We Are Here - SoundSage

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Many of us have gone through Black History Month this year, reflecting on those that have come before us. The ones that put it on the line to give us knowledge, inspiration and empowerment for our lives. Chris and Ron speak often about their favorite icons Booker T Washington, Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali, Oprah, and Barack Obama and how they how inspired them to highlight others. Today someone wanted to highlight Ron and Chris in a similar fashion.

It all began a few months ago when Chris wrote a LinkedIn post about the Hacker Valley journey. This post caught the eye and captured the heart of Emily Van Norden of CrowdStrike the presenting sponsor for this special episode. She takes the guest host chair with dear friend and Hacker Valley veteran, Charles Nwatu, to ask Chris and Ron questions about their journeys with the podcast and media company.

Thank you to CrowdStrike for your continued partnership, thank you to Emily and Charles, and huge thank you to YOU the listener. We hope you enjoy.

02:41 Introducing Emily and Charles

09:27 Fighting to Belong

11:27 Performers and Guides

13:00 Excellence in all that you do

13:59 Permission to be Great

15:33 Mastery is a Pursuit not a Destination

21:01 Valuing your Own Story

23:06 The Scary Part of Success

28:34 The Future of Hacker Valley

Visit CrowdStrike to see a company that is making a difference in more way than one here.

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In the finale of We Are Here, Chris and Ron are joined by Emily Van Norden, branding and DE&I leader, and Nikki Thornton, Chief of Staff, both at CrowdStrike. The group talks about Diversity, equity and inclusion in this jam-packed episode. Emily and Nikki peel a layer off of the CrowdStrike brand to unveil a plethora of tips, tricks, and advice from their experience with people and standing up the DE&I function company-wide.

Key Takeaways:

01:56 Bio – Nikki

02:48 Bio – Emily

04:58 The chronology of CrowdStrike

10:12 Standing up the DE&I program

15:44 From adversity comes opportunity

20:21 Executives promoting DE&I

23:23 The deeper meaning of DE&I and why it matters at CrowdStrike

34:25 Advice for new professionals; making allies

37:55 Get in touch

LInks:

Emily Van Norden: LinkedIn | Website

Nikki Thornton: LinkedIn

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the team here.

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On this episode of We Are Here, Ron and Chris join Dave Zawdie and Nina Padavil, two champion's of allyship and representation. The group dives deep into what that really means and how we can use the past to change the future for the good of the industry and its people.

Key Takeaways:

01:54: Nina – Bio

03:36 David – Bio

05:25 Role models and influencers

11:24 How can the majority help the minority in the future?

14:33 Mentoring and impacting the future

17:38 Setbacks and advice for a discouraged cyber security professional

20:26 Committing to being an ally to another

22:52 The future of DE&I and how we contribute

25:14 Get in touch

Nina Padavil: LinkedIn

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

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Panel – Show Notes

In this incredible episode, Chris and Ron join the panel again to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion. The panel includes Marianne Budnik, CMO at CrowdStrike, Shawn Henry, CSO at CrowdStrike, powerhouse educator and influencer Olivia Herriford, and MK Palmore, Director with the CISO division at Google. Stay tuned for a masterclass in DE&I, how they differ and how we can keep pushing the ball forward.

Key Takeaways:

01:53 Bio- Marianne Budnik

02:34 Bio- MK Palmore

03:36 Bio- Olivia Herriford

04:53 Bio- Shawn Henry

06:20 The panel discusses their first interest in diversity

21:36 Equity & Inclusion- how is it different, and what are some ways to incorporate them?

32:25 Finding influence from all types of people

37:12 Planning for DE&I

41:23 Advice to the people who strive to make a difference

59:20 Get in touch

Links:

Marianne Budnik: Website | LinkedIn

Shawn Henry: Website | LinkedIn

Olivia Herriford: Website | LinkedIn

MK Palmore: Twitter | LinkedIn

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

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Minda Harts is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service of NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the founder of The Memo LLC, a career development company for women of color. On top of her impressive work resume, she is the award-winning and best-selling author of The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table. Join Ron, Chris and Minda as they navigate through some of the toughest issues troubling our workplaces today.

