Backstage with BobbyD featuring Chanel Power

Curious about the journey from aspiring neurosurgeon to leading software engineer? Chanel Power shares her fascinating transition, revealing how a background in mathematics and chemistry unexpectedly led her to discover a love for programming. Join us as Chanel discusses the critical roles of self-discovery, resilience, and community support in crafting a fulfilling career in tech. Co-host Bobby D joins this inspiring discussion, highlighting Chanel's initiatives like Mentor Me Collective and Blackbirds, which showcase the power of mentorship and building supportive communities.

Chanel's story doesn't stop there. She speaks about the transformative impact of re-entering the tech industry after a hiatus, thanks to a Google IT Automation with Python course. Her success is a testament to the importance of seizing opportunities and selflessly helping others along the way. Learn how Mentor Me Collective has changed lives by helping over 400 people secure six-figure salaries in tech, emphasizing the profound impact of service, community, and positive societal change.

We also explore the power of support systems like Employee Resource Groups, specifically through Chanel's work with Blackbirds at Twitter. Discover how cultural mentorship and allyship foster both personal and organizational growth. Chanel shares her vision for the future, focusing on accessible tech education and social impact, all while exploring the challenges of balancing career and family life. As we celebrate our community and gear up for our next adventure, we invite you to join us on this engaging journey of empowerment and innovation in the tech industry.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I had a dream that I was working for Apple and I was
shocked because I didn't evenapply for the role.
They actually just sent me anemail saying we would like to
invite you to interview as asoftware engineer.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Look at that.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
A part of finding yourself and especially finding
your flow in tech.
You have to go through a lot ofno's and no's to get to that
one powerful yes, and me beingthe person.
I'm not going to allow one noto deter me.
I was knocking on doors, I wassending emails.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
She was on that hustle Baby, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hashtag the tech hustle.
How much money have you?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
collectively been able to help people get.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yes, so between the reality is I mean the way the AI
is coming.
Baby, if you don't know how tocreate these algorithms, you
ain't going to be here.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
You're going to be left behind.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
What up d hustle?

Speaker 1 (00:54):
guess where we at player the big apple we still
here the ball drop yeah justfound out that the ball drops
right around the corner.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
I know big shout out to we work, we're holding it
down on broadway.
What is it 14, 9 or 1460?
Broadway, we work, location um,and yeah, it has a great view,
great environment and d hustle'schilling.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
He said this might be park weather.
I feel good about the weather Iusually, usually in july is
brutal facts, when I come in thesummer, but this year yeah
beautiful, so we got a specialguest for today's show.
Who we got?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Audience.
I need y'all to tune in becauseshe's killing it in these
streets.
She's supporting her community100%.
Her commitment is phenomenaland we're going to get into all
of those conversations.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Stop that.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
What's her name, let's bring her to the stage.
Chanel Power.
Hey everyone.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
What up, Chanel, what up, hey?
I'm so excited to be here.
This is a wonderful opportunityand a full circle moment
actually.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, for sure, full circle.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you for coming Because webackstage with Bobby D.
Absolutely and you know where Igot that name from, where
Chanel dropped that on me.
She was like yo, when youcreate something, you should
name it backstage with Bobby Dand I was like thanks, chanel.
Absolutely, that's where thejam came from.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
That's where the jam came from.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Not me thinking it's all him.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
It's okay.
No, it was so funny.
We were out to dinner with afriend and we were just talking
about all of Bobby's amazingaccomplishments and also what he
wanted to do with his platform,and I was like, man, bobby, all
the gems and all the wisdomthat you share.
I would love for you to createa brand that leans into that.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
So backstage with Bobby D definitely fits, just to
give you a heads up.
We're not paying Chanel to seethis.
No, they're not.
We're not paying her.
No, it's genuine love.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
You know what's funny ?

Speaker 2 (02:37):
You actually was my first speaking guest for Mentor
Me Collective, that's we'reMentor Me Collective.
So that's what I mean by a fullcircle moment.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
I'm here to support in any way that I can.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Big shout out to Chanel.
We're definitely going to getinto Mentor Me Collective and yo
, chanel, gave the call, youknow me.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
The light is turned on it don't matter where it's at
, I'm standing in it.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
You know what I'm saying.
So I do appreciate all thesupport, love that you've been
this movement, this Bobby D ingeneral, because it's peers like
you that have really just setme forward to succeed in life.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
That is awesome.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
So I appreciate you and thank you for allowing me to
be a part of your journey.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
We love you.
We thank you for all that youhave done in the community how
you've continued to createcommunity which we'll talk more
about that from your journeywith Blackbirds.
I'm super excited to lean intothat too.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Oh yeah, for sure, For sure.
So, Chanel, uh, you're also asoftware engineer into tech and
all that stuff.
But yeah, let's first start offhow you got into tech and how
this journey has begun for you.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Uh yeah, um, so many of you may or may not know.
Um, I actually started mycareer journey with really
leaning into wanting to go intomedicine.
Um, I was very passionate aboutneurosurgery and creating
non-invasive or minimallyinvasive methods to help folks
who were struggling withaddiction.
A lot of folks in my familystruggled, and so it was a

(03:54):
really big passion of mine tokind of find some kind of method
where there can be some kind ofsurgery that can help with that
helping folks on their forwardjourney.
So, long story short, went toschool, studied mathematics and
chemistry by a double majorShout out to that.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
She just mentioned it like it's like mathematics and
chemistry double major.
She's like I just checked thoseboxes out, Light work.
For her it feels like alifetime ago.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
I mean, it was definitely a struggle, but thank
.
God we made it.
But yeah, I did that andthroughout my career journey was
really passionate about I don'tknow, just you know not even
passionate.
I feel like I learned a lotabout myself throughout that
career journey in undergrad andso so, journeying forward, I
found my way to computer science.

(04:38):
In my mathematics degree we hadto take Python and other you
know different languages but Ireally loved programming.
But I was still gung-ho aboutgoing to medical school yeah
yeah, um.
So I was like why should not?
Did you not realize it then?
But anyway, um, long storyshort, I graduated and I was
like you know, I think I want totake some time for myself.
Yeah, um, you know, at thattime school had become so much

(05:00):
of who I thought I was and Ijust wanted to rediscover myself
.
I had also been in school forabout like six and a half years.
I mean failing classes,retaking classes, the whole nine
.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
So if you're going through that journey, baby it's
okay.
Just keep going forward, Keeppushing keep pushing.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yes, so long story short.
Yeah, you know, my mom was asingle mom and she, for her,
like I would have been the firstdoctor in our family and she
was like, hey, you know, like Idon't want you to stop.
Yeah, I was like mom, I justneed a break.
Right Turned into a longerbreak than I thought, but at the
time I asked her for a year andshe was like OK, I can, I can
deal with that.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
During that year I was trying to figure out, like
again, my next step.
So for me I was more sofiguring out how can I do
something that would help me inmy applications moving forward
in medicine.
So I was looking for all kindsof roles, like you know, in the
hospital I had been a medicalscribe, I had worked at the VA
hospital in the pharmacydepartment.
I mean, I did so many differentkinds of research and no doors

(05:52):
were opening and I was like andme being the person like I'm not
going to allow one note to say,you know, to deter me I was
knocking on doors, I was sendingemails.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
She was on that hustle Baby hashtag, the tech
hustle, so I was like you knowwhat's going on.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
So for me, I'm a woman of faith and a woman of
prayer and I was like Lord, ifthis is you know, if your word
is true, and if you really havesomething for me in my life, I
need you to show me, because atthis point I think it had been
like five months past graduation.
You know are piling up and allthat kind of stuff.
Yeah, and I had a dream that Iwas working for Apple.
I had a dream that I wasworking for Apple and I was

