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

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Olufunke Olufon — communications strategist, TEDx speaker, and founder of IWA Consulting — for a rich conversation on purpose-driven communication, leadership presence, and navigating career pivots without shrinking who you are.

Olufunke’s career spans some of the world’s most influential institutions — from directing executive communications at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to serving as a spokesperson at the World Bank, to leading transformation-era communications at EY. Across industries and continents, her work has helped translate complex ideas into narratives that move people to action.

Together, Lola and Olufunke explore what it means to show up with layered identity in corporate America, how culture shapes leadership, why relationships are career currency, and how the Yoruba concept of “IWA” (character) becomes a powerful lens for brand, reputation, and credibility.

This episode is for anyone navigating reinvention — especially professionals who want to communicate with clarity, lead with confidence, and align their voice with their purpose.

• What intersectionality means in real life — and why it matters at work
• The experience of navigating corporate America as a Nigerian woman
• Why culture and language shape how we lead, communicate, and take risks
• Olufunke’s nonlinear career pivot from chemical engineering to international relations
• How to know when it’s time to pivot (and stop waiting for permission)
• Why clarity is a career advantage — not a luxury
• The power of relationships as “career currency” (the human way)
• IWA (character) and why reputation is simply character revealed
• The cultural connection question: why Funke brings Nigerian jollof rice to work

Olufunke “Funke” Olufon is a communications strategist, TEDx speaker, and founder of IWA Consulting, where she helps mission-driven leaders and organizations find, refine, and amplify their authentic voice. Her work spans global communications, executive positioning, and narrative strategy across major institutions including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and EY.

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a workplace inclusion strategist, author, speaker, and CEO of EQImindset, and founder of Immigrants in Corporate Inc. She helps organizations build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change.

For HR & DEI Leaders (ERG/BRG strategy support, workshops, or fractional partnership): 📩 Lola@EQImindset.com

For Immigrants & First-Gen Professionals:
Join the free community: www.immigrantsincorporate.org

Go deeper on Substack (extended reflections + community):

Connect with Funke / IWA Consulting:

• Website: www.iwaconsults.com

Intersectionality, workplace inclusion, communication strategy, leadership, cultural background, career pivots, authentic voice, Yoruba culture, corporate America, storytelling, purpose-driven leadership, mentorship, relationships, entrepreneurial journey, IWA Consulting.

In this final Veteran & Military Family Appreciation Month spotlight, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Tahnohn and Sherry Hayes — a dual-military couple, proud parents, and the founders of NutFrusion, a San Diego–based handcrafted snack company rooted in resilience, clean ingredients, and purpose.

Their story spans deployments, parenthood, medical transition, entrepreneurship, and faith — offering a raw, inspiring look into what it means to rebuild after service and create a business grounded in health, community, and lived experience.

• The Intersections That Shape Them
  From race, culture, faith, service, and parenthood to caregiving and entrepreneurship — how identity has guided every chapter of their lives.
• Military Life as a Dual-Service Family
  Navigating deployments, relocations, raising three children, and finding stability in community support networks.
• Rebuilding After Medical Retirement
  How Tahnohn’s MS diagnosis shifted everything — identity, purpose, and the path forward.
• The Origin Story of NutFrusion
  Born from necessity: clean-ingredient trail mixes and fruit chips created to support health during a major life transition.
• Entrepreneurship with Purpose
  How they’ve built NutFrusion into a beloved local brand while balancing full careers, teaching, parenting, and community leadership.
• Advice for Young Professionals
  Community-building, understanding your strengths, embracing pivots, asking for help, and leading with authenticity.

Tahnohn Hayes – U.S. Navy Veteran & Founder, NutFrusion

A Navy veteran whose career was cut short by a sudden MS diagnosis, Tahnohn rebuilt his life one decision at a time, ultimately founding NutFrusion — a handcrafted snack company focused on flavor, clean ingredients, and wellness. Through entrepreneurship, he reclaimed purpose, control, and a mission to serve others through nourishing food.

Sherry Hayes – U.S. Navy Veteran, UCSD Lecturer & Operations Leader

Sherry served 21 years in the Navy, advancing from Hospital Corpsman to Environmental Health Officer, with assignments across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Today she is a Continuing Lecturer at UCSD Rady School of Management, a project management & public health expert, and the operations backbone of NutFrusion.
Her certifications include PMP, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, CPH, and she is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.

