The Strength of Silk....and Finding My Voice with guest Lakysha Laing

I Didn't Have Control Over My Childhood, BUT I Had Control Over My Future

This week's episode of Fearless, Inspired and Free shares a conversation with a strong woman leader in the non-profit/public service space. A story of resilience, persistence and insistence upon her voice being heard from as early as six years old growing up in the foster care system, to becoming the lawyer she always wanted to be; serving communities in an equitable manner. You don't want to miss this conversation!

"Advocate, empowering, dedicated, kind, effective"...all words used by her peers to describe their experiences of engagement with her. But don’t take our word for it…tune in and listen for yourself today.

Lanetta Haynes Turner is renowned as the longest-serving Chief of Staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (in Chicago, IL) where she plays a pivotal role in steering the administration's agenda through policy development, program implementation, budget management, and executive functions.

Before her tenure as Chief of Staff, Lanetta served as Deputy Chief of Staff, focusing on shaping the President's policy initiatives and pioneering the creation of the office's inaugural comprehensive strategic plan, with a particular emphasis on advancing racial equity. Additionally, she served as the Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, dedicated to driving criminal and juvenile justice reform in alignment with the President's vision.

Lanetta's dedication to advocating for youth stems from her personal experiences within the Illinois foster care system during her childhood. With over two decades of legal, nonprofit, and public sector experience, she exemplifies a steadfast commitment to public service and improving the lives of society's most vulnerable.

Educated at Northwestern University, Lanetta holds a degree in Education and Social Policy, complemented by a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law. She commenced her career as an attorney with the City of Chicago before transitioning to the nonprofit sector as an attorney with Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy. Notably, she served as the Executive Director of CASA of Cook County for five years and as the inaugural Executive Director for Cook County Justice for Children.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to public service, Lanetta was honored in 2023 with the prestigious Excellence in Public Service Award, by The Civic Federation, underscoring her impact and leadership within the public sector. She has also participated as a Civic Leadership Academy Fellow at the University of Chicago and was a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow.

In past years, Lanetta has been recipient of the Athena International Young Nonprofit Professional and was named one of the "100 Women to Watch" by Today's Chicago Women Magazine.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Lanetta remains actively engaged in professional associations, including memberships with the Black Women's Lawyer's Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, reflecting her commitment to fostering community and advancing the interests of underrepresented groups, women and children. You can find Lanetta on LinkedIn.

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The Strength of Silk....and Finding My Voice with guest Lakysha Laing

Our guest for this episode is Lakysha Laing. Her story begins with her earliest memories in foster care, through surviving breast cancer and ultimately finding her voice and truly living her purpose as she completes her Doctorate studies and endeavors to create space for foster care youth who will soon age out of the system. Lakysha is powerful. She is resilient and she is a woman of God on a mission! You won't want to miss this chat.

Lakysha is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience in contact centers, specializing in employee engagement, strategy development, and process improvement for large teams. She holds a bachelor's degree in information systems management and an MBA in business administration, and she is currently pursuing her doctoral journey in business administration. Known as the Positivity Expert and Diversity & Inclusion champion, Lakysha is dedicated to creating inclusive environments and empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Her motto, "The Authentic Self is the Soul Made Visible," reflects her commitment to authenticity and value-driven leadership.

Lakysha's journey has been marked by resilience and advocacy. As a survivor of breast cancer and a former foster child, she uses her experiences to advocate for cancer awareness and support foster care initiatives. She volunteers with organizations like the American Cancer Society: Reach to Recovery program as a listening ear to newly diagnosed women. Shehas been a featured breast cancer survivor speaker and model for the Chesapeake Regional Healthcare Foundation, in addition to serving on the board of directors for various non-profits, including the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the Tidewater Friends of Foster Care.

An award-winning author of "The Strength of Silk - Living a Life of Grace & Gratitude," Lakysha shares her inspiring story of overcoming adversity and finding resilience. In her free time, she enjoys giving back to her community, supporting her husband's art endeavors, and spending quality time with her children and beloved dog.

You can find her on LinkedIn or Instagram @l_laing

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Stay True to Yourself and Trust the Process with guest Mayor Katrina Thompson

Welcome back to Fearless, Inspired and Free, a conversation with Dana Wright and the women she has been fortunate to connect with to discuss their life's journey…the great things they are doing, overcoming life's obstacles, navigating their work and personal businesses; becoming Fearless in their actions, Inspired to live authentically and Free to live a life they choose!

Fearless, Inspired and Free Podcast endeavors to build a community of learning, appreciation, encouragement, resilience, growth, acceptance, kindness and support, one story at a time. By listening to these stories of women in our communities, we learn and we grow. We also learn how we can support women. When we support women, we support our communities!

Our guest for this episode is the Village of Broadview Mayor, Katrina Thompson. The Village of Broadview and surrounding towns hold a special place in our hearts over here at Fearless, Inspired and Free, so it was a pleasure to speak to the Mayor and hear about Broadview's growth and all of the great initiatives.

Mayor Thompson was the first African American Female Mayor of Broadview when first elected in 2017. She is in her second term and she walks us through her life and familial influences...mainly her mother who influenced her love of service due to her mother's unconditional love and consistent acts of kindness and support.

Early in her life, and as a new mother, Mayor Thompson found that her town (Broadview) did not have programs for children that she felt were acceptable, and instead of complaining, she did something about it and ran for the Board of the Park District...won the seat and her journey to becoming Mayor began.

**If you are sensitive to hearing the truths about segregation, discrimination and historical inequities be forewarned**

Mayor Thompson speaks unapologetically about advocating for the Black community, but also feels like embracing diversity of culture, race, differently-abled, etc. is what makes Broadview a strong and thriving community. Her goal is to create a town where everyone is accepted, there are resources and families can thrive.

Mayor Thompson has come in and has elevated a small village, bringing increased focus to Broadview, garnishing National attention. She has also leveraged relationships and has partnered with 2 other local women Mayors to work on collaborative environmental and grant focused initiatives like C4. Listen in to hear what that is about. She budgets, plans and implements and that is how she continues to ensure her village grows.

Mayor Thompson does her days work, but also understands balance, self-care and the power of "no". She is in a stage of life where she knows what she wants and understands she has to be firm about boundaries. Therapy has been a gift and she encourages having someone to trust and bounce things off of.

Tune in today to @fearlessinspiredandfreepodcast. Mayor Thompson has some nuggets for you.

If you are looking for organizations to support, Mayor Thompson has supported Polished Pebbles, Best of Proviso Township, Westchester Food Pantry and The Answer Inc.

Like, Subscribe and Share this episode. Let's build community together!!

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Double Take with guest Shanita Straw and The Importance of Getting Our Affairs in Order!

Welcome back to Fearless, Inspired and Free, a conversation with Dana Wright and the women she has been fortunate to connect with to discuss their life's journey…the great things they are doing, overcoming life's obstacles, navigating their work and personal businesses; becoming Fearless in their actions, Inspired to live authentically and Free to live a life they choose!

Fearless, Inspired and Free Podcast endeavors to build a community of learning, appreciation, encouragement, resilience, growth, acceptance, kindness and support, one story at a time. By listening to these stories of women in our communities, we learn and we grow. We also learn how we can support women. When we support women, we support our communities!

In this episode we speak with Attorney Shanita Straw...again. We last spoke with Shanita in an episode called "If At First You Don't Succeed, Try Try Again" in April of 2021. Her journey and story of resilience, PERSISTENCE and determination to be who and what she wanted to be since she could remember despite "life happening" was admirable.

We learned about Shanita's life and journey the first time we spoke, but she came back recently to update us on how she continues to work towards her goals AND this time she also wanted to share how important it is for us all to get our affairs together and what things we can do to protect our assets and our families as we prepare for end of life.

Shanita practices law in the areas of Real Estate, Probate/Estate Planning, Labor and Employment, Corporate and Business Formations, Family Law and Bankruptcy. As she expands her practice, future endeavors will include both Criminal and Civil Rights Law

When we talk, Shanita wants to have the hard conversation about all of us not being here one day because when we don't, our families are left here unprepared to deal with the hardships of probate and potential court battles. We discuss things like Estate Plans, power of attorney for property and health, wills, trusts, beneficiary designations and why it's important to review your plan regularly.

You will not want to miss this episode. The information is vitally important.

You can reach Shanita at 708-613-4433, [email protected] or book a consult on her website at goldenlawpc.com.

Listen, Like, Comment and Subscribe to Fearless, Inspired and Free Podcast today! Follow @fearlessinspiredandfreepodcast on Instagram and Facebook for episode updates.

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Committed to Being a Lifelong Learner and Subject Matter Expert...a Check-in with Previous Guest Dr. Jennifer Matthews

Welcome back to Fearless, Inspired and Free, a conversation with Dana Wright and the women she has been fortunate to connect with to discuss their life's journey…the great things they are doing, overcoming life's obstacles, navigating their work and personal businesses; becoming Fearless in their actions, Inspired to live authentically and Free to live a life they choose!

Fearless, Inspired and Free Podcast endeavors to build a community of learning, appreciation, encouragement, resilience, growth, acceptance, kindness and support, one story at a time. By listening to these stories of women in our communities, we learn and we grow. We also learn how we can support women. When we support women, we support our communities!

Back in May of 2021, I spoke with Dr. Jennifer Matthews while she was a candidate for her PhD. We discussed her journey as it pertained to her health and how she began to question the generational beliefs her family had around food and diet. She had found a new way to live, was building community around her new lifestyle and was also finishing her studies while raising her young son.

In this episode we speak with Dr. Jennifer again and she discusses her numerous recent accomplishments and how she is leaning in to all of the new spaces and places she finds herself participating in; all while building new communities of support. She shares with us how we have to continue to push ourselves to realize our gifts and contribute in a way that is fulfilling. She is clear in her vision and continues to work towards her goals.

Dr. Matthews is a Subject Matter Expert in Body Cameras and Digital Media with 16 + years of hands-on and educational experience in the field of criminal justice. She is a third-generationlaw enforcement professional. She is a certified Women-Owned Small Business Owner with a Women's Business Enterprise private security company, Paramount Security Analytics. At Paramount Security Analytics, her company provides Armed/Unarmed professional security services for businesses, parking lots, events, VIPs, retail stores, and many more.

Dr. Jennifer Matthews is a public speaker, educator, and thought leader dedicated to inspiring individuals andorganizations to reach their full potential. With a unique blend of expertise in law enforcement, psychology, communication, andleadership development, Dr. Matthews captivates audiences with her dynamic presentations and empowers them with practical strategies for personal and professional growth. Dr. Jennifer Matthews is a driving force behind digital transformations tosolve cases quicker, encouraging the use of body-worn cameras.

Dr. Matthews recently published a book on Amazon entitled: Guardians of Transparency: Illuminating the Path of Body Cameras for a Safer Tomorrow.

You can find and contact Dr. Jennifer Matthews on Instagram and Facebook, or on her website. Links are below:

@drjennifermatthewsconsulting IG

@djennifermatthews IG

@psecurityanalytics IG

psecurityanalytics FB

drjennifermatthewsconsulting FB

drjennifermatthews.com

psecurityanalytics.com

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