(06:28):
shocked Because, first of all, Iwas so focused on medicine yeah
, I had never even thought Abouttechnology at all, not because
I didn't think I could do it,but just because I was like that
has nothing to do with me, likeminding my own business Stay.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
But you got a taste of that Python?
I sure did, because your momknow my mom, because the first
thing they want to do are yougoing to be a doctor or a lawyer
, I'm telling you, I'm tellingyou so for her like it's so
funny, you said that, so threethings for her.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
She was like either medicine, either law, or either
becoming an engineer andobviously being in New York,
civil engineering architectureis super huge.
So I was the kid that sheassigned medicine.
I was like you know growing uplike you.
Just you go with the flow.
Yeah, plus, I was really goodat mathematics and science
anyway, ie my degree, but movingalong strong, um, uh.
So anywho, yeah, um went onlineto, to linkedin, was trying to

(07:14):
figure out who I knew um, at thetime that worked at apple, and
a good friend of mine, who Ijust recently, recently,
graduated, worked at the storeand I was like, hey, you know, I
think I want to like work hereyeah.
I actually started my journey inretail FYI, if you guys didn't
know that and so she was like,hey, I can totally uh refer you.
And literally after shereferred me, I think a week
later, I heard back from arecruiter and, um, five weeks

(07:35):
later, after five rounds ofinterviews, I got the job, and
so even my job in, uh, appleretail uh, the focus was on,
obviously, our technology, buthelping individuals who had
vision impairments, hearingimpairments, motion impairments
and helping them understand howour technologies can help them
live a better, more fulfilledlife.
So it's my job to help educateJohns Hopkins doctors,

(08:01):
physicians, scientists also theUniversity of Maryland, their
doctors and their scientists onour technology.
So that's what I did during theday.
So I guess it was more like amixture of UX, research and all
that kind of stuff, mixed withlearning and development, and it
was amazing, really great.
I will definitely say that mylast internship at school
prepared me for that.
I worked in the accessibility orprototyping and design lab and

(08:23):
we focused on accessibletechnologies.
We partnered with the ToyotaResearch Institute to create at
that time we were trying tocreate a GPS system for folks
who were navigating the mall,who were vision impaired and
hearing impaired, helping tofigure out how they can, you
know, also have an experience.
So, being able to have thatinternship now leaning into, you
know, this opportunity in theapple store um was amazing, and

(08:45):
so I did that for about a yearand a half and it came to a
point where, of course, I wasdoing my you know the job to the
best of my ability.
I was showing up and helpingand obviously other ways that I
could possibly help as well withmy team, um, but I was like man
, I did not go to school andstruggle this long for me not to
use my math degree, so I againwent back to print I.
I was like man.
Lord, I really want to.

(09:06):
Um, I want to do something.
I didn't know it wasengineering.
At the time, um, I was thinkingmaybe, like you know, uh,
product management, or you know,uh, data science, or yeah, I
was just trying to find my wayand again, me being a first
generation technologist, eventhat journey was, you know,
something serious.
But any who long story short umat the time, uh, you know
something serious, but anywho,long story short um at the time.
Uh, you know, during thepandemic is actually when I had

(09:28):
that realization that I want todo something else.
Um, you know, through meapplying, getting to the final
round, not getting accepted.
It was so difficult yeah, andyou know the rejection is always
hard to to get through, but Ithink a part of finding yourself
and especially finding yourflow in tech you have to go
through a lot of notes in orderto get to that one powerful yes
facts it makes it feel even moreum ah man worth it, you know,

(09:52):
yeah, uh, so in long you know,moving along strong um during
the pandemic um.
I actually started mmc duringthat time and I will talk more
about that.
But during my journey there, umin the store, I had gotten an
email in the back end and theywere like hey we're looking for
a data science intern and I waslike oh, okay, I can do that
yeah um, so you know, send myresume, send my uh the email and

(10:14):
went to you know chick-fil-afor lunch, came back.
I actually sent the email tothe entire thread of 50 000
people.
I did not send it to that oneperson but I was so blessed
because the my current directorwas actually the person that
reached back out to me Look atthat.
And he was like, hey, we havesome incredible talent in the
retail space.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
So if it doesn't work out with this person.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
We'd love to talk to you about what you can do with
our team and you know, movingforward, I was able to have more
conversations with him, mycurrent manager now and get this
.
I didn't even apply for therole.
They actually just sent me anemail saying we would like to
invite you to interview as asoftware engineer.
Look at that.
Yeah, fire, and at that time Ihadn't touched code in over two

(10:54):
years, so I actually used this.
Course the Grow with Google,google IT.
Automation with Python.
Course AB it was the jumpstartI needed.
So, yeah, automation withpython, yeah, of course, ab.
It was the.
The jump start.
I needed um.
So yeah, you know, long storyshort went through that um was
able to obviously pass theinterview and here I am now,

(11:14):
almost four years later in therole.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Congratulations that, that's how you get into the
moves that like that, and andblessings to your dreams.
I'm pushing you into thatdirection, um, but also taking
opportunities that you didn'tknow would open up the next door
for you, correct?
You know, I'm saying, and a lotof people, especially when
they're getting that attack,they think, hey, I just want to
start here at the top of themountain, and it's like yo,
there's a journey you got to gothrough.

(11:36):
You're not sure what pathyou're going to take, but guess
what?
We'll be there eventually.
There we go, but you just gotto go and make that first step,
that first drive.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
And I think something that folks may not think is
important but really isimportant is service.
You know, as you're goingthrough your journey and you're
so journey, you're trying tofigure out again life, figure
out your next steps.
It's important to take time toserve.
You know whether that's likeyou know, with the skills that
you do have, maybe volunteeringwithin like a specific
organization or community, maybevolunteering within like a

(12:06):
specific organization orcommunity, um, I really believe
that service, almost like lights, a light within you, like
ignites a fire within you toallow visibility from other
people, like other people willbegin to see you, um.
So you know, I just believe thatas you serve, especially in a
selfless capacity, um, thatpeople around you will
understand and feel thatgenuinity and then, from there,
be open to advocate for you.
Because that's even how mybrand started, even with meant
to be collected you, becausethat's even how my brand started
, even with Mentor Me Collectiveyou know what I mean I wasn't

(12:27):
here to become LinkedIn famous.
Yeah, I wasn't here to grow evena brand.
To be honest, I didn't eventhink it would last this long.
It actually was.
How again?
So let me tell you this part,so I know we're gonna get to
that.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
Just a second but let's do it.
Mentor be collective.
What up?
Mentor be collective community.
She can't hold it back.
She's like yo, I gotta get itout now.
I'm telling you because it allintertwines.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
So again during that time I was like man, I want to
do something more technical.
I'm applying to all these jobs,not get like.
Either not getting it orgetting.
The were getting laid off,furloughed, college students
were coming into the market.
There were no jobs.
I mean, there was so much chaosobviously outside of that, with
even civil unrest which wentforward and so on forth.

(13:10):
The Lord was like Chanel, you'reover here trying to find a new
job.
You are still getting paid.
Why are you not appreciatingwhere you are, but also take
time to help other people?
And so that's when I actuallystarted what was formerly known
um, formerly known as Mentor MeChanel, now Mentor Me Collective
by just a LinkedIn post, and Iwas like, okay, and basically
the Lord said trust me to getyou to where you need to be, and

(13:34):
I need you to focus on helpingother people.
And so that's what I did.
I did not worry about my nextsteps.
I did not worry about, you know, uh, yeah, like what my next
role was going to be.
I was more so like how can Ihelp the people and impact them
in a way that is measurable?
yes because that was alsosomething that I was like
praying about.
Like how can I help ourcommunity in a way that is past
a protest?

Speaker 2 (13:54):
yeah, right, you can go and process.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
You can go and protest, and that's cool.
I'm all here for it becauselord knows I'm a firecracker.
But also, how am I going to beable to measure that next year
or the year after?

Speaker 2 (14:03):
and the year after.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
So the strategy was you can measure success by
helping people get into tech,helping the individuals who
never knew that six figures wasattainable and then, from there,
seeing that it's okay to alsohave work-life balance, yeah,
yeah, and so that's what it wasfor me.
So, yeah, took the time in May2020.
It was like, hey, you know, hey, for those who are interested
in getting into tech, feel freeto, you know, use my LinkedIn or

(14:26):
my calendar link, and I'm happyto, you know, provide you with
free, you know service.
Again, I was like Lord, I'mjust going to use this as a way
to serve the people.
Yeah, and that's how it becamelike what it was?

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, big shout out, big shout out.

Speaker 1 (14:40):
So I'm just again very grateful for where it has
come to be.
I mean thanks to you for thesupport, bobby and the community
.
But from there we were able tohelp about, I'm going to say
like 400 plus people get intotech with making six-figure
salaries plus, I think, totalcompensation is around $27
million to $30 million in totalcompensation.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
Let's take a pause right there.
Can you repeat that numberagain?
How much money have youcollectively been able to help
people get?

Speaker 1 (15:10):
yes, so uh, between 27 and 30 million dollars in
total compensation, so salarysign on bonuses and also stock
options.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
That's what's up.
Beautiful, that's what's up,and and the thing that's so like
, eye-opening for me about thisjourney is number one realizing
the commitment to serve and justgive right and then the way
that you get paid back is byseeing other people achieve
things right in front of youreyes, right it's like when you
have an idea, you plant a seedand then you watch it grow and

(15:39):
then it grows into a blossomingtree flowers and it's like, wow,
that that's the part of givingthat always is enjoyable for me,
because I'm a seed planter.
I plant seeds and I come backaround and see, and then I'm
like, oh my gosh, like I didn'teven expect, like this is a way
that I always tell my mentees isthat people cannot see how

(15:59):
great you are.
You have to see greatness inyourself Wow Right, because you
don't know how great you are.
You have to see greatness inyourself wow right, because you
don't know how great you are.
Nobody knows how great you areother than you right.
So then when you come back andyou look at that plant, you're
like, oh my gosh, I didn't evenknow wow how great you could be
right so that's why you alwaysgot to step and stand on that
and believe in yourself.
And, obviously, having acommunity like mentor me

(16:20):
collective, because we over herewatering it right absolutely we
out here watering it makingsure it got us in the right sun.
Right, yes, and oh my gosh, uh,mentor me collective.
Uh, we'll talk even more aboutit um has been one of the the
first non-profits uh communitydevelopment program that I've
committed to as soon as Istepped away from the keyboard

(16:41):
too, so you didn't even knowthat I did I stepped away from
the keyboard.
It was like, yep, let me jumpover there first yes, for sure,
and the thing that I enjoyedencountering what program you
were developing or the communityyou're creating is number one
the loyalty that you had withyour crew.

Speaker 1 (16:57):
Right, it was like yo mmc yeah, I was like, yo, I was
like word that's, that's howy'all wrote mmc.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
And then I was like, all right, so who's at the helm?
And it was like Chanel and Ipull up your profile.
I'm like, ooh, chanel doing herthing, and I'm scrolling and
scrolling big shout outs to you,big shout outs to the community
, and it just gave meinspiration that I know where
I'm pouring my water and cup andtime into that there's
definitely going to be resultsand I appreciate y'all just

(17:23):
giving me a court-sized seat tobe able to see it, baby prime
stage.
Oh, for sure, for sure so tellus a little bit more about um
mentor me collective in terms oflike what services you offer
where you're at in your journeyright now, and all that
absolutely so.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
Mentor me collective is a non-profit organization.
We are here to empower firstgeneration learners.
Whether you are a high schoolstudent, college student, um,
early career professional or aseasoned industry professional.
We want to make sure that we'reempowering you with skills,
knowledge, confidence that youneed to pursue your passions,
achieve your dreams and make apositive impact on society.

(17:58):
We do that in a multitude ofways through mentorship programs
as well.
We do that through educationinitiatives, where we're
partnered with Google at thismoment, providing access to free
scholarships to obtain variouskinds of certifications.
In the past, we've partneredwith Microsoft, miro and the
Banner Review to help about 100individuals most of them were

(18:20):
black women, black and brownwomen into design and user
research.
So the goal is to become a nonorganization where anyone who is
a first generation individualwhether you are a first
generation immigrant, firstgeneration technologist,
anything with first generationin your identity we want for you
to know that you have a homewith us and that also you can
find any kind of resources thatyou need to succeed, obviously

(18:41):
along with career coaching aswell.
So those are the services thatwe provide.
We do want to make sure thatfolks obviously know and have
visibility to different roles intech.
So you'll notice that ourLinkedIn is popping.
We love that Facts, we share alot of resources and I think
also, you know, in techsometimes you feel like your
application just hits.

(19:01):
You know this endless pool oflike bottomless basically and so
we think it's super importantto reshare opportunities,
especially when they are taggedwith a hiring manager or a
recruiter, so that you know thatthere is a face to this role,
there is someone that you canreach out to, and if you are in
the community, we also offerreferrals.
So if you are interested inopportunities like, for instance

(19:23):
, at Apple, I mean I don't knowI see and come across some
people who just don't evenconsider that they can ever work
at a company like that and I'mlike baby, if I'm here you can
do this.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
For sure.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
So getting opportunities from individuals
Like myself or other folks whoalso see the vision and also
want to ensure that we have.
We're providing support andlike a leg up for the next
individuals behind us.
You can obviously reach out tous and we'll we'll pair you with
someone who can refer you sothat you can be seen and heard
by a recruiter as well.
Case in point, let me give youthis testimony so currently

(19:56):
mentoring this wonderfulindividual who's a data engineer
and she's a black woman, hasbeen in data engineering for the
last five or so years and isalso looking for her next
opportunity.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
Um I was like girl with your skills.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
You need to be at netflix or something okay and
she was like netflix, theywouldn't look at me, you know.
So, again, having conversationslike these, um, I was like, hey
, I'm gonna pair you withanother mentor of mine who
actually works at netflix seniordata engineer, black man,
powerful, you know, and I wantyou to see that there are people
that look like you, that arethere, that are thriving, um,
and that you can, that you arenot even can.

