Celebrating Women of Wisdom, Wealth, and Faith
This month I launched a series of interviews with women. As today is the last day of Women’s History Month, I celebrate two women in leadership, Dr. Derricka B. Thomas and Dr. Carol Obi-Washington. Both Dr. Thomas and Dr. Obi-Washington are the epitome of women of wisdom, wealth, and faith. They are confident in God and in themselves, which helps them to empower others through their knowledge, experiences, and truths.
During the interviews, we discussed who they are as women, their roles as leaders, and their experiences and thoughts related to navigating life as a woman.
Dr. Derricka Bashetta Thomas
Dr. Derricka Bashetta Thomas is an exceptional woman who thrives, thinks, and lifts others as she transcends from one goal or adventure to the next. She believes in providing opportunities for others. Her daddy taught her, "It's enough for everybody". Dr. Thomas has been known to quote an NWA Lyric about supporting others by saying, "It ain't no fun if the homies can't have none". She is a devoted mother, a daughter, a solid friend.
Dr. Thomas values having beautiful women in her life who are baddies, supportive, remind her of her true warrior womanness, her 50-year-old greatness, and all-around dopeness.
Role as a Leader: Dr. Thomas is a fierce advocator for education. She has worked in education for nearly two decades as a teacher, administrator, and recruitment and retention specialist. Dr. Thomas is currently serving as the Director of Child Nutrition in the Simpson County School District. In this role, she ensures that each student has a healthy meal, promotes health and wellness, and encourages an exceptional cafeteria dining experience for staff and students.
Personal Experiences and Thoughts
On Navigating Life as a Woman: I believe in playing hard and working hard or vice versa. However, a significant part of navigating life as of woman is listening to God's voice. I pray daily and begin each week with a list of gratitude, prayer requests, scripture, and devotion.
On Navigating Life as a Mom: My relationship with my son has evolved over the years. My son is an adult, so my parenting now looks very different from what it looked like when he was an infant, toddler, or pre-teen. I have learned to listen to him and ask how I can support him. I have discovered that my son’s journey is not my journey and that I must respect his decisions and allow him to be the master of his destiny.
I have also prepared my son for this world by being an example of a parent who created a loving home and provided numerous supports for him. Even today, I continue to model kindness and not hate in his presence, have complex and challenging conversations with him about life, and most of all, I am honest with him.
On Self-Care: I schedule "Me Days", where I self-reflect and identify things I am thankful for. I also indulge in spa trips often and buy myself special gifts.
On Work-Life Balance: I achieve work-life balance by creating a "To-Do Quadrant " (Four Squares). My weekly practice is updating my quadrant. The first square is a list of things I need to do for myself, and the other quadrants relate to things that need to be completed for home, work, and others.
Advice to Women: It is imperative that you are knowledgeable of your selected profession, on time daily, and extremely prepared. I recommend you have fun and always listen to learn instead of listening to respond. I also invite women to practice the Four Agreements for Personal Freedom: don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, be impeccable with your words, and always do your best.
Dr. Carol Obi-Washington
Dr. Carol Obi-Washington is the wife and best friend to an amazing life partner and the mother of two -exceptionally gifted young women. She describes herself as a woman who has evolved from a collection of experiences, memories, ideas, thoughts, relationships, and values. Her life experiences are rooted in Nigeria with highly educated Christian parents with whom she holds the highest regard. Dr. Obi-Washington shared that her faith is grounded in her parents' experiences and their journey from Nigeria to the United States and their experiences thereafter. She candidly shared about how witnessing her parents' sacrifices and perseverance through adversities related to their immigration experiences helped to shape who she is today: "My parents not only left what they have known as "home" for more than half of their life – they left family and friends to provide a better life for their children." A life that they envisioned would include equity, opportunity, and justice. However, upon their arrival to the United States, they experienced years of bigotry, racism, and acculturation. Yet, they remained grateful and hopeful."
Role as a Leader: Dr. Obi-Washington is a doyen of healthcare. Over the last five years, she has served as a leader in several healthcare systems across the United States, each time progressing to a new level. Dr. Obi-Washington currently works as the Director of Medical Clinical Operations for a national health insurance company. In this role, she brings together aspects of the healthcare delivery system, which she is most passionate about. She works with many talented clinicians and professionals in fields such as actuarial, business, marketing, and epidemiology to collectively assess the social determinants of health across populations to provide appropriate delivery models and diverse interventions. In this, they create intervention models to improve health outcomes, promote wellness, and prevent disease for groups and populations across the lifespan.
Personal Experiences and Thoughts
On Navigating Life as a Woman: I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is knowing who you are. GOD created you exactly the way you are for a specific and divine purpose, so the sooner we can get to the point of self-acceptance and love who we are, the sooner we will see the beauty that lies within and around us. I've learned that failure and success are intertwined-it's all about what we choose to do and how we choose to see ourselves- that makes all the difference as we get to owning our personal story called life.
On Navigating Life as a Mom: Like my relationship with my mother, I would describe my relationship with my daughters as strong. I began by asking myself, what was missing from my childhood? This is not a way of finding fault in how my parents raised me because I view their parenting in high regard. It's just that parents want their children to have a better life than they did, right? So, for me, it was understanding that I must be present for them -especially during the most critical period of their life (the early teen years). I adjusted my career and was available. I understood that my daughters' self-esteem, sense of self-worth, and body image are very much affected by seeing them. I also understood that both my relationship with them and my relationship with their father play a significant role in their ability to trust others. My husband and I also instilled a strong belief and love for GOD.
On Self-Care: I am learning to pace myself and take breaks, which could be a 15-minute break, a half-day to myself painting /drawing, or it could be a day of no phone calls. The important thing is to be able to detach/break away when I need it. I incorporate prayer daily when I rise, on my way to work (sometimes I may need two or three verses to get me going), and before I rest my head to sleep.
Additionally, find time to pamper myself. For those who know me, I do not really wear make-up. However, thanks to my two daughters (19 and 17), they have introduced me to some cool products that are kind of fun and leave my skin feeling so soft and pampered. I also schedule a massage every other month or so, but I have found that the more I do my yoga daily, the less I need to go to the massage therapist. Lastly, reaching out to my close friends and family helps me not get consumed with my work.
On Work-Life Balance: Creating a work-life balance is a continuous process-I don't know if I've achieved it! But I am working towards it daily. I have learned to set limits and boundaries on work, make myself a priority (not in a selfish manner, but in a way that creates a space for self-care), and make sure I put GOD center in everything I do.
Advice to Women: Go for it, be your authentic self and trust your faith! Remember to be gentle to yourself (you will make mistakes). Know how to balance professional and personal goals (taking time to have a family is great!!) and know that you do not have to make the climb by yourself.