March 6, 2025 • 55 mins
Leadership isn’t just about titles - it’s about resilience, purpose, and the courage to break barriers. My guest today, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, knows this firsthand. From a challenging childhood to becoming the first Black woman mayor of Kankakee, Illinois she turned adversity into a platform for change. In this conversation, she opens up about the power of advocacy, the role of coaching in authentic leadership, and why women must boldly claim their space at the table. If you’re ready to lead with impact, confidence, and heart then this episode is for you.
Connect with Chasity:
Episode 127's Affirmation:
I lead with confidence, purpose, and clarity so that my voice and vision create meaningful change.
I invite you to leave a positive message with your insights, feedback, or uplifting message.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alethea Felton (00:20):
She is a powerhouse in leadership and
career.
Own their authority, buildstrategic relationships and step
into positions of power withoutcompromising their well-being.
And today's guest on the PowerTransformation Podcast is none
other than Chasity Wells-Armstrong, someone that I deeply
(00:43):
respect.
So prepare to listen to aconversation packed with wisdom,
strategy and the mindset shiftsneeded to lead boldly.
So welcome to the PowerTransformation Podcast.
I am your host, Alethea Felton.
I am so thrilled that you havejoined me today, and this
(01:07):
conversation is definitely onethat will inspire you, and I
want to dive right into this.
Go ahead and follow andsubscribe to the Power
Transformation Podcast whereveryou get your podcasts and we are
now on YouTube.
Bear with me as I load episodesonto YouTube.
(01:29):
Everything will not be up thereinstantly, but there are a few.
So bear with me, as that is.
A major priority for this monthis getting those podcast
episodes on YouTube.
And I want to dive right intothis conversation with Chasity,
and let's begin with ouraffirmation.
(01:51):
I will say the affirmation onceand then you repeat it.
I lead with confidence, purposeand clarity so that my voice
and vision create meaningfulchange.
Okay, y'all, today I am soexcited to have Chasity Wells
(02:14):
Armstrong here, because she'sjust not any person.
This is someone that I havegotten to know over the course
of nine months now, just aboutby the time no, 10 months or so
by the time we're filming andrecording this.
Chasity and I were a part of acohort, a program, and while we
(02:39):
didn't have daily interactions,I would hear the powerful things
she would say.
I was keenly observing her andI can tell people whose hearts
and minds and passions arereally in the right place.
And so, chassidy, welcome tothe Power Transformation Podcast
.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (02:58):
Thank you so much, Alethea.
I am so happy to be here withyou.
Alethea Felton (03:03):
I am glad to have you here y'all.
This is a powerhouse when Itell you.
So this interview, you aregoing to learn so much, just not
about her journey, but aboutwho she really serves and is
passionate about, because Ithink it's needed in our society
today.
But before we jump into thoseheavy hitting kind of pro
(03:26):
questions, let's just start offwith something lighthearted that
I ask all of my guests a randomicebreaker so we can get to
know you even more.
Okay, Chasity, when you weregrowing up, what is something
fun that you really liked doingand why?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (03:50):
I started playing the clarinet in
the fifth grade and it reallybecame an outlet for me.
And so I had some challenges athome with my parents that were
going through some challenges.
And so I don't know if youremember the cartoon the
Simpsons, if you ever watchedthe Simpsons so Lisa would play
(04:12):
her saxophone.
I was Lisa, so if I was sad orjust not having a good day, I
would throw myself into playingmy clarinet and, as a result of
actually enjoy learning how toplay the instrument but also
using it as a coping strategy, Ibecame a very good clarinet
(04:32):
player, wow.
And so I played for severalyears.
By the time I was in eighthgrade I was put in the high
school marching band playing.
So I really enjoyed playing.
I enjoyed competing at contests.
Every year competitions won alot of awards.
It was a great outlet for me.
Alethea Felton (04:52):
Oh, that is amazing.
Now let me ask you this When'sthe last time you played?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (04:57):
It's been many years.
I sold it, but it's on my listto play the saxophone because
it's very similar to theclarinet and I love it, and so I
plan to do that in the comingyears well, actually, now that I
think about it, yes, because interms of the positioning and
(05:19):
the keys, I can see now thatconnection.
Alethea Felton (05:23):
that's really, that's really, really great.
And to be an eighth grader inthe high school, oh that is
something, that is absolutelysomething.
So we know this musical aspectof you, chastity.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (05:35):
But if a person were to just come up
and say who is Chastity WellsArmstrong, what would you say
Well, I think it depends on theperson and it depends on the
person and it depends on thecontext, but I see myself as a
mover, a shaker and a barrierbreaker, and that's who I coach.
I am a person of resilience andI'm a person that loves people
(06:00):
and, in particularly, I loveblack people, and I want to see
people win.
I want to see all people win.
But because people of colorhave been oppressed and
underserved and marginalized forso long, I have a special
passion for making sure that Iam creating space, providing
opportunities, supporting peoplein their own journeys.
Alethea Felton (06:24):
Wow, indeed you do, and you are a history maker
that will get into that evenmore.
And the fact of it all Chastityis that you have beaten so many
odds is that sometimes peoplethink of you know people in
leadership and breaking barriersas these people who have just
(06:47):
always arrived and have had it.
But you actually shared with mein our pre-screening that you
didn't necessarily come fromaffluence nor a political type
of a background, and I bringthat up with the time of this
interview being big electionseason coming up.
But take us back to yourearlier years growing up and
(07:12):
what was a pivotal moment thatsparked your desire to actually
lead and create change despiteobstacles that you faced,
despite obstacles that you faced?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (07:29):
That's a great question, alethea.
I'm the oldest of five kids andso I jokingly say I was born
the leader.
When I ran for public office, Iwould talk to audiences and I
said my parents primed me formanagerial skills, so I was one
of the kids.
That latchkey kid came homefrom school and I had a lot of
(07:53):
responsibility as a child, notonly for myself, but for my four
siblings that were younger thanme, I think a pivotal thing
that happened for me.
There was a member of the family, an extended family member,
that was harming me as a child,and this person told me that if
(08:17):
I spoke and said anything that Iwould be harmed, that my
parents would be killed.
I was, I believe, six years oldwhen this started, so of course
I was very traumatized by thatand scared, and once I saw that
this person was pursuing myyounger siblings, that gave me
the courage to speak out,because I've always been
(08:40):
extremely protective, not onlyof my siblings, but people that
I love, people that arevulnerable.
That's always been a part ofwho I am and who I remain today,
and so what I learned from thatexperience is when I had the
courage to speak out.
I've learned that my voice ispowerful, that my voice had the
(09:01):
power to not only stop what washappening to me, but to prevent
and protect and bring someawareness about what was going
on and protect other people whowere even more vulnerable than I
was, and so that was a pivotalmoment.
Of course, at six you're notprocessing it all in quite that
way, but as I look back on mylife's journey, the work that
(09:24):
I've pursued over my career andthe advocate that I have become,
that certainly would be adefining moment.
Alethea Felton (09:52):
That actually brings up for me something that
the late Maya Angelou said.
Dr Maya Angelou said is thatwhen she too, of course, was a
child, she was harmed and whenshe spoke up, her uncles ended
up doing something to the person, kicked that person to death.
And that's when she realized,oh, my voice is powerful.
But she did the oppositeinitially, where she became mute
and I know that you're aware ofthis, but I'm sharing it for
(10:12):
the audience that might not knowuntil she came across a teacher
who told her you don't lovepoetry, because if you did, you
would say the words out of yourmouth.
And then it clicked to her likehold up, my voice doesn't have
to do harm, it doesn't.
It's powerful where it can dogood and Chasity.
(10:33):
You knew then your voice coulddo good for so many people,
including those in your family.
And so, as you continue to growand shape, there were certain
circumstances in your life whereperhaps people could have
written you off for yourpotential for leadership.
(10:53):
So how did certain experiencesin your childhood shape, and
just not childhood, but evenyoung adulthood?
How did those experiences shapeyour drive to succeed?
And what was, even more, ofyour inner strength source?
(11:14):
Where did that inner strengthcome from, that caused you to
envision a greater life foryourself and others.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (11:24):
I would say it started with my family.
My father was a Vietnam veteran.
My grandmother, my paternalgrandmother, was born with polio
and my father is one of eightand they grew up in poverty and
(11:45):
the thing that I looked up to mydad, I mean tremendously.
I was a daddy's girl, for sure,and I adored him and so you
know I was his little sidekickas the oldest and you know I
spent a lot of time with him.
I learned how to play chess atseven.
You know he's an avid reader.
(12:05):
Everyone in my family, all ofus kids, are avid readers.
You know he would play outsidewith us, but he always taught me
that I had to work twice ashard being black.
So that was just instilled inme.
It was just instilled in me andI just happened to be wired in
(12:25):
such a way that I am an achiever.
I recently took myStrengthsFinders test.
If any people listening arefamiliar with that, my number
one strength is achiever.
That is my number one strength,and my second is learner, and
so I've always been an avid.
My mother is an avid learner.
She always had books as well,always was in school,
(12:46):
practically my whole life goingto school for something.
So I was just really primed andconditioned in that type of an
environment to learn, to beeducated, to work hard, working
hard.
That was instilled in me.
I made, you know, a lot ofmistakes as a as a young person,
like we all do in our journey,particularly when we start
(13:08):
dating and fall in love and loseour minds but I was always a
good student.
I was a good student throughschool.
School was really an escape forme from some of the the the
challenging things that washappening at home and I was
adored and you adored by myteachers because I was a good
student.
I love to learn.
(13:28):
I was the kid raising my handgoing ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
I know the answer.
I was that kid and despite that, I made some bad decisions as a
teenager when I started dating,got into a very dysfunctional
relationship with a young man inhigh school and I stopped going
to school my senior year.
(13:48):
I was in classes.
Finally, the principal calledmy dad and said she cannot come
back.
She can't come back to school,and I was devastated.
They wanted me to go to op ed.
They called it alternativeschool at the time.
