I spent decades doing everything right. Then I stopped.
For 30 years, I followed every rule. UCLA acceptance redirected to USC because it was my grandfather's alma mater. Technical consultant at EDS. Deloitte. McKesson. I built businesses in Arizona: Molly Maid franchise, rental properties. Gave my siblings a path to ownership. Showed my staff someone who looked like them could build something.
I also borrowed payroll from friends. Sat outside meeting rooms after running a $25 million project because no one included me in follow-ups. Got called by another Black woman's name so often I stopped correcting people.
Three surgeries taught me what the success never did.
Emergency appendectomy. I ignored the signs for days. I had deliverables.
Partial hysterectomy for fibroids. My body kept asking for attention I kept deferring.
September 2024, double mastectomy. November 2024, radiation completed.
Cancer eliminated my tolerance for waiting.
The credentials:
Master's in Sports Management
Georgetown Executive Certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
NASA-JPL. EDS. Deloitte. McKesson. Slalom Consulting
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Mentored 100+ professionals into leadership roles they wanted, not just ones they were offered.
The work now:
I write. I speak. I teach frameworks for strategic pivots.
This isn't wellness theory. This is survival intel from someone whose climb was never a straight line, and who stopped pretending it should be.
Black. Gay. Female. Navigating systems designed to contain me taught me how to pivot without permission.
The lineage:
My grandfather: Five degrees from USC (1930s-1950s). Frequently, one of the very few Black men in academic spaces. German Club president. Traveled the world. Owned property. Ran his life like a CEO.
My grandmother and aunts: Maids who became business owners and real estate investors.
My mother: Phone company employee. Widowed with four kids. A manager blocked from becoming a supervisor because she didn't have a degree. Trained every replacement anyway.
They chose survival so I could pivot with purpose.
Every Thursday, I send what I know. Straight to your inbox.