"If you don’t give yourself the opportunity to fall and fall and fall, you won’t get a great pirouette."
I first met Carla Vernón when she was a freshman at Princeton University and I was a junior. She was auditioning for the student dance company eXpressions, and she made herself known from the moment she entered the room. After spending many hours together rehearsing in the studio and performing on stage, we developed a lasting friendship, as dancers often do. Fast forward to today, and she continues to step into her star power as she breaks barriers in the corporate world, becoming one of the first Afro-Latine CEO’s of a publicly-traded company with The Honest Company.
In this episode of The Leadership Dance podcast, I was thrilled to sit down with Carla to not only talk about her impressive accomplishments but also to delve into the unique challenges she’s faced as a woman of color in corporate America. In this raw and revealing conversation, Carla shatters the polished CEO stereotype. From her days as a dance student in Buffalo, New York, to her ascent to the C-suite in corporate America, she shares how early setbacks and the courage to be different became her greatest assets.
This isn't just a story about climbing the corporate ladder—it's an intimate conversation about turning perceived barriers into bridges. Through candid stories about navigating boardrooms where she's often the only one who looks like her, to building one of corporate America's most diverse boards (66% female and 56% people of color), Carla reveals how she's rewriting the leadership playbook. Listen to hear how she's using her platform as your "Sister in the Corner Office" (or SITCO) to mentor the next generation while staying true to her roots.
Have you experienced any “invisible” barriers in your career?
You won’t want to miss this fun episode, chock-full of wisdom from a true trailblazer!
This will be the last episode of the year, as I’ll soon be heading to Japan with family to explore Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. The Leadership Dance podcast will be back in January to introduce you to more incredible barrier breakers in the arts and business worlds. Thank you so much for listening and supporting this new endeavor, and I wish you and yours a very Happy Holidays!
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