(20:28):
You are quality and you are thechoice representative, like
when it comes to the candidatethey're looking for.
Yeah, ciao, connected with mymentor A week later.
Baby, we'd like to interviewyou for this role.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
So it's so important for us to advocate for each
other.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
It's important for you to be in a community where
people can see your value, canbelieve in you and also bring
you to that next level where youbelieve in yourself too.
So I love that you mentionedthat.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
Oh, my gosh Chanel.
That's a gem right there andthank you for that testimony
because, I think you are right.
A lot of our community justcan't see us sitting at those
tables.
And the thing is is that onceyou sit at the table, like you
and me and other engineers andmentors that you had you'll be
like yo.
I know somebody in myneighborhood that's better than
you like what do you mean?
That you are the best that wegot and then we're talking

(21:13):
twitter, facebook, apple netflixlike all of these top companies
that we just don't know.
We just don't know.
So the services you offer interms of just opening the eyes
of those that have been doingdata engineering for five years,
and I bet you they are betterthan even Baby certified Google
Cloud, certified AWS, maybeAzure, I mean the certifications

(21:35):
go on.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
It's giving Bill of Rights.
I said, honey, you definitelyare what they're looking for.
They need someone like you, andyou can now be a representative
for your community and forfolks who are connected to you.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
So yeah, yeah, and this is another thing and I
thank you for saying that,because this is a thing that I
tell my mentees all the time,especially during this time of
searching is like use yournetwork.
Use my mentees all the time,especially during this time of
searching is like use yournetwork, use it, use it as a
currency, right, and just knowthat you're going to spend it,
spend it, spend it.
Don't be afraid of it, becauseyou guess what you're going to
have to pay it back because whenyou're sitting at the table.
What are you going to do?
You're going to give right backright, so that that and that

(22:11):
and that's something that Idon't.
I seen, and with my own eyes,with the other side of the table
and the other baby, oh my gosh,when we had that conversation
years ago, it opened my eyes.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
I think at that time I was just about two years into
my role, um, and I wasstruggling and I was like,
probably it's hard to find thehelp.
How do I, you know, have thoseconversations to advocate for
myself?
I mean, you were such a amazingand still are I won't say thank
you.

Speaker 2 (22:35):
Thank you so much, just in case it's not being paid
.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
No, I'm not, I promise you.
There were so many gems that heshared with me about again
being a first-generationindividual in the space how to
navigate difficult conversations, how to bring things up to your
manager, how to advocate fordifferent values financially and
also helping other people.
But anyway, long story short, Iwant to say you mentioned how

(23:01):
other individuals support theone.
They sacrifice everything forthe one because they know behind
them is 10.
Facts.
So I just want you to even talkmore about that, because the
people need to know about that.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yeah, and the concept that we're talking about is
more or less just how, whenyou're in an organization, how
much value you provide by beingin an organization and looking
for support.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
The tough thing about us being minorities
underrepresented is that thereain't that many of us right, and
when we look around the room wecan't find what we looking for
right and one of the things thatI've always appreciated,
especially when I find an allythat's willing to support that's
really willing to see me stepup is like hey, when it's time
for me to get promoted, I wantyou to know.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Hey, I want you to mention in a room that I'm not
in that.

Speaker 1 (23:41):
I'm ready.

Speaker 2 (23:42):
And if they're an ally, they're going to side with
you because they understand.
They understand the struggleand challenges you have being in
that conversation and beingable to step up and speak on
your behalf.
Absolutely and as soon as youhave that, you'd be surprised
what type of door is open,because it's not.
You have to speak.
It's somebody speaking on yourname.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yes, yeah, I want you to talk about and I know we're
supposed to be getting therelater but yeah, this really ties
into the story with blackbirdsso I want you to talk to people,
tell people about that yeah,yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
So blackbirds uh, blackbirds is a erg, so it's
employee resource group.
Uh, that was founded at twitter, don, during my era there um we
more or less did a reignitingof twitter in 2015 or so, but
the impact was massive.
So the the idea around employeeresources groups are resource
groups that you have availablewhere you want to feel part of

(24:32):
that community and obviously nothaving that many black
engineers during that time,because I can remember counting
on my hand maybe five of all oftwitter 2013, 2015.
It's like yo that we need tochange.
During that time, I was likeblinders on I'm focused, right,
people were like, yo, how didyou get that job?
All right, let me show you howI got this job and I'm blinders
on focus.
And then I take these blindersoff and I'm like yo, I don't.

(24:54):
My guy d hustle isn't here,chanel isn't here.
Like, where do I go get ahaircut?
Who do I have to talk to aboutwhere I can get some good?
food like it was just startingto compound how lacking it was
in terms of diversity.
So the Blackbirds group itselfduring that reignite really
focused on hey, uh, we see eachother, we all in this together.
If you move, we move intogether, type stuff.

(25:16):
If we making a project, comeand present the project to the
Blackbirds group and we'llsupport you in anything that
we're talking about.
So much so that there was thistime in 2015 where the Black
Fist came out for Black History.
Month that was Blackbirds thatactually made that happen.
Wow, because there was adesigner that came in and he was
like yo, I want us to dosomething really impactful.

(25:37):
Wow was like yo, um, I want usto do something really impactful
.
And because of this, group wasable to sit at the right table
to make that and a productchange, and nobody knows that us
in the background were makingthat happen.
So this erg group not only was ahome for us to you know, fill
um, a right place for us todevelop but it also gave us the
ability to speak at the biggertables, because even blackbird
was able to get us to go tonesby the national society black

(26:00):
engineering conference like,the first time I went to nesby
is because we got in a room withjack.
He was like yo, jack, we needto go here.
You're looking for blackengineers.
Let's go check this spot out,and we want you to pull up too
and he pulled up and he's seenit and that that became a normal
run for us during that season,during those conferences for us
to go to those um um diverseyeah yeah, yo jack, I need you

(26:21):
to pull up to the podcast.
Kid like, stop playing with meyes, but that black first group
itself just more or less reallygave us a home and really
developed, because I rememberthe first black interns that we
had we actually had them on theshow teo and tunday what's up?
what up?
Teo and tunday zoos in sanfrancisco and you know me, I'm
always giving back got to.
I told them to pull up to thespot and they was like yo, they

(26:43):
were ready for it I love it.
Those were the first two blackinterns, that myself and another
colleague of mine.
Uh, chris coco, big shout outsto chris coco and we were like,
hey, uh, we need to increasediversity on the ic side uh,
y'all think y'all can't findthem.
But here goes two that we'regoing to put in the pipeline and
watch them shine.
And, oh my gosh, when I left,they both staff engineers,

(27:05):
that's insane from intern tostaff engineer before I left can
we talk about that?
Yeah, and, and you know me, I'mI'm like a special type of
mentor, because I always tellmyself, tell my mentees, that
I'm a cultural mentor.
I'm not going to be one thatyou're typing and I'm typing on
top of you don't expect thatright I'm going to shine and
you're just going to watch andthat's going to help you

(27:26):
influence right.
So watch these projects I'mworking on watch it.
I'm going to be bobby d watchit and I tell you they they were
on the sideline watching and itjust inspires them right when
they tell their story on thepodcast.
I almost come to tears becauseI didn't know how much it
impacted their lives by me beingmyself and being a part of a
group like Blackbirds andtelling them like, hey, be
yourself, don't worry aboutthese people, because you got it

(27:49):
.
And guess what, if you needanybody, call me into the
meeting, I got you.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
I want to talk about something too, and I want you to
share about this, because, asyou're talking, it's bringing
back other conversations thatwe've had that I feel like will
really benefit the people.
You also talked about how youinfluenced the way that we were
in, like that, twitter even wasinterviewing I really want you
to go into that and even talkingabout the system design
interviews and things like thatwhich is obviously super crucial

(28:14):
for sure, for sure.

