We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Leke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was making the decision to leave the stability of working as a publicist to pursue a career in the film/television industry. I started my career in the fashion and beauty space, working on a multitude of clients within a small boutique agency. While I initially loved working in that world, having creative aspirations while working in a job that was about promoting the work of others started to take its toll. I came to a big realization that I was on the precipice of making a shift once I started delving into the sketch comedy world, reinvigorating my love of writing. Growing up watching a lot of television, the idea of working in that world in any capacity never felt tangible until I saw people in the sketch comedy world starting to get through opportunities. As I delved deeper into that space, the importance of both creating and trying to execute work for myself versus promoting the work of others no longer felt like something I could do. This was further exacerbated by the last job I ended up having as a publicist, which was in legacy news. The act of making work that had the potential to create change, inspire people, or question things felt more aligned with my personal mission statement. This pivot also coincided with what was going on politically and a desire to tell black stories.

The decision to pivot ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made in my professional career. Despite the ups and downs of freelance life, since making that transition I’ve managed to work on another of amazing projects. As I look to the next phase of career, I’m hoping to start taking what I’ve learned and starting to develop and produce my own projects.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Here’s my bio featuring answers to this requested info:

Stephanie Leke is a first-generation Cameroonian-American writer, singer, and filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles. After graduating with a degree in music merchandising from Hofstra University, she started her professional career as a publicist for luxury and contemporary fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. Working in this industry she learned the art of mimicking voices, a skill that would prove useful as she pivoted into the world of storytelling and video production.

Her first production role was on an Animal Planet special where she got paid to watch Youtube videos all day and be a designated “puppy handler” on set. While searches for more “puppy handler” roles came up empty, her experience led her to design assisting on lifestyle and renovation shows. Her strong desire to write however eventually led her to documentary film as a route to writing for television, allowing her to continue learning and developing her voice as a storyteller. Her recent credits include Mary J. Blige’s My Life (Amazon Studios), Harry & Meghan (Netflix), and Piece by Piece (Focus Features). In 2023, she was accepted into the Writers Guild Foundation Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program and was a writing finalist for Color Creative’s Find Your People Program. She is currently co-writing a sketch/variety show that was chosen as a 2024 finalist for the Yes, And… Laughter Lab.

When she’s not working, you can find her at a concert or play, checking out a new art exhibition, binge-watching an excessive amount of television, or trying to finish all the books in her stack before buying more. She also writes a music/culture newsletter called No, I’m Not An Aries.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m currently in the process of unlearning how to rely on the traditional process people are taught growing up tied to how to advance professionally. In a time where many jobs have become freelance ones, mentorship, career advancement, and growth opportunities have become a lot more difficult. To circumvent that, I’ve been on a personal journey to get back to creating opportunities for myself and figuring out how to start the process of building a portfolio of work I’ve developed, written, and produced (maybe even directed) that will serve as a way to set myself up for more of the projects I’d like to work on or have the ability to get funding for future ones I want to create that may require a lot of funding to execute.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My personal mission statement has been to tell stories that center Black women existing in spaces they’re traditionally erased from. Any opportunity I have to do that has gotten an automatic yes because those are the stories I long to see more of with so many yet to be told.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stephanieleke.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanieleke/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephleke/

Image Credits

Lynae Cook for the IG story. The two professional-ish photos were taken by me. The last photo from the writers strike can be credited to me as well.