In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Oksana Lukash, Chief People Officer, business owner, and leadership advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping teams scale, navigate chaos, and build cultures where people can thrive.

Oksana shares her powerful journey as an immigrant who grew up during the fall of the Soviet Union, spent formative years separated from her mother, and later rebuilt her life in the United States. She also speaks candidly about becoming a teen mom, navigating divorce and blended family life, and how those lived experiences shaped her approach to leadership.

Together, Lola and Oksana explore what it means to lead with humanity, build cultures that last, and grow your career through value — not just time in role.

• Oksana’s immigration story and how resilience shaped her leadership style
• Becoming a teen mom and navigating career growth simultaneously
• The pivotal manager who gave her a chance — and why mentorship matters
• Why career growth is about impact and value, not tenure
• How to build your voice beyond your employer’s brand
• Treating people the way they need to be treated
• Why culture is difficult to replicate — and why it matters more than ever
• Practical advice for professionals looking to advance in today’s workplace

Oksana Lukash is a Chief People Officer, business owner, and leadership advisor who’s spent 20+ years helping teams scale, survive chaos, and actually enjoy working together. She blends strategy with psychology, candor with compassion, and believes culture is the only real competitive advantage.

When she’s not building high-performing teams, she’s challenging leaders to think bigger, speak up, and stop settling for mediocrity.

Website: https://oksanalukash.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksusha45/
Business: People, Culture, You, LLC

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is the CEO of EQI Mindset and founder of Immigrants in Corporate. She partners with organizations to build cultures of belonging through ERGs, strategy, and storytelling.

Website: https://www.drlola-adeyemo.com
Community: https://www.immigrantsincorporate.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlolaadeyemo/

🎧 Want to take a deeper dive and engage?

Listen now and reflect via Substack.

What lessons from your journey are shaping how you lead today?

What if leadership isn’t about constantly pushing forward — but about pausing long enough to reflect?

In this solo episode, Dr. Lola Adeyemo shares a simple framework that has shaped how she thinks about growth, career pivots, and impact:

Learn back. Lead forward.

Drawing on conversations with past guests and her own journey across science, consulting, and workplace inclusion strategy, Lola explores how the strongest leaders don’t just accumulate experience — they make meaning from it.

Through three powerful stories, you’ll hear how curiosity, values alignment, and community responsibility shape sustainable leadership.

If you’re entering a new season, considering a pivot, or rethinking what leadership looks like for you, this episode will help you move forward with intention.

• Why reflection is a leadership skill

• How non-linear careers often lead to the greatest impact

• The difference between achievement and alignment

• Why leadership eventually becomes service to others

• 3 practical ways to design your next chapter intentionally

Dr. Meklit Workneh
From Ethiopia to Stanford to Moderna, Meklit shares how curiosity and courageous pivots shaped her path into biotech leadership and AI-driven clinical trials.

🎧 Listen: Dr.Workneh's Episode Link

Funmi Onamusi
A people-first executive leader who models how values alignment — not title chasing — creates sustainable, integrated leadership.

🎧 Listen: Funmi's Episode Link

Ukeme Awakessien Jeter
Engineer, lawyer, and mayor, Ukeme shares how belonging and representation inspired her to move from personal success to civic impact.

🎧 Listen: Mayor Ukeme's Episode Link

1. Audit the beliefs you’re still carrying

2. Lead from integration — your lived experience is an asset

3. Build community intentionally — leadership isn’t solo work

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a speaker, consultant, and founder of EQI Mindset and Immigrants in Corporate, helping organizations build cultures of belonging through ERGs and workplace community strategy.

Website: www.drlola-adeyemo.com
LinkedIn: @drlolaadeyemo

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, Dr. Lola Adeyemo is joined by Karen Jones, a seasoned leadership and organizational effectiveness consultant and the founder of Sacred Leadership Solutions, for a grounded and deeply human conversation about what it really takes to build workplaces where people can thrive.

Karen brings more than 15 years of experience across Fortune 500 organizations including American Express, Sara Lee, U.S. Cellular, and Ulta Beauty, with a career rooted at the intersection of leadership development, change, and organizational effectiveness. She is also an executive leader at NextUp, a nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders.

Together, Lola and Karen explore leadership not as theory, but as lived practice — examining how feedback, identity, privilege, and psychological safety shape the way people experience work.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How Karen understands intersectionality through her lived experience as a Black woman leader in corporate America

• Why psychological safety is foundational — especially when conversations get complex or uncomfortable

• What giving and receiving feedback looks like when development is the real goal

• How privilege and identity influence access, perception, and opportunity at work

• Why networking and influence matter more than ever for career growth

• What professionals should focus on now as the future of work continues to evolve

• How leaders can develop talent while building cultures that actually work in practice — not just on paper

Karen also shares powerful personal stories that illuminate how leadership, privilege, and humanity intersect in ways that no framework alone can explain.

This is a thoughtful and practical episode for leaders, HR and DEI professionals, and anyone navigating their career while carrying layered identities — with insights you can apply immediately this year and beyond.

Karen Jones is the founder of Sacred Leadership Solutions and a leadership and organizational effectiveness consultant with more than 15 years of experience designing and delivering learning and development experiences that produce sustainable outcomes. She is known for creating psychologically safe environments where people can grow, learn, and lead authentically. Karen currently serves as an executive leader at NextUp, a nonprofit focused on advancing women and building inclusive leadership pipelines.

🔗 Learn more about NextUp: https://www.nextupisnow.org
🔗 Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-jones-36785b18

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a leadership strategist, speaker, and CEO of EQImindset, partnering with organizations to build inclusive cultures through ERG strategy, leadership development, and belonging-centered systems. She is the creator and host of the Thriving in Intersectionality podcast, where she amplifies the voices of leaders navigating layered identities in today’s workplace.

🔗 Explore all podcast episodes & resources:
https://www.DrLola-Adeyemo.com/podcast

🔗 Connect with Lola on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlolaadeyemo/

If this conversation resonates and you're looking to strengthen leadership development, ERG strategy, or inclusive culture within your organization, explore Dr. Lola’s consulting and workshops through EQImindset.

🔗 https://www.eqimindset.com