We had the good fortune of connecting with Herschenia A. Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Herschenia A., what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The most important lesson that my business has taught me is that I don’t have to stick with one business venture or brand. When I wrote my books, including the children’s books, my creativity was based on my own personal and professional experiences. After a few setbacks in my career and learning there were more women of color with the same experiences, I pivoted to another business venture that I had been yearning to explore since graduating from high school. Now, I have a couple of ventures – one as an author under the PEN Aria Craig and the other in dispute resolution as a mediator and arbitrator. They are different worlds, but will intersect in a book that I am doing research to write and hope to release next year. I believe in operating in all of my divine gifts and talents, just like the late, great Chadwick Boseman mentioned in his powerful and inspiring 2018 commencement speech at Howard University.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My story about my career has several layers. I was a single mom who temporarily paused my education after an internal debate of which avenue to pursue – IT (my grandfather’s dream for me), finance (my then-current career tract), or law (my dream goal, which was dismantled after hearing disappointing statistics for Black female attorneys). I chose finance since I was already working in that field. Doing so increased my value and I started climbing the corporate ladder. But, it also came with some challenges. My manager saw my potential and ambition, so she felt threatened. She blocked any opportunities for upward movement that I pursued. This impacted my mental health and made me question my value to the organization. As a result, I channeled my frustration into writing about my rewards and challenges as an educated single mom – how to overcome opposition in the workplace and in co-parenting successfully.

Several years later, I found myself in the same situation, but with a different manager at a different company. However, this situation was worse in that it included bullying, microaggressions, and abuse as a means of retaliation. After speaking with a professional about it, she told me that a lot of Black women were encountering this same experience in the workplace. It was disheartening to hear. That inspired me to reconsider the legal field, but not as an attorney. This time I pursued a career in dispute resolution as a civil and employment mediator, outsourced ombudsman, and arbitrator.

I continue to write about my personal journey. The book I am currently completing is a fiction novel entitled, “My Sister’s Keepers”: a story about the generational curse between a mother and her two daughters that creates a toxic sibling narcissistic relationship (also inspired by true personal events). I started this work in 2013 and put off to the side. Since so much as transpired since then, I felt it was a good time to reinvest in this novel. After this release, I plan to write another non-fiction book that speaks to many women on being bullied and abused in the workplace.

The lessons I have learned were to turn the unfavorable events – personal and professional – into stepping stones to help others reclaim their value.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Some of the most fun, interesting, and exciting places in Chicago to check out are art galleries (such as Gallery Guichard), cultural centers, (DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center), the Harold Washington Library, and the other museums on Museum Campus. Of course, there are plenty of Black-owned restaurants with delicious cuisine (my favorites are Batter and Berries, Dixie Kitchen, and Flavor) that you wouldn’t taste anywhere else in the world. For beautiful scenery there is the Botanic Garden and for your shopping pleasure there is The Magnificent Mile. If you love animals, like I do, be sure to visit either Brookfield Zoo or Lincoln Park Zoo (closer to downtown Chicago). Don’t forget Navy Pier and Gino’s East or Due’s pizza!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are three people who deserve a shoutout in my story. My uncle, Michel Brown, who was an incredible source of inspiration growing up as a journalist and news anchor; my aunt, Schereena Brown, who challenged me to elevate myself by having my sister and me read and write book reports during our summer breaks (yes, we also played hop scotch, jumped double dutch, and played board games); and my son, who was my biggest inspiration behind a few of my books on single and co-parenting.

Website: HABrownADR.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aria.craig

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herscheniabrown

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aria_craig

Image Credits
Black Enterprise Magazine (the image from their 2022 conference) and the image for My Sister’s Keepers is by Omni Graphics.

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