Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raymona Lawrence. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Raymona, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
I usually introduce myself by telling people my lens. Your lens is how you see the world and it shapes how you interact with others as well as your interpretation of situations within your environment. So, my lens….I’m an African American female born in the deep South. I was raised at the corner of Black and Blue since my dad was not only an African American male, but the Chief of Police of our City. I could walk into the police department as a little black girl and say, “Hey, buzz me back”…and they would hit a button that would make a buzzing sound and would open the door to the private layers of the police department where all the offices were. I never had a negative thought about police, because all I knew of them was love. I realized when I got older that that wasn’t everyone’s experience and that I was afforded a level of privilege that just seemed normal in my world. I am also the daughter of a teacher…a band director as a matter of fact…who is a girly girl and would march in a 5 mile parade with high heels on. Both of my parents were “firsts”. They came into their careers in the 1970s where they endured discrimination and unfair treatment…yet they endured. My dad eventually became the first Black Chief of Police and my mom was the first Black Band Director in our little town. So, they taught me to use my privilege to help others, to advocate for individuals who were less fortunate, to be resilient, not to worry if no one was the model before you—be the model, they taught me endurance, they taught me financial fortitude (my dad’s constant mantra was good credit is better than cash money–right or wrong, my credit has always been excellent..haha), they taught me to serve my community and to love the people in it. They also taught me to show up for people and that family is always to be treasured and nourished.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a ProfessorPreneur. My main research focus is community engagement in rural, minority populations, particularly those with Sickle Cell Disease-a rare genetic blood disorder. I have run multi-million dollar Sickle Cell Disease research studies and consult companies when they want to authentically engage their teams or connect their companies to the communities they serve. I am the Director of the Office of Health Equity and Community Engagement at Georgia Southern University and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association.
I became an Entrepreneur along with being a professor after I sat in a room with other professors one day and they were arguing over the percentage of money they would receive from a grant to cover their summer salary. I felt like the group had lost focus on what really mattered-public health. From that day forward, I said that I would never depend on the university for my summer salary again.
My entrepreneurial journey began with network marketing. In that industry, I learned many invaluable business skills. The company started to fly me all over the country to do Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for the consultants…but I was censored…I knew that many companies needed my services…so I began Dr. Raymona H. Lawrence Coaching, LLC. I love DEI training…but I also realized that I was opening doors for women and minority business owners, but they didn’t have the systems in place to walk through those doors. At that point, I extended my services to provide software as a service (SAAS) for women and minority business owners. The Systems Boutique is my SAAS Agency where I not only provide the tech for these business owners, but also the team to support them as they launch and grow their businesses.
My bio is also attached below:
Raymona H. Lawrence DrPH, MPH, CDE®
Dr. Raymona H. Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of Dr. Raymona H Lawrence Coaching, LLC where she is a dynamic Keynote Speaker, Corporate Trainer, and Consultant. Her life’s work and heartfelt mission is to challenge broken systems that keep people from reaching their highest potential. Therefore, she uses evidence-based principles of community engagement, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Psychological Safety to curate transformational change strategies within teams and companies.
Dr. Lawrence also delivers engaging and thought-provoking speeches and training to thousands of individuals across the United States and Globally. She has facilitated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Psychological Safety training and consulted within companies such as Arbonne International, Rodan & Fields, Forma Therapeutics, the Georgia Council of Court Administrators, the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP) and Novo Nordisk.
Dr. Lawrence is highly intrigued by the breadth and depth of human difference and is passionate about helping individuals and organizations develop curated strategies to connect to diverse communities, customers, and team members. Dr. Lawrence has a doctorate in public health (DrPH), extensive training in community engagement, health disparities, and health inequities, has a Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University’s eCornell, is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory®, has a certificate in the Intercultural Conflict Inventory®, and holds the Certified Diversity Executive® Credential.
Dr. Lawrence was recently promoted to the rank of Full Professor of Health Policy & Community Health in the Jiann Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. Her main research focus is community engagement in rural, hard to reach populations-especially those with Sickle Cell Disease. Dr. Lawrence has been an investigator on numerous rural health and sickle cell disease-related grants. She is currently a dual principal investigator with Dr. Ify Osunkwo (now Payal Desai) on a $9.7 million Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) grant entitled, Comparative effectiveness of peer mentoring versus structured education based transition programming for the management of care transitions in emerging adults with sickle cell disease. Dr. Lawrence is an award winning coach for the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. She also serves as the Director of Research for the Sickle Cell Community Consortium and as the Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association.
Dr. Raymona H. Lawrence seamlessly bridges academia and entrepreneurship, combining her expertise in community engagement, psychological safety, and DEI with her passion for empowering professionals through effective systems. As the founder of The Systems Boutique, she supports authors, speakers, coaches, and consultants in streamlining their businesses with innovative systems that save time and reduce overwhelm. This dual focus allows her to advance academic research while offering practical solutions that help professionals bring their ideas to life and thrive in their work.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The book “Who Not How” by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy completely changed how I think about reaching goals in my business. The premise of the book is that when we have a goal, we need to think about WHO it takes to reach the goal vs HOW we are going to get there. There are many WHOs with the skill sets we don’t have. Therefore, we reach goals faster by partnering. For example, I run a SAAS Agency, the Systems Boutique. I say I’m “The Systems Stylist to the S.T.AR.s (Speakers, Teachers (Coaches, Consultants, Course Creators, and Authors)”….I just want to do the Systems/Operations for businesses…I have a team of Executive Coaches who help clients with Speaking, Curriculum/Course Creation, and Book Writing. Therefore, I have all the training/resources my clients need, but I’m not providing all of them.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One lesson I had to unlearn is that I’m a human “doing” not a human “being”. In today’s grind/hustle culture…we are always thinking about what we should be doing, but it’s more important to think about what we need to be doing to become the best version of ourselves whether it be in life or in business. I’ve learned that if the light that is ON you is brighter than the light that is IN you…success will burn you. Therefore, now I focus on who i need to be to get to the next level and have the most impact vs what I need to DO to get there. I am a human “being” not a human “doing”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drraymonahlawrence.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/drraymonahlawrence
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/drraymonahlawrence
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drraymona