NutFrusion – Handcrafted Trail Mixes & Fruit Chips

Website: https://www.nutfrusion.com
Instagram: @nutfrusion
Facebook: NutFrusion
LinkedIn (Sherry): https://www.linkedin.com/in/servewithexcellence

Tahnohn and Sherry are featured in the 2025 Military Shoppers Guide, a curated collection of veteran-owned businesses, gift ideas, and resources designed to support military families and entrepreneurs.

👉 Download the 2025 Military Shoppers Guide (PDF)

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is an Inclusive Workplace Strategist, author, and CEO of EQImindset. She helps organizations build communities of belonging through ERG/BRG strategy, leadership development, and storytelling.

Connect with Dr. Lola on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

✨ Your intersections are powerful. Your story matters. Keep thriving. — Dr. Lola Adeyemo

In this episode, our spotlight series continues with our veteran guests. Host Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Dr. Keith Dorsey — a board strategist, researcher, executive advisor, and author of The Boardroom Journey — to explore how identity, service, and intentional growth come together to form a successful and fulfilling professional journey.

From the U.S. Air Force to nearly three decades in corporate America to doctoral research on corporate board diversity, Dr. Dorsey’s story is a masterclass in clarity, reinvention, and using lived experience to create impact.

He brings a rare intersection of perspectives as a veteran, a Black executive, a turnaround specialist, a multi-board member, a global search leader, and now a portfolio-career strategist whose work is centered on leadership, governance, and generational impact.

✅ Identity & Intersectionality in Leadership

How Dr. Dorsey’s intersections — from military service to corporate leadership to academia — inform how he shows up, leads, and serves today.

✅ Three Career Chapters & the Power of Reinvention

A journey from the Air Force ➡️ corporate executive ➡️ board strategist and researcher — and why he calls this season not retirement, but rewirement.

✅ Education Beyond the Classroom

Why he earned his bachelor’s degree in his 40s, how he completed an MBA surrounded by other executives, and what it means to be a lifelong learner in the real world — not just on paper.

✅ Becoming a Turnaround Specialist

How investing in himself, reading voraciously, and studying his craft helped him lead large teams, solve people/product/process problems, and transform underperforming business units.

✅ What a Portfolio Career Really Is

He breaks down how he built a career that includes board service, executive advising, writing, speaking, consulting, and research — all aligned under a single theme of leadership and governance.

✅ Reflection, Pruning & Finding Your Joy

His philosophy on reflection, identifying what energizes you, pruning what doesn’t, and uncovering your “secret sauce” to guide your next chapter.

✅ Reverse Engineering Success

Why successful people do what others won’t — and how clarity + intentional action can make your goals inevitable.

✅ Food, Culture & Conversation

What he would bring to share with colleagues — and how even a simple meal can spark connection, inclusion, and rich conversation.

Dr. Keith Dorsey is a board strategist, researcher, and executive advisor with decades of leadership experience across military service, corporate America, executive search, and governance. He is the author of The Boardroom Journey and has published work in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Directors & Boards, and more.

Dr. Dorsey holds a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC and an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Dorsey on LinkedIn
🔗 Explore The Boardroom Journey

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a workplace inclusion strategist, author, and CEO of EQImindset.
She helps organizations strengthen ERG/BRG programs and build cultures of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change.

🔗 Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Adeyemo

For HR & DEI Leaders:
Need ERG/BRG strategy support or fractional partnership?
📩 Lola@EQImindset.com

For Immigrants & First-Gen Professionals:
Join the free community for networking, resources, and peer support:
👉 www.immigrantsincorporate.org

Want to Dive Deeper into this Conversation and Engage?

Follow on Substack for extended reflections, storytelling, and community insights tied to every episode. Your story matters. Keep thriving in your intersections.
— Dr. Lola Adeyemo

(Veterans/Military Appreciation Month Series)

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, this episode celebrates service, transition, and purpose-driven leadership through a conversation that bridges military, corporate, and public service spaces.

Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Cinnamon Clark — a U.S. Navy veteran, Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer at the California Department of Justice, and Chair of the San Diego Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission — to explore what it really takes to make inclusion actionable.

From maintaining aircraft in the Navy to leading equity initiatives for global corporations to shaping equity policies for one of the largest justice departments in the country, Cinnamon’s story demonstrates how leadership, courage, and curiosity can open doors not only for oneself but for everyone who follows.

✅ What “Inclusion as a Verb” Looks Like
Cinnamon shares how inclusion happens through daily choices — the way we ask, listen, and lead — and why it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just a DEI department’s.

✅ From “Only” to “Opening Doors”
One of the first women integrated into shipboard squadrons, Cinnamon turned isolation into advocacy — clearing pathways for others, including the first enlisted woman to complete Naval Special Warfare training.

✅ Equity vs. Equality — The Boots Story
She illustrates the difference between equality and equity with a memorable lesson from her military days: same-sized boots don’t mean the same fit.

✅ Intersectionality as Leadership
Why every leader needs to understand intersectionality as a competency — the ability to pause, ask questions, and see the full context before reacting or judging.

✅ Transitioning from Military to Corporate to Civic Leadership
Cinnamon walks through her evolution from aviation electrician to global DEI advisor and state executive, offering insights for professionals navigating their own career pivots.

✅ The Power of Curiosity and Self-Belief
Her message for emerging professionals: stay curious, say yes to opportunities that stretch you, and never measure your success against someone else’s timeline.

✅ Food, Culture, and Connection
How something as simple as sharing a meal — becomes a bridge for belonging.

Cinnamon Clark is a retired Chief Petty Officer with over 20 years in the U.S. Navy. She has since become a respected diversity and inclusion leader, serving as Chief Diversity Inclusion and Belonging Officer at the California Department of Justice and Chair of the San Diego CEOC.

Her career spans military service, corporate consulting with McLean & Company, and state leadership — all centered on embedding equity into systems, structures, and culture.

🔗 Connect with Cinnamon on LinkedIn

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a workplace inclusion strategist, author, and CEO of EQImindset, where she helps organizations build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change.

💬 Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Adeyemo

Follow Dr. Lola on Substack, where each episode continues through reflection, storytelling, and community discussion.

For HR & DEI Leaders: Do you need ERG or BRG strategy support? Connect with Dr. Lola to explore fractional partnership or organizational workshops.Lola@EQImindset.com

For Immigrants & First-Gen Professionals: Join the free community at www.immigrantsincorporate.org for networking, resources, and peer support.

✨ Your story matters. Keep thriving in your intersections.
— Dr. Lola Adeyemo

In honor of Veterans Month, this episode celebrates service, transition, and purpose-driven leadership through a conversation that transcends military, corporate, and nonprofit spaces.

Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Chris Thorne, a U.S. Navy veteran turned business and community leader, to explore what leadership looks like beyond the uniform. Chris shares powerful lessons from his 30-year military career and his journey into executive leadership as CEO of the North San Diego Business Chamber.

Together, they unpack the layers of identity, resilience, and community that shape purposeful leadership today. This conversation reminds us that every leader carries more than a title—they carry stories, intersections, and lived experiences that inform how they serve others.

✅ How military service shapes purpose and leadership in civilian life
Chris reveals why he joined at 17, what kept him serving for three decades, and how those experiences translate into building thriving business communities.

✅ The power of community in building connection and legacy
Hear Chris's profound perspective: "Life is a terminal disease. Immortality is having a positive impact on others that grows long after you're gone—whether anyone remembers your name or not."

✅ Why intersectionality matters in leadership and belonging
From growing up in Arizona to becoming a Navy Corpsman running with Marines, Chris breaks down how we're all "blankets made of different fibers"—and why understanding that depth in others changes everything.

✅ Chris's transition from service to civic and business impact
The real story of transition—from stepping out of the Navy to leading HR consulting, standing up the Gary Sinise Foundation's San Diego presence, and becoming a chamber CEO.

✅ Advice for emerging professionals on self-belief and finding their place at the table
"I am so incredibly impressed with this next generation. You deserve to be in that room. You deserve your seat at that table. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

✅ The Chili Philosophy
Why Chris's signature slow-cooked, blazing-hot chili is the perfect metaphor for patient, intentional leadership.

Chris Thorne is the CEO of the North San Diego Business Chamber and a retired U.S. Navy veteran. Named 2024 CEO of the Year for Business Nonprofit and recognized among San Diego's 500 Most Influential People for four consecutive years, Chris leads with a deep commitment to service, strategy, and community impact.

🔗 [North San Diego Business Chamber]
🔗 [Connect with Chris on LinkedIn]

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is a workplace inclusion strategist, speaker, and CEO of EQImindset, where she helps organizations build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change.

🌍 Learn more: www.lolaspeaker.com
💬 Connect with Lola on LinkedIn: [Dr. Lola Adeyemo]

Follow Dr. Lola on Substack, where she explores key concepts from each episode and invites reflections and community engagement!

For HR & DEI Leaders: Need employee resource group(ERG) or business resource group support? Connect with Dr. Lola on LinkedIn for strategy, storytelling, and inclusive workplace community building.

For Immigrants & First-Gen Professionals: Join our free community at www.immigrantsincorporate.org for career support, networking, and resources with peers who understand your journey.

Your story matters. Keep thriving in your intersections.

Dr. Lola Adeyemo.