What If you were laid off tomorrow and you had the option to do something different, what would that be? This week on Defining You, I’m resharing my interview with Portia Charles, attorney and principal at Charles Law Practice, who was laid off from her corporate job, and was left to contend with the real issue, of what’s next: Should she get another job, or should she start the law practice she’s been dreaming about for years. So if you’re new, or you might have missed this extraordinary...

In the US Alone, an estimated 1 in 4 women is victim of severe physical abuse. This week on Defining You, I want to replay a very compelling conversation with President of LOVE Life Now Foundation and Domestic Abuse Survivor, Lovern Gordon, who lived to tell her own story and what she is doing today to encourage other women and help  them realize that they are not alone. So if you’re new, or you might have missed this powerful episode give it a listen. If you or someone you know is affected...

Hello everyone! This week I want to reshare, one of the most listened too episodes, on Defining YOU! This particular episode is very special to me because I had an awesome opportunity to sit down with my first friend in college, to talk about her very clever and much needed online venture. My dear friend, Romina Wilmot, is the Founder of My Health Fair, an on-demand, virtual platform, that connects hard to reach, English and Spanish-speaking audiences, to healthcare organizations with...

Hello everyone! The Defining you podcast is on break right now, but I wanted to give you another opportunity to listen to some amazing episodes I truly enjoyed. There is no doubt that racism has been the ugly part of our history as a nation, and that we black folks are still seeing the effects of the disenfranchisement even today. In this particular episode I had an incredible conversation with a dope black therapist, about how we do get a say, on how we live our lives, and that we can be...

Hello there! Although I am on a brief break right now, I thought now would be the perfect time for you to go back and catch up on some of those episodes you might have missed. In this episode I talk to Felicia Persaud, CEO of Invest Caribbean Now, an avid advocate for undocumented immigrants and Caribbean national rights, who shared her own undocumented experience. This conversation is especially fitting considering the recent undocumented immigrants lured from a Texas shelter and sent to...

Hello everyone! I took some time off, but wanted to share, some episodes, I truly enjoyed in season one,  of Defining YOU! If you haven’t heard it, this particular episode, is very important, because it will empower you, to strengthen your finances and start creating that generational wealth. If you are interested in taking smart action with your money right now, this episode is for you. So if you’re new, or if you might have missed this episode, please listen up. Lebone’s insights are about...

Hello my friends and favorite listeners! I am currently on a hiatus at the moment, but while on break, I wanted to replay some of my favorite episodes this season.   This week’s episode is near and dear to my heart. Because this is my very first episode with my sister, Dr. Cressida Joseph, owner and CEO of Beacon Dental Group in Boston. She has been featured in the Boston Globe and she has been serving her community for the past 29 years. She’s a woman of faith, and believes we are all here...

Hi everyone! I’m on break right now, but I wanted to replay some episodes that I really enjoyed in Season One of the✨Defining You ✨ ppodcast. This particular episode is important to me, because one of my wildest dreams became a reality. I had the amazing opportunity to interview someone, who inspired me all through college, sparked my interest in voiceover work  and even starting this podcast.  That’s Randy Thomas, the first female voice over pioneer, to announce live TV award shows for the...

Are you judgmental? At its heart, judgment is about putting expectations on people that we expect of ourselves. The problem is that sometimes that equates to perfection. Or that people should be nice all the time. Or that those who have committed some offense cannot be redeemed. It’s hard to meet those expectations. For me, understanding judgment is also very much about grace. It’s about giving people the benefit of the doubt and reflecting on any given situation before jumping to a...

Black women need mentorship and guidance in the workplace.  But more importantly, Black women need solidarity in the workplace.  We’ve all heard the old adage: “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” This is particularly important if you are a minority or a woman who is looking to advance in your career. Who you know is just as important as what you know.   As a black woman, my ability to network and develop relationships with mentors has shaped my life and career.  However, the path has...

Standing alone takes courage. Every once in a while, we come across individuals that, in the face of adversity, have the strength and the fortitude to stand alone and do what they morally think is right, even when the folks around them are going in the opposite direction. That is what has inspired this podcast episode. Listen to this episode for my perspective on moral courage, standing up for what’s right, how you can think about courage and exemplifying courage in the workplace. And if...

Everyone is afraid of something.  Fear holds us back from becoming who we truly want to be.  Welcome to Defining You. I’m Helena J, a communications professional, podcaster, voiceover artist and MC, and this episode is all about conquering fear. This particular episode is going to be different because it’s just me. And this topic is important to me because confronting my fears is why I have this podcast. It’s why I’m a voiceover artist. It’s why I continue to walk in my purpose.  Listen to...

