Rena Witherspoon - Senior Program Director, Diverse Donors and Field Engagement, American Red Cross
Empowering Leadership
Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease that disproportionately affects the African-American community, and is one of the nation’s leading causes of death. While we mostly know the Red Cross for their emergency and disaster relief, they’re also fighting against blood-borne illnesses like sickle cell. For more than 25 years, Rena (pronounced like “Renae”) Witherspoon has been boots-on-the-ground in communities from Omaha to Dallas educating people about the dangers of sickle cell. Her tireless work involves connecting donors, volunteers and medical professionals, and her goal is...
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Episode 26: Michael DeVaul - YMCA National Director of Strategy for Boys and Young Men of Color
Empowering Leadership
The future generations of young leaders of color are some of those most in need of positive role models, and Michael DeVaul of the YMCA is one the leading voices in this discussion. A long-time community leader in Charlotte, NC, Michael has worked with the YMCA professionally for more than 40 years. It was in 2020 that Michael stepped into a new role working on a national level to help provide leadership training, programming and resources to the next generation of leaders of color. Michael DeVaul joins host Doug McVadon for a discussion about what the needs of future leaders are now and how...
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Rev. Louis Negrón - Executive Director of 100 Black Men of Atlanta
Empowering Leadership
The city of Atlanta is unquestionably one of the capitals of Black culture in America. From being the home of Martin Luther King Jr. to the birthplace of trap music, Atlanta is consistently at the heartbeat of Black America. This makes the city and region a center for Black leadership, and today’s guest on the Empowering Leadership podcast is one of the voices leading that charge. Reverend Louis Negrón Sr. is the Executive Director and CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged youth in Atlanta. Rev. Negrón sits down with...
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Elizabeth Chew - Former Senior Director of Museum Programs and Chief Curator for Montpelier
Empowering Leadership
Within the last few generations, American historians have peeled back the layers on the traditional teachings of the founding of the US to more prominently include the role of slavery, particularly by the founding fathers. A focus on telling the “whole truth” seeks not to dismiss the accomplishments of founders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, but instead paint a more complete picture. That includes the role of indentured servitude that allowed these leaders the ability to devote their lives towards studying great thinkers and writing the documents that would become the founding of...
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James Perkins - Mayor of Selma, Alabama
Empowering Leadership
Few places in the United States embody the push for civil rights equity in both the past and present like Selma, Alabama. The site of one of the final battles of the Civil War, the Montgomery Marches and the infamous Bloody Sunday, this small town of just 20,000 people (80% of whom are African American) has been a symbol of race relations for many generations. Only few people know this city’s soul and history as well as three-time Mayor James Perkins. Born and raised in Selma, Mayor Perkins was one of the first African American students to integrate his high school in 1971. He later went on...
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Kristi Nelson, Author of "Wake Up Grateful: The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted"
Empowering Leadership
A simple yet profound change can make a massive difference in our lives. For Kristi Nelson, it was the decision to wake up everyday with a sense of gratefulness, and appreciating the things she had instead of wanting for things she didn’t have, or longing for a life she didn’t lead. Almost thirty years ago, Kristi was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, after a year of dealing with fever, pain, and a loss of motor function. During this time, Kristi sported an appreciation for the unknown, because she didn’t know how much time she had left. Since her experience with cancer and...
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Heather Fortner, CEO and Chair of the Board of Signature FD
Empowering Leadership
Heather Fortner is the CEO and Chair of the Board of Signature FD, a private wealth management and consulting firm located in Atlanta, GA. Naturally as someone in her role, Heather is called upon each and every day to embody the skills, wisdom and guidance required of a leader. Heather Fortner joins host Doug McVadon on today’s episode of Empowering Leadership to discuss this podcast’s namesake: the ability to empower through leadership. Heather talks about working her way up from customer service representative to CEO, and how a teaching moment with her father let her know that she...
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Jaylen Smith, Mayor of Earle, Arkansas
Empowering Leadership
One of the most common mistakes in leadership is the idea that it takes decades of experience to become a leader, but as 18 year-old Jaylen Smith reminds us, leadership knows no age limit. Last fall, Smith was elected Mayor of Earle, Arkansas, a town of less than two thousand people about thirty minutes west of Memphis. Mayor Jaylen Smith joins host Doug McVadon for a discussion about what inspired Jaylen to rise to the occasion and take a leadership role when those twice his age either couldn’t or wouldn’t. Jaylen discusses how losing a cousin to gun violence made his pledge towards...
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Kathy Minardi, Executive Director of Whole School Leadership
Empowering Leadership
Perhaps no other professional ecosystem lends to the principles and values of leadership more than education. Inherently, the teachers, academics and professionals need to demonstrate leadership qualities to be able to lead the thinkers and doers of the next generation. Today’s guest on the Empowering Leadership podcast has spent her whole career learning, practicing and teaching educational leadership practices. Kathy Minardi is the founder and executive director of the Whole School Leadership Institute, an educational leadership and training organization. Kathy Minardi joins...
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Marjorie Hudson, Author of “Indigo Field”
Empowering Leadership
On today’s episode of the Empowering Leadership podcast, host Doug McVadon speaks with author Marjorie Hudson about George Moses Horton, the first black man to publish a book in the American South. Horton was an enslaved person in Chatham County, North Carolina in the early 19th century. Traveling north to Chapel Hill to sell produce at the behest of the plantation owner, Horton would gain notoriety for the eclectic poems he would write. He would go on to publish several books and be published in others, becoming known as “The Slave Poet.” Horton would continue writing...
info_outlineOne of the most common mistakes in leadership is the idea that it takes decades of experience to become a leader, but as 18 year-old Jaylen Smith reminds us, leadership knows no age limit. Last fall, Smith was elected Mayor of Earle, Arkansas, a town of less than two thousand people about thirty minutes west of Memphis.
Mayor Jaylen Smith joins host Doug McVadon for a discussion about what inspired Jaylen to rise to the occasion and take a leadership role when those twice his age either couldn’t or wouldn’t. Jaylen discusses how losing a cousin to gun violence made his pledge towards funding a 24-hour police department a top priority for his tenure. Mayor Smith also talks about his vision for the next forty years of his city, as well as his own goals for political office.