Key Takeaways:

01:58 Bio

03:08 The last straw

05:53 Minda’s journey in writing & reflecting

07:50 Staying humble and making a real difference

10:25 Workplace trauma- What is it?

14:32 Advice for businesses opening back up

17:26 Being authentic at work

19:40 The new book – Right Within

25:46 Reminding people they have a voice

28:24 Get in touch with Minda

Links:

Minda Harts: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon

Join our monthly mastermind group via Patreon

We Are Here is proudly presented by CrowdStrike. Join the CrowdStrike team here.

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In part three of this series, Ron and Chris interview Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013.

Congresswoman Clarke’s parents immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s from Jamaica. Being born from immigrant parents and witnessing the transformation of the country during the civil rights movement helped shape her worldview. Congresswoman Clarke mentions that the nurture from her family and community sparked her interest in public service at an early age. Congresswoman Clarke recalls being a child and looking up to her pediatrician, Dr. Thompson. Congresswoman Clarke could see herself being like Dr. Thompson and that led her to pursue her interests in STEM in grade school and college. When Congresswoman Clarke went away to college she made a commitment to come back to Brooklyn and use her education to help others

As the episode progresses, Congresswoman Clarke mentions her parents were engaged in the community out of necessity. They wanted to be able to navigate the United States and create community for her and her brother. Congresswoman Clarke’s mother started her community outreach at Parent Teacher Association meetings and was encouraged to run for political office after some time. In fact, Congresswoman Clarke became the first and only child to succeed a parent in political office.

Congresswoman Clarke describes community as essential and building communities is done through education. Digital transformation has enabled all generations to collaborate on common causes that they previously wouldn’t have had the opportunity to. An example that Congresswoman Clarke provides is narrowing the education gap for children of color. Through technology, parents have been working with government agencies and private organizations to provide more resources to schools in need.

Impactful Moments:

0:00 - Hacker Valley Studio presents We Are Here Pt 3

0:52 - Congresswoman Yvette Clarke on Hacker Valley Studio!

1:56 - Early life and how Congresswoman Clarke made it into office

3:38 - What inspired Congresswoman Clarke to help others

7:21 - Surprises while in office and servicing the public

13:35 - Congresswoman Clarke’s story of perseverance

16:36 - The importance of community and how to influence yours

24:40 - Education and mentorship

27:51 - Using technology to course correct and amplify your voice

31:59 - Sage wisdom for embarking on your personal journey

Follow Congresswoman Yvette Clarke on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

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In part two of this series, Ron and Chris host a mastermind conversation with Tia Hopkins, Charles Nwatu, AJ Yawn, and Kelvin Coleman. In this special conversation, we discuss ExIST, a framework to promote excellence in the pursuit of human endeavors like hobbies, careers, and finding purpose.

Explore As humans, we’re always on the brink of discovery. Watching a documentary, witnessing someone perform a piece of art or a eureka moment might be all that it takes to pull you in a new direction to explore a new topic. Learning something new can be like stepping into a new world that you’ve never experienced. This leap can be exciting, scary, or even uneventful but always leads to discovery.

Tia Hopkins began exploring technology since she can remember. One of her first memories of her interest in technology was when she noticed her mom stopped buying her toys because she would take them apart to understand how they worked. Tia took a giant leap into the new world of technology when she took apart her family and realized that she had to put it back together before her mom found out. Tia has explored many facets of technology from working with Internet Service Providers, IT teams, and Managed Detection and Response teams.

Immerse After deciding which world to ExIST in, the next step to understanding and mastery is immersion. This is surrounding yourself in a new topic or idea and learning what it means to succeed in that arena. In sports, this might be watching a professional game and learning more about the rules. In cybersecurity, immersion may be reading blogs on the topic or watching YouTube videos that explain a focus area. While immersing yourself in this world you’ll identify the mindset needed to remain there and grow.

