Freeman Means Business' Wonder Women in Business Podcast

LaTanya Ford is a Senior Learning and Capabilities Manager supporting Marketing and Innovation at Haleon. With over two decades of experience in sales and marketing, LaTanya fuses data-driven insights with her unique storytelling ability to create brand narratives that resonate with consumers and deliver sales results.   LaTanya believes that each of us has a unique gift that is needed in this world. She is a gold certified facilitator for #IamRemarkable which aims to help those in underrepresented groups speak openly about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond. LaTanya is passionate about DE&I and uses her voice to bring awareness within her organization as a former Employee Resource Group lead at Haleon, as well as, within her community as a Board member for Dress for Success Northern, NJ. As a storyteller, speaker and facilitator   LaTanya is known for creating experiences that make an impact and drive change. She enjoys lifting up others through mentoring, coaching and volunteering her time with children and those in need. She earned her B.S. in Marketing and Human Resource Management from Boston College. LaTanya lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin daughters.

Organizational psychologist Dr. Gena Cox [https://www.genacox.com/] is deeply interested in the human experience at work. She believes respect is the antidote to most workplace discontent and has codified this in her “Respect to Lead” offerings.  Gena’s work encompasses executive coaching, speaking, and advising business leaders. The common thread of her work is sharing nuanced, memorable, and actionable insights that her clients highly value. She is the author of the award-winning and Amazon-bestselling nonfiction book Leading Inclusion [https://www.genacox.com/book], which shows how to counter the typically disappointing outcomes from “diversity, equity, and inclusion” work. Gena’s keynote speech equips leaders with strategies and techniques to boost employee engagement, performance, and results during turbulent and disruptive times. Her TEDx Talk, for a general audience, Yes … and Careers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3MnGy-0hXg], encourages an exploratory approach to building a purposeful career. Her second book, to be published in 2024, explores the human condition through the lens of workplace interactions. Gena’s work has been featured widely, including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, US News & World Report, Market Watch/Barrons, Business Journals, BBC Worklife, and Readers Digest. Gena holds a Ph.D. in Organizational psychology. She currently serves on the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology (CAGAP) and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)’s Editorial Board for its Professional Practice Series.

Cultural analyst Dr. Margaret King is Director of Cultural Studies & Analysis, a think tank based in Philadelphia.  Since 1990, Cultural Studies has developed a broad concept of culture to include the brain, body, and behaviors that have shaped human culture over thousands of years and back into prehistory.  Her original models of gender, diversity, aging, social connection, and cognition are used by Fortune 50 companies, nonprofits, and professional and industry associations to understand the cultural dimensions that affect their offerings. The cultural dimension is the most powerful strategy source for development of ideas, services, products, and experiences.  Cultural analysis can reset companies’ idea of what they do by clarifying their scope of cultural influence.  Culture is the most complex, wide-reaching, and long-running invention of mankind, so big and so potent that it is difficult to see, appreciate, approach--or even model. My work is to analyze business and policy problems from a cultural base using resources others don’t think to tap, which is why other consultancies access our approach to make sense of their own findings, together with NASA, Disney, P&G, The Smithsonian, the National Constitution Center, International Dairy Foods Association, and Dale Carnegie, among other leading organizations. The Curtis Institute of Music engaged me in a study of cultural competence for performing professionals. Most recent work was a DEI course developed for the California Lawyers Association, as well as an ongoing study of bi as for its definition and dynamics.

Valerie Tyson In 2018, Tyson founded the marketing agency, Strategic Playground where she served as the Chief Executive Officer and converted into Unrivaled Group in 2021. She is a proven brand strategy expert who has worked with several Fortune 1000 companies, sports leagues, teams, professional athletes, entertainment properties, including the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and the Arena Football League’s Los Angeles Avengers. Prior to starting her own agency, Tyson served as Vice President of Digital at IMG, Vice President of Marketing & Digital Performance at BRANDTHINK and Director of Client Services at Tocquigny. Now, Valerie Tyson serves as Unrivaled Group’s Head of Strategy, overseeing the development, communication, and execution of strategic initiatives of the consultancy and clients.

Lisa V. Sellers, PhD, CEO of Vector Laboratories [https://vectorlabs.com/], is an accomplished leader and mentor in life sciences with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Sellers drives expansion and business strategies for Vector Laboratories, a trusted reagent and critical component manufacturing partner that empowers biopharma, life science tools and diagnostics companies to accelerate their ability to provide value to their customers. Sellers has a stellar track record of spearheading successful business strategies based on unmet market opportunities, while prioritizing the development of a people-first work environment. This winning combination has created unstoppable forward momentum at Vector Laboratories. Before joining Vector Laboratories, Sellers provided consulting services for numerous life science companies to guide them in accelerating product development and commercialization to enter new markets. Sellers has served in executive and senior management roles in marketing, sales, and specific product lines for companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, 10x Genomics, Life Technologies, and Applied Biosystems, among others.  While Sellers has earned notable success as a top life science industry expert, she has always believed in the importance of giving back. Sellers serves as an Advisory Board Member with the LEAD Scholars Program at Santa Clara University, a board member with Notre Dame Belmont High School, and an Advisory Board Member, Master of Biotechnology at San Jose State University. She has a personal passion for coaching professionals to navigate job choices in STEM to achieve their potential and to provide the utmost in career fulfillment. As such, Sellers has been a speaker at ISPE, Navigating Your Career Amidst Uncertainty in Dec 2020; Women in Product, SF Bay Area, for Go-to Market Series in May 2019; and was featured in CMO.com, Best Leadership Advice I Ever Received publication in Feb 2019. Sellers was also named A Women of Influence in 2022 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.  Sellers earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BS in Chemistry, ACS Certified from Santa Clara University.