Pay It Fwd Podcast payitfwdpodcast

In this episode, Mikell Fine Iles joins to talk mentorship, design careers and advice for young designers looking to make their mark. 

Mikell is executive design director at Hook. He is a Brooklyn-based graphic designer with over 10 years professional experience. Originally from San Francisco, CA, his first exposure to the arts was through community rallies and calls for justice. That early foundation informs his desire to have a sense of social awareness in his work.

In special episode #2, Jay shares some updates and thoughts about what’s going in life and career, and what he's been up to lately. 
The list of topics includes classical and house music; Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man; Jay’s recently-released album, Get Down; curiosity (and what to do when you don’t feel curious enough); Malcolm Gladwell; and The Inner Game of Tennis.

We take a detour in this episode. We’ve been off the air for a while, and we’re back with a different format just for these next two episodes. Instead of having a guest, Jay gives some updates on the podcast guests thus far and thoughts about the podcast. Tune in for the first of two special episodes.

In this episode, Tia Cummings joins to chat about attending an HBCU, career pivots and shifts, finding mentors, deep brand purpose work, meaningful marketing, what it takes to be a great manager, and believing in yourself. 
Tia is a strategic brand and general manager with over 15 years of post-MBA experience and a passion for building strong consumer brands. She has been consistently praised for cross-functional team leadership, strategic and analytical thinking, finding and leveraging consumer insights, developing talent, P&L management, creating integrated marketing campaigns, and commercialization. And recently, she has become Senior Vice President Global Brand Marketing Lead at Square.

On this episode, Kareem Folarin joins to chat about onboarding during the pandemic, building teams, changing passions, and letting career twists and turns unfold. 
Kareem Folarin is a storyteller who has years of experience in strategic consulting involving small to large organizations. Those experiences have focused on digital marketing, event marketing, public relations, and branding. He has a proven record of implementing effective marketing campaigns that accelerate progress and positively affect change. 

Micöl Rankin joins this episode to chat about being yourself at work, not compromising who you are, valuing yourself highly, philosophies of life, cryptocurrency, and outer space. 
Micöl is a senior art director at Moxie and host of the #YouAreDope show. He is a multimedia artist, musician, and creative designer. He has worked in the advertising industry since 2008, creating content for some of the biggest brands in the world including Coca Cola, Starbucks, Porsche, Verizon, iHeartMedia, McDonalds, and more. In March of 2020, he created a digital show on the platform, LinkedIn, titled #YouAreDope. An interview formatted show, that celebrates positivity and shines a spotlight on power players in the marketing industry and beyond. The show has been featured in Ad Age, the inspiration behind the "Be Dope Vote" platform, garnered over tens of thousands of views from all over the world, and earned hundreds of hours of viewed time.