Charles Nwatu’s advice on immersion is to not be afraid to fail - It's the only way you succeed. Not giving yourself the opportunity to take the shot is even worse than failure itself. Learn how to consume content in any way that works best for you - read, listen, watch everything you possibly can. Identify ways that help you articulate what you’ve learned to others.

Study After learning the rules and where the boundaries exist in the new world, the next step is to study. Using tools, knowledge, examples and mentors to improve your capabilities. If you’re learning about a topic with subtopics, you may need to re-immerse yourself in areas that you’re weak on. In this phase of the framework, you're using your new capabilities to rapidly learn and improve.

AJ Yawn provides the advice of staying focused and ignoring the results. To Focus AJ often implements the 90-90-1 rule. And it's taking 90 days spending the first 90 minutes of your day, focusing on ONE thing. Whenever AJ is trying out a new endeavour he ignores the results for the first 90 days, even if there’s no visible improvements. When picking up anything new the focus should be on the attempt rather than the outcome.

Translate / Transform Translation is expressing the sense of wisdom into language. During this part of the ExIST framework, you’re using the collection of experience and wisdom to create, innovate, or teach. Taking your developed ability and bettering the lives of others.

Kelvin Coleman has always been an advocate of teaching others and promoting the people in the cybersecurity industry. Kelvin can recall researching and reciting state capitals that he’d take to his meetings to build a rapport with city and state government stakeholders. While the name of a state capital or mascot may not seem critical, it helped his customers understand that he does the research and cares about doing what is best for everyone.

Impactful Moments

0:00 - We Are Here a series exploring black excellence in cybersecurity

1:13 - Kelvin Coleman, the strategic mastermind

1:50 - Tia Hopkins, the technical juggernaut

2:25 - Charles Nwatu, the wise warrior

3:00 - AJ Yawn, the empathetic CEO

4:28 - ExIST, a framework to promote excellence

5:40 - Explore

22:14 - Immerse

56:09 - Study

1:10:10 - Translate/Transform

1:20:12 - Sage wisdom from our mastermind group

1:25:20 - How to keep in touch with our amazing guests

Stay In Touch Kelvin Coleman on LinkedIn

Connect with Tia Hopkins on LinkedIn and Empow(her) Cybersecurity

Follow Charles Nwatu on LinkedIn

Stay connected with AJ Yawn on LinkedIn

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

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Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.

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Hacker Valley Studio presents: We Are Here - an audio journey and series exploring representation in technology. in part one of this series, Ron and Chris interview Patrice Washington, one of the world's most popular podcasters and authors. This episode in the series is a story of ascension.

As we begin the episode Patrice mentions although she has a background in education, she’s here because of the hard work she put in during uncertain times and stepping into the unknown.

Redefining your wealth and life is done through being intentional. It starts by doing what you adore and not being too tied with how much it pays. Setting intentions through your day, calendar, and time is a great place to start to begin understanding what you enjoy and what you can make into a career. Your career is not the only aspect of your life that generates wealth, your well-being is the vessel that guides you to wealth. Redefining your wealth and life means that you’re putting your health as a top priority.

Impactful Moments:

0:00 - Intro

0:52 - Patrice Washington on Hacker Valley Studio!

1:55 - Patrice’s background and dedication to hard work

6:04 - Going from seven figure business to zero and redefining wealth

9:47 - Identifying and applying purpose

15:08 - Dissolving the need for validation from others

20:32 - What others can do to disassociate their purpose from money

26:36 - Investing in your health NOW, not when you’re sick

31:15 - Advice for embarking on the journey of redefining wealth

Buy Redefine Wealth for Yourself: How to Stop Chasing Money and Finally Live Your Life's Purpose

Connect with Patrice Washington on LinkedIn and Twitter

Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.

Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.

Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.

Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.

We Are Here: Recent Episodes

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