Your Point of Pride Nicole Pride

RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 5, 2020) – In the latest episode of Your Point of Pride – The Podcast, Dr. Nicole Pride speaks with clinical research assistant and independent artist, Colandra McDowell, about her hard-won battle against breast cancer and her sense of responsibility to help other women on their journey.



“My conversation with Colandra was both insightful and awe-inspiring,” Pride said. “I am grateful for her candor, her vulnerability, and her willingness to aid women who need to see someone who looks like them who have faced some of the same challenges.”



McDowell was diagnosed with Stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma in 2018 just minutes before performing a show. In the conversation, McDowell will share more about how and why the show had to go on. In the year after her diagnosis, she endured six rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiation therapy.



Now cancer-free, McDowell has created AnotherBrownFace.com as a repository for resources women to gain knowledge, see the change, and beat the odds.



A singer with a rich tone and love for diverse genres of music, McDowell is a member of a musical family who spent her childhood watching her father and uncles perform with their gospel quartet. From them, she would learn the art of performance and delivery while sneaking to listen to the secular artists that were forbidden in her home.



While attending North Carolina State University, McDowell became a part of the music department, taking voice lessons and learning more about the history of the music she loved.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 7, 2020) – During a pivotal time for the entire nation, Dr. Nicole Pride has called upon an independent scholar and nonprofit founder, Dr. LaWanda Simpkins, to discuss the least talked about aspect of success – sacrifice.



Simpkins is currently a teaching instructor at East Carolina University, a training consultant with the Renaissance Education Group Inc., and serves as president of her nonprofit organization, Creative Justice Inc. As an academic, she specializes in courses and curriculum development in the areas directly connected to women’s and gender studies, race, and adult education. Her organization specializes in creating spaces for impactful conversations that center social justice and advocacy.



“LaWanda’s journey to becoming the best version of herself is one of constant reflection and great resilience,” Pride said. “I am excited for everyone to hear this conversation because it is important that we all remember that the best parts of our life are often those parts we never planned for.”



In the conversation recorded last spring, Simpkins spoke about knowing the things she wanted for her life and having to figure out just how she was going to maintain it all.



“I remember last spring, I was teaching a women’s and gender studies course. We were reading this chapter on women and workplace and it was emotional for me,” Simpkins said in the conversation. “I was thinking, ‘this is real life for me’, because I was that crossroad – do I choose my career or do I choose my family? Many people say that you can have both, but, what does that look like?”



For Simpkins, it looks like teaching online from home while simultaneously raising her daughters, Zilah and Yuri, and newborn son, Xendae, with her husband Marcell. The Raleigh, North Carolina resident holds a bachelor’s in business administration marketing and a master’s in adult education from North Carolina A&T State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership and cultural foundations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

RALEIGH, N.C. (August 3, 2020) – For the third installment of Your Point of Pride – The Podcast, Dr. Nicole Pride has called upon an Atlanta-based, Emmy Award-winning namesake, Nicole Carr, to discuss passion.



Carr is currently an investigative journalist with Channel 2 Action News, the local ABC affiliate. Since joining WSB-TV, Carr has interviewed an alleged NSA leaker, uncovered faulty data from the Georgia Department of Health in relation to COVID-19 testing, and has been involved with investigations into alleged misconduct and corruption by a Georgia district attorney.



“In a time when hard-nosed, truth-seeking journalism is going unappreciated, I found my conversation with Nicole to be a much-needed breath of fresh air,” Pride said. “She is one of those rare people who has managed to follow a career path that allowed her to pursue her true passion."



In their 40-minute conversation, Carr and Pride discussed meeting the challenges associated with the pursuit of passion, self-motivation, and becoming the best version of themselves.



“I don’t think that we can properly assess or put anything in life in context until we are honest with ourselves about what we’re dealing with,” Carr said in the conversation. “I try to understand that truth can come in many different forms. It’s not debatable, but it is complex and many things can be true at the same time.”



While Carr has been in Atlanta for more than two years, she has North Carolina ties – first as an Army Brat living with her family in Fayetteville when her father was stationed at Fort Bragg, later as a proud graduate of Winston-Salem State University, and most recently as a former reporter in the Piedmont Triad and Raleigh-Durham television markets.



Carr has also worked in Nashville, is a past fellow for the International Center for Journalists, and holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University. Story- and truth-telling might be Carr’s job, but she finds her most important work to be at home as a wife and mother to her three children.

RALEIGH, N.C. (July 6, 2020) – In the latest episode of Your Point of Pride – The Podcast, Karrie G. Dixon, chancellor of Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), talks about the importance of vision for her personal success and that of her university.



Dixon, a transformational leader, has served the institution as its chief executive officer since 2018. Her focus is on increasing enrollment, leveraging resources, enhancing all aspects of the ECSU campus, and strengthening stakeholder engagement.



“I found the conversation with Chancellor Dixon to be enlightening,” said Nicole Pride, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Your Point of Pride LLC. “She clearly describes the importance of having both a personal and professional vision.



Pride and Dixon also discussed mentorship, effective leadership and imposter syndrome.



“Everybody experiences (imposter syndrome) at some point in their career,” Dixon said. “Prior to me pursuing this job as chancellor, I was a little unsure. As women, we often experience being overlooked … I had to come to the understanding that it is what it is, all I can do is be me and show you that I can do the work.”



Since Dixon’s arrival, ECSU has experienced positive growth in a number of areas. In just 18 months, enrollment climbed nearly 40%, degree program offerings have expanded, and the university increased its fleet from two to 12 aircrafts for the university’s signature aviation program.



Prior to ECSU, Dixon served as vice president for academic and student affairs, as well as, chief student affairs officer for the University of North Carolina System. In that position, she was tasked with overseeing and shaping system-wide policy to ensure overall success for more than 220,000 students in 17 institutions.



In 2019, Dixon was awarded the Old North State Award, one of North Carolina’s highest honors. She was also named one of “The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2020” by the HBCU Campaign Fund.



Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in speech communications and rhetoric from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a doctor of education from N.C. State. She and her husband have two daughters.

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 22, 2020) – Just one week after the launch of Your Point of Pride, LLC, founder and CEO, Nicole Pride, Ph.D. will debut the accompanying podcast – Your Point of Pride – The Podcast. The first show features her friend and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. line sister, Saundra Wall Williams, Ph.D., better known as, Dr. Saundra.



Williams is the CEO of WMS Corporation, a professional development, consulting and training company that supports emerging and established, women leaders in corporations, government, education and the nonprofit sector. She specializes in executive leadership mentoring and coaching.



“I am excited for everyone to hear my conversation with Dr. Saundra. She offers so many gems that I have found to be impactful for my own journey,” Pride said. “I believe other women will find her words of advice to be exactly what they need.”



During their conversation, the women discussed organizational culture, mentorship, leadership, and the importance of building confidence.



“Building confidence is a process and the first part of that process is literally stepping in and starting to do the thing that you don’t have the confidence to do,” Williams said. “If you don’t step out and try it afraid, then you’ll never do it. You have to have the courage to step out.”



Williams is also the founder of the Vision Building Institute and also serves as an author, speaker, strategist, teacher, trainer and mentor. She is currently an adjunct research professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at her alma mater, North Carolina State University. Her teaching focus is technology and leadership.



A few short years ago, Williams retired as the senior vice president and chief of information technology, data, business intelligence, library systems, distance learning and workforce development for the North Carolina Community College System.



Williams is also an ordained minister and a member of the College of Ordained Elders in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, where she serves as the North Carolina State Director of Administration. She has authored three books – “The Ministry Within,” “21 Days to Momentum,” and the forthcoming, “The Seven Foundations that Move You Forward.”



She is a graduate of N.C. State with a B.S. in mathematics, a M.S. in applied mathematics and statistics, and Ed.D. in adult and community college education. She is also holds a MDiv from Regent University. Williams and her husband, Dennis, have been married for 30 years, and have one adult son, Bradley.