We were lucky to catch up with Yalonda Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yalonda, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever experienced an industry-wide U-Turn? Tell us about it?

I experienced an industry wide U-Turn in the context of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) best practices as there was a fundamental shift in the way organizations approached and prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion. Almost four years ago, many organizations were faced with various decisions around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some of those action steps included the hiring of a DEI focused leadership role, implementation of employee resource groups or a DEI Council, and even added goals and desired outcomes to the organizational strategic plans.

Last year, after a few years into some of these shifts, there was an overwhelming trend that DEI leaders were tired, felt unsupported with unfulfilled or stalled activities, budget cuts, shifts in organizational priorities, overall lack of power and not having a true voice at the table. There were cases where individuals committed to the work feel tokenized or that the DEI goals were not tied to a core business strategy. We started to see DEI roles eliminated and language changing around DEIB to less committal. This idea that DEI fatigue was wreaking havoc on morale and stifling the productivity and organizational commitment of those charged with driving change and impactful solutions is an understatement.

In the various spaces I engage, I interact with leaders across multiple industries and experience levels. As a certified DEI practitioner and Inclusion Strategist, I encourage inclusive leaders to stay the course and to view DEI as not just a moral imperative, but a strategic imperative for organizational success and long-term viability. The idea that employees have a need to feel included, respected and a sense of belonging is not new.

I am most passionate about helping organizations shift their attitudes and behaviors around inclusive leadership by having crucial conversations that allow them to examine their heart conditions. DEI is both hard and heart work. Some organizations are still on a DEI roller coaster. It is so encouraging when leaders go from lip service to genuine commitment; compliance to culture change; individual initiatives to systemic change; a focus on diversity and equity to inclusion and belonging, and from reactive to proactive. There is overwhelming research -based evidence that companies who are intentional in their investment of resources into DEIB initiatives, have better outcomes.

Yalonda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From a biographical lens, I am a seasoned professional whose expertise spans over 20 years in both the private and public sectors. My drive and self-determination have resulted in a myriad of demonstrable accomplishments as an intuitive leader, thought partner, and high functioning performer. I completed my Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, and a host of certifications including being a Certified Child and Youth Care and DEI Practitioner. 

I currently serve as a Senior Outreach Manager for a statewide serving non-profit, where I build meaningful relationships within communities, empower and partner with youth workers to help them build their capacity to better serve and advocate for Indiana’s youth.

In addition, I am the CEO of Just Say It LLC, through which I facilitate meaningful conversations as an Inclusion Strategist, Author, and Speaker. I have written books and contributed chapters to multiple award-winning anthologies. Whether it is via public speaking or published works, it is my goal to show up authentically and be what I want to see in others.  I leverage my formal education, real world-experiences, and passion to inspire and motivate others to live according to their purpose. 

Through my career experiences, my insights have been featured in SHRM, DiversityQ and Diversity Professional Magazine, among others. I am passionate about the field of youth development and very proud of the work I do in that space from the youth I have experienced and impacted the trajectory of their lives to the adult youth workers I have encountered and supported. I contributed my first chapter in an anthology in 2016. It was faith-based and now six books later, I am still engaging in meaningful conversations that empower girls/women to be their best and to know they are enough, makes me proud.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Lesson: Booked and busy is not the goal, booked and balanced is the goal.

Most of my adult life, I have worn the hustle and grind persona like a badge of honor. I was always over committed. I did not prioritize self-care, boundaries, and simply did not know how to say no.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have overcome so many trials and tribulations. I wrote a chapter titled Staying Power: Thriving in the Storm in a book called Brave Women at Work: Stories of Resilience. I wrote about what I refer to as my pandemic years. The pandemic, for all of us, was punctuated with national race-related unrest, unparalleled isolation, and unexpected lifestyle changes. My pandemic years included two surgeries, surviving COVID and multiple lingering health challenges, navigating the grief and solidarity alongside my husband during the quick and successive losses of my in-laws, maintaining productivity and execution of key deliverables at work, growing my personal brand as an Author and Speaker, fighting my helicopter parenting tendencies of an adult daughter, completing a series of courses and certifications, all while navigating shifts in my career. Those first two years were full, in ways I had never experienced nor could have predicted.

My story is not unique, women often take on the impossible and live to serve and support beyond our capacity. I am so blessed to still be here to tell my story.

Contact Info:

• Your readers may connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected].