Griffin was the production manager for all six of the ASBX Shorts and all 3 of the Food for Thought Projects. Whew, my blood runs cold thinking about all of that logistical management. You can also catch them voicing the Drunk College Student in I'm Not Here Right Now. (Griffin was not type cast in that role.) In this episode, you'll hear these two friends introduce themselves and each other. You'll get a sense of their style and vibe, and what they'll be focusing on in their own episodes this Season. Lormarev and Griffin are two of my favorite people, and I know you will love them too. I'm so grateful that they have agreed to step in as hosts. And guess what? In the next episode, you'll hear me introduce two more of my favorite people and guest hosts, Juliana Finch and the inimitable Mara Thomas. So stay tuned for that.  Enjoy this episode with Lormarev and Griffin. https://share.descript.com/view/jEq0hKyrNbK (Transcript) https://www.grammarly.com/blog/saying-no/ (How to Say No) LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:https://artistsoapbox.org/masterbuilder/ (Master Builder) https://www.thenewcolossuspodcast.com/ (The New Colossus) https://artistsoapbox.org/declaration-of-love/ (Declaration of Love audio anthology) https://artistsoapbox.org/audio-dramas/asbx-shorts/ (ASBX Shorts) CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/artist_soapbox (@artist_soapbox) Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/artistsoapbox/ (artistsoapbox) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ (https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/) CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. http://www.patreon.com/artistsoapbox (Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon )or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox (https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox) or via PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/artistsoapbox?ppid=PPC000628&cnac=US&rsta=en_US(en_US)&cust=A55YE26SQPDL8&unptid=bcec7a46-337d-11e8-9bbe-9c8e992da578&t=&cal=cb540804e2cda&calc=cb540804e2cda&calf=cb540804e2cda&unp_tpcid=ppme-social-user-profile-created&page=main:email&pgrp=main:email&e=op&mchn=em&s=ci&mail=sys (PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.) If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our...

Kimberly Floyd is Co-Founder and Executive Director for the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum. She also currently serves as the Site Manager at the Zebulon B Vance Birthplace State Historic Site. She has a Master's degree in Public History with a concentration on Museum Studies from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor's degree in History from Meredith College. Kimberly has worked in the public history field for over 14 years and is part of the team working to bring the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum to life. The museum aims to preserve and interpret the state's craft beverage story and how it plays a pivotal role in the community today. Today, Kimberly joins me to share information on the unique model of the North Carolina Beverage Museum and new exhibits that will be opening soon. She reveals plans for a traveling exhibition and where it will be featured. She also shares her experiences from running a beer workshop at the North Carolina Museums Council conference and how the museum changes the thinking behind artifacts. This week on Consuming the Craft:●      The unique model for the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum●      New exhibits opening at the museum●      Plans for a traveling exhibition, how it works, and where it will be seen●      Kimberly's passion for history and how she became part of the Craft Beverage Museum●      A beer workshop that Kimberly led at the North Carolina Museums Council conference●      How the museum is changing the way people think about craft beverage artifacts Resources Mentioned:●      Koi Pond Brewery●      Goat Island Bottle Shop Connect with Kimberly Floyd:●      North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum●      Email: info@ncbevmuseum.com●      North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Instagram●      North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Facebook●      North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum on Twitter●      Kimberly Floyd on LinkedIn Consuming the Craft Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of the Consuming the Craft Podcast, brought to you by AB Tech's Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | GooglePlay  Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more craft beverage enthusiasts. To learn more about AB Tech and the Craft Beer Institute of the Southeast, visit our website.

ToniAnn Gambella Loftus, MS. CCC-SLP/TSSLD has been working with kids with special needs in some capacity using a variety of interventions and methodologies since 2006.. She received her master's degree in Speech Language Pathology from Seton Hall University and her undergraduate degree from Meredith College. ToniAnn has a special interest in feeding and hearing. She has been working in the DIR®/Floortime™ model since 2011. She is expertly trained in DIR/Floortime and teaches coursework through the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning. Mrs. Loftus is an active member of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association and has presented at their conference annually since 2015. ToniAnn is the owner of Seaport Speech and Feeding in New York, New York.Instagram: @the_downtown_speech_momWebsite: Seaportspeech.com

The post Meredith College political science professor David McLennan offers a preview of the May primary and discusses the rise of unaffiliated voters appeared first on NC Policy Watch.

Tiff is...........the Queen of Miami Yoga........she just wants............to dance with Jlo. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Born in Durham, North Carolina, she moved down to Florida to work for Sprint as soon as she graduated Meredith College, going back to Duke to get a degree in MBSR, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from their integrative medicine department. Starting her yoga path during undergrad, she realized she fully loved it later in life, when she was going through some traumas, getting hit by a car on her bike, breakups, and losing her mom. Turning to yoga helped her create her own Utopia, where everything happens for a reason. When Synergy Yoga school owner, Victoria Brunacci, challenged her to grow in her practice and do her first 200 hour training, she answered the call, and followed up with her 300 and 500 hour trainings. Now fully running some of Miami's most creative yoga events, whether that be 4:20 Space Yoga on Saturdays, or weekly Immersive Beyond Monet yoga, or Full Moon Moxy yoga, or even weekly volunteering at the Global Empowerment Mission, Tiffany is living her calling and even has her own website, https://www.tifftopia.com/, where you can review her different events and retreats, like the one she does in Morocco. Follow her on IG @tifftopia, come by to some of her events, and if you're listening Jlo.........

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Joni Wickham and her indisputable southern accent arrived in Kansas City almost 10 years ago after leading initiatives within state and federal government as well as advocacy organizations. In her eight years with the mayor's office—the majority of them spent as Chief of Staff—Joni has proven herself as an accomplished political strategist, communications expert, and organizational leader. She directed public policy initiatives, communications tactics, and administrative decision-making during her tenure, all while promoting women's leadership and empowerment issues. An artful negotiator, Joni helped steer Sly's major development projects in Kansas City while raising the city's profile at the national and international levels. Her front-row seat at city hall shed light on how local government is still very much a man's world, and this motivated her to create a first-of-its-kind women's empowerment initiative, which has been implemented in several major cities. Prior to her time at city hall, Joni worked with the American Federation of Teachers, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and in the office of Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. While a student at Meredith College, where Joni received her Bachelor of Arts in political studies, she studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. An accomplished alumnus of University of Missouri where she earned her Masters of Arts in political science, Joni was the recipient of the 2019 University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs Mel Carnahan Public Service Award. Joni is the author of the best-selling book titled, “The Thin Line Between Cupcake and Bitch: Taking Action, Driving Change and Getting Results.” Timestamp 2:12 How Joni started her life and her journey into education 7:26 Writing a speech, feeling like an imposter and receiving life changing advice 10:36 Working with Secretary Carnahan and mayor elect Sly James 12:16 Leadership styles and becoming Chief of Staff 14:28 Importance of emotional intelligence 17:38 Using his power and voice to let other know it was unacceptable behavior 20:31 Wickham James Strategies and Solutions 22:57 What inspires Joni 23:51 Joni's StrengthsFinder qualities 27:36 Being results oriented 39:15 Joni's fun and personal future Social Media Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wickhamjameskc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/joniwickham/ Website https://wickhamjames.com/ Books - The Thin Line Between Cupcake and Bitch https://wickhamjames.com/what-we-do/books/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/upyourcreativegenius/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-dobrowolski-532368/ Up Your Creative Geniushttps://www.upyourcreativegenius.com/  Patti Dobrowolski 00:03 Hello superstars, welcome to the Up Your Creative Genius podcast, where you will gain insight and tips to stomp on the accelerator and blast off to transform your business and your life. I'm your host, Patti Dobrowolski. And if this is your first time tuning in, then strap in because this is serious rocket fuel. Each week, I interview fellow creative geniuses to help you learn how easy it is to Up Your Creative Genius in any part of your life. Patti Dobrowolski 00:39 I am so excited today because I have Joni Wickham here. She is originally a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, where she spent 10 years leading state and federal government initiatives. And then she moved to Kansas City where she spent eight years in the Kansas City Mayor's office with Sly James, who is amazing. She's a political strategist and organisational leader, a communications expert, and she's been a recipient of the 2019 University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs, Mel Carnahan, Public Service Award, that is incredible, but not just that one more thing. She's a best selling author of the book, The Thin Line Between Cupcake And Bitch. And let me just say this book is killer. You have to get it right away. Joni, welcome. I'm so happy you're here. Joni Wickham 01:33 Hey, Patty, I'm so happy to be with you today. Thanks a bunch for having me. Can't wait for the conversation. Patti Dobrowolski 01:38 Oh, me too. And so for those of you that are listening, you know, she's getting over strep throat, she didn't have COVID. So if she starts coughing, then just know that I'll do filler in there. But thank you for being here, especially on the tail end of that. So I hope we make it through. I know that we will. So first, okay, number one, you got to tell me your story. Tell the listeners who you are and how you got to Kansas City and into Sly James office doing that work with him, which I'm sure is a story unto itself. So tell us where you came from. Joni Wickham 02:12 Okay, happy to do that. So you may detect a little bit of southern accent. Yeah, yes, I am originally from North Carolina. And I grew up in rural eastern North Carolina, in the middle of a tobacco field as they do. Yes, yes. My mother found out that I was coming along when she was only 14 years old. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, for sure. And her parents who helped raise me, never learned to read and write? To this day, still struggled with literacy. And so when she brought me home to the hospital, she brought me home to this tiny trailer in the middle of a tobacco field. And that's where I lived with her little brother, and my grandparents. And I always open up kind of my journey by going way back there. I'm all the way back there. Patti Dobrowolski 03:03 I'm older than you are. So don't even start. Joni Wickham 03:07 But I go way back there. Because that origin story, if you will, really informed my professional life and all the reasons why I wrote the book. So grew up very poor, and was very much raised by my grandparents. Not because my mother was an absent mother. But because she made the decision not to drop out of high school when she became pregnant with me at 14 in high school. Yep, he worked two jobs, in addition to going to high school to make sure that I had access to things that she and honestly, a lot of people around us never had access to, including high quality pre K, which we'll get to in a minute. And so my grandparents had a lot to do with my formative years. Patti Dobrowolski 03:50 Raising you. Joni Wickham 03:51 Yeah, raising me. Yeah. And I include my biological father's parents in that too. I have never had much of a relationship with him. He's been in and out of my life quite a bit. But his parents were very front and centre in my life as well. And so you got this baby, being raised by grandparents. Yeah. And it really informed the way that I looked at the world. Neither of my grandparents, neither my mom's parents or my dad's parents had high literacy skills. And so I often found myself reading the newspaper to them or reading whatever. I mean, sometimes literally, the menu at a restaurant or something. Yeah. And definitely helped them navigate through life. For instance, I remember having to fill out a lot of paperwork when they went to the doctor's office because they couldn't do it. I remember helping them look through the paperwork when my grandparents finally had saved enough money for a down payment for the trailer that they still live in. And so having that relationship with them, and having that experience of helping these older grandparents navigate life as folks who were functionally illiterate, but very hardworking. My grandparents worked every day. My maternal grandma got up at four o'clock in the morning and went work the breakfast shift at Hardee's for like 35 years. So we're not talking about late oh, no, no. And I credit my work ethic a lot to them. Patti Dobrowolski 05:15 Yeah, I bet I bet me too. I do. I came from my grandmother was an immigrant from Poland, and so worked as a seamstress. So, you know, my father, he was really hard working. And that was instilled in all of us. And so I think that really, it is part of the DNA when you come from that background, no matter how educated they are, right? Yeah, Joni Wickham 05:36 There's no doubt. I mean, you don't have to have a PhD to have strong work ethic. Yeah. And so anyway, to make a long story a little bit shorter, at least, I was able to have access to a lot of things like a high quality education that the majority of my family never did, I was able to go to a teeny tiny all Women's College in Raleigh, North Carolina called Meredith College. Fantastic. Where Yeah, where I was largely for the first time surrounded by women who had professional aspirations. And I was surrounded by a network of strong women who wanted to do something with their life. The environment was perfect for me, because the professors and staff really wrap their arms around the women there to help make sure they had all the support that they needed to figure out how to lead the world. And so I was able to get an internship within US Senator John Edwards. Oh, wow. Very cool. Wow. Quite the fellow I learned a lot during those years, a lot. Patti Dobrowolski 06:37 I bet. Joni Wickham 06:37 And one of the most profound experiences when I was working in that office, was in the very early days, I was asked to write a speech, we were very, very busy, the staff didn't have time to write the speech on tobacco regulation, which was a big deal for where I came from. So they asked me to write this speech. And I really kind of leaned on my personal experience and my grandpa's experience as a tobacco farmer when I was writing it. And I submitted it, and I had so many feelings of imposter syndrome. One of the things I write a lot about the book and submitted it thinking, Oh, my gosh, this is going to be I'm gonna bomb this. Within a couple of hours, the senators chief of staff came out and said, hey, the senator wants to talk to you, you got a second I thought, Oh, no. Joni Wickham 07:23 I'm getting fired! Oh, yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 07:25 Oh, my gosh. Joni Wickham 07:26 So I go into his office, and he sits me down on the couch. And he looked at me and he goes, you and I don't know each other very well. But I need to give you a piece of advice. And I thought, okay, here we go. Get fired. Yeah. He said, this speech that you wrote is one of the best speeches that anyone in this office has ever produced for me. And he did it under a lot of stress with not a lot of time. And he said, I could tell that you didn't expect your product to be that good. The people around you didn't expect your product to be that good. And so I just want you to know that you're probably going to be underestimated a lot throughout your life, his words, because you are a petite, cute, female with a southern accent. And so you can either use that to your advantage, or you can, frankly, be bitter and pissed at the world. It's your choice. Figure out how you want to deal with this. Wow. And while that was a really uncomfortable conversation, I'm not kidding. It was life changing. Because throughout my career, those words have been so true. So true. I have underestimated my own abilities, which leads other people I think it gives them agency to underestimate. Patti Dobrowolski 08:35 Of course, of course it does, right. Yeah, you project that and then it shows up, right, for sure. Joni Wickham 08:41 And so fast forward a few years, I have gotten a master's degree at University of Missouri, Columbia and started working at the state capitol in Jefferson City for then Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, and really had a lot of sometimes frightening, but really impactful experiences with a lot of men in Missouri State Government. And I learned a lot watching Secretary Carnahan about what it means to be a strong woman who's committed to their leadership style and to getting things done. And I write a lot about those. Patti Dobrowolski 09:13 Yeah, you do. You talk a lot about leadership and how important it is for you to identify what your leadership style is. And why do you think that's so important to know your leadership style, you talk about it in the book, but I want you to say a little bit about it here, because it really informed who you've become. Joni Wickham 09:31 Right? Well, when we are really clear on our own leadership style, it helps us lead other people because you have to figure out how your leadership style impacts the outputs of others, how it either helps or hinders their own personal growth. Because organisations don't achieve things based on one people or one person. Organisations achieve things based on teamwork. And so you really have to know how you can best lead everybody in the team. And oftentimes that starts with understanding your leadership attributes. And frankly, sometimes your leadership deficits because we all have, right? We're all people. Patti Dobrowolski 10:09 Yeah, I can't imagine being in that environment because it can be scary. And you know, I know for myself in working at the C level, sometimes I'll be in situations while I think, ooh, this is not going well here. So what can I do to step up and make sure that I'm in integrity with what I believe in this room, and then help the conversation go further. So you work there. And then how did you come in contact with Mayor Sly James. Joni Wickham 10:36 So networking is everything in politics, it's everything in a lot of sectors, but it's particularly everything in politics. And so some of the folks who are working on Secretary Carnahan campaign were also connected with then mayor elect Sly James campaign. And so I got a phone call. And the individual asked me if I'd be interested in going to Kansas City, to interview with this guy named Sly James, who had just won the election for mayor. And my first question was, who is Sly James? I had never, I had no connection to him. I basically observed the, election only because I worked in state government. And so a lot of the State Representative state senators were talking about it. So I had only vaguely observe the election. So I had to do a little bit of research to figure out who this guy was and what he was now. Yeah. And I was blown away, you've met him. So you'll appreciate this. I was blown away at his leadership style, and his very bold visions for the city, and for his kind of no nonsense approach to getting things done. So here I was, I had worked in federal government and state government, both of which are often bogged down with partisan BS. Yeah, Patti Dobrowolski 11:47 I was gonna say, just as round around and round the mulberry bush, really in a way. You know, you just sometimes never get anywhere with that. Yeah, yeah. And Sly James is not that way at all. You know, let's get in there and get it done. Joni Wickham 12:01 Right. Yeah, yeah, I told him more than once. Like, if there's a brick wall in front of him getting something that he thinks is going to benefit the city, he will run through it multiple times. He is like all getting things done, which is in great alignment with my view. Patti Dobrowolski 12:16 Now. Yeah, I was gonna say, that's how you are to there's just no BS about you, you're gonna get something done. And that's what has, I think, created your reputation in Kansas City, which is really high. It's amazing. People really have a lot of great things to say about you. Joni Wickham 12:32 Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Yeah, so we really hit it off in our first meeting. And it ended up being the start of a very long partnership. I worked in his communications shop for a couple years before he appointed me as second Chief of Staff, and I was Chief of Staff for almost six years, which is way too long to have. Patti Dobrowolski 12:55 I'm sure I'm sure. When you think about that. And you think about there's a place that you start to write about this idea of banishing self doubt and overcoming fear. You know, how did you step into that role of Chief of Staff? You hadn't done that before? You'd been writing before? But what did that entail that you had to learn? Joni Wickham 13:14 Yeah, great question. I had not served in the role as Chief of Staff before, I had served under several different chiefs of staff in the different political organisations that I had worked for. And so I had observed different leadership styles and different ways to get the job done. Several different things I had to quickly learn, one of which was managing people who I previously had had a lateral relationship with people who were my colleagues, my friends, yeah, dynamic shift. When you become someone's boss, no matter how good friends you think you are. And I also was fairly young at the time and found myself having to manage folks who are older than me. Often men having to manage issues and projects with men who were older than me in they had to take direction from me, which was new for them. Patti Dobrowolski 14:06 Yeah, that's our dynamic right there. Joni Wickham 14:08 Yeah, right. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 14:11 Yeah. So that was part of it. So you have to be pretty strong in yourself in order to do that, but what we're talking about really is understanding how to win other people over so that you can get your agenda through right. So you must have a high woo strength. Joni Wickham 14:28 I hope so. Yeah, it what you're talking about is emotional intelligence. Something that I wrote about in the book, and emotional intelligence is when you can manage your own emotions and the emotions of others to inform thinking and action. It's really important for strong leaders. Yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 14:45 And so when you took that role on you didn't expect to be there for six years, but what did you find to be the most challenging? So one of it is that you know, you've got these people that need to take direction from you, but what else did you find in dealing with the community and trying to move policy through what kinds of things were difficult. Joni Wickham 15:05 It is always difficult, I think, to be strategic. When everyone wants a piece of your time, everyone thinks their priority should be your priority. And when you have daily, I mean daily, multiple crises coming at you. And so I had to learn and had to help the folks around me make sure that we always kept our eye on the prize, that was something that we always said, to make sure that even though we were dealing with 30, hot potatoes at once, the mayor had a very specific agenda. And we needed to figure out how to get that agenda implemented, while dealing with all the noise around us. The other thing that I had to learn to navigate, frankly, was gender bias. There aren't a lot of female Chiefs of Staff for big city mayors across the country. And I happen to become Chief of Staff shortly after giving birth to my daughter. And I'll never forget, I was making calls to different stakeholder groups to let them know that I was going to be taking over as Chief of Staff and I was coming back from maternity leave. And one of the reporters that I worked with very often said to me, Well, how are you going to do your job as a young mom? And I thought, well, that is an interesting, wow. You know, it's not like my brain dies when I don't get a function, you know. And so that was something that I had to learn how to navigate, in a way with emotional intelligence. Because it's so hard to just as the senator said, be bitt er and mad at the world when we face Patti Dobrowolski 16:32 Yeah, bitter or better, right? You want to be bitter or better? Joni Wickham 16:36 Yeah, but that doesn't sit well with my personality. I don't like negativity, it takes a lot of energy out of me. And so I just decided not to deal with it in that way, and to use my role to try and effectively advocate for women in other leadership positions, and to show other women that it's possible. I also was very lucky to have a very strong ally, mentor and supporter in the mayor, who used his power and his voice, every opportunity, he had to make sure people knew that I deserved the role that I had. And that opinion matters. Patti Dobrowolski 17:14 Yeah. And you write about this story of you going into a meeting, and that there wasn't a chair for you say a little bit about that. What happened in that experience, because this is a typical experience that we hear about. I was just in a meeting last week with Dina Perot and she was describing a very similar thing when she came into working with the City Council in Oregon. So tell the story about what happened. Joni Wickham 17:38 Sure. So I waddled literally waddled about eight months pregnant into this economic development symposium that I had coordinated for the mayor, I have been working on this is extensive coordination. Patti Dobrowolski 17:50 This isn't just like, you know, week's worth of work. You've been working on this for a long time. Everybody knew who you were right? Joni Wickham 17:57 Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I had spent probably a couple months working on this symposium, making sure all the stakeholders were briefed on what the mayor wanted to get out of the symposium, making sure the mayor knew who the stakeholders were that were going to take part in this discussion, what their perspectives were, so he could properly navigate those dynamics. I had to work with the media, like I was pulling this thing together for like, two months, definitely. And so I walk into this symposium with the mayor. And there were probably if I remember correctly, 15 to 20, older white gentleman there who were participating in this, and not a single one of them thought to save me a seat at the table, literally, at this big conference table where the symposium magic was gonna happen. Exactly. And I just remember thinking, lots of words that I won't say on your podcast. But, but it was very clear that none of them had ever considered that I actually belonged at the table in that conversation. But the mayor did. And he noticed this very quickly when we walked into the room, and I write my book that he was known for making a strategic spectacle when he needed to in order to . Patti Dobrowolski 19:09 That's right, make a point. Joni Wickham 19:11 And he did, and he did and none of those older white gentleman who were part of that debacle treated me that way ever again. Yeah. And it's because the mayor was willing to use his power and his voice to let them know that was unacceptable behaviour, and that they were going to respect me. Patti Dobrowolski 19:31 Yeah, and I love this because you talk about the difference. In your book, you talk about a sponsor, right versus a mentor and sly being a sponsor and Gabriela Schuster talked about in an earlier podcast, she talked about being an ally, you know that men in the environment need to be an ally and they need to demonstrate in such a way that it's memorable so that everyone else in the room like it, they wake up, boom, it's like the water challenge, right? water bucket challenge. So that wakes them up. so that they know, you know what the next step is now for