Okay, at night for like threehours, I was embarrassed, I was
(14:11):
mortified.
I had always been an honor rollstudent.
I was known even to this day.
If you talk to people in myclass about me, they describe me
as the girl that always had thebooks.
They make fun of me because Iwas always carrying a stack of
books or in my clarinet.
But I was in this reallydysfunctional relationship and
so when I found out I had to goto alternative school, that was
(14:33):
like the wake up call.
It's like are you going to be ahigh school dropout?
The positive thing out of all ofthis is that, because I was
such an avid learner, I hadtaken so many credits that by
the time I got to my senior year, I only needed three credits to
graduate.
Oh, I see, even though I hadmissed first semester, I only
(14:59):
needed three credits and I wasstill able to graduate with my
class.
Wow, and so you know, if youlook at moments like that,
people there there are peoplethat would have said this is not
a kid that's going to go tocollege.
This is not a kid, that's goingto amount to anything.
I did manage to get in collegewithout ACT prep, didn't do well
on the ACT, didn't have prep oranything.
My parents didn't know anythingabout that kind of stuff and we
(15:21):
certainly didn't have theresources.
And so a community memberhelped me to get into his alma
mater, and we certainly didn'thave the resources, and so a
community member helped me toget into his alma mater and I
got pregnant my freshman year incollege.
Wow.
And so if you just look back onsome of the decisions, some of
the things you know, choices Imade, most people probably
(15:44):
wouldn't say that I would haveachieved what I ended up
achieving to become a historymaker.
Alethea Felton (15:49):
Oh, my goodness, Gosh, Chasity, all of this.
Look, I know that you have todo things in your own time, but
just know I will be one of thefirst people to buy your memoir
whenever you are ready to writethat, because this right here so
far is so inspirational.
(16:09):
Let's talk about that, aboutbecoming a mother While you were
always driven.
(16:30):
How did your pregnancy andsubsequent birth of your son,
how did that catapult you evenmore to saying, look, I am going
to make something of my lifeand be who I am created to be.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (16:34):
Yeah, he was definitely my motivation.
I started running away in highschool at 15.
My grandmother, my paternalgrandmother I always adored her
because she had nothing.
This is a person that lived on$768 a month from Social
Security.
Oh my gosh.
She worked as a cook at arestaurant.
(16:57):
Like I said, she had polio.
One of her legs was shorter, soshe walked with a limp.
You could visibly see that shehad a disability.
She was legally blind in oneeye and she walked everywhere.
She walked from one side of myhometown to the other.
She never felt sorry for herself.
She never made excuses.
Oftentimes she wouldn't eventake a ride because she wanted
(17:20):
to exercise and to walk, and soshe just always.
She wanted to exercise and towalk, and so she just always.
She just always was somebodythat I look to that has so much
strength and resilience.
And you know, even though I wasbeing a knucklehead in high
school, running away and, justyou know, not getting along with
my parents when I had my son,it was the wake up.
(17:42):
It's like you have got to getyour stuff together because now
you had this baby and I love mybaby and I was terrified because
I had a black boy and at thetime in my community that's when
gangs had really started tobecome prevalent there was a lot
of gun violence industry.
It was leaving our hometown,there was white flight in the
(18:11):
community and I knew he was astatistic.
I knew that he could end upbeing somebody that was shot
from gun violence, and so itjust really motivated me to do
better.
You have to do better, you haveto get serious, you have
responsibility.
Alethea Felton (18:21):
And Chassidy, I forgot to ask you this where is
your hometown?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (18:27):
my hometown is kankakee, illinois
it's about an hour south ofchicago, and that's exactly and
that's where I grew up.
I don't live there now.
Alethea Felton (18:36):
I've moved about three years ago but, that's
where I grew up okay, and thankyou for that clarity, because
there's something else thathappens in that city that we're
going to talk about, but Iwasn't sure if that was your
hometown or not.
But that is powerful to knowthat it is, and we'll talk more
about that later, but I wasn'tgoing to ask this, but I think
(19:01):
it's something that you said isso important.
You said clearly that it cameto like you're raising a Black
boy.
I don't think sometimes peopleunderstand, because with this
podcast I have a diverselistenership.
Could you elaborate more on whythat is so important,
(19:24):
specifically as a Black Americanboy?
You're raising a Black Americanboy.
What is the significance ofthat chastity?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (19:35):
Well, if you look at any of the data,
the statistics on Black men,they oftentimes don't fare well
in the United States.
They are targeted and feared,particularly if they are darker
skin or larger stature.
Oftentimes their behavior iscriminalized.
(20:00):
So in schools, for example, theNAACP has done studies showing
how there's disproportionateamounts of discipline that's
administered to Black boysversus their white counterparts.
Right, not only are theypunished more frequently,
they're punished more severely,they are expelled more
(20:22):
frequently from school, and whena kid is out of school, they're
more likely to becomedelinquent.
Most of us have heard the termdriving while Black.
They're pulled over.
We've seen instances where thepolice are able to deescalate
issues with others that belongto other groups and demographics
(20:46):
, but when it's a Black man,they're shot, they're killed.
So you know, in terms of whenyou look at the negative
outcomes and challenges thatpeople overall have in our
country, black men often don'tfare well.
That's true Unemployment rates.
When you look at healthoutcomes, mental health, and so
(21:11):
I knew I did not want him to bea target, I didn't want him to
be subjected to those things.
Alethea Felton (21:20):
Thank you for really expressing that, because
that is so important and it'srelevant in today's society and
while you are passionate aboutwomen in leadership,
specifically having Black womenleaders, it is so key to
(21:40):
understand the importance of usas a people in this nation, but
also to really describe how youknow, with our Black men, they
are going through their own typeof a transformation on how to
evolve, adjust, how to not belabeled stereotype, and it's
(22:01):
something that can be burdensomeand very, very weary.
So I really applaud you forreally mentioning that, because
I think it's important.
And being a mother and goingthrough all that, that is a
leadership role, and soleadership can feel isolating at
(22:22):
times, especially when you're atrailblazer.
Now I want to take this shiftChastity, because who you are
now was also formed into a verycourageous move that you made in
politics.
That you made in politics.
(22:46):
So talk to us about thatremarkable journey of something
that you did right in your ownhometown, where you made history
, and share with us what was oneof the greatest challenges you
faced during your rise ofleadership in that role and what
was also one of your greatestvictories.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (23:04):
Well, as I got older, I was very
engaged with my son's academicjourney.
I put him in private school.
I was a room mother.
I was the mom at the game,screaming and yelling like a
lunatic at basketball games andembarrassing him.
I love it because I just wantedhim to have support.
(23:27):
I wanted him to haveopportunities to explore
different things and find outwhat he was good at and build
his confidence and feel goodabout himself and self-esteem.
Eventually I was anontraditional student.
Obviously, I didn't go straightto college, like many people
(23:47):
had the opportunity to do,because I had already started a
family.
So I was in school, verysimilar to my mother, my kids.
For a lot of their lives theysaw me going to school, to
college, and sometimes it wasone class a semester.
It took me a long time to getthrough school because of that,
because I had to work as welland take care of my family.
I did meet my husband when myson was 18 months and we got
married.
So we've been married 33 years.
Alethea Felton (24:07):
Oh, that's beautiful.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (24:08):
Yes, thank you.
And so, as they started gettingolder, I started becoming more
involved in the community, andonce I got into my undergrad
social work program, I met awonderful professor, dr Adele
Sanders, who is now deceased.
May she rest in peace.
She was a Native American womanand she influenced me so much
(24:31):
in terms of policy.
A lot of social workers areinterested in more of clinical
work counseling, case managementand I'm kind of the nerd social
worker that wanted to pursuepublic policy, and it's because
of her um I ended up starting toum join um boards, my national
(24:51):
association of social workers.
Um harbor houses our domesticviolence shelter in the in town
that took care of our, and I goton the school board at my son's
school.
It was just a private Catholichigh school.
Then I went to work for twomembers of Congress.
I started volunteering for ourstate senator, who was the first
(25:15):
woman in our state to be themajority leader.
Wow, she happened to representmy district.
I was her constituent, and so Icontacted her office and asked
if I can volunteer just to learnmore about public policy, and
so I would go there a couple ofdays a week for a couple of
hours, and then I was recruitedto apply for a fellowship in
(25:37):
Washington DC, and so thisfellowship was provided for one
social work student an undergradsocial work student in the
nation.
I applied in 2006.
I was not selected because Ihadn't done my field placement
yet and I was shouting you know,having a tantrum because I
didn't get picked and I don'tlike to lose.
(25:58):
And the next year my professorsame professor, dr Sanders said
you are applying for thisfellowship again, and so I
applied and they selected me in2007.
One person in the nation.
Alethea Felton (26:12):
Right Undergrad social work student.
That's amazing, oh my gosh.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (26:17):
OK, wow .
So I had an opportunity to cometo Washington DC for nine weeks
.
I come from a small town and itwas like a complete cultural
shock for me.
I remember reporting to my worksite and asked, and my
supervisor said we have thesemeetings lined up for you today.
And I'm like, ok, how am Igoing to get there?
(26:37):
Am I taking a cab?
And they were like no, you'regetting on the metro.
And I was like what is themetro Like?
We didn't have publictransportation in my town when I
was a kid, so this was like acomplete culture shock.
But the thing that she did thatwas amazing and I actually just
had dinner with her last night.
I asked her if I couldinterview social workers that
(26:58):
worked in different fields.
That would allow me to expandthe idea of what a social worker
can be and what they can do.
And she did, and I met one thatworked for a member of Congress,
and so I ended up working forCongress.
I went to work for two membersof Congress in the US House of
Representatives and then Idecided to run for city council
(27:22):
in my hometown and I got electedin 2015 as a city council
member, being the first Blackwoman to serve in my ward
there's seven wards in thecommunity and that was a
four-year term.
At the time when I was elected,our first woman had been
elected as mayor, and I went totalk to her because I was
(27:44):
concerned about the state of ourcity.
It was really a tale of twocities on the side of the
community that wasn't faring sowell.
They had been neglected foryears, they had seen decades of
disinvestment and she reallywasn't interested, and so at
that point I I believe that allof us, if they gave out PhDs for
(28:08):
complaining, could have a PhD.
Alethea Felton (28:12):
Yeah.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (28:13):
So good , but.
But we needed solutions, and soI believe in being a problem
solver, and so I started talkingto some of the gatekeepers in
the community, some of the blackmen who were considered the
leaders, and just expressing myconcerns and asking if anyone
thought about running againsther in the next election.
And they said they weren'tgoing to do it.
(28:34):
And so I decided to run formayor, and so I was elected the
first black mayor to representthe city of Kankakee, illinois
my God, it's history.
And the second woman.
And in terms of the biggestthing to overcome, I believe it
was helping black people to seewhat is possible.
(28:59):
So many of them were doubtfulthat you know, people you know
question my qualification thesame thing that we see happening
to the vice president, right,no one at the time.
We have 14 members on citycouncil.
There was no one in thatchamber that had the
congressional, the government,across the political except you,
(29:19):
across the political spectrumthat had worked local, state,
federal, um.
I had a master's degree, um,but the first thing that comes
up is I'm not qualified, andthere were even black people you
know, are you qualified?
Oh my gosh, no one is born outof their mother's womb being a
mayor nobody, that's right,that's, that's right Chasity?
(29:44):
Nobody is.
You have to learn skill setsand, as a social worker, a lot
of my skill sets aretransferable and the fact of who
I am being an avid learner, youknow, being somebody that seeks
knowledge and I learn that'swhat I do.
So I think helping black peoplereally see that it was possible
(30:05):
because it had never been doneand there had been another man
in the community who's prettyprominent they have ran before
and he was unsuccessful.
The other thing is that youknow, I ran as a Democrat.
I'm a Democrat.
There were four of us in theprimary race and we were all
black and so I had.
Another person was like there'sno way you can win, it's too
(30:26):
many of you.
I was the only woman.
My mantra was that nobody willoutwork me and they did because
I walked the entire community.
None of them did that, Even theincumbent woman that I was
running against.
She was not walking the wholecity.
She had been the incumbenttwice.
She was running against.
She was not walking the wholecity.
You know, she had been theincumbent twice.
She was running for her thirdterm, um, but I said nobody's
(30:49):
gonna outwork me you know whatthat's?
Alethea Felton (30:52):
a powerful tactic, that that you use first
of all, confidence and justwalking into that space of who
you knew you were created to be,without having the actual role
yet you were already doing thatbut then also walking throughout
the entire city is key.
(31:13):
I will never forget.
It was former DC Mayor AdrianFenty, and he had some
controversy during his time, butthe one thing I can say about
him is when he was running, heliterally knocked on people's
(31:33):
doors, because I remember theday when he knocked on my house
door, introduced himself.
I was floored by the fact, andthen I started talking to other
people that I knew, who were indifferent wards in Washington DC
, who said the same thing abouthim that he actually knocked on
their door and, yes, indeed, andhe won.
(31:57):
I voted for him, but he won.
But that made a difference isbecause he sincerely took the
time and just didn't knock.
He actually had a conversation.
Chasity Wells-Armstr (32:09):
Absolutely , and that's amazing for me.
You know it's my hometown.
You know I knew a lot of peoplethere.
My hometown has transitioned alot.
There's a lot of people therethat aren't originally from my
hometown.
My thing is, I don't takeanything for granted.
I asked people for their vote.
I didn't assume the blackpeople were voting for me or
that white people were voting oranybody was voting for me.
(32:31):
I knocked, I introduced myselfand I asked for their support
and for me it was that works.
I've never been high before,but for me it was kind of like a
high because municipalelections you are running in the
dead of winter.
Now, keep in mind I live inIllinois.
I'm about an hour south ofChicago.
It is cold, freezing.
(32:53):
I have a picture I think Iposted it on LinkedIn when I was
in a blizzard out knockingdoors.
The snow was literally 10inches deep and I just get a
rush from that because I'm likenobody is going to outwork me,
no way.
When you knock on somebody'sdoor and it's cold like that and
they see you and your glassesare fogged up and walls might be
(33:15):
running a little bit, they like, okay, she's serious, she is
serious, this girl is serious,and if she's going to get out
here and do this, then I can atleast give her a chance.
Alethea Felton (33:24):
Oh, my goodness, chastity, that is oh wow.
That is so inspiring andencouraging.
And so you go through this timeas mayor and I know that could
be a whole podcast episode inand of itself.
But let's shift now because wedon't have a lot of time left.
(33:47):
But I want to shift into thefact you had that you were
successful in getting to bemayor.
You made history, trailblazingand everything.
And so now in this space, postyour political career as mayor,
you are in this space now whereyou have actually become a
(34:11):
professional coach.
You are always coaching peoplein some aspects, but it's more
than just coaching that you do.
You are big on mental healthempowerment.
You are big on mental healthempowerment.
You are huge on, you know,helping people to shift in their
mindsets.
You encourage women that youdon't have to be of a certain
(34:31):
pedigree to be in leadership,okay.
And so you know you have had somany different experiences in
dealing with all types ofcommunities, especially those in
marginalized communities,thinking about women in general
(34:52):
and even if you want to drilldown to Black women.
We carry a lot, we have a loton our plates.
We are seen as these strongpeople, but again, our mindset
means a lot to it, but what aresome of the key barriers that
women face in stepping intoleadership roles, and how can
(35:17):
they begin to break thosebarriers, even if at times, they
feel powerless?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (35:24):
Yeah.
So we are conditioned in thiscountry to not be ambitious.
We are conditioned to serve,and there's absolutely nothing
wrong with serving.
And so, you know, one way thatI've been framing mindset with
people that I, you know, workwith and encounter is that
business is about service, right.
(35:45):
Business is about seeing thatthere's some type of problem in
the market, in the environment,and you have the solution to
that problem.
And men have been making moneyon business, businesses,
business scene and solvingproblems and providing solutions
for a long time, and there'snothing wrong with women doing
the same.
But we are conditioned to behelpful.
(36:08):
Even as a social worker, goingthrough my training, you know, I
remember one of my instructorstelling us it's almost like a
badge of honor to be, to live inpoverty and to be, you know, to
be struggling.
You know, you doing the work,you know.
But it's like you can do morework and you can be more
powerful and more impactful ifyou are putting on your mask
(36:29):
first, so to speak, andpositioning yourself in a way to
be economically successful.
And one of the people that Ifollow and who I love is Rachel
Rogers.
She's a business coach.
I follow her too, so aligned toher because she's right.
And women, we take care ofpeople, that's what we do, right
.
We take care of our families,we take care of community.
(36:51):
So, if we have wealth, if wecan shift that mindset, you know
we, our world is going to bebetter because that's what we do
.
We, we are the nurturers.
We do take care of people, Um,but we need to be taken care of
too.
We need to put on our masksfirst, um.
But yeah, you know, in terms ofbarriers, we're taught to be
(37:12):
nice, we're not taught to beambitious.
You know, when I remember beingmayor and the gentleman was
telling me, you know, like well,when I first saw you, you know
you weren't smiling, you knowyou weren't.
I didn't know, you know, Ididn't know if you were, you
know, approachable.
And I said, first of all, wouldyou be saying this if I was a
(37:33):
man?
Nobody is measuring the, theeffectiveness, the worth of a
man based on if, how frequentlyhe smiles.
There's a woman named BarbaraLee.
There's a black congresswomanin Oakland named Barbara Lee,
but I'm referring to a whitewoman named Barbara Lee, oh,
okay, barbara Lee Foundation,and she has done research for
(37:54):
years on this.
You know what makes womenelectable.
Women have to be likable to beelected.
I mean, we see this right now.
In this day and age, the namethat must not be mentioned is
running for president Doeshorrific things, says horrific
things.
Nasty mean evil things.
If a woman candidate was doingthat, there's no way she would
(38:17):
be elected.
She would be canceled quickly.
There's a gender dynamic at playhere, you know, in terms of
women and the expectations ofwomen, and so you know we get to
design the life we want.
We have permission now, and Ithink, because women make money,
(38:37):
we're not in the 1940s whereyou're depending on your husband
to go to work and your homebeing because you have the
ability to make money.
Women now can make differentdecisions.
They don't have to stay inrelationships where they're
disrespected and harmed, theydon't have to put up with
certain things because they'reand black women are the most
(38:59):
educated and are the fastestgrowing group of entrepreneurs,
entrepreneurs, yes, ma'am.
And so you know we get todefine what quality of life and
what life looks like for us, andI encourage, you know, women to
do their work, to make theinvestment in themselves, to do
that work, to recognize theirown value, to honor themselves
(39:24):
and to share the gifts that theyhave and leverage those gifts.
Alethea Felton (39:29):
And I think even with your actual company's name
, and I want you to kind of talkabout that in terms of what was
that vision for it?
But you are the CEO of CatalystCoaching and Transformation.
Talk a little bit about that interms of what really inspired
(39:50):
you to say, okay, this is what Iwant to do, and then explain
what you do in that company andhow you help serve women to be
their very best in terms ofreally shaking their lives up
and being movers and shakers.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (40:07):
Yeah.
So catalysts, you know, youthink about a catalyst.
A catalyst is a spark, right, itignites, it sparks, it creates
a reaction, and so that issomething that I've been doing
in my journey, um, with women,and you know, when I was mayor,
one of the things I was mostproud of is that I put women in
(40:28):
positions that had they hadnever been in before, you know.
And so a lot of times, as youknow, as a coach, a lot of times
we are casting a vision forpeople and seeing a vision for
them that they don't even see,or they may see it, but they
don't believe that they canachieve it.
And so, for me, that term, thatword I'm big on words that word
(40:51):
really resonated with me interms of the work that I want to
do to help women transformtheir lives, you know, in a way
where they have more impact inthe world, but they're doing
that in a way where they'rehealthy, um, and and they're
taking care of themselvesholistically, you know, and
(41:11):
they're experiencing joy,because, you know, life
shouldn't just be about workingourselves to death either.
Alethea Felton (41:16):
That's right, you know that's true, because
sometimes people work and workand work, and then you look back
up and life has passed them byand that's the last thing that I
think people need.
And so you are unapologeticallypassionate about empowering
(41:37):
women and we hear that wordunapologetic so often but what
exactly does that mean to you,and how are you helping women to
adopt that same type of mindsetin a world that does often tell
them to shrink or conform?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (41:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
I was unapologetic in myleadership as a mayor.
I have values and ethics andintegrity and that was
demonstrated time again in mycommunity.
I actually brought a consultantwho was highly revered in our
community to justice because hehad been stealing money from our
(42:16):
community.
He had stolen $2 billion and ittook a lot of courage to go up
against him because everybody inthe community really valued and
respected this man.
He was an engineer, brilliantmind, but he was stealing from
us and when I ran I told them Irepresent the people.
(42:39):
I am here for the people, theaffluent people, the poor people
, the people who've beenincarcerated, the children.
I'm here for everybody and I'munapologetic about that.
Just helping women, helpingpeople to tap into what it is
(43:01):
they value and allowing that toplay out in how they live their
lives is what being unapologeticmeans for me.
Alethea Felton (43:19):
Wow, and that is leading just your frame of mind
on being unapologetic.
That's what makes the changehappen and the work gets done.
Then, when you're confident inwho you are and you know what
you're all about, it shows tothe rest of the world and it's
almost, in a way, contagious,where people are going to want
to learn more of your.
(43:39):
You know the secret sauce as tookay, if chastities like this,
without say people didn't evenknow anything about your
background, you wouldn't thinksomebody who's gone through so
many challenges and changes andtransitions like you would even
be in a place where you are now.
And that leads me to wonder.
(44:01):
You've had well over 25 yearsplus of leadership experiences.
Even more, I'll shoot.
I'll say 30 something years,because even with your oldest
son, that's a leadership role,even as a mom.
But anyway, my whole point iswith your years of leadership,
(44:21):
what chastity do you think isthe most significant change that
you have actually witnessed inwomen stepping into leadership
roles?
But what still needs to be doneto ensure that more women
thrive in those roles?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (44:39):
One is that we need to support one
another roles.
One is that we need to supportone another, and I just I have a
newsletter called theLeadership Catalyst that people
can subscribe to through mywebsite or on LinkedIn, and my
article last week talked aboutthat.
Oftentimes, other women twothings.
Oftentimes women will say well,I went through that, I had it
(45:01):
hard, you know, I had to gothrough this, and they think
that that's kind of a rite ofpassage when they see a younger
woman coming behind them.
Right, I am not of that mindset.
I don't think that life shouldbe hard and I definitely don't
think that we should be makingit hard for one another.
I can pave the way and make iteasier for another woman to come
behind me.
I want to do that, you know.
(45:22):
But sometimes we see, you knowwomen that are like, well, it
wasn't easy for me, it shouldn'tbe easy for you, or they're
jealous, or we have situationswhere we think that there's only
room for one woman.
You know, we get told that.
You know.
You know you see elections andthey'll say you know, it's too
many Black people.
You know somebody needs to stepout.
(45:44):
That's why the work that'sbeing done with organizations
like Represent Women, wherethey're pushing for ranked
choice voting is so valuable.
So that's one aspect.
Like we need to support oneanother.
We need to.
We're not going to agree oneverything.
There's no relationship youhave in your life, whether it's
(46:07):
your parent, your child, yourpartner, that you agree
everything on.
But when we have a woman that'sleading, we need to support it.
She's already got so manybarriers, particularly if she's
a woman of color.
The second thing is for thesewhite men, cisgender men, who
the American, you know, the USsystems, institutions were
designed for, if they reallywant to see change, if they
really want to be allies and,you know, see the United States
(46:32):
function in a way that serveseverybody and supports everybody
, where everybody can thrive,then they are called to use
their privilege and theirposition of power.
They have power and privilegeand position, just on being a
white man.
That's right, and so they haveto take action, they have to
(46:52):
speak up, they have to do theirpart to change systems where
they can make decisions, to makethings more equitable and fair.
They have to do that if this isreally going to change.
So those two things, the powerplayers, and then you have the
women.
You know, and women have beenset up to you know pit each
(47:13):
other.
We've been set up to.
You know the term cat fightingand pitting against one another
and there's only room for one.
You know all of that, you know.
We have to, we have to, we haveto reject that Not only
verbally, but with action.
Alethea Felton (47:32):
That's right, with action and with that,
that's a good segue.
Everything that you said hasbeen loaded and I think it's
something for people to digest.
And as I always ask listenersis you know, there are so many
people that can resonate withthis interview and to share it.
(47:53):
And so say, if someonelistening or hears it, even down
the road, how can a personconnect with you?
Say, if it's a woman who mightfeel stuck or invisible in their
current role or want morestrategies on how to show up in
their authority and leading, howcan someone connect with you to
(48:16):
say Chastity?
I think I really need your help.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (48:19):
Yes, so thank you for that, alethea.
I just launched my practicecatalyst coaching and
transformation.
The website is chastity one T,not a belt chastitywellscom.
Chastity C-H-A-S-I-T-Y wellsW-E-L-L-S dot com, and I have
(48:42):
tons of resources.
I am really passionate aboutcreating tools and resources
that can help everybody at everylevel, so I have some free
downloadable resources on thewebsite.
I encourage people to subscribeto the newsletter.
It comes out every week.
Subscribe to the newsletter.
(49:06):
It comes out every week.
I am launching a coachingprogram group coaching program
right now.
That will start actually in acouple of days, but that'll be
relaunching in the spring of2025 as well.
I'm releasing my CatalystCoaching Cafe webinar series
starting October 25th, so peoplecan sign up for that.
That's okay.
(49:26):
So you know, just you know,follow me on LinkedIn.
You can reach out to me on thewebsite.
I do guest podcasting.
I do.
You know, training andfacilitation.
You know I'm here to servetraining and facilitation.
You know I'm here to serve, andexcuse me, you know my, my
(49:47):
ideal client is a woman.
You know, a woman that'stransitioning to public service
or elected office and they'relooking for support in
developing their leadershippresence, and with that comes
you know what are their values,what are their boundaries?
You know.
You know, helping them to buildthe confidence to truly lead
(50:07):
authentically.
I'm also very passionate abouthelping women to build authentic
networks.
You know, networking is notjust you know, hey, let's get a
phone number, like it's really.
It's a skill to buildrelationships and to maintain
them, and that's actually whatmy first webinar is about on
October 25th.
It's about mastering authenticconnections for women leaders.
(50:30):
The other thing that I workclosely with is I'm doing some
research with the University ofWisconsin on the dynamics of
being a woman leader in themayoral office.
So I've been interviewing womenmayors across the country.
There's been increasedharassment, threats to women
mayors and challenges to theirauthority once they assume the
(50:56):
role, and so I'm actively partof a research project on that.
And so the other thing I workwith women on is navigating
leadership, the complexities ofleadership, the complexities of
policymaking, because genderdefinitely plays a role in these
(51:17):
higher level positions.
Alethea Felton (51:19):
Your episode won't be out by October 25th.
Is there going to be a way forpeople to maybe purchase or
catch a replay of the webinar inthe future?
The?
Chasity Wells-Armstron (51:27):
webinars are free.
I will be doing the series.
They're scheduled out toJanuary of 2025, but I'll be
doing them every month.
Alethea Felton (51:36):
Oh, good Okay, Very good Okay.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (51:40):
People can go to the website or check
LinkedIn.
Very active on LinkedIn, sopeople can either check LinkedIn
or go to the website to stay intouch with me in terms of when
the webinars are coming out andwhat the themes of the webinars
will be.
Alethea Felton (51:55):
And I'll have your website, I'll have the
LinkedIn, I'll have everythingin the show notes and, as we
come to a close, chassidy.
I would, of course, like tothank you for being here, but
also, as a closing question, isfrom who you were as a teenager,
(52:18):
or even child, going through somany challenges, to where you
are now and I don't ask everyguest this is that question, but
I'm compelled to ask you thiswhat are you most proud of about
yourself?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (52:39):
I think I would say that I'm most proud
of my heart that I could havethat.
At times I was very angry as ayoung child, um, and as a
teenager, especially arebellious, angry teenager but I
have never lost my love ofhumanity and I've always wanted
(53:00):
people to be well, and my workhas been around that.
I've been a substance abusecounselor, I'm a social worker.
Even when I was in publicoffice, I told people I'm not a
politician, I am a publicservant, and that is how I
approach the work that I do, nomatter what position I'm in.
That's my lens, and so I'mproud that, despite challenges
(53:23):
that I've had and we all havethem, we all have our stories.
We all have had unfair thingshappen.
We've all have had traumas insome kind of way.
Most of us have.
I would say I could have let myheart become hardened and
bitter, but I haven't, and soI'm really proud that I have
maintained my connection to mywhy and is here to serve and to
(53:46):
impact and to improve the livesof other people, particularly
uplifting women and Black womenin specific.
Alethea Felton (53:55):
And this has been incredible.
And, of course, you're such alayered, multifaceted person
where, even outside of theseprofessional roles, the fact
that you have been able tomanage and show up strongly as a
wife, as a mother, as a sister,as a daughter, as a friend and
(54:18):
so much more all of these otherroles and to know there have
been other experiences that wedidn't even tap on that has
really shaped and formed yourresilience and tested your heart
, because your heart could havegrown cold and hardened
throughout your life at multiplepoints.
And I just thank you, Chastity,for being you.
(54:41):
I'm so glad that our pathscrossed.
I have so much respect for youand I thank you again for just
being you and I hope nothing butcontinued success for you and
we're definitely going to keepin touch.
But you definitely, your voiceis powerful and it has shown up
today and also in my life.
(55:02):
So thank you again for being aguest on the Power
Transformation Podcast.
Thank you, Alicia, Take care.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the Power
Transformation Podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to follow or subscribe,
leave a five-star rating andwrite a review.
(55:22):
It helps us inspire even morelisteners and don't keep it to
yourself.
Share it with someone who coulduse a little power in their
transformation.
Until next time, keep bouncingback, keep rising and be good to
yourself and to others.
She is a powerhouse in leadership and
career.
Own their authority, buildstrategic relationships and step
into positions of power withoutcompromising their well-being.
And today's guest on the PowerTransformation Podcast is none
other than Chasity Wells-Armstrong, someone that I deeply
(00:43):
respect.
So prepare to listen to aconversation packed with wisdom,
strategy and the mindset shiftsneeded to lead boldly.
So welcome to the PowerTransformation Podcast.
I am your host, Alethea Felton.
I am so thrilled that you havejoined me today, and this
(01:07):
conversation is definitely onethat will inspire you, and I
want to dive right into this.
Go ahead and follow andsubscribe to the Power
Transformation Podcast whereveryou get your podcasts and we are
now on YouTube.
Bear with me as I load episodesonto YouTube.
(01:29):
Everything will not be up thereinstantly, but there are a few.
So bear with me, as that is.
A major priority for this monthis getting those podcast
episodes on YouTube.
And I want to dive right intothis conversation with Chasity,
and let's begin with ouraffirmation.
(01:51):
I will say the affirmation onceand then you repeat it.
I lead with confidence, purposeand clarity so that my voice
and vision create meaningfulchange.
Okay, y'all, today I am soexcited to have Chasity Wells
(02:14):
Armstrong here, because she'sjust not any person.
This is someone that I havegotten to know over the course
of nine months now, just aboutby the time no, 10 months or so
by the time we're filming andrecording this.
Chasity and I were a part of acohort, a program, and while we
(02:39):
didn't have daily interactions,I would hear the powerful things
she would say.
I was keenly observing her andI can tell people whose hearts
and minds and passions arereally in the right place.
And so, chassidy, welcome tothe Power Transformation Podcast
.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (02:58):
Thank you so much, Alethea.
I am so happy to be here withyou.
Alethea Felton (03:03):
I am glad to have you here y'all.
This is a powerhouse when Itell you.
So this interview, you aregoing to learn so much, just not
about her journey, but aboutwho she really serves and is
passionate about, because Ithink it's needed in our society
today.
But before we jump into thoseheavy hitting kind of pro
(03:26):
questions, let's just start offwith something lighthearted that
I ask all of my guests a randomicebreaker so we can get to
know you even more.
Okay, Chasity, when you weregrowing up, what is something
fun that you really liked doingand why?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (03:50):
I started playing the clarinet in
the fifth grade and it reallybecame an outlet for me.
And so I had some challenges athome with my parents that were
going through some challenges.
And so I don't know if youremember the cartoon the
Simpsons, if you ever watchedthe Simpsons so Lisa would play
(04:12):
her saxophone.
I was Lisa, so if I was sad orjust not having a good day, I
would throw myself into playingmy clarinet and, as a result of
actually enjoy learning how toplay the instrument but also
using it as a coping strategy, Ibecame a very good clarinet
(04:32):
player, wow.
And so I played for severalyears.
By the time I was in eighthgrade I was put in the high
school marching band playing.
So I really enjoyed playing.
I enjoyed competing at contests.
Every year competitions won alot of awards.
It was a great outlet for me.
Alethea Felton (04:52):
Oh, that is amazing.
Now let me ask you this When'sthe last time you played?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (04:57):
It's been many years.
I sold it, but it's on my listto play the saxophone because
it's very similar to theclarinet and I love it, and so I
plan to do that in the comingyears well, actually, now that I
think about it, yes, because interms of the positioning and
(05:19):
the keys, I can see now thatconnection.
Alethea Felton (05:23):
that's really, that's really, really great.
And to be an eighth grader inthe high school, oh that is
something, that is absolutelysomething.
So we know this musical aspectof you, chastity.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (05:35):
But if a person were to just come up
and say who is Chastity WellsArmstrong, what would you say
Well, I think it depends on theperson and it depends on the
person and it depends on thecontext, but I see myself as a
mover, a shaker and a barrierbreaker, and that's who I coach.
I am a person of resilience andI'm a person that loves people
(06:00):
and, in particularly, I loveblack people, and I want to see
people win.
I want to see all people win.
But because people of colorhave been oppressed and
underserved and marginalized forso long, I have a special
passion for making sure that Iam creating space, providing
opportunities, supporting peoplein their own journeys.
Alethea Felton (06:24):
Wow, indeed you do, and you are a history maker
that will get into that evenmore.
And the fact of it all Chastityis that you have beaten so many
odds is that sometimes peoplethink of you know people in
leadership and breaking barriersas these people who have just
(06:47):
always arrived and have had it.
But you actually shared with mein our pre-screening that you
didn't necessarily come fromaffluence nor a political type
of a background, and I bringthat up with the time of this
interview being big electionseason coming up.
But take us back to yourearlier years growing up and
(07:12):
what was a pivotal moment thatsparked your desire to actually
lead and create change despiteobstacles that you faced,
despite obstacles that you faced?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (07:29):
That's a great question, alethea.
I'm the oldest of five kids andso I jokingly say I was born
the leader.
When I ran for public office, Iwould talk to audiences and I
said my parents primed me formanagerial skills, so I was one
of the kids.
That latchkey kid came homefrom school and I had a lot of
(07:53):
responsibility as a child, notonly for myself, but for my four
siblings that were younger thanme, I think a pivotal thing
that happened for me.
There was a member of the family, an extended family member,
that was harming me as a child,and this person told me that if
(08:17):
I spoke and said anything that Iwould be harmed, that my
parents would be killed.
I was, I believe, six years oldwhen this started, so of course
I was very traumatized by thatand scared, and once I saw that
this person was pursuing myyounger siblings, that gave me
the courage to speak out,because I've always been
(08:40):
extremely protective, not onlyof my siblings, but people that
I love, people that arevulnerable.
That's always been a part ofwho I am and who I remain today,
and so what I learned from thatexperience is when I had the
courage to speak out.
I've learned that my voice ispowerful, that my voice had the
(09:01):
power to not only stop what washappening to me, but to prevent
and protect and bring someawareness about what was going
on and protect other people whowere even more vulnerable than I
was, and so that was a pivotalmoment.
Of course, at six you're notprocessing it all in quite that
way, but as I look back on mylife's journey, the work that
(09:24):
I've pursued over my career andthe advocate that I have become,
that certainly would be adefining moment.
Alethea Felton (09:52):
That actually brings up for me something that
the late Maya Angelou said.
Dr Maya Angelou said is thatwhen she too, of course, was a
child, she was harmed and whenshe spoke up, her uncles ended
up doing something to the person, kicked that person to death.
And that's when she realized,oh, my voice is powerful.
But she did the oppositeinitially, where she became mute
and I know that you're aware ofthis, but I'm sharing it for
(10:12):
the audience that might not knowuntil she came across a teacher
who told her you don't lovepoetry, because if you did, you
would say the words out of yourmouth.
And then it clicked to her likehold up, my voice doesn't have
to do harm, it doesn't.
It's powerful where it can dogood and Chasity.
(10:33):
You knew then your voice coulddo good for so many people,
including those in your family.
And so, as you continue to growand shape, there were certain
circumstances in your life whereperhaps people could have
written you off for yourpotential for leadership.
(10:53):
So how did certain experiencesin your childhood shape, and
just not childhood, but evenyoung adulthood?
How did those experiences shapeyour drive to succeed?
And what was, even more, ofyour inner strength source?
(11:14):
Where did that inner strengthcome from, that caused you to
envision a greater life foryourself and others.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (11:24):
I would say it started with my family.
My father was a Vietnam veteran.
My grandmother, my paternalgrandmother, was born with polio
and my father is one of eightand they grew up in poverty and
(11:45):
the thing that I looked up to mydad, I mean tremendously.
I was a daddy's girl, for sure,and I adored him and so you
know I was his little sidekickas the oldest and you know I
spent a lot of time with him.
I learned how to play chess atseven.
You know he's an avid reader.
(12:05):
Everyone in my family, all ofus kids, are avid readers.
You know he would play outsidewith us, but he always taught me
that I had to work twice ashard being black.
So that was just instilled inme.
It was just instilled in me andI just happened to be wired in
(12:25):
such a way that I am an achiever.
I recently took myStrengthsFinders test.
If any people listening arefamiliar with that, my number
one strength is achiever.
That is my number one strength,and my second is learner, and
so I've always been an avid.
My mother is an avid learner.
She always had books as well,always was in school,
(12:46):
practically my whole life goingto school for something.
So I was just really primed andconditioned in that type of an
environment to learn, to beeducated, to work hard, working
hard.
That was instilled in me.
I made, you know, a lot ofmistakes as a as a young person,
like we all do in our journey,particularly when we start
(13:08):
dating and fall in love and loseour minds but I was always a
good student.
I was a good student throughschool.
School was really an escape forme from some of the the the
challenging things that washappening at home and I was
adored and you adored by myteachers because I was a good
student.
I love to learn.
(13:28):
I was the kid raising my handgoing ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
I know the answer.
I was that kid and despite that, I made some bad decisions as a
teenager when I started dating,got into a very dysfunctional
relationship with a young man inhigh school and I stopped going
to school my senior year.
(13:48):
I was in classes.
Finally, the principal calledmy dad and said she cannot come
back.
She can't come back to school,and I was devastated.
They wanted me to go to op ed.
They called it alternativeschool at the time.
Okay, at night for like threehours, I was embarrassed, I was
(14:11):
mortified.
I had always been an honor rollstudent.
I was known even to this day.
If you talk to people in myclass about me, they describe me
as the girl that always had thebooks.
They make fun of me because Iwas always carrying a stack of
books or in my clarinet.
But I was in this reallydysfunctional relationship and
so when I found out I had to goto alternative school, that was
(14:33):
like the wake up call.
It's like are you going to be ahigh school dropout?
The positive thing out of all ofthis is that, because I was
such an avid learner, I hadtaken so many credits that by
the time I got to my senior year, I only needed three credits to
graduate.
Oh, I see, even though I hadmissed first semester, I only
(14:59):
needed three credits and I wasstill able to graduate with my
class.
Wow, and so you know, if youlook at moments like that,
people there there are peoplethat would have said this is not
a kid that's going to go tocollege.
This is not a kid, that's goingto amount to anything.
I did manage to get in collegewithout ACT prep, didn't do well
on the ACT, didn't have prep oranything.
My parents didn't know anythingabout that kind of stuff and we
(15:21):
certainly didn't have theresources.
And so a community memberhelped me to get into his alma
mater, and we certainly didn'thave the resources, and so a
community member helped me toget into his alma mater and I
got pregnant my freshman year incollege.
Wow.
And so if you just look back onsome of the decisions, some of
the things you know, choices Imade, most people probably
(15:44):
wouldn't say that I would haveachieved what I ended up
achieving to become a historymaker.
Alethea Felton (15:49):
Oh, my goodness, Gosh, Chasity, all of this.
Look, I know that you have todo things in your own time, but
just know I will be one of thefirst people to buy your memoir
whenever you are ready to writethat, because this right here so
far is so inspirational.
(16:09):
Let's talk about that, aboutbecoming a mother While you were
always driven.
(16:30):
How did your pregnancy andsubsequent birth of your son,
how did that catapult you evenmore to saying, look, I am going
to make something of my lifeand be who I am created to be.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (16:34):
Yeah, he was definitely my motivation.
I started running away in highschool at 15.
My grandmother, my paternalgrandmother I always adored her
because she had nothing.
This is a person that lived on$768 a month from Social
Security.
Oh my gosh.
She worked as a cook at arestaurant.
(16:57):
Like I said, she had polio.
One of her legs was shorter, soshe walked with a limp.
You could visibly see that shehad a disability.
She was legally blind in oneeye and she walked everywhere.
She walked from one side of myhometown to the other.
She never felt sorry for herself.
She never made excuses.
Oftentimes she wouldn't eventake a ride because she wanted
(17:20):
to exercise and to walk, and soshe just always.
She wanted to exercise and towalk, and so she just always.
She just always was somebodythat I look to that has so much
strength and resilience.
And you know, even though I wasbeing a knucklehead in high
school, running away and, justyou know, not getting along with
my parents when I had my son,it was the wake up.
(17:42):
It's like you have got to getyour stuff together because now
you had this baby and I love mybaby and I was terrified because
I had a black boy and at thetime in my community that's when
gangs had really started tobecome prevalent there was a lot
of gun violence industry.
It was leaving our hometown,there was white flight in the
(18:11):
community and I knew he was astatistic.
I knew that he could end upbeing somebody that was shot
from gun violence, and so itjust really motivated me to do
better.
You have to do better, you haveto get serious, you have
responsibility.
Alethea Felton (18:21):
And Chassidy, I forgot to ask you this where is
your hometown?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (18:27):
my hometown is kankakee, illinois
it's about an hour south ofchicago, and that's exactly and
that's where I grew up.
I don't live there now.
Alethea Felton (18:36):
I've moved about three years ago but, that's
where I grew up okay, and thankyou for that clarity, because
there's something else thathappens in that city that we're
going to talk about, but Iwasn't sure if that was your
hometown or not.
But that is powerful to knowthat it is, and we'll talk more
about that later, but I wasn'tgoing to ask this, but I think
(19:01):
it's something that you said isso important.
You said clearly that it cameto like you're raising a Black
boy.
I don't think sometimes peopleunderstand, because with this
podcast I have a diverselistenership.
Could you elaborate more on whythat is so important,
(19:24):
specifically as a Black Americanboy?
You're raising a Black Americanboy.
What is the significance ofthat chastity?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (19:35):
Well, if you look at any of the data,
the statistics on Black men,they oftentimes don't fare well
in the United States.
They are targeted and feared,particularly if they are darker
skin or larger stature.
Oftentimes their behavior iscriminalized.
(20:00):
So in schools, for example, theNAACP has done studies showing
how there's disproportionateamounts of discipline that's
administered to Black boysversus their white counterparts.
Right, not only are theypunished more frequently,
they're punished more severely,they are expelled more
(20:22):
frequently from school, and whena kid is out of school, they're
more likely to becomedelinquent.
Most of us have heard the termdriving while Black.
They're pulled over.
We've seen instances where thepolice are able to deescalate
issues with others that belongto other groups and demographics
(20:46):
, but when it's a Black man,they're shot, they're killed.
So you know, in terms of whenyou look at the negative
outcomes and challenges thatpeople overall have in our
country, black men often don'tfare well.
That's true Unemployment rates.
When you look at healthoutcomes, mental health, and so
(21:11):
I knew I did not want him to bea target, I didn't want him to
be subjected to those things.
Alethea Felton (21:20):
Thank you for really expressing that, because
that is so important and it'srelevant in today's society and
while you are passionate aboutwomen in leadership,
specifically having Black womenleaders, it is so key to
(21:40):
understand the importance of usas a people in this nation, but
also to really describe how youknow, with our Black men, they
are going through their own typeof a transformation on how to
evolve, adjust, how to not belabeled stereotype, and it's
(22:01):
something that can be burdensomeand very, very weary.
So I really applaud you forreally mentioning that, because
I think it's important.
And being a mother and goingthrough all that, that is a
leadership role, and soleadership can feel isolating at
(22:22):
times, especially when you're atrailblazer.
Now I want to take this shiftChastity, because who you are
now was also formed into a verycourageous move that you made in
politics.
That you made in politics.
(22:46):
So talk to us about thatremarkable journey of something
that you did right in your ownhometown, where you made history
, and share with us what was oneof the greatest challenges you
faced during your rise ofleadership in that role and what
was also one of your greatestvictories.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (23:04):
Well, as I got older, I was very
engaged with my son's academicjourney.
I put him in private school.
I was a room mother.
I was the mom at the game,screaming and yelling like a
lunatic at basketball games andembarrassing him.
I love it because I just wantedhim to have support.
(23:27):
I wanted him to haveopportunities to explore
different things and find outwhat he was good at and build
his confidence and feel goodabout himself and self-esteem.
Eventually I was anontraditional student.
Obviously, I didn't go straightto college, like many people
(23:47):
had the opportunity to do,because I had already started a
family.
So I was in school, verysimilar to my mother, my kids.
For a lot of their lives theysaw me going to school, to
college, and sometimes it wasone class a semester.
It took me a long time to getthrough school because of that,
because I had to work as welland take care of my family.
I did meet my husband when myson was 18 months and we got
married.
So we've been married 33 years.
Alethea Felton (24:07):
Oh, that's beautiful.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (24:08):
Yes, thank you.
And so, as they started gettingolder, I started becoming more
involved in the community, andonce I got into my undergrad
social work program, I met awonderful professor, dr Adele
Sanders, who is now deceased.
May she rest in peace.
She was a Native American womanand she influenced me so much
(24:31):
in terms of policy.
A lot of social workers areinterested in more of clinical
work counseling, case managementand I'm kind of the nerd social
worker that wanted to pursuepublic policy, and it's because
of her um I ended up starting toum join um boards, my national
(24:51):
association of social workers.
Um harbor houses our domesticviolence shelter in the in town
that took care of our, and I goton the school board at my son's
school.
It was just a private Catholichigh school.
Then I went to work for twomembers of Congress.
I started volunteering for ourstate senator, who was the first
(25:15):
woman in our state to be themajority leader.
Wow, she happened to representmy district.
I was her constituent, and so Icontacted her office and asked
if I can volunteer just to learnmore about public policy, and
so I would go there a couple ofdays a week for a couple of
hours, and then I was recruitedto apply for a fellowship in
(25:37):
Washington DC, and so thisfellowship was provided for one
social work student an undergradsocial work student in the
nation.
I applied in 2006.
I was not selected because Ihadn't done my field placement
yet and I was shouting you know,having a tantrum because I
didn't get picked and I don'tlike to lose.
(25:58):
And the next year my professorsame professor, dr Sanders said
you are applying for thisfellowship again, and so I
applied and they selected me in2007.
One person in the nation.
Alethea Felton (26:12):
Right Undergrad social work student.
That's amazing, oh my gosh.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (26:17):
OK, wow .
So I had an opportunity to cometo Washington DC for nine weeks
.
I come from a small town and itwas like a complete cultural
shock for me.
I remember reporting to my worksite and asked, and my
supervisor said we have thesemeetings lined up for you today.
And I'm like, ok, how am Igoing to get there?
(26:37):
Am I taking a cab?
And they were like no, you'regetting on the metro.
And I was like what is themetro Like?
We didn't have publictransportation in my town when I
was a kid, so this was like acomplete culture shock.
But the thing that she did thatwas amazing and I actually just
had dinner with her last night.
I asked her if I couldinterview social workers that
(26:58):
worked in different fields.
That would allow me to expandthe idea of what a social worker
can be and what they can do.
And she did, and I met one thatworked for a member of Congress,
and so I ended up working forCongress.
I went to work for two membersof Congress in the US House of
Representatives and then Idecided to run for city council
(27:22):
in my hometown and I got electedin 2015 as a city council
member, being the first Blackwoman to serve in my ward
there's seven wards in thecommunity and that was a
four-year term.
At the time when I was elected,our first woman had been
elected as mayor, and I went totalk to her because I was
(27:44):
concerned about the state of ourcity.
It was really a tale of twocities on the side of the
community that wasn't faring sowell.
They had been neglected foryears, they had seen decades of
disinvestment and she reallywasn't interested, and so at
that point I I believe that allof us, if they gave out PhDs for
(28:08):
complaining, could have a PhD.
Alethea Felton (28:12):
Yeah.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (28:13):
So good , but.
But we needed solutions, and soI believe in being a problem
solver, and so I started talkingto some of the gatekeepers in
the community, some of the blackmen who were considered the
leaders, and just expressing myconcerns and asking if anyone
thought about running againsther in the next election.
And they said they weren'tgoing to do it.
(28:34):
And so I decided to run formayor, and so I was elected the
first black mayor to representthe city of Kankakee, illinois
my God, it's history.
And the second woman.
And in terms of the biggestthing to overcome, I believe it
was helping black people to seewhat is possible.
(28:59):
So many of them were doubtfulthat you know, people you know
question my qualification thesame thing that we see happening
to the vice president, right,no one at the time.
We have 14 members on citycouncil.
There was no one in thatchamber that had the
congressional, the government,across the political except you,
(29:19):
across the political spectrumthat had worked local, state,
federal, um.
I had a master's degree, um,but the first thing that comes
up is I'm not qualified, andthere were even black people you
know, are you qualified?
Oh my gosh, no one is born outof their mother's womb being a
mayor nobody, that's right,that's, that's right Chasity?
(29:44):
Nobody is.
You have to learn skill setsand, as a social worker, a lot
of my skill sets aretransferable and the fact of who
I am being an avid learner, youknow, being somebody that seeks
knowledge and I learn that'swhat I do.
So I think helping black peoplereally see that it was possible
(30:05):
because it had never been doneand there had been another man
in the community who's prettyprominent they have ran before
and he was unsuccessful.
The other thing is that youknow, I ran as a Democrat.
I'm a Democrat.
There were four of us in theprimary race and we were all
black and so I had.
Another person was like there'sno way you can win, it's too
(30:26):
many of you.
I was the only woman.
My mantra was that nobody willoutwork me and they did because
I walked the entire community.
None of them did that, Even theincumbent woman that I was
running against.
She was not walking the wholecity.
She had been the incumbenttwice.
She was running against.
She was not walking the wholecity.
You know, she had been theincumbent twice.
She was running for her thirdterm, um, but I said nobody's
(30:49):
gonna outwork me you know whatthat's?
Alethea Felton (30:52):
a powerful tactic, that that you use first
of all, confidence and justwalking into that space of who
you knew you were created to be,without having the actual role
yet you were already doing thatbut then also walking throughout
the entire city is key.
(31:13):
I will never forget.
It was former DC Mayor AdrianFenty, and he had some
controversy during his time, butthe one thing I can say about
him is when he was running, heliterally knocked on people's
(31:33):
doors, because I remember theday when he knocked on my house
door, introduced himself.
I was floored by the fact, andthen I started talking to other
people that I knew, who were indifferent wards in Washington DC
, who said the same thing abouthim that he actually knocked on
their door and, yes, indeed, andhe won.
(31:57):
I voted for him, but he won.
But that made a difference isbecause he sincerely took the
time and just didn't knock.
He actually had a conversation.
Chasity Wells-Armstr (32:09):
Absolutely , and that's amazing for me.
You know it's my hometown.
You know I knew a lot of peoplethere.
My hometown has transitioned alot.
There's a lot of people therethat aren't originally from my
hometown.
My thing is, I don't takeanything for granted.
I asked people for their vote.
I didn't assume the blackpeople were voting for me or
that white people were voting oranybody was voting for me.
(32:31):
I knocked, I introduced myselfand I asked for their support
and for me it was that works.
I've never been high before,but for me it was kind of like a
high because municipalelections you are running in the
dead of winter.
Now, keep in mind I live inIllinois.
I'm about an hour south ofChicago.
It is cold, freezing.
(32:53):
I have a picture I think Iposted it on LinkedIn when I was
in a blizzard out knockingdoors.
The snow was literally 10inches deep and I just get a
rush from that because I'm likenobody is going to outwork me,
no way.
When you knock on somebody'sdoor and it's cold like that and
they see you and your glassesare fogged up and walls might be
(33:15):
running a little bit, they like, okay, she's serious, she is
serious, this girl is serious,and if she's going to get out
here and do this, then I can atleast give her a chance.
Alethea Felton (33:24):
Oh, my goodness, chastity, that is oh wow.
That is so inspiring andencouraging.
And so you go through this timeas mayor and I know that could
be a whole podcast episode inand of itself.
But let's shift now because wedon't have a lot of time left.
(33:47):
But I want to shift into thefact you had that you were
successful in getting to bemayor.
You made history, trailblazingand everything.
And so now in this space, postyour political career as mayor,
you are in this space now whereyou have actually become a
(34:11):
professional coach.
You are always coaching peoplein some aspects, but it's more
than just coaching that you do.
You are big on mental healthempowerment.
You are big on mental healthempowerment.
You are huge on, you know,helping people to shift in their
mindsets.
You encourage women that youdon't have to be of a certain
(34:31):
pedigree to be in leadership,okay.
And so you know you have had somany different experiences in
dealing with all types ofcommunities, especially those in
marginalized communities,thinking about women in general
(34:52):
and even if you want to drilldown to Black women.
We carry a lot, we have a loton our plates.
We are seen as these strongpeople, but again, our mindset
means a lot to it, but what aresome of the key barriers that
women face in stepping intoleadership roles, and how can
(35:17):
they begin to break thosebarriers, even if at times, they
feel powerless?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (35:24):
Yeah.
So we are conditioned in thiscountry to not be ambitious.
We are conditioned to serve,and there's absolutely nothing
wrong with serving.
And so, you know, one way thatI've been framing mindset with
people that I, you know, workwith and encounter is that
business is about service, right.
(35:45):
Business is about seeing thatthere's some type of problem in
the market, in the environment,and you have the solution to
that problem.
And men have been making moneyon business, businesses,
business scene and solvingproblems and providing solutions
for a long time, and there'snothing wrong with women doing
the same.
But we are conditioned to behelpful.
(36:08):
Even as a social worker, goingthrough my training, you know, I
remember one of my instructorstelling us it's almost like a
badge of honor to be, to live inpoverty and to be, you know, to
be struggling.
You know, you doing the work,you know.
But it's like you can do morework and you can be more
powerful and more impactful ifyou are putting on your mask
(36:29):
first, so to speak, andpositioning yourself in a way to
be economically successful.
And one of the people that Ifollow and who I love is Rachel
Rogers.
She's a business coach.
I follow her too, so aligned toher because she's right.
And women, we take care ofpeople, that's what we do, right
.
We take care of our families,we take care of community.
(36:51):
So, if we have wealth, if wecan shift that mindset, you know
we, our world is going to bebetter because that's what we do
.
We, we are the nurturers.
We do take care of people, Um,but we need to be taken care of
too.
We need to put on our masksfirst, um.
But yeah, you know, in terms ofbarriers, we're taught to be
(37:12):
nice, we're not taught to beambitious.
You know, when I remember beingmayor and the gentleman was
telling me, you know, like well,when I first saw you, you know
you weren't smiling, you knowyou weren't.
I didn't know, you know, Ididn't know if you were, you
know, approachable.
And I said, first of all, wouldyou be saying this if I was a
(37:33):
man?
Nobody is measuring the, theeffectiveness, the worth of a
man based on if, how frequentlyhe smiles.
There's a woman named BarbaraLee.
There's a black congresswomanin Oakland named Barbara Lee,
but I'm referring to a whitewoman named Barbara Lee, oh,
okay, barbara Lee Foundation,and she has done research for
(37:54):
years on this.
You know what makes womenelectable.
Women have to be likable to beelected.
I mean, we see this right now.
In this day and age, the namethat must not be mentioned is
running for president Doeshorrific things, says horrific
things.
Nasty mean evil things.
If a woman candidate was doingthat, there's no way she would
(38:17):
be elected.
She would be canceled quickly.
There's a gender dynamic at playhere, you know, in terms of
women and the expectations ofwomen, and so you know we get to
design the life we want.
We have permission now, and Ithink, because women make money,
(38:37):
we're not in the 1940s whereyou're depending on your husband
to go to work and your homebeing because you have the
ability to make money.
Women now can make differentdecisions.
They don't have to stay inrelationships where they're
disrespected and harmed, theydon't have to put up with
certain things because they'reand black women are the most
(38:59):
educated and are the fastestgrowing group of entrepreneurs,
entrepreneurs, yes, ma'am.
And so you know we get todefine what quality of life and
what life looks like for us, andI encourage, you know, women to
do their work, to make theinvestment in themselves, to do
that work, to recognize theirown value, to honor themselves
(39:24):
and to share the gifts that theyhave and leverage those gifts.
Alethea Felton (39:29):
And I think even with your actual company's name
, and I want you to kind of talkabout that in terms of what was
that vision for it?
But you are the CEO of CatalystCoaching and Transformation.
Talk a little bit about that interms of what really inspired
(39:50):
you to say, okay, this is what Iwant to do, and then explain
what you do in that company andhow you help serve women to be
their very best in terms ofreally shaking their lives up
and being movers and shakers.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (40:07):
Yeah.
So catalysts, you know, youthink about a catalyst.
A catalyst is a spark, right, itignites, it sparks, it creates
a reaction, and so that issomething that I've been doing
in my journey, um, with women,and you know, when I was mayor,
one of the things I was mostproud of is that I put women in
(40:28):
positions that had they hadnever been in before, you know.
And so a lot of times, as youknow, as a coach, a lot of times
we are casting a vision forpeople and seeing a vision for
them that they don't even see,or they may see it, but they
don't believe that they canachieve it.
And so, for me, that term, thatword I'm big on words that word
(40:51):
really resonated with me interms of the work that I want to
do to help women transformtheir lives, you know, in a way
where they have more impact inthe world, but they're doing
that in a way where they'rehealthy, um, and and they're
taking care of themselvesholistically, you know, and
(41:11):
they're experiencing joy,because, you know, life
shouldn't just be about workingourselves to death either.
Alethea Felton (41:16):
That's right, you know that's true, because
sometimes people work and workand work, and then you look back
up and life has passed them byand that's the last thing that I
think people need.
And so you are unapologeticallypassionate about empowering
(41:37):
women and we hear that wordunapologetic so often but what
exactly does that mean to you,and how are you helping women to
adopt that same type of mindsetin a world that does often tell
them to shrink or conform?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (41:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
I was unapologetic in myleadership as a mayor.
I have values and ethics andintegrity and that was
demonstrated time again in mycommunity.
I actually brought a consultantwho was highly revered in our
community to justice because hehad been stealing money from our
(42:16):
community.
He had stolen $2 billion and ittook a lot of courage to go up
against him because everybody inthe community really valued and
respected this man.
He was an engineer, brilliantmind, but he was stealing from
us and when I ran I told them Irepresent the people.
(42:39):
I am here for the people, theaffluent people, the poor people
, the people who've beenincarcerated, the children.
I'm here for everybody and I'munapologetic about that.
Just helping women, helpingpeople to tap into what it is
(43:01):
they value and allowing that toplay out in how they live their
lives is what being unapologeticmeans for me.
Alethea Felton (43:19):
Wow, and that is leading just your frame of mind
on being unapologetic.
That's what makes the changehappen and the work gets done.
Then, when you're confident inwho you are and you know what
you're all about, it shows tothe rest of the world and it's
almost, in a way, contagious,where people are going to want
to learn more of your.
(43:39):
You know the secret sauce as tookay, if chastities like this,
without say people didn't evenknow anything about your
background, you wouldn't thinksomebody who's gone through so
many challenges and changes andtransitions like you would even
be in a place where you are now.
And that leads me to wonder.
(44:01):
You've had well over 25 yearsplus of leadership experiences.
Even more, I'll shoot.
I'll say 30 something years,because even with your oldest
son, that's a leadership role,even as a mom.
But anyway, my whole point iswith your years of leadership,
(44:21):
what chastity do you think isthe most significant change that
you have actually witnessed inwomen stepping into leadership
roles?
But what still needs to be doneto ensure that more women
thrive in those roles?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (44:39):
One is that we need to support one
another roles.
One is that we need to supportone another, and I just I have a
newsletter called theLeadership Catalyst that people
can subscribe to through mywebsite or on LinkedIn, and my
article last week talked aboutthat.
Oftentimes, other women twothings.
Oftentimes women will say well,I went through that, I had it
(45:01):
hard, you know, I had to gothrough this, and they think
that that's kind of a rite ofpassage when they see a younger
woman coming behind them.
Right, I am not of that mindset.
I don't think that life shouldbe hard and I definitely don't
think that we should be makingit hard for one another.
I can pave the way and make iteasier for another woman to come
behind me.
I want to do that, you know.
(45:22):
But sometimes we see, you knowwomen that are like, well, it
wasn't easy for me, it shouldn'tbe easy for you, or they're
jealous, or we have situationswhere we think that there's only
room for one woman.
You know, we get told that.
You know.
You know you see elections andthey'll say you know, it's too
many Black people.
You know somebody needs to stepout.
(45:44):
That's why the work that'sbeing done with organizations
like Represent Women, wherethey're pushing for ranked
choice voting is so valuable.
So that's one aspect.
Like we need to support oneanother.
We need to.
We're not going to agree oneverything.
There's no relationship youhave in your life, whether it's
(46:07):
your parent, your child, yourpartner, that you agree
everything on.
But when we have a woman that'sleading, we need to support it.
She's already got so manybarriers, particularly if she's
a woman of color.
The second thing is for thesewhite men, cisgender men, who
the American, you know, the USsystems, institutions were
designed for, if they reallywant to see change, if they
really want to be allies and,you know, see the United States
(46:32):
function in a way that serveseverybody and supports everybody
, where everybody can thrive,then they are called to use
their privilege and theirposition of power.
They have power and privilegeand position, just on being a
white man.
That's right, and so they haveto take action, they have to
(46:52):
speak up, they have to do theirpart to change systems where
they can make decisions, to makethings more equitable and fair.
They have to do that if this isreally going to change.
So those two things, the powerplayers, and then you have the
women.
You know, and women have beenset up to you know pit each
(47:13):
other.
We've been set up to.
You know the term cat fightingand pitting against one another
and there's only room for one.
You know all of that, you know.
We have to, we have to, we haveto reject that Not only
verbally, but with action.
Alethea Felton (47:32):
That's right, with action and with that,
that's a good segue.
Everything that you said hasbeen loaded and I think it's
something for people to digest.
And as I always ask listenersis you know, there are so many
people that can resonate withthis interview and to share it.
(47:53):
And so say, if someonelistening or hears it, even down
the road, how can a personconnect with you?
Say, if it's a woman who mightfeel stuck or invisible in their
current role or want morestrategies on how to show up in
their authority and leading, howcan someone connect with you to
(48:16):
say Chastity?
I think I really need your help.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (48:19):
Yes, so thank you for that, alethea.
I just launched my practicecatalyst coaching and
transformation.
The website is chastity one T,not a belt chastitywellscom.
Chastity C-H-A-S-I-T-Y wellsW-E-L-L-S dot com, and I have
(48:42):
tons of resources.
I am really passionate aboutcreating tools and resources
that can help everybody at everylevel, so I have some free
downloadable resources on thewebsite.
I encourage people to subscribeto the newsletter.
It comes out every week.
Subscribe to the newsletter.
(49:06):
It comes out every week.
I am launching a coachingprogram group coaching program
right now.
That will start actually in acouple of days, but that'll be
relaunching in the spring of2025 as well.
I'm releasing my CatalystCoaching Cafe webinar series
starting October 25th, so peoplecan sign up for that.
That's okay.
(49:26):
So you know, just you know,follow me on LinkedIn.
You can reach out to me on thewebsite.
I do guest podcasting.
I do.
You know, training andfacilitation.
You know I'm here to servetraining and facilitation.
You know I'm here to serve, andexcuse me, you know my, my
(49:47):
ideal client is a woman.
You know, a woman that'stransitioning to public service
or elected office and they'relooking for support in
developing their leadershippresence, and with that comes
you know what are their values,what are their boundaries?
You know.
You know, helping them to buildthe confidence to truly lead
(50:07):
authentically.
I'm also very passionate abouthelping women to build authentic
networks.
You know, networking is notjust you know, hey, let's get a
phone number, like it's really.
It's a skill to buildrelationships and to maintain
them, and that's actually whatmy first webinar is about on
October 25th.
It's about mastering authenticconnections for women leaders.
(50:30):
The other thing that I workclosely with is I'm doing some
research with the University ofWisconsin on the dynamics of
being a woman leader in themayoral office.
So I've been interviewing womenmayors across the country.
There's been increasedharassment, threats to women
mayors and challenges to theirauthority once they assume the
(50:56):
role, and so I'm actively partof a research project on that.
And so the other thing I workwith women on is navigating
leadership, the complexities ofleadership, the complexities of
policymaking, because genderdefinitely plays a role in these
(51:17):
higher level positions.
Alethea Felton (51:19):
Your episode won't be out by October 25th.
Is there going to be a way forpeople to maybe purchase or
catch a replay of the webinar inthe future?
The?
Chasity Wells-Armstron (51:27):
webinars are free.
I will be doing the series.
They're scheduled out toJanuary of 2025, but I'll be
doing them every month.
Alethea Felton (51:36):
Oh, good Okay, Very good Okay.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (51:40):
People can go to the website or check
LinkedIn.
Very active on LinkedIn, sopeople can either check LinkedIn
or go to the website to stay intouch with me in terms of when
the webinars are coming out andwhat the themes of the webinars
will be.
Alethea Felton (51:55):
And I'll have your website, I'll have the
LinkedIn, I'll have everythingin the show notes and, as we
come to a close, chassidy.
I would, of course, like tothank you for being here, but
also, as a closing question, isfrom who you were as a teenager,
(52:18):
or even child, going through somany challenges, to where you
are now and I don't ask everyguest this is that question, but
I'm compelled to ask you thiswhat are you most proud of about
yourself?
Chasity Wells-Armstrong (52:39):
I think I would say that I'm most proud
of my heart that I could havethat.
At times I was very angry as ayoung child, um, and as a
teenager, especially arebellious, angry teenager but I
have never lost my love ofhumanity and I've always wanted
(53:00):
people to be well, and my workhas been around that.
I've been a substance abusecounselor, I'm a social worker.
Even when I was in publicoffice, I told people I'm not a
politician, I am a publicservant, and that is how I
approach the work that I do, nomatter what position I'm in.
That's my lens, and so I'mproud that, despite challenges
(53:23):
that I've had and we all havethem, we all have our stories.
We all have had unfair thingshappen.
We've all have had traumas insome kind of way.
Most of us have.
I would say I could have let myheart become hardened and
bitter, but I haven't, and soI'm really proud that I have
maintained my connection to mywhy and is here to serve and to
(53:46):
impact and to improve the livesof other people, particularly
uplifting women and Black womenin specific.
Alethea Felton (53:55):
And this has been incredible.
And, of course, you're such alayered, multifaceted person
where, even outside of theseprofessional roles, the fact
that you have been able tomanage and show up strongly as a
wife, as a mother, as a sister,as a daughter, as a friend and
(54:18):
so much more all of these otherroles and to know there have
been other experiences that wedidn't even tap on that has
really shaped and formed yourresilience and tested your heart
, because your heart could havegrown cold and hardened
throughout your life at multiplepoints.
And I just thank you, Chastity,for being you.
(54:41):
I'm so glad that our pathscrossed.
I have so much respect for youand I thank you again for just
being you and I hope nothing butcontinued success for you and
we're definitely going to keepin touch.
But you definitely, your voiceis powerful and it has shown up
today and also in my life.
(55:02):
So thank you again for being aguest on the Power
Transformation Podcast.
Thank you, Alicia, Take care.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of the Power
Transformation Podcast.
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to follow or subscribe,
leave a five-star rating andwrite a review.
(55:22):
It helps us inspire even morelisteners and don't keep it to
yourself.
Share it with someone who coulduse a little power in their
transformation.
Until next time, keep bouncingback, keep rising and be good to
yourself and to others.
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