The Core Intentions Podcast Ashia Johnson

“We’ve deployed $1B in working capital and want to deploy the next $1B.”

We’re excited to re-connect and to share our conversation with impact leaders, Ying McGuire and Vikas Shah!

Ying is the CEO & President of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), a long-standing business growth engine and socioeconomic driver for minority businesses. Vikas is the Chief Revenue Officer at LSQ, a company at the intersection of technology & finance, driving working capital and payment innovations to close the access gap.

Listen to learn about generational wealth-building solutions, corporate accountability, the ESG agenda, and a re-imagined American Dream.

Thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

Resource references: 

“The March to $1 Trillion Continues” 2022 NMSDC Impact Report: https://nmsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/NMSDC-2022-Minority-Businesses-Economic-Impact-Report-May-2023.pdf.

It would be tough to choose just one quote that perfectly summarizes our thoughts and reflections this first season - we experienced a lot of Aha! moments throughout.

And we quickly recognized that our key themes - Supply Chain, Technology, Sustainability, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - are intersecting & overlapping. The result is a unique lineup of dynamic, diverse, and thoughtful speakers, who value legacy.

Here’s a taste of what we heard & what inspired us along the way…


“The main role of technology in society is that it brings us together.” [Farzin - Ep.2]
“There’s a difference between writing a check and utilizing minority resources - there needs to be long term sustainability.” [Adrienne - Ep.3]
“How do we create equity at every level” [Sage - Ep.4]
“The world doesn’t believe that innovation looks like me.” - [Barry - Ep.5]
“The one thing I’ve always enjoyed is teaching.”  - [Ruby - Ep.6]
“I’m building a pipeline for diverse talent…” - [Coy - Ep.7]
For me, it’s all about legacy and paving the way for the next generation.” [Brian - Ep.8]
“I want to be able to inspire the next generation.” - [Armani - Ep.9]

In this final episode, we reflect on these powerful sound bites, our takeaways from the discussions, lessons we learned running a podcast, the power of a network, and what’s to come next.

As always, thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! We look forward to delivering season 2 and continuing the discussion.  #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

“I want to be able to inspire the next generation.” Armani Johnson

We are back and super excited to share the second to last episode of Season 1; it’s a very special one for us. In this episode, we sit down with Armani Johnson, Senior Account Director at LinkedIn, a community leader in Detroit, father, husband, and proud member of the Johnson family.

Throughout the episode, you’ll learn about Armani’s people-centric approach to life and leading in business, how he made a career switch into technology sales by leaning into relationship-building and prior product knowledge, why community impact and connectivity is incredibly personal and also critical to business success, managing through personal transitions, and much more!

Learn more about LinkedIn (they’re hiring!) and connect with Armani while you’re there - he’s always sharing and engaging in inspirational content!

Thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

Book / resource references:

Get Smart With Money (Netflix)

“For me, it’s all about legacy and paving the way for the next generation.” Brian Tippens

In this episode, we sit down with Brian Tippens, Chief Sustainability Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Brian oversees a global team focused on driving measurable and transparent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies that benefit customers, investors, employees and communities. Brian ensures the full integration of ESG into the company’s strategy, delivering business results that benefit people and planet. Brian is also the President and Executive Director of the HPE Foundation and serves on the board of the HPE Political Action Committee.In his prior role, Brian was responsible for fostering an innovative and inclusive culture as Chief Diversity Officer at HPE. Brian serves on the board of directors of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC).

Throughout the episode, you’ll learn about Brian’s unique career and leadership journey across Legal, Procurement, Supplier Diversity, and Sustainability. We dig into critical topics like being intentional and purpose-driven while making career moves, being a socially-conscious leader in the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and impact space, aligning Corporate Foundations with the ESG function to tell a cohesive social story, assessing the value chain, building inclusion, equity, and diversity into the business model, ensuring underrepresented voices have a seat at the table, and much more!

Learn more about Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), HPE Foundation, and follow Brian on Twitter at @briantippens.

Thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

Book / resource references:


The Memo: Five Rules for Your Economic Liberation by John Hope Bryant
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

“There was a big gap missing - a lot of people that owned upcoming fashion brands didn’t understand how technology like analytics, AR, or cool software can help them run their businesses. ” Coy Griffin

In this episode, we sit down with Coy Griffin, the Founder of Your Own Creativity (YOC), a Fashion Technology consulting firm, the Co-founder and Operations Director at the Council for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE), an author, a TEDx speaker, a content creator, and a Senior Data Analytics Manager at a NY-based firm.

Throughout the episode, you’ll learn about Coy’s unique career and self-defined path to entrepreneurship. We dig into critical topics like discovering purpose through exploring your passions,identifying gaps in existing offerings that add value to customers through innovative solutions and tools, leveraging community and social networks to fuel purpose and to crowdsource ideas, quantifying and measuring success, leveraging experience and expertise to build a pipeline for diverse communities in current & future generations, and much more!

Learn more about YOC, CIAFE, and follow Coy on Instagram at @coygriffin_.

Thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

Book / resource references:


Leveraging Tech: A Fashionista’s Guide to Fashion Technology by Coy Griffin
Make Your Damn Bed Podcast by Julie Merica

“I think technology is here to challenge humans.” Ruby Kandah

In this episode, we sit down with Ruby Kandah, the co-founder and CEO of CloudX. Previously, Ruby held leadership roles across Product and Engineering at Salesforce and Doordash and worked as an engineer at NASA, re-designing and building spacesuits. She’s an inventor with several patents and also has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Harvard University.

Throughout the episode, you’ll learn about Ruby’s career journey from space engineering, startup tech, big tech, and now tech entrepreneurship - she’s a self-proclaimed renaissance woman. We dig into critical topics like creating more accessible and inclusive technology solutions, the role technology plays in society at large, leading a startup in a niche space with very few women-led brands, building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company with intention, and processing the future of her company. 

You can learn more about CloudX here and follow Ruby on Twitter at @rubykandah.

Thank you for listening and joining this community rooted in discovery and intention! #thecoreintentionspod

Subscribe to the channel to be the first to hear and access the latest episodes and follow along @thecoreintentionspod on social.

Book references:


Man And His Symbols by Carl Jung
Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde