Hikma Collective Podcast Hikma Collective

A conversation with Bill Neill about building relationships, keeping your work in perspective, opportunities in the tech sector, and what we mean when we say "coding."

Topics discussed in this episode include:


Finding the right career path based on what things you enjoy doing and defining what you are good at.
Insights, tips, and questions to ask yourself when starting a business.
How to ask for advice and the value of your network.
The importance of staying grounded and preserving your own wellbeing.

Since graduating with his Bachelor of Science from UPenn’s Wharton School of Business, Bill Neill has held leadership and consulting roles at some of the biggest names in software and healthtech — Epic, Hyland, and Nordic Consulting, to name a few. His robust knowledge of healthtech — and the needs when it comes to hiring for these types of specialized companies — translates well to the recruiting world and co-founding of Carex Consulting Group, a staffing company that helps match companies with top talent. Originally from San Francisco, Bill witnessed the tech boom of Silicon Valley right outside his door, and the free flow of ideas and innovation ecosystem of the Bay Area is something that’s stuck with him throughout his career, which is evident in his passion for startups and entrepreneurial ventures. In addition to loving a good dad joke, he’s the one we go to when we’re looking to buy our next gadget — headphones especially.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-neill-8b944845/

https://www.carexconsulting.com/

A conversation with JP Baker about asking the right questions, organizational structures, and scarcity vs. abundance thinking.

Topics discussed in this episode include:


The art of facilitation, appreciative inquiry, and cultivating a spirit of collaboration.
Redefining ‘not-for-profit’ away from economic/negative terms and toward social benefit, debunking myths about not-for-profits, and the roles and skills that serve this sector best.
The concept of radical candor for giving and receiving feedback.
The importance of empathy.

JP Baker works as a Planning Consultant with Vantage Point, ready to support organizations strategize the most effective ways to reach their goals. JP has extensive experience as a facilitator, consultant, researcher, and writer. As a consultant, JP is sought out for his expertise in governance, organizational culture, strategy, process design, and change management. Over the past fifteen years, he has done strategic planning with a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations and university departments and led the development of several community-wide plans.

JP is also involved in overall advancement of the non-profit sector in BC. He belongs to peer networks on sector development and reimagining governance, and he coordinates the ChangeLink initiative in the BC interior, which aims to promote connection and coordination in the local non-profit sector. JP is also a founder of and public spokesperson for Keep Kamloops an initiative designed to provide a promotional boost to arts, recreation, and heritage organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Outside of his professional activities, JP serves as President of the Kamloops Society for the Written Arts, plays and sings with the band Van Horne, and is an active father, cook, and writer.

Links:

https://www.keepkamloops.ca/

A conversation with Nadia Sasso about being an unconventional scholar, what it means to have an entrepreneurial spirit, and how to ask for what you deserve.

Topics discussed in this episode include:


How identity impacts the work that you do.
The importance of finding the right people and creating space for yourself.
Knowing what you bring to the table, ripping up the script, and advocating for yourself.

Dr. Nadia Marie Sasso is a high-powered creative cultural producer and unconventional scholar based in Los Angeles. Her expertise is developing engaging creative content and driving strategy across various platforms and media. Nadia has 10 years of relevant professional experience, with documented success in the areas of social innovation, strategic partnerships, and new media.

Her portfolio proves that she is deeply invested and interested in media as a storytelling tool to not only engage and inspire audiences but also connecting people around the world with stories they will love. She advocates for changing the way relationships are built, fostered, and established across various industries both in the diaspora and on the African continent.

Links:

https://www.nadiamariesasso.com

A conversation with Aaron Mitchell Finegold about the language of entrepreneurship, social media culture, and taking the long view in your career path.

Topics discussed in this episode include:


Translating/defining business terminology (rapid fire vocabulary lesson)
Working across frameworks/disciplines/functions
How academic training in the humanities can be translated into and beneficial for the professional sector
The importance of gratitude

Aaron is a growth and customer strategy leader with a breadth of experience across sectors, functions, and geographies (preferred pronouns: he/him/his). Aaron holds a B.A. with High Honors in English & American Literature and Psychology from Brandeis University, and an M.B.A. from INSEAD (where he was one of two student commencement speakers and selected to represent INSEAD at the W.E.F. annual meeting in Davos). Aaron happens to serve as a current leader in LinkedIn's Business Operations function (previously an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and a Worldwide Marketing Strategy Consultant at Ogilvy). As a queer leader of color, Aaron has contributed to advancing Diversity and Inclusion agendas at several companies across his career. He has been involved with a wide variety of nonprofits, including Pine Street Inn (previously HopeFound) in Boston; YearUp in New York, Chicago and LA; and Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. He's also a published author with bylines in Thrive Global, The Forward, and McKinsey Insights.

Links:

https://www.aaronmitchellfinegold.com

A conversation with Crystal Moten about storytelling, authenticity, and the realities of pursuing a career that sustains you intellectually, emotionally, and financially.

Topics discussed in this episode include:


Archival work as a transferable skill from academia to museum work.
Insights on what it means to be a scholar outside the academy.
Uncovering/recovering the hidden/untold/forgotten stories of Black women using speculation and critical fabulation.
The importance of imagination.

Guest Bio: A Chicago native and a Midwesterner through and through, Dr. Crystal Moten received her undergraduate degree from Washington University in Saint Louis where she majored in Anthropology and African American Studies. From the University of Wisconsin Madison, she earned her master’s degree in Afro American Studies and her PhD in History.

Specializing in African American History, Dr. Moten focuses on the intersection of race, class and gender to uncover the hidden histories of Black people in the Midwest. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Civil and Human Rights; a special issue of Souls focusing on Black women’s work, culture, and politics; and most recently in The Strange Careers of the Jim Crow North: Segregation and Struggle Outside the South. At the National Museum of American History, she has co-curated an exhibit: The Only One in the Room: Women Achievers in Business and the Cost of Success. Her forthcoming book is entitled Continually Working: Black Women’s Economic Activism in Postwar Milwaukee.

Before joining the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Dr. Moten was an award-winning professor at small liberal arts colleges on the east coast and upper Midwest. Currently, she is curator of African American History in the Division of Work and Industry where she is responsible for building the museum’s collections as they relate to the material culture history of African American business and labor.

Links: 

https://www.crystalmoten.com

https://www.blackherstory101.com 

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collected-podcast/black-feminism-rerooted 

A conversation with Stacy Hartman about curiosity, mentorship, and how to ace your LinkedIn profile. Listen in for some great stories, actionable tips, and insightful words of encouragement.

Topics discussed in this episode include:


Cultivating curiosity and openness, following your nose, and embracing distraction.
The role of serendipity and luck in job searches and career paths beyond the academy.
How to frame your skills and experiences for new audiences.
Valuable insights about mentorship, relationships, navigating social media, and engaging with communities online.

Stacy M. Hartman is the director of the PublicsLab at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. At the PublicsLab, she supports doctoral students who are interested in public-facing scholarship and a range of career pathways. Prior to coming to the Graduate Center, she was the project manager of Connected Academics, which focused on broadening career horizons for language and literature PhDs, at the Modern Language Association. She holds a PhD in German Studies from Stanford University.