Hey everybody, all week this week we're going to be playing special episodes from all of our other podcast series including

Woke at Work, married to the movement, the momentum advisor show, America the Voiceless and Sick Empire. Did you know that we have six different podcasts?

We do and today's episode is from Woke at Work and Ray and Blanca loved interviewing Erica Hamilton during the second episode of Woke at Work in the episode entitled Living Your Portfolio Life with Erica Hamilton.

Erica provided listeners examples of how she gives herself permission to dream up to plan and implement a career that served her purpose and helped her achieve her professional goals.

And she encouraged listeners to do the same. It's a really brilliant conversation and I want you to hear it again. This is an episode of Woke at Work from my wife Ray and her good friend Dr. Blanca Ruiz. Check it out.

The breakdown. In this episode we talked to Erica Hamilton who has spent time in private and public sectors. She offers her experiences, lessons learned and strategies for how to navigate.

So have your pen and paper, whatever typing device you use ready to take some helpful and empowering notes. Welcome to another episode of Woke at Work. Blanca and I are super excited to welcome Erica Hamilton to the podcast.

I am really honored to have Erica with us on today. It is still in the middle of the COVID epidemic pandemic. I guess I should say and we are still making do like we always do.

I'm really looking forward to getting this recording together and I just really appreciate you Erica for making time. I know you've got kids home and school work and all the things happening. So thank you for making this happen even in the middle of all the craziness.

Thank you guys for the invite. Erica and I met through a mutual friend named Matt shout out to Matt who was a colleague of hours at city here. Though we weren't there at the same time.

I met Erica through Matt who was my colleague who was her colleague first and a few months back Matt brought us together and we met up for for dinner in the city and it was really just Erica and I really proceeded to have like one of the most important connected conversations that I've personally ever had like I literally sat down.

I feel like I spilled my whole life's problems and and guts out to you just like this is what's wrong with my life. Help me and you just proceeded to just really listen. First of all, you didn't at least you didn't say you thought I was crazy but you didn't you didn't see me think I was crazy.

And you just spoke about my experiences and your experiences in a way that made me feel so heard I felt so heard I felt so understood and it really reminded me of the power of what can happen when women of color come together.

We share our burdens, we share our stories and and and and just the power and the connection that can come from that and it was after that conversation when I was 100% sure that we had to do this podcast I was like I have to do this podcast.

I want other women of color to be able to have this experience even if we can't be together I just wanted them to be able to have a place where they could pull it up pull up you know a podcast and listen to other women who are also having very similar experiences and feel as validated as I felt in that moment sitting and talking with you so thank you thank you thank you.

First of all just for being there but secondly for being a catalyst for making sure that this podcast happened.

You know you guys this is this feels a little bit in switch because you didn't tell me you were doing that kind of in through because you were moving in that years.

Because when I tell you it's my life's work to try to create spaces where people who normally are not seen and heard can feel that safety to release and be candid and be vulnerable and know they're judged.

Can I ask for what they need that is the highest form of praise you can give me so thank you.

I could like to write back at you.

Thank you so much.

I just had all my guys women of color are like women we are everything like we are just we're so so powerful and I think that conversation happened in December and Blonken I like we got together I think it was like the end of December.

...