There’s only ONE leadership style that works in a crisis. This week, on the Defining YOU podcast, Dr. Pauline Elwin shares her research on how transformational leadership was the ONLY leadership style to impact workplaces positively during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what is transformational leadership? And what characteristics define this style of a leader? Listen to this week’s episode to learn about the special skills transformational leaders have, what kind of leadership traits can...

Everyone wants to know why Dianne Wilkerson is getting back into politics.   She was the first Black woman to serve as a state senator in Massachusetts. She represented Black Bostonians for 15 years and resigned after she was caught accepting bribe money. Wilkerson spent three years in jail and has since worked to regain the trust of the community by continuing to serve. She’s been involved in governance issues at the Boston Public Schools board, economic equity for the city’s Black and...

Your unaddressed trauma is holding you back!  Doing the hard work of dealing with past trauma and building emotional intelligence is not easy.  Your trauma shows up in every aspect of your life, including the workplace, romantic relationships, and how you see yourself in your community.  But if you leave your trauma unaddressed, you risk failing to live up to your own potential and carrying the weight of those past negative experiences with you. There are many ways to tackle trauma, including...

Have you built your identity around your company, or perhaps you’ve spent many years  perfecting your craft for a job?  If you have invested time working for someone else, but your expectations have fallen short, now may be the time to launch out on your own. This episode is for any one who has worked for a company, but has the untapped potential to become an entrepreneur.  Our guest today is Elizabeth Yang, CEO of Better with Company. A successful online business strategist and...

What is your life’s strategy, for becoming who you are meant to be?  Whose blueprint are you following? Are you settling for less? If you have ever wondered, what on earth I'm here for, this episode is for you! Each one of us is born with all that we need to fulfill our destiny. The seed that is planted within us has the resources, it has the blueprint, and it has the capacity to propel you towards your goal. Believe it or not, you have what it takes to become who you are meant to be.   In...

Have you ever felt like an outsider in your own city?  That feeling that no matter what you do, you just don’t quite fit. Maybe you have lived in the same city for 25 years, but you have an accent, or you look different than your neighbors.  This is what our guest today discovered when she first moved to Boston to go to college, and she felt the urgent desire to create a deeper sense of community around her. Our guest today is Sheena Collier, founder of Boston While Black, helping companies...

We could do anything we put our minds to… but we don’t. We think of ourselves as capable of doing so much more than everyone else… but when the rubber meets the road, we fall flat. Does this sound familiar? Maybe there is a goal you’ve been trying to achieve for a while, like getting a promotion, or losing 20 pounds, or going back to school. Yet, something always seems to stand in our way. That little something is called: self-motivation. In today’s episode I talk to Simone F. Mathieu,...

Can people of color find happiness, even when racism is so pervasive in our communities?  There is no doubt that racism has been the ugly part of our history as a nation, and that we black folks are still seeing the effects of the disenfranchisement even today. However, do we get a say on how we live our lives? Can we be happy, even when the deck is stacked against us? And how do we do that? Today’s guest is Celeste Viciere, licensed mental health clinician, and mental health advocate,...

What would it take for you to drop everything you’re doing right now and focus on the thing that truly makes your heart sing? Think about it.  You probably started down one road in college, but now you find yourself in the grind of a job doing something completely different, and you wonder: how did I get here? But most importantly: how do I get back on track? That’s exactly the question that our guest Ann-Marie La Ronde-Richard asked herself when she made the choice to pivot from being a...

Why do we always hear “I am my own hardest critic” but we never hear “I am my own biggest fan?" Most people are hard pressed to come up with 10 amazing accomplishments they have achieved in the last year, but they could easily fill 5 pages with all of their mistakes in the same time period. Amazing, isn’t it? We are so used to demanding support from people in our lives. We ask them to validate our dreams. We ask them for permission to go after our crazy new ideas. But what if all we needed...

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an undocumented immigrant?  Think about that for a moment, as I introduce you to today’s guest. In this episode I interview the CEO of Invest Caribbean, Felicia Persaud, who came into the United States legally through her government job, and found herself overstaying her visa when a family member became ill and she stepped in to take care of her.  Felicia represents a segment of the population that falls through the cracks in the...

Have you ever wondered, what life would be like, if science was unbiased?  There’s a loaded question for sure.  If you asked any scientist, they would assure you that science is the most objective discipline there is. Yet the lack of diversity in the scientific field has actually contributed to the development of regulations that continue to alienate people of color. Today’s guest is someone who seeks to change all of it.  With both a PhD in the medical sciences, Doctor Sophia George opens...