Speaker 2 (28:15):
So during that time that I worked at twitter, you
can imagine how many candidatesI interviewed hundreds of
candidates.
And I'm.
I'm interviewing Ivy Leaguestudents from Harvard to MIT, to
Cal and Stanford Stanford'sdown the street, right down the
street, too, so there'sdefinitely an influx of
interview candidates, and onething that I noticed is that the

(28:36):
style of interviewing wasn'tlike reflecting number one the
roles that we were actuallyfilling but also making it
accessible to people like methat think different operate
different.
So I'm like yo, these type ofquestions we ask and this isn't
like real world type stuff andwhen, when people like me come
into interview, we're caught offguard because we're not
learning this in school.
They were teaching before LeeCode came out.

(28:59):
They were teaching those typeof questions at those
universities.
Guess what?
Unfortunately, howarduniversity wasn't teaching that.
Unfortunately, hbcus were notteaching that.
So of course we're not going tobe able to get into the
pipeline.
All right, check this out.
What we need to do is more orless develop a way that we're
evaluating skills evaluatingskills, evaluating personalities
, evaluating the people that Iwant to work with, as you know,

(29:21):
fellow peers, not evaluating ifyou can solve this Rubik's cube
question that this algorithmthat they're never going to
write, they're never going touse ever.
And soon as we start to havethese conversations, um, and
there's a project that came up,uh, called Luna project, and
this project really focused onhey, not only are we going to
change the style of way we'redoing interviewing, but we're
going to have a third party comeinto the interview and listen

(29:43):
to how y'all make a decision.
And what happened was thisthird party that came in there
was starting to call out peoplelike hey, the last interview,
you didn't honor this thing thatyou're saying, that this
candidate has.
This other candidate had thisthing and you didn't do this.
Has this other candidate hadthis thing and you didn't do?
This, and then it start to makeeverybody sharpen their skills
up, changing the way they'reinterviewing not looking at

(30:04):
universities and college no morereally just getting into the
conversation and really justmaking it in a scene where I'm
trying to figure out the playingfield.
Yeah, we totally did, and theresults were hundreds of black
people started to show up and Iwas going to the cafeteria I was
like where all y'all peoplecame from.
Like they didn't send me a memo,like I usually get notified

(30:24):
when one of y'all show up, andnow I'm not getting emails, no
more that's when I knew it waspopping off, because that
changed the way that we lookedand evaluated engineers to the
level that it increaseddiversity it's so important.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
It's so important, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah shout out
to the whole team little teamout there y'all really killed it
.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
Um, and thank y'all for the contributions and
listening to my voice, because Iwas one of the only ones uh,
being black, you know to letthem know what's up, but yes,
and now those, those are likegems.
That uh, why I'm out here onthese streets.
You know talking about, you knowmy journey, your journey, um,
and definitely appreciate youallowing me to bring that stuff
out so that the audience canhear it because, uh, a lot of

(31:02):
these things, uh, people don'treally realize how much
contributions blackbirds myselfand other, you know great
technologists that walk throughthe doors, that change the world
.

Speaker 1 (31:11):
Change the world.
Um, I just want to say thiscase in point.
Two there was a.
It was like this during thetime where they were, you've
seen so much of an influx ofpeople of color, specifically
from the black community, cominginto Twitter.
I remember I think her name wasAsia Taylor oh wow.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
Shout out to Asia.
Asia Taylor already featured onthe podcast.
What are you talking about?
What up Asia?

Speaker 1 (31:32):
I remember connecting with her and she shared how
dynamic of an experience she had, especially with her interviews
, compared to that of othercompanies.
I just want to say evensomething as small as that,
right that is opening up thedoor for now individuals who may
have started there.
I mean it's trickling.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
It's like a ripple effect.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
I wanted to say so I just love what you do.
I just wanted to make sure thatI highlight that as well.
I know we're supposed to betalking about me, but, child I
love Nisa Bobby.
I love her so much and I lovewhat he's done for the community
, and these similar styles havenow been taking place in other
companies as well.
I'll definitely say that folkswithin my company has even

(32:12):
started to think about how wecan standardize to make sure
that we are serving all peopleand all populations, and how we
all have diversity of thinkingand diversity of learning as
well.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
So it's important for us to make sure we're
supporting that 100%, 100%, andthank you so much for shouting
out Asia Taylor.
She ended up interviewing andbeing on my team.
So we even worked together fora few moons and I tell you she's
such a bright star and bigshout-outs.
Check out the podcast becauseshe's on there.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
I can't remember what episode.

Speaker 2 (32:41):
It was probably Backstage with Bobby.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
D Backstage with Bobby D.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Definitely there.
Asia Taylor big shout-outs toher.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
Shout-outs to you Asia.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
Now back to Mentor MeCollective, because you're over
here trying to get me I know, Ifeel like.
I I'm always appreciative ofyou highlighting these things
that we've had conversationsabout and definitely have been
impactful but one thing that Idefinitely want to bring up
especially.
You know big shout outs toBlackbirds, but ERGs and

(33:09):
organizations and the challengeswe're having with diversity and
inclusion in the scene now.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
So tell me what your opinion is and definitely if you
have any feedback for usoverall that's a good question,
I really think, and ERGs serveas a catalyst for any kind of
change that a company wants toinput right, whether that is
through making sure there's morediversity within, like I say,
the black community, making surethere's more diversity within

(33:36):
first generations, or even downto making sure that there's
diversity within folks who aredifferently abled, I really feel
like ERGs drive that change andI really think they are the
backbone, if not the vital pieceof DNA that also helps to carry
the company culture.
Yeah, cause when you have somany people circling in that are
new, you know it's importantfor us to have some kind of
legacy so we can kind of passdown that knowledge as well.

(33:57):
Yeah, I just think, in general,education is super important,
but also when you're coming intoa new company, having a
community where you can plug inand just understand, like the

(34:18):
do's, the don'ts, the babies.
So I honestly I'm not trying toagain sell anything but um,
that was something that youencouraged me to do more of,
because I was so focused on um,just trying to find myself and
find my growth, uh, but youhelped me to realize that being
able to do a lot of that wouldbe coming from the ERGs.
So I definitely want to sayit's super important, super
vital as well.
I think there's been like astruggle in general with people
kind of keeping up with the work, because it is a lot of work

(34:40):
and then, on top of that, havingto balance your own engineering
work as well.
But I feel like in general, youknow, having people who can help
you, support you like if youare on an ERG community or a
board sorry or a committeehaving an individual that you
can obviously lean on andcontinue to develop these
strategies and helping withmaking sure that there is

(35:01):
representation, is superimportant For me.
My journey, I just man.
I just love people comingtogether, especially having
community, again from beinginfluenced by bobby and seeing
that I appreciate you know I'mtelling you the truth.
So, uh, with what I've learnedand also have seen the efficacy
in in my life, um, it'ssomething that I've also

(35:22):
championed in my own umnetworking community within um
apple.
So, uh, specifically, like youknow, the New York City office
is super new.
So about two or three years agowe were like trying to find
ourselves and so we just started.
You know something simple, likeyou talked about like even like
a Slack channel, and we're likeokay, if we see somebody, we're
going to say something aboutthe Slack channel and bring them

(35:43):
in.
And maybe we've been doing that.
So we went from doing, you know, small family gatherings or
having like small little gamenights or afternoon gaming
activities, like with Taboo ormaybe, like you know, black Card
Revotes things like that and sonow having awesome programming
going on with like Apple Musicand it's like different parts of

(36:03):
the business now want to be apart, and also different people
from different parts of thebusiness feel comfortable to ask
those you know the business tobe a part, and also different
people from different parts ofthe business feel comfortable to
ask the business to be a part.
Yeah, yeah, so I think it'ssuper important to encourage
other individuals in that space,so I've been loving it.
I mean we've grown as well.
I have not been as directly intouch because, again, the

(36:25):
projects have been coming.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
But if I see somebody , yeah, I say something, facts
right.
I always, always used to havethis nod.
I would make eye contact, I seeyou and then they, they cannot
deny it because you don't see meagain because I work here.

Speaker 1 (36:42):
I work here I hope you know I love that.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
That's really powerful, though, um, and it can
start off as small as that likea slack or discord channel
where you're just having a safespace where you feel comfortable
you got a meme you just seenthrow it in there you know you
got something going on at work.
You need some advice, throw itin there.
You need.
You know conversation withsomebody in another department,
you don't know that part, throwit in there and before you know
it you have a community and thenyou have culture that goes with

(37:08):
it and man one.
One thing that I've really feltand hear about blackbirds and
these ergs is culture, is whatmade it so great it's so
important because as soon as Ifelt the vibe, oh it's lit, and
then you just want to keepcoming back, like yo when is
game night.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
Yes, it became.
It became you know, havingthose activities after hours.
It became something to lookforward to.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah, right.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
Obviously now you know going back to work from
being super fully remote acouple years ago.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
Yeah, you know, folks are like man I got to go to
office.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
Okay, but I'm going right back home.
Yeah, but if you know this is,you know, a game night.
I'm going to let my husbandknow like, yeah, I'm going to be
there, Maybe be home in like acouple hours later, Thank you,
Because you want to vibe?
And, you know, meet new peopleas well.
So yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
Yeah, 100%.
And that's the thing about theworking from home that I think
was really missed, Like runninginto you in the hallway.
What is it?
The water cooler talk.
The head nod from the newpeople you see, uh, those type
of things really makes me morewant to contribute to the
company and the culture and thepeople that are around me, so
I'm grateful to hear that that'sworking out for you absolutely

(38:15):
that was just a little bit ofthat you know a little bit about
.
Again, it's not a pay program Iknow.

Speaker 1 (38:23):
I mean, you have really influenced a lot of who I
am um and even my developerjourney.
I I mean I've been promoted.
I've been promoted, I've gottenmultiple raises.
Let's get that out there first.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
Yeah, 100% yeah.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
And Bobby helped me to navigate those times.
So I just want to say thank you.

Speaker 2 (38:40):
I'm so grateful and, like I said, there's seeds that
I plant and it's not like I'mover there constantly, but I
plant and it's not like I'm overthere constantly, but I know
that it's going to develop andI'm so grateful to hear the
outcome because I see your value, I understand it, I've been
there and I'm like yo.
Uh, how can I help you level upfaster than I can?
Right, a lot of people willalways be like yo.
So how long have you been?
I've been, you know, at thistable we can talk about that.

(39:09):
We can get it in a year or twoif you just follow along and
listen in and tune in and,before you know it, it's
definitely going to open updoors and opportunities for you.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
I want to share a gem real quick and then I'll let us
get back to scheduleprogramming.
But one gem that you sharedwith me when I was again
navigating my growthopportunities, or just
navigating growth in my role, um, you mentioned to me.
You know, an avenue for me tobe able to take is to look at
the different PRs might havebeen being currently submitted

(39:37):
or that were recently closed,yeah, and see how other folks
are doing different things yeahum.
For me especially navigating,even feeling like I have
permission to do that like it'sthere's's so many different
mental blocks that either we puton ourselves or we feel like
because other people around usdon't want us to be there, we
kind of move in a specific way,almost like walking on eggshells
.
But, maybe when you told me thatI said, oh, it unlocked a

(40:00):
certain level of not only justconfidence, but like I wish I
had the language right now forit.
But I mean, I just became Ifeel like I became a superhuman.
Yeah, I was like, oh, youcannot tell me that I can't do
this.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
This is open for the public.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
And then from there being able to see how different
folks again solve new things ormaybe created new APIs and so on
and so forth, I now felt like Ihad the structure, or even like
the baseline, the foundation,to do that too.
So from there I was able to seeschemas or see how people do
this or like okay, we're callingthis API in this way.
Blah, blah, blah Baby.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
Open it up.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
Okay, that's all I've got to say.
So shout out to you also forthat awesome gem as well.
It really helped.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
And then I'll give a little bit more clarity for
those that are tuned in so.
Chanel's talking about a pullrequest.
Or whenever you're changingcode, you have to get your peers
to review it, and then yourpeers give you like a thumbs up,
Then that means it goes intoproduction.
Or they say, hey, you need toswitch this up or switch that
out.
And one of the cool things thatI've realized working at
Twitter is number one.
Another mentor of mine told melike, hey, the fastest way you

(41:04):
can become an effective engineeris by reading other people's
code like finding out how otherpeople's do it, because then you
can apply that same thing andas soon as I tell students that
they're like what that'scheating, not in our field,
that's how you level up.
So what I used to do in twitteris I used to troll the poll
requests and also jira tickets,right, and I used to be like all
right, so how they saw thatproblem all there, there, there.

(41:26):
And then this is the review.
All right, let me open up thecode.
All right, that's how theychange it.
That's it.
Or shit, I didn't even know Icould do that.
Yeah, right.

Speaker 1 (41:35):
That's how I learned some stuff too.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
Yeah, S&P and looking and working with developers.
Yeah, how you did avenue to notjust level up in your career
growth, but guess what the nexttime?

Speaker 1 (41:51):
your manager says hey , does anybody know how to do
that?
Holla at your boy, I got youabsolutely, and before you know
it, that builds up, builds up,and there you go, you have you
have your skill set that youdevelop.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
So, man, I'm dropping gems and and chanel.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
She was picking them up while I was walking and I was
like I don't know if anybodyheard it, but I know I did.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
Let me write that down big shout outs to you big
shout outs to you because thatthat definitely is, like um, a
great way to develop and it's sofast and you're almost like in
an apprenticeship mode right,because you're like, let me
watch the teacher and oh, nobodyelse is looking, now you're in
your own and I can really learnthis I can go dive.
Uh, I hope y'all caught that umand definitely rewind.

(42:26):
There's a rewind, press thatrewind button and get back to it
and I promise, you, promise you.
So one thing that I definitelywant to talk to you more about
is, like, what goals and thingsthat you're working towards.
I mean, you definitely haveApple in the bag.
You got promotions, you gotyour raises and the bag is
coming.
I ain't trying to see what's inyour bag, but great to hear it.

(42:46):
Bag is coming.
I ain't trying to see what's inyour bag, but great to hear it.

Speaker 1 (42:49):
And then, obviously, mentor Me.
Collective Bag is heavy.
I let you know that right nowwhen she came in.

Speaker 2 (42:51):
she was like yo, can you hold this?
I'm like, no, that's too heavyfor me, I'm going to sell you
from Gregor.

Speaker 1 (42:56):
I'll hold the bag.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
It was heavy for me.

Speaker 1 (43:11):
And then obviously Mentor Me has had and is taking
off.
I mean we see so much potentialand how we can really help and
continue to uplift the community.
For me, I want for everyone,especially within the black
community, to experience thelevel of financial freedom,
stability, work-life balance andpeace that comes from a career

(43:32):
in technology yeah yeah, um.
And so in order to get there, werealize, uh, myself and the
team realize you have to havethe education, you have to have
the technical education that canget you there.
Obviously the projects comefrom that, but, um, that's the
ground level.
So we want to become a premier,if not the most recognized and
looked at or sought afterorganization when it comes to

(43:55):
making sure that you haveeducation, but not only just for
individuals.
We want for the government alsoto come to us and be like hey,
how can we create future readycurriculum for our kids that are
going into the K-12 system toprepare them for corporate
careers in technology?
The reality is, I mean, the waythat AI is coming.
Baby, if you don't know how tocreate these algorithms, you

(44:16):
ain't going to be here.
You're going to be left behind.
You're going to be left behind.
So when we think about thefuture of our children, right,
and there's already so manydifferent things going on in the
education system, buttechnology already was not a
primary focus.

Speaker 2 (44:30):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:31):
We want to be a community, an organization that
focuses on not only preparing,you know, career professionals
and transitioners, but also highschool and college students to
transition smoothly into thisindustry, but also making sure
that it's accessible.
Yeah, yeah, smoothly into thisindustry, but also making sure
that it's accessible.
The reality is also thateducation is not.
Especially when you think aboutcollegiate education, boot

(44:53):
camps for people who are firstgeneration, you know, coming
from single parent households,coming from low income
communities, you know, you don'tthink that this is even
possible obtainable becauseyou're just focusing on
surviving.
So we want to be a space whereyou no longer have to think
about those financial barriers.
We want to provide accesscompletely free or at super low

(45:14):
cost to individuals so that theycan come in, do what they need
to do, have the support of thecommunity and the mentorship
mentors like Bobby to help youget there and turn into those
staff engineers of the future.
So that's our desire.
Yeah, so that's on the MentorMe, Collective side.
My desire personally is to alsobecome a voice in the education

(45:36):
field, hopefully in the futureNow, hopefully.

Speaker 2 (45:38):
let me just put it out there, manifest it, let's
get it.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
I want to be on the C-suite for Apple and I want to
be the person who's over socialimpact and education initiatives
.
I know that we have someonecurrently doing that and other
things, but I want to be able tobe the person where we are
sitting in rooms, like in thegovernment rooms at the White
House, you know, sitting onthese different boards and, with

(46:03):
Apple being so influential,there's no reason why you know
it's not public.
Maybe there is somebody there.
We don't know, because I know,at the end of the day, there's
so many different channels andgroups and people and teams.
But I want to be that voice.
Yeah, not only just again, likeI said, for people of color,
which I definitely wanted tosupport and make sure we get
there, but for folksspecifically who are coming from

(46:23):
challenged places, and I wantthem to know that it's upset,
it's attainable, it's acceptableand you have a community, like
I said, or a company that ishere to support you to get there
.
So those are my goals.
Obviously, I want to continueto develop as an engineer too,
especially with machine learningand AI as well.
That's what my team focuses onfor payments.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Oh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:45):
So super cool and excited about that.
But as I continue to sojournthis journey, when it comes to
just developing as an awesomeengineer, dynamic engineer,
being able to attribute to theteams various projects that come
down the pipeline, I want to beable to be sustainable in that.
But yeah, those are my goals.
I'm excited to connect withother individuals, like you said
, like yourself, and othercommunities like that to help us

(47:06):
get there on the MMC side andon my personal engineering
journey.
Let me drop a jam real quick,you're already there, they just
don't know where.
You know I love that.
All right, let's get it, I lovethat already there.

Speaker 2 (47:18):
She's already there, well, chanel.
Uh, this is the part of ourpodcast where you get to ask any
questions.
I know you've already droppedsome questions and definitely
really appreciate you uh give mea chance, not a pay program.
Let me tell you why you bringthis up right let me, at least
you a sidebar real quick.
So while he was in SanFrancisco, everybody had great
things to say.
And he's trying to pay them offTo see if they can really let

(47:40):
him know.
Now that you say that $100, youdon't even know the truth.
D-hussell is trying to discover.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
I'm crazy.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
Cash app, whatever you need.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
He's trying to see.
He said he's been hearing allthis thing about Bobby D I need.

Speaker 2 (47:54):
You can Zelle Cash App, whatever you need.
He's trying to see V-Mail, allthe things he said he's been
hearing.
All this thing about Bobby D.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
I need to know, because where am I getting
myself in?
It's the truth.
When you find really goodpeople, they're few and far in
between, especially folks whoare genuine.
So I just want to say,definitely want to shout out
this podcast, highlight it.
I'm definitely going to shoutout this podcast, highlight it,
I'm definitely going to besharing more after as well,
because folks should totallylean in, and also with all the

(48:17):
people that you have on here,man, hello, if you don't have a
network, baby, this is how youcan find one Facts.
Okay, I'm sorry, bob, back tothe schedule program.
No, back to the scheduleprogram.
You see, she's perfect for thatposition, right?
She got it right on point,right?
No?
Doubt, no doubt um, but we'restill staying.
I love it, but if you do haveany questions, we definitely

(48:37):
want to give you an opportunity,even though we've already
chatted up some questions thatyou threw out there, but this is
the part of the segment for youto drop something yeah, you
know what I really want to hearabout, how your uh journey has
been like post uh twitter andnow leaning in more so into this
, like what have you learnedabout yourself and also about
the community itself?
Anyway, go ahead.

Speaker 2 (48:57):
For sure, for sure.
Thank you so much.
It's like a double, double,double question but it's all
right, I got you.
So after leaving Twitter, Itell you, actually the other day
we were actually recording,yesterday, wasn't it?
And I kept unfortunatelymentioning Twitter for Google,
yeah yeah.
I'm cracking up and you know,and it's because actually I
boycotted Twitter for a wholeyear so yesterday yesterday was

(49:20):
the first time I went back onthe platform, the first time
ever no way and uh, and I postedsomething and it's just been in
my mind about the product,about the services and stuff
like that, so that's why,unfortunately, I was stuck on
that.
But, uh, that was something interms of just me really
committed to like what wecreated as a service, a platform
, and the engineering that we'vedone over there Because a lot

(49:42):
of people don't know that, like,behind the hidden mirror,
there's a guy that looks like meback there bumping Biggie and
Tupac jamming and holding thething down.
And then you get a billionaireto come and buy it and just say,
hell, all of that's crap, we'regoing to redo it.
And then he didn't really doanything other than change the
name Right.
And for me, mentally I'm likeyo that that was crazy, because

(50:04):
all of the commitments I've made, all the pull requests, all of
the code that I've written.
It's tough that I can't walkaway with that in the community
and our people don't even know Idid it so it's like yo, when I
got that point in my career, waslike all right, it's time for
me to go step and into the lightand showcase this even more.
That's what really drove meaway from the keyboard for a
little bit, because I wanted toget behind the vault and my main

(50:27):
focus was contributing to our,my community, our community
directly.
That's why when I see Mentor MeCollective, I'm like yo, let me
holler right.
This journey itself has really,number one enlightened me on
where our community is and alsohow much more I can continue to
give, because even with thispodcast, I feel like I've only
given this much of the knowledgethat I've gained, or the

(50:49):
knowledge that I know is I stilleven have more to give.
So where I'm at right now is,number one calibrating the
industry, supporting nonprofits,seeing what's coming out of
college what our?
community's doing, and now it'sreally getting more narrow focus
that I y'all want to go there.
All right, let me go show youthe pathway, because I've
already done it before.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
It's not like I'm trying to do it.

