I won't tell you that it's gonna be okay.

I won't tell you that it's going to be okay.

Welcome to another episode of a Bakari Sellers podcast.

Today we have Somebody Brilliant on the show who is going to kind of talk to us about this new age of black innovation and black entrepreneurship

but none other than Kelly Burton how are you today? I'm good Picard how are you?

I'm more blessed than I deserve it's hot it's hot as hell. You know, I was thinking the same thing. It's hot in my house. So I almost think it must be really hot outside.

Yes, exactly, exactly. So look, we start each one of our shows by having our guest walkers through the arc of their careers and you've been an entrepreneur a researcher and now you lead the country's leading organization for black-led innovation support organizations and ISOs.

And that sounds like a lot, but she about to break it down.

Can you talk us through the various career stops in finishing Clark Atlanta and how did your time in the

a youth center in Clark shape how you've done this work and in the work you've

done now through BIA. Yeah, wow, okay let me give you the bridge version.

I'm a Jersey girl, grew up in South Jersey,

born in Camden, raised in the suburbs.

My family's from North Philadelphia. In 96, I came out to Atlanta to go to CAU. It was a transformative experience for me. I was coming from even though I was raised in Camden about six seventhth grade, my mom moved us out to the Burbs and so I was coming from predominantly

white high school. And so to be able to attend an HBCU was just a dream come true.

Graduated from Clark in 2000 and started graduate school,

Emory, I think that was in 2002, worked on a PhD

in political science, wrapped that up in 2009, and I've been an entrepreneur

ever since.

I've had every type of business on every sort of organization you can imagine.

I've had a service-based business.

I was a career-long consultant.

...