Happy International Women’s Day, Minority Leaders! Our mission is to celebrate and amplify the voices of diverse women leaders, and of course help inspire the next generation. The theme of International Women's Day 2024 is #InspireInclusion, and that is what we do every day around here. As you can imagine, International Women's Day is our favorite holiday! I am happy to be back with a new episode featuring my good friend, the inspirational Jamila Thompson, acting Chief of Staff fo...

The Minority Leaders Podcast is a women of color leadership initiative sponsored by Catalyst Global Strategies, LLC, a public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. As #Catalysts4Good we have partnered with the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) chapters of The Links, Incorporated to bring you a special episode of the Minority Leaders in support of the 16th Annual DMV Links Red Dress Weekend! In this episode, I am joined by Suzanne Walker—President Arlington (VA) Chapter of the...

Dear Minority Leaders, Its been a few weeks, but we are back in full force! In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Yleem D.S. Poblete, former Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Trump Administration and Co-Founder of Poblete Analysis Group, LLC. I first met Yleem when she was Republican Staff Director of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and have watched her career flourish in the decade and a half since. During our conversation, Yleem detai...

Happy New Year, Minority Leaders! In this first episode of 2024, we are joined by Larisa Hovannisian, Founder and CEO of Teach For Armenia. I love this conversation because it is deep, inspirational, and highlights the power of diasporans to impact the communities where they or parents once fled. I am proud to say that is our first international episode because Larisa speaks with us from Armenia. She moved back to her birth country just over a decade ago with just ...

Happy Holidays, Minority Leaders! This time of the year many of us are taking stock of all the blessings in our lives. One thing I am blessed with is a village of smart, supportive, and inspiring women leaders. Today I am excited to speak with one of my closest friends, Crystal Lander, Chief Strategic Engagement Officer at Pathfinder International. Crystal is a high profile and internationally recognized senior leader with 20 years of experience in global health and devel...

Dear Minority Leaders, Today I'm joined by Bassima Alghussein, Executive Director of Middle East Policy Council. Bassima is a proud Palestinian American woman whose background spans the legislative and executive branches of government, prominent global think tanks, the media and consulting. She has served on Capitol Hill; as a White House appointed advisor in the Obama Administration; and led Congressional Affairs for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. As founder of Al...

Dear Minority Leaders, Today I am excited and honored to speak with my good friend Hope E. Goins, Minority Staff Director of the House Committee on Homeland Security and bestselling children’s author. Hope is the top advisor to Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson on all matters related to the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and national security related matters throughout the Executive Branch, including counterterrorism, countering violent extremi...

Dear Minority Leaders,Today my guest is Ramona Oliver, senior director of the National Education Association’s Center for Communications. Prior to her senior director position, Oliver worked for Emily’s List, the Democratic Governors Association, the Service Employees International Union, MoveOn.org, and numerous political campaigns.Oliver’s career came to focus on communication and education after working with Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. A seasoned political communications expert, O...

Dear Minority Leaders,Today I’m joined by my Delta Sigma Theta soror and former Capitol Hill colleague, Dr. Kwamme Anderson. Kwamme and I both worked for our soror Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), albeit at different times. She has worked as a congressional staffer to Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), all powerful black women policymakers. Kwamme also counts the late civil rights leader and famous (and some would say infam...

Dear Minority Leaders, Today we are continuing our expansion of discussion topics and welcoming my new friend, and Delta Sigma Theta sorority sister, Rachel Lauren. Our conversation today focuses on Rachel’s work at the intersection of racial equity, criminal justice reform, climate advocacy, and most especially foster care and adoption. By profession Rachel is the Chief People Officer at Dream.Org and also a founding partner and Chief Programming Officer for Diversified, a boutique DEI cons...

Dear Minority Leaders, Before we jump into this episode, let me thank you all for your positive feedback on the reboot of this podcast. I appreciate all your kind words of encouragement. Please take a few seconds to show your support for this incredible platform by giving us a 5 star rating, subscribing,writing a quick review, and by sharing this podcast with the future minority leaders in your life. I want to keep bringing this community wonderful words of wisdom and dynamic conversations, ...

Dear Minority Leaders, Today we wrap our three part series on diversity in the U.S. Department of State and diplomacy with the preeminent expert on the topic: Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, State’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Amb. Abercrombie-Winstanley became the first woman to head a diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia in 2002 and was the longest serving Ambassador to Malta. She speaks Arabic, Hebrew, and Maltese. Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley is a living legen...

Asha Castleberry-Hernandez is a distinguished national security/foreign policy expert. She is a Biden-Harris Political Appointee, and served as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary, member of the Senior Executive Service at the Department of State. She is a former adjunct faculty professor at Fordham University, where she has taught U.S. Foreign Policy and U.N. Peacekeeping Operations. She is also a U.S. Army veteran, and since the 2014 ISIL incursion in Iraq, she has served as part of...

Akunna Cook is an accomplished diplomat, strategist, visionary creator and executive producer. In 2022, Akunna founded Next Narrative Africa, a multi-media entertainment production company telling African Stories for global impact. She is also the founder and principal consultant at Drake Road Strategies and served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.Akunna joins us today to talk about her experiences navigating the internal politics o...

Christina Hale is a successful author, former state legislator as well as the first Latina to run for statewide office in Indiana. She was appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to head communications for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and is a strong advocate for youth, democracy & equality.Christina joins us today to speak about using your traumas to inform where you’re going, practicing mindfulness, and the importance of mentorship and how it can change th...

In this episode, host Algene Sajery speaks with Fatema Z. Sumar, international development and author of The Development Diplomat: Working Across Borders, Boardrooms, and Bureaucracies to End Poverty. Fatema shares her experience as a first-generation Muslim American, woman, and mother working on foreign aid efforts in Capitol Hill and the developing world in the wake of 9-11. Fatema offers practical advise to women of color looking to advance their careers in this spa...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show Please join us on this leadership journey by subscribing, supporting, rating, reviewing and sharing this episode! Also follow us here: Instagram: @theminorityleaders and @algene_1913 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/algene-sajery Facebook: @theminorityleaders

The Minority Leaders Podcast is proud to partner with Women in Government Relations (WGR) and the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on special episodes featuring 2021 recipients of the Excellence in Advocacy Awards. The theme of this year's virtual conference, which will take place October 18-20, is "Women Firsts – Leading the Way."In this episode, host Algene Sajery interviews 2021 Lifetime Achievement Awardee Jody Thomas, to learn about her work, discov...

Dear Minority Leaders,It has been far too long since I published an episode. Life has been busy, to say the least. I've missed you all and am glad to come back like a lion with this episode, featuring the National Urban League's Joi Chaney, Executive Director of the Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy. Recorded on April 17, 2021, the conversation may be a few months old, but from COVID-19, to racial justice, to equal pay,&...

Happy Women's History Month, listeners! March is also my birthday month and this episode was definitely the perfect gift. I’m joined by my girl Erika West, principal at The Raben Group. Erika and I have been friends since our days at Howard University. Ya'll already know the Real HU produces #BlackExcellence, and Erika is a shining example of that. A wise and humble social impact strategist, Erika drops serious knowledge on the roles and perspectives of black and brown peopl...