A couple of weekends ago, I spent a few days with a group of amazing women as part of The White House Project’s “Go Run” leadership training. I still need to write a full recap of the events, but it was a powerful experience. I learned so much from TWHP’s leadership team, the speakers, and all of my conference mates. Over the course of two and a half days, some of us clocked 25 hours [...]
Happy Monday, everyone! After nine long months, we have finally made it to October and I am beyond jazzed for two main reasons… This is the month of my fabulous birth (#teamlibra) It’s the first month of the last quarter of 2011 (Time to finish strong) I feel so blessed every year around October 1st. I know that this is the month where I became a blessing to my parents and to the world as [...]
When people lose a loved one, there’s no shortage of support in the immediate days and weeks that follow. Everyone is thinking of you…Everyone is praying for you. But, after the service, that support drops off considerably leaving many of us wondering, “Now what do I do?” For me, it’s been quite a journey rebuilding my life after my mother’s passing three and a half years ago. I’m still coping with losing my biggest cheerleader [...]
I just “met” Michele from Scraps of my Geek Life and she’s already influencing me! On her blog, she shared an infographic detailing her Twitter activity and it was so cool that I had to head over to Visual.ly and create my own. Check it out below. I love all the data but the picture of me is my favorite part. I just made it the background on my work desktop! It’s kind of weird that four of my [...]
Working in public relations, I hear the word “influencer” about five times each day. Everyone wants to be an influencer and know who they are. Well last month ago, I stumbled across a short documentary titled, “INFLUENCERS, How Trends & Creativity Become Contagious,” and I’ve watched this movie like once-a-week since then! I’m in this space in my life where I’m trying to really open my brain, and push myself to the limit when it [...]
Hey, everyone! I’m blogging from the National HIV Prevention Conference in Hotlanta. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and have been on a nonstop quest to gain knowledge and make connections. It’s been great to meet folks that I only previously knew from Twitter, reconnect with individuals that I’ve met at past conferences, and introduce myself (and Red Pump) to a whole new set of people. There are over 3,000 people attending this conference and each [...]
Last week, Luvvie and I were asked to participate in a new campaign on behalf of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) and we’ve been dying to share the news with everyone. Well, the wait is finally over! AFC just unveiled its latest educational campaign designed to inspire African-Americans to take control of their health, specifically as it relates to HIV/AIDS. The Change My Story campaign has a multi-pronged approach, including a Facebook/Twitter page, a mobile [...]
Last year, I (along w/1000 other Big Ten alumni) revisited a more simpler time in our lives as we treked across River North for on a bar crawl. This was not just any old bar crawl though. It was the inaugural Chicago Big Ten Alumni Charity Bar Crawl and we united to raise over $30K for the Chicago Public Schools. Well, the crawl is back and happening on Saturday, August 27 and we’re gunning to raise $50K this time! The video [...]
One of my goals for 2011 was to seek out more public speaking opportunities in an effort to strengthen my personal brand and continue to bring attention to the work of The Red Pump Project. I’m proud to say that I have been making some headway in this area, and I have two more notches to add to my belt. Next month, I will be presenting at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, on [...]
The Shedd Aquarium is my favorite place in Chicago. If you didn’t know that, there’s a pretty good chance that we’re not as close as you think. When I turned 17, my mom let me take the day off from school (shh…) and she took me to the Shedd Aquarium per my request. I live for their discounted admission days and do at least one “Jazzin’ at the Shedd” event each summer. It’s a beautiful [...]