you. So this is what you did. And you did this with Sly, but then you went out on your own now and you wrote a book and and so I want to know what what's happening now what are you doing now? And what excites you now? Joni Wickham 20:16 Yeah, thanks for asking. So about a year before Mayor James was term limited, he was term limited in August 2019. So we got to miss all the crazy pandemic. Patti Dobrowolski 20:25 Thankfully, that would have been you managing all those details. You know, it's true. Oh, yeah. Joni Wickham 20:31 So about a year after he was term limited, we started thinking how we might be able to continue working together outside the mayor's office, as we've talked about, our values are very much aligned. Our personalities are very compatible. We kind of see the world, not in an identical way, because we were very different people, but in a very compatible way. And our skill sets our expertise are also very compatible. And we felt like as a team, we had already accomplished so much in the mayor's office, but that there may be something else that we can accomplish together. So we launched our consulting firm, Wickham James Strategies and Solutions. I'm the Wickham. Patti Dobrowolski 21:14 Real quick, meaning your you're gonna get everything going right at the start. Joni Wickham 21:18 It really kind of throws some people for a loop that my name is first because he has always been so front and centre for all of our efforts for so long. That was his idea, by the way, not mine. Yeah, credit where credit's due. Exactly. Yeah. And so we've launched our firm that does government relations, strategic communications, public policy, consulting, a little bit of political consulting. And then Sly is also a very accomplished mediator. So he gets called by clients to help mediate tricky circumstances. And we have some books out. Patti Dobrowolski 21:48 His book came out to right at the same. Yeah, because I have a copy of that as well. So yeah, Joni Wickham 21:53 Yeah, The Opportunity Agenda is one of his books that he wrote with our friend, Winston Fisher. And then the passion for purpose is also another one of his books. And so those books give us a platform for public speaking engagements as well. And so we've really found that we have been able to use our skill sets and collaborate on mission driven work. We love working with clients who have missions that are near and dear to our heart, and who have problems that we can help solve. Patti Dobrowolski 22:21 Yeah, so what would be one of those missions that's dear to your heart. Joni Wickham 22:26 So we do a lot of work in women's leadership, racial equity work, we have several clients in the climate change and sustainability space. We also do a lot of work in economic development, those sorts of issues. Patti Dobrowolski 22:39 Yeah. And so of those things, what are you excited about, like, what gets you up and you think, Oh, this is going to be amazing. I'm going to learn a bunch of things. This is, you know, going to launch whatever X, Y and Z in the community or beyond. So what do you see as something that's really inspiring you? Joni Wickham 22:57 That's a great question. I am really inspired by clients who want to take an innovative view at how to either do things differently or solve their problems. I love working with people who aren't afraid to try different approaches, and who are brave, and have you ever heard the expression that it's best to fail fast. Patti Dobrowolski 23:21 Of course. Joni Wickham 23:23 I love that. I love that mindset. And so that's kind of a glimpse into projects and client work that really excites me. Patti Dobrowolski 23:30 Yeah. And I think well, and it's a good place for you to be because your whole way of thinking is really innovative. In my opinion, you're looking at what's coming next. So you're strategically thinking about it. So what's your strengths finder profile? What are your buckingham you talk about the strengths finder in the book, so I want to know what are your top strengths? Joni Wickham 23:51 Yeah, I love Strengths Finder. Learner is one of mine. Okay, so she's been researching. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And pulling facts and figures together. Of course. Patti Dobrowolski 24:01 Perfect for a strategist, I might say yes. And people behind the scenes, you're gonna want to know everything about them. Joni Wickham 24:09 Yeah, that's, yep. So learner and then responsibility. Patti Dobrowolski 24:13 Okay, good. That means you got great follow through and you're gonna have a checklist. Joni Wickham 24:17 Yes. Achiever. Patti Dobrowolski 24:19 Achiever. Oh, my God. That's a double checklist, right? Their responsibility means you're always going to follow through achiever. Like if you're married to an achiever, you know what achiever the best thing you can ask them is, what did you do today? Then they feel like yes, I did this and this and this. Fantastic. Joni Wickham 24:39 Yeah, I gotta tell you, my husband probably hates the fact that those are my top two. achiever responsibility. He probably hates it. Learner, achiever, responsibility, communication. Patti Dobrowolski 24:51 Yes. Joni Wickham 24:52 Yep, and individualization. Patti Dobrowolski 24:54 Okay, that's fantastic. So if you don't know what individualization that's where you actually look And what's great about that is that in the realm of where you were, you could make everybody feel like that their issues were the most important. That's incredible. What a beautiful combination for you in the roles that you played so far. So I can imagine that your clients feel that way about working with you, that you really get them and you're trying to meet their specific needs with whatever the bigger picture is. Joni Wickham 25:29 Yeah, I certainly hope so. I think it's really important, whether you're doing client work, or whether you're pushing a public policy agenda, whether you're trying to talk to voters or customers, it's important to meet people where they are, which is sometimes easier said than done. So I try to keep that in the back of my mind through emotional intelligence when I'm interacting with folks for sure. Patti Dobrowolski 25:50 And where do you think that you're growing right now? Where is the spot? You know, yeah, I always consider everybody's like a piece of coal. They go out in the world, and then people rub on them to get them to the diamond to shine through. So, when you think about yourself, right, I'm sure that there are places where you were rubbed through and you shine beautifully. But where are the spots where you feel like, oh, this is a spot in me that I can grow more here that you're interested in changing and growing. Joni Wickham 26:20 Patience. I have no patience, but I am working on it. I am trying, I have no patience, which is very interesting. Back to my husband, he's one of the most patient human beings on earth. And so I'm very grateful that he is the Yin to my Yang, in that respect. And I can learn from him on how to have greater patience for people. Patti Dobrowolski 26:45 Yeah, I think patience is really, it's hard to come by when we live in a world where everything is instantaneous. That's what's true. But if you grew up that way, I don't know about you. But when I grew up, I was impatient to be older. That was one thing because I knew that once I was older, I would have more control of the environment. And then I was impatient that when I was an actor that I would get on stage, you know, in a big way. And even now, I feel myself being impatient, sometimes with people's opinions. And the fact that we're going backwards in time around some policy instead of forwards where we should go, especially for women, and gender equality. It's unbelievable. I live in Texas, so let's be clear of where I am. Right. So you know, some of the policy here is like, wow, okay, here we are one more time around. Yeah. Joni Wickham 27:36 No doubt. Yeah, Texas and Missouri, where I am. Yeah, they're kind of fighting each other for backwards policies, that's for sure. But back to your point about patience, it's particularly important, I think, for I think you're this way to Patti, I would consider us results oriented individuals. So typically I write about this in my book, typically, organisations are made up of results oriented individuals or process oriented individuals, one is not better than the other, and both are needed. But what I have found is because I am so results oriented and impatient, that can be a dangerous combo. So I'm working on that. Patti Dobrowolski 28:12 Yeah, I think, you know, sitting in meetings where people and this is the thing I've been learning, you know, listen more, talk less. That's where I say to myself, listen more, be curious about that person, and why they're talking about that, because they're telling you something about them. And the fact that the rest of the room has the capacity to listen, I can't move them too soon, I need to move them soon enough so that we don't lose the attention of everyone in the room. But I want to make sure that I really get the point. And so I've been looking at and I don't know if this is true for you. But I have some preconceived ideas going into a room sometimes about the people there. And if I take time to kind of calm myself down before I go in the room, I'm a better listener there. And then I put a card in front of me, which I learned from some CEO somewhere. It said they could be right. It says in front of me and I put it on the table in front of me so I can see that. And I go yep, they could be right. Joni Wickham 29:12 Yeah, I need to do that, too. That's a great point. Patti Dobrowolski 29:15 Yeah, I love that now. Okay. So when you envision the future now, I'm all about future casting, right? I draw pictures to the future for people. So because I want them to get the picture in their mind and then act on it and draw a literal picture. Because when you draw one, right, that increases your chance of success by 42%. So I want to know, when you future cast your future, what do you see, like five years from now, you know, what would be the ideal state for you? And I'll write a few things down if you want, but we're recording it so then you can go back and listen to it five years from now. Joni Wickham 29:52 Well, that would be a fun exercise. So if I look five years into the future, what I hope to see is control over my life and my schedule and how I spend my time. Patti Dobrowolski 30:03 Okay, so you can have, you know, complete control over your schedule. Joni Wickham 30:06 Yeah. When you're the mayor's Chief of Staff, your schedule is not your own. And often you're not the one dictating your life. So for the past two years, I have really appreciated having greater control over my life. Patti Dobrowolski 30:16 Yes. So you're still working with Sly. So I'm just there's still some, you know, he likes to get things done. So yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 30:26 Okay. Good. All right, so that you'll have complete control over your schedule and the type of work you're doing. Okay, good. Yeah. And what else? For fun, I like to throw some mysterious things out. And I do this every day, I'll throw out some things like, surprise me, or like, if you could organically see something happened that was like, that would be the most amazing thing. Is there anyone you'd like to meet? Or have a conversation with? I mean, you put Michelle Obama in the front of your book. Yeah. So you know, is that part of your agenda? Joni Wickham 30:26 For sure, for sure. So that would certainly be one thing. The other is to continue to grow our consulting firm in a manner where we have the ability to say no to projects that aren't in alignment with our worldview. Yeah. With your values. Yeah. Yeah. And to projects that are going to relinquish that control over my schedule. Joni Wickham 31:21 That is a great question, huh? Okay, I'm gonna go fun in personal. Patti Dobrowolski 31:26 Okay, I love it. I'm ready. Joni Wickham 31:27 Hey, we are currently building a pool in my backyard. And my theory behind building this pool I have an eight year old daughter is that when she is older, our house is going to be the place that all of her friends want to come to, so I can keep my eyeballs on them. But also, I have amazing step children who are a huge part of my life in my orbit, and I want to be able to like have them and their kids, my grandkids, I want my house and my backyard to be full of those people. Patti Dobrowolski 31:58 Alright, so we're gonna see that just filled with life, all kinds of experiences and life and adventure for you. Because that's what kids bring and grandkids bring. They bring adventure and change. That's fantastic. I love it. All right. So I'm just throwing that out there. And I would encourage you to draw a picture of that. I'm just saying, This is really good and helpful. Joni. So next time I see you in Kansas City, which I have never met you face to face, I can be really fun. It'll be really fun. And there, we're gonna draw a little picture. So we have that for you to put out. And, you know, so for anybody that's listening, like you've had this amazing career, really, and you know, you've had a huge amount of experiences, you've made a huge impact in the communities you've worked in. And with the people that you've served, I would just say that right off the bat. But what would you say, you know, for people that are listening, like how can they begin to step into this without fear? So they banish their self doubt and their fear to step in? What tips would you give them? Joni Wickham 33:02 I think it's important when we're thinking through all of that, to get really clear on your values, what is important to you? What are the things that make you tick, then you can get clear on the very first thing, we talked about your leadership style, what is your leadership style, what are ways that you can tweak it to make it more effective? And then the last part of that, I think, is to really think through the proper ways, according to your values, your expertise, in a way that feels authentic? Where are those entry points where you can become a leader in your community? You know, a lot of people initially think when you think about leadership, I think running for office, I will never well, I won't say that. Patti Dobrowolski 33:46 I was gonna say take that back. Yeah, right away. Right away. Time. Joni Wickham 33:51 Yeah. I think elected office is an absolute great step for a lot of people, but it's not for everybody. And it's also not the only outlet for leadership. Patti Dobrowolski 33:59 Yeah, it's not the only way to serve your community. Exactly. Yeah. And so find a way to serve right, understand your values, get your leadership style, and then find a place to serve. And to make your mark and impact which you certainly have done and continue to do in the community. I can't wait to see what happens for your next I love that you did this podcast without knowing me much about me and that you took the risk to be here because you're incredible. And everybody you should pick up a copy of her book, The Thin Line Between Cupcake And Bitch, taking action driving change and getting results because you are totally results driven. Thank you for taking the time today to speak with us. Joni Wickham 34:40 Well, Patti, I have admired you from afar for a while and it's just a real treasure to be able to spend this time with you. Thanks for having me. Patti Dobrowolski 34:47 It's been awesome. Okay, everybody, you know the drill. If you like this, be sure to share it with your friends. Get everybody to listen to the Up Your Creative Genius podcast and follow Joni Wickham, all of her social media stuff will be in the show notes. And I can't wait to see what you're up to next. Joni. Thanks again, and we'll see you all soon. Patti Dobrowolski 35:10 Thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to DM me on Instagram your feedback or takeaways from today's episode on Up Your Creative Genius. Then join me next week for more rocket fuel. Remember, you are the superstar of your universe and the world needs what you have to bring. So get busy. Get out and Up Your Creative Genius. And no matter where you are in the universe, here's some big love from yours truly Patti Dobrowolski and the Up Your Creative Genius Podcast. That's a wrap.

Billy Maddalon has done enough things in his life for 3 lifetimes. He's served and will soon be serving again on Charlotte City Council.  He's run numerous historic properties throughout the south. Billy has been on the boards for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, Meredith College, and Sigma Phi Epsilon just to name a few. He's been President of the North Carolina State University Alumni Association and been a contributing writer for the Charlotte Observer.  Not enough? He and his spouse have fostered 14 and adopted 3 Children who come from traumatic situations in the past 12 years.  He's an amazing guy who calls Charlotte home. Hear about how he approaches his business, his home life, and what it was like to take a borax soap bath in the Meredith College fountain as a college freshman.  Comedian Jonathan Williams is here to cohost. He and Speenberg get all swept up in Billy's knowledge. It's a good time. Give a listen. 

In this week's episode of Multi-Family Method, Matt Brady, CEO & Founder of Willow Creek Partners, joins us to discuss his journey in the multi-family industry. Before starting Willow Creek Partners, Matt was the Co-found and Chief Operating Officer of a Washington DC area private equity firm that invested in early-stage startups, private equity, private credit, and real estate. Matt co-founded Willow Creek Partners in 2017 and built it into a company that now owns 11 apartment communities spanning from the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Denver, Colorado.  Matt earned his MBA from Meredith College and obtained a BS in economics from Virginia Tech. We hope you enjoy some of Matt's insights into what it takes to build a successful multi-family real estate investment company from the ground up.  

In this weeks episode we have Taylor Buck, who loves all things social media, Charlie D'amilio, and Meredith College with us! She is going to chat about how she see's social media and how she got into it! You won't want to miss this!