Tune in for Episode#6 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Yvette Steele, VP Technology Talent, Strategic Partnerships & National Expansion at SnapIT Solutions.

Yvette is a passionate executive who helps businesses realize the promise of a diverse workforce through the implementation of data driven initiatives that eradicate barriers many face in launching and thriving in tech careers, maximizing their potential, and integrating inclusion into day-to-day interactions.

 "If you're a solopreneur and you own a company with one to ten employees, your approach will be starkly different than one who has dozens or hundreds of employees," points out Yvette. "What many soloprenuers fail to realize, though, is that they are not too small top leverage diversity even if they are a company of one."

 Yvette has been recognized as a diversity thought leader on the Channel Futures DE&I 101 List for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through words, actions, and leadership and has served on the DEI Advisory Committee for YMCA-USA, the Tech Advisory Board Steering Committee for the National Urban League, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force for Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Toward the end of our podcast, Yvette helps us further by broadening the meaning and impact of diversity for business success.

 "When you think about the way we can make an impact as leaders, socializing with other leaders who are doing the same things we're doing and have different skill sets from ours and are more successful at it, benefits us," says Yvette. "These are people who we should emulate and identify as role models so we not only go through the challenges but also grow through the challenges."

 Watch the full interview with DEI Insider Founder Yvette Steele on our podcast channels today.

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Tune in for Episode#5 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Pattie Sheehan, Certified Mastectomy Fitter and Owner of Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique in Chicago.

Pattie graduated college in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and started what would become her dream career in Advertising. The challenges were many as advertising account management was a "man's job" back then but Pattie persevered, eventually becoming vice president of client services for a mid-sized ad agency for more than a decade. But, at age 53, that agency closed and Pattie faced the agism that many older professionals encounter.

“In February 2005 my mother Tess, age 80, was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer," recalls Pattie. "I watched her struggle to maintain her dignity, never losing her sense of self or her sense of humor, and all the while reaching out to others as they ‘joined the club’. When she died in June 2007 I realized what I needed to do for my second act."

In 2008 she made a colossal career shift opening Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique and in 2020 was named Certified Mastectomy Fitter of the Year by Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine. Today, at age 70, she continues to operate Second Act, Chicago's only ABCOP accredited mastectomy boutique, serving breast cancer patients and survivors from throughout the Chicagoland area.

"Second Act embraces the belief that life is an ongoing creative project and that everyone has the power to envision the life we desire, even after unexpected, sometimes devastating, circumstances," says Pattie. "In this spirit Second Act helps individuals facing physical changes retain their self-esteem, regain their self-image and thrive."

Watch the full interview in which Pattie shares how she chose to become a pioneer in her industry, persevered through the uphill climb, and built a reputation in Chicagoland as the go-to source for breast cancer patients and survivors seeking physical transformation for their emotional well-being.

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If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

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Capital and Advocacy: How Black founders can find support to scale and grow their companies.

Tune in for Episode #4 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Delmarie Cobb, veteran journalist and a fierce advocate for underserved communities. She was the first African American to serve as press secretary of the Democratic National Convention in 1996 and served as the Illinois press secretary for Hillary Clinton's historic presidential bid in 2016.

To pass on her wealth of experience and knowledge, she founded the Ida B. Wells Legacy Committee, a political action committee whose purpose is to develop the next generation of progressive African-American women candidates who are willing to speak truth to power and work in the best interests of their constituents, keep voters informed, and engage political activists around public policy decisions.

Delmarie grew up in a family wherein politics was a regular topic of conversation. Her journalism and publicity career began in the newsroom where she worked as a television reporter. The stories she covered helped to grow her dream to work for a presidential campaign in the future. 

After serving as the national traveling press secretary to presidential candidate Jesse Jackson in 1988, she decided to marry her love for media and politics by starting her own venture, The Publicity Works, a Chicago-based, public affairs, political consulting, and media relations firm.

“What fascinates me the most about this profession is the fact that every day is a different day because my work is determined by what’s happening in the news,” says Delmarie. “I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and I’m still not bored. I must keep reading and learning about the issues which affect us all.”

Homing in on our topic, Delmarie advises Black business owners to seek partners who bring different skillsets that complement their own.

“As founders, we don’t have to recreate the wheel in order to be successful,” says Delmarie. “And if you try to do it all, some things won’t get done and some things will get messy. I wish I had known this when I started.”

Watch the full interview for more compelling sound bites from Delmarie Cobb into how Black founders can leverage today’s business trends for success.


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If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

🔗 Join the conversation on social media: 
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You're only one connection away from success. Cheers! 🥂