Career Safari

What happens when the career path you built no longer feels aligned with who you're becoming? Social anthropologist and founder Autumn D. McDonald reflects on career pivots, identity, and learning to trust yourself through uncertainty. From corporate leadership to entrepreneurship, she shares how closed doors, unexpected opportunities, and self-trust shaped her journey and redefined her understand...

Dr. DeShanna Reed shares her journey across military service, education, and entrepreneurship - while navigating life as a sibling-caregiver and mother to neurodivergent children. Dr. Reed dicusses: Her "hustle with grace" philosophy Sibling caregiving and advocacy Career pivots and entrepreneurship Supporting families with disabilities Personal resilience and mental health Join our Torchbearer co...

In this episode of Career Safari, Kathy Tuccaro shares the story she calls "Steel Courage." After years in nursing, Kathy made a bold pivot into the world of heavy equipment operation. But this career shift wasn't just professional. It was personal. It was healing. It was transformative. Kathy opens up about: Facing trauma and finding strength Transitioning from nursing to heavy equipment operatio...

Season 3 of Career Safari begins March 3rd.  This season examines the decisions that quietly shape the direction of our careers. The risks we circle. The opportunities we delay. The cost of staying where we are when we know we've outgrown it. Join the chat on March 3rd.  www.thecareersafari.com

Season 2 of Career Safari was about the moments we don't always name: the risks we paused on, the systems we learned to navigate, and the support that made the difference. In this special episode, host Wamite reflects on the women and conversations that shaped Season 2 - honest discussions on mentorship, resilience, and what it really takes to build a career that doesn't demand burnout as the entr...

SEASON FINALE: Natalie Poindexter (Black-American) passionately pursues more inclusive, authentic leadership and systems - you can call her a disruptor, and she's proud of it! After dedicating part of her career to the healthcare sector, Natalie strategically shifted her focus to assist businesses in their pursuit of funding, with a particular emphasis on grant funding. In this episode we discuss:...

For over 10 years, Amrutha Jindal (Indian-American) has worked on the front lines defending individuals that have been accused of border crimes along the US & Mexico border. While her career started in corporate law, she came to realize that representing corporate clients wasn't why she became a lawyer. She has since dedicated her career to addressing disparities in the legal system. In this episo...

In many regards, Dr. Christine Ngaruiya (Kenyan-American), considers herself an outsider. Being born in the US to immigrants - then moving to Kenya and living there as a Kenyan-America. Nevertheless, throughout her life she has been brave enough to make her voice heard. She found a space to channel her voice within the medical research field, exploring topics around noncommunicable diseases. At th...

Hilla Ovil-Brenner (South African-Israeli) started her career journey as a lawyer, but it didn't take her very long to determine that was not the path for her. She then poured her energy into something that she loved - grammar - and founded Whitesmoke, an English grammar checking software. Her company accomplished what few tech startups achieve, it became a publicly traded company. Hilla has since...

Early in her career, Amanda Koonjbeharry (Guyanese American) found herself in different leadership positions in her home state of Minnesota. As a public servant she led the statewide Super Bowl LII anti-sex trafficking committee. She was then the Director of Public Policy where she co-led several projects on public safety and policing during the aftermath of George Floyd's murder.    In our conver...

Janine Hernandez's (Colombian American) story is equally about her journey back to herself AND all the amazing work she does as an author and book coach. Not many can say they wrote their first book at 12! Yet while she was making her career dreams happen, she was also faced with one of the darkest moments of her life - finding herself in a relationship with someone that was verbally/emotionally a...

Our advice, listen to this episode and ask yourself, "What are you here to teach me?" That's because it doesn't take long for you to recognize the magic of Susan De Toledo Hulley(Brazilian American).  Within a few minutes of talking with her, you feel as if your soul is seen and being cleansed. Throughout her life, her goal has been to learn, connect and share with people. That has been evidenced...

Before the recent upheaval in the tech sector, we had an all encompassing conversation with Emily Tsitrian (Greek-Armenian American) about the excitement and challenges of being in the tech community. Emily has led several teams at different tech startups. She reflected on her journey by writing, "Make Me the Boss: Surviving as A Millennial Manager in the Corporate World," to help first time manag...

In our Season 2 premiere, we have a free-spirited conversation with Dr. Tiffany Ingram. Tiffany is so firmly rooted in her family's history and the legacy of being a Black Detrioter, it's no surprise that she has blossomed and continues to shine as bright as she does. At several points in her life she tenaciously took chances on building a new life for herself and creating safe spaces for others....

Season Finale Dr. Christine Chin-Sim (Jamaican) found herself dealing with a major life change at 42. For the past two decades she was a devoted mother and housewife, but it was time to face her divorce and rebuild her life  - and that she did! In the years that followed, Dr. Christine got her PhD in Psychotherapy in Marriage and Family Counseling. Now with her growing   YouTube community   and pr...

Rediate Tekeste (Ethiopian-American) entered a new phase of leadership as Sr. Brand Director when she realized that everything we do ties back to our emotional intelligence and self-awareness.  "You can't lead from a place of emptiness." We explore why it's important to work through your emotions and triggers as you grow in leadership, the balance of working with creatives, and how she is giving E...

Dr. Illona Willken (South African) has reinvented her career more than anyone we've interviewed so far - from being a ballet teacher, school teacher, project manager in weapons and ammunition to ultimately becoming a medical doctor at 48. While she started her career journey not wanting to have a career at all - she quickly realized that if she and her children were to have a better lifestyle, she...

For many years Parry Burton was living her life as an actress and maî·tre d in Los Angeles. Like many people, the COVID-19 pandemic gave her a moment to reflect on where she wanted to put her creative energy and from there, her hair care company Naturally Parry was born. As a Biracial American, she dealt with struggling to embrace her curls and that curiosity led her to building her own business....

Ep 104 This month's Torchbearer, Chiraz Bensemmane, decided to establish her own business at 21. After she struggled starting her career in the corporate world in France; she finally found her stride as a world-traveling business development professional. This is when she realized how much her skills were in demand and created her own company, Pitch World Fast. We have a hilarious conversation abo...

Our Torchbearer, Olamide (Lami) Ajibesin, is a DEAL. MAKER. not only for the businesses and entrepreneurs she guides as a deal advisor and mergers & acquisitions expert - But even in how she has navigated her own career. As a Nigerian-American woman learning and breaking the rules, she has determined to make her journey extraordinary. In this episode we talk about owning your career journey, some...

In this candid talk we chat with our Torchbearer Hyepin Im, a Korean-American non-profit executive and community advocate  that started her career in the accountant and venture capital world. After she faced multiple layoffs and challenges she found the good in her goodbyes by answering God's calling and then watched miracle after miracle happen in her life. Hyepin's courage to advocate for the As...

In our first episode we talk with Pallavi Agarwal, an Entrepreneur from India.  Grit and resilience is what took Pallavi from asking "what is software?" – to explaining the ins and outs of Salesforce  to her clients at her own company, Kander . She shares with us how she stumbled upon consulting at a time when she was unsure about the next direction in her life and how that turned it into her own...

Welcome to Career Safari, our space to disrupt the views on what it means to be a career woman. Join us as we showcase the career journey of multicultural women. Here's our sneak peek. Career Safari premieres May 12th!