Speaker 2 (51:16):
I've already done it, so let's go and get it.
So now it's like I'm at thatphase where these community you
know, direct impact, podcasting,getting on camera, talking to
people newsletter we publish ona monthly basis, we're going to
have some courses that come out,some materials and ultimately,
just find a way for me to getthis knowledge out, because I, I
can't keep it, I can't keep itand I, I see and I'm only going
to illustrate it I see how farwe are from where we were at

(51:37):
Twitter, at that engineeringlevel, to where we are right now
in our community and I can helpclose that gap.
So if I were to say how I feelabout it, I'm still in the run,
this marathon.
I'm at pace right now.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
I'm keeping pace.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
I'm keeping at it right and, as I'm going, I'm
carrying along with me, carryingalong with me and really just
getting really even more excitedfrom where I started to where
I'm at right now, to where we'regoing, because now all y'all
see it.
Right, you said you saidsomething like, and that that
one hit me really good.
It was like the more you give,it actually shines a light
inside of you that other peoplecan see you.

(52:12):
You know how much I've beengiven, and when y'all see, y'all
like whoa, what's that light?
That's what's happening now,because people can really see
and understand the impact, andthen I can draw it back.
Yeah, I was at Twitter for 10years and I was like word, what
did you do there?
You did that and I was like,yeah, I'm ready to go.
So that's where I'm Now.
It's like community, community,community building, developing,

(52:33):
partnering, showcasing thislight, and now it's time to be a
game changer, like one of ourthings that we're, you know, you
know, modeling our communityafter is that where we're
changing the model and this ishow big I'm thinking is that
we're going to be buildingbillion dollar businesses
because we're going to be makingcommunity that builds products,
that product that buildcompanies, rather than companies
building products and buildingcommunity.

Speaker 1 (52:54):
Right, because it's like.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
Think of a chanel bag .
The only reason why you buy itbecause of that brand.
They built that community offof that.
Let's flip it around.
Let's go and create a communitythat's fire, that can go create
multiple products and then,what we do, create multiple
businesses I love that so that'sthat's what we're really
shifting towards is continuingto push in that endeavor.
And it all starts off bycontinuing doing community

(53:17):
support and development.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
So that's where I'm at in my journey.
You know how it is.
I love that, Bobby.
Can I ask?

Speaker 2 (53:23):
you another question what's up?
This is?

Speaker 1 (53:24):
another part of you that I just love.
You are an amazing dad andfamily man.

Speaker 2 (53:31):
How are you balancing that as well?
First of all, thank you so much.
I think um a lot of peopledon't realize that, even with
your success on your career side, that there's always a need for
you to be successful on thefamily side uh, big shout outs
to my love yes she's, she's onethat uh off rip.
When I first met her, I knewthat we can go and get these

(53:52):
stars yeah, for sure we can goget them.
And then, soon as her and I werealigned, we had kids and that
just gave me even more push,more drive, more like oh, I got
another mouth to feed right, andit's like mindset wise, we can
go get it all together becausenow.
I'm not doing it just for mywife kids, but I'm doing it for
my kids, kids.

(54:13):
I said that to a hip-hop gamer.
It changes mind even the waythat I describe it, because I am
doing it for my kids kids.
So why do I hold on and why doI make sure I maintain this
style of living?
because I know my kids kids willbe looking back at it and have
something to inspire towards, sothat that's something that, uh,
big shout out to my family, bigshout out to d hustle that's my
brother-in-law I know gottakeep it in the family right you

(54:39):
got people around you right andthey can see the light because
they see how bright it is andthey're here to support, even
though he got to make sure hepay a few people to see he was
like yo, I gotta pay y'all alittle bit to see if this is
real.
I love it, just to see if it'sreal.
But but hey it's definitelysomething that comes from my
family my father my mother.
They've been together for 45years.

(55:00):
Wow and they're still kicking.
They're an inspiration to me.
They just travel the worldhanging out.
They're very religious, they'reJehovah Witness, so they have
their own community that they'rereally focused on.
But overall it's like when Igrew up in my household.
My pops was definitely rightthere to set an example for me
and I just hope I'm keeping andmaintaining the level of respect

(55:23):
and pride that he put in me.
So I'm trying my best and myfamily and kids know I got them
for life, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
And I wanted to say or ask that question because I
just love so.
I grew up, like I said, in asingle parent household.
My dad wasn't around.
So whenever I see like reallyawesome black men, like doing
the work, not only likeprospering and being successful
at work, but also like reallypresent in their child, like in
family, like wife, husband, kids, all that kind of stuff, I just

(55:51):
love that.
And I don't know if I told youthat previously, but I just love
watching your Instagram storiesor, like you know, when your
daughter had her sweet 16.

Speaker 2 (56:02):
I was all up in that.

Speaker 1 (56:03):
I was like yes, so I just love how you are
unapologetic and unashamed ofbeing able to balance both For
sure.

Speaker 2 (56:11):
And you bring them along with you For sure, because
sometimes you see like there'sa separation.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
yeah, but not with bobby.
Yeah, actually, this logo, thisdesign came from my son, my
wife.

Speaker 2 (56:24):
She's contributed as hr in the company hr and my
daughter.
She's uh about to go study filmand stuff like that and taking
pictures and photography andshe's lined up and ready to go.

Speaker 1 (56:32):
So oh my god, I told you we're doing this for our
kids, kids, generational right.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
We can't just do it for us because as soon as you
just do it for you, you're goingto be lost and forgotten the
year after.
But I'm trying to keep itaround for a good minute so
amazing.

Speaker 1 (56:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love this.
I'm so again, I'm so gratefulto have been on this podcast.
Thank you for thinking about me.
Of course, you know what you'retalking about thank you for
letting me come through.

Speaker 2 (56:53):
What are you talking about?
Thank you for letting me comethrough.
What are you talking about?
What I paid tickets to sit onthe court side, sit in the front
seat.
It's just like oh, bobby'sthere, oh, I'm so honored, I'm
so humbled.

Speaker 1 (57:00):
I'm so grateful.
I really would love for us toyou know obviously continue to
do work together.
Yeah, yeah, I just want to sayI really appreciate you and all

(57:23):
that you're pouring into ourcommunity.

Speaker 2 (57:25):
Thank you so much, chanel.
Wow, so we're coming to the endof our episode here.
Cue up that music de-hustle,hold on, hold on.
Dolphers still stands.
You want that money now, or you?

Speaker 1 (57:36):
want to give it to me ?
No, you're good, put it backinto the bag.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be
the end.
It is a fact.
He is a good person.
Let's get this one.
Thank you so much.
D-hustle, always holding itdown.
First of all, thank y'all,community, for being here.
Chanel, big shout outs to you.
Nmc meant to me collective.
Y'all already know we holdingit down.
Check the links below, likesubscribe, like subscribe.

(58:01):
Check the whole whole thing out, because I'm telling you, from
certifications to mentorship, tochanel, holding it down, y'all,
we, we can get to them starsshout out to chanel for coming
to the show today.
We really appreciate it yeah, nodoubt this is another episode
of Backstage with Bobby D.
Now y'all know where the namecame from Chanel Backstage with
Bobby D.
Next up is Houston, right,houston, oh, we're going to be

(58:23):
out there.
I got to talk at a conference.
You know, how I do it.
I got to be for us to connectwith the next set of guests that
we have.
Big shout outs to y'all.
Blessings to you, chanel.
Blessings to all of our guests.
You're our last guest for thissegment.
We're running here.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
We'll be back to new york though, so it ain't gonna
be nothing.
You know how we do it.

Speaker 2 (58:43):
We know how to do it well, thank you for tuning in
holla at your boy, it's bobby dthat is so dope.