Karen Lewis
What is your industry or area of expertise?
I own a communications and branding agency. My business partner, my team, and I mostly do public relations and media relations for social impacters and disruptors.
Why do you believe in the mission of BlackFemaleProject?
I think because of what we go through as Black women, there needs to be a safe haven where we can voice our true feelings with transparency and integrity and be able to exchange experiences and know that we are not alone and know that there’s power in numbers and that we can build something to not only benefit ourselves but to benefit the generations to come.
What brought you to BlackFemaleProject?
I had never heard of anything similar. And it was like I could see the success of it, so I wanted to know how I could be a part of it. Internally we knew it would be good for the community that we build. But externally, you need to be able to collect data about Black women and take that to a Brookings or an SSIR or corporate America because people don’t understand us but they are so intrigued by us. It just seemed like there would be institutions that would want some of this information and to know that we exist. And from a personal perspective, I probably need to be in those rooms for myself, you know?
How has BlackFemaleProject impacted you personally?
BlackFemaleProject inspires me to be better and serve better. I can’t just sit in the cut and not do anything about our progress, our reputation, and our impact. So it serves as a disruptor, and if I wanted to put the blinders back on just to be more comfortable, it won’t allow that.
What motivated you to join the board of BlackFemaleProject?
Just wanting to be a part of something great, and wanting to help advance Precious and her voice. And quite frankly, wanting to give homage and pay back to a woman who didn’t really know us but impacted our bottom line favorably. When someone helps you, you want to help them back. I firmly believe that Precious is a light. When you think about how she changes people’s lives, she definitely has the brilliance and the wherewithal and the integrity to show you the way.
What BlackFemaleProject content or offering have you found most resonant?
When you speak about BlackFemaleProject to another woman who is not aware of it with your own passion and experience, it resonates, and they get it immediately. The content serves as a facilitator to follow up, whether it’s the calendar, the social media posts, the website, the content around Teacher truth, or the branding…all of it.
Bio:
For over 25 years, Karen Lewis has served as Founder and President of Going Public PR, a boutique minority-led PR communications resource for talent, corporate and media clients. She has built an innovative team of communications strategists, who provide strategic insights, tactics and activations across varied categories. Ms. Lewis specializes and has an expertise in media relations; digital/social media engagement; corporate communications; faith-based outreach; multicultural and millennial marketing; reputation management; and social impact. She is a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She currently serves as Board Advisor to her high school alma mater, Notre Dame Academy, and has also recently co-founded a wellness company, Melody Rose Organics.
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