Welcome to SpeakUP! International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown!
Rita Burke:At SpeakUP! International, we seek to educate, inspire, and inform, and the person who's going to be helping us meet those goals today is Nicole Waldron. Now Nicole is a consultant and professional event specialist. She's also an author and thought leader who works taly for the advancement, progress, and prosperity of her community. Nicole's 30 something year career has allowed her to pour her passion and talent into project management, arts administration, public relations, leadership renewal, and a variety of other social issues. On top of all of that, her destiny, Nicole Waldron. Is the host of Victory Speaks, which is a podcast which seeks to provide listeners with tools to be mentally fit and create a victory mindset. Help me welcome Nicole Waldron!
Nicole Waldron:Thank you Elton and Rita for having me here.
Elton Brown:This is such a wonderful opportunity to actually get to talk to you after reading your interesting profile, which I found absolutely interesting!
Nicole Waldron:Come on now, Elton and Rita, let's be real. You are icons in our community, so the honor is actually all mine. I was totally stoked when I got that note from Ms. Rita saying, can you be in our podcast Total Honor. So I'm ready.
Elton Brown:All right, so how did you first become interested in event planning and social advocacy and what drew you to these fields?
Nicole Waldron:Event planning it's something that kind of happened naturally since I was young. I grew up in Trinidad and I was always evolved in events and I think I just had a natural draw to it. However, I also come from a big family. My mom had 13 siblings and they were all involved in all sorts of different things and one aunt was always baking, one aunt was entertaining. Somebody was into music and then my mom's eldest sister was one of the first female ministers in Parliament. Muriel Donor mc Davidson and so she was always advocating and then also my mom is also one who was always helping. So somehow along the way, advocating event planning came together and it was something I did and I just enjoyed doing it from doing fashion shows to being in fashion shows, to helping, I was a lot smaller then organizing fashion shows back in Trinidad and just being involved in the community because, when you're in the islands, there's a lot about community. And so that's where it grew and when I came here in 1988 having that background I got involved with Caravana and I met Joan Pierre, and she has become my mentor and she's actually the godson, the godmother of my son and so we have had an, a history from, since let's say 1989 because give it a couple months since 1989 to now. She and Bonnie Hector and Anne-Marie Placid, those three women really took me under their wings and, volunteering with Caravana for so many years while Joan was there, even when Joan left Caravana I was involved with everything that she did and so I started just doing this. So when I actually left corporate I, when I had my son, I eventually just said, I'm gonna just do event planning so that I could actually have more time with my son as a single parent and, and enjoy the ride. So that's how it came together.
Rita Burke:To live your best life, it seems to me, and it sounds to me as if there were people in your life who had a strong impact on who you are today. Family and people. Family by blood and other family like Joan Pierre on and so forth. Yes. So tell me, you talk about working tirelessly for the advancement of your community. What does that look and feel like and sounds like? Talk to us about that.
Nicole Waldron:Community is everything and if you have if we think of Ubuntu that, that word that we use in our African community or Zulu word, I am because we are. If we don't have that village mentality about, each one, teach one, we cannot succeed and walk in victory as a community and as a people. And so that has been somehow naturally embedded in me and when I moved into a co-op, not even understanding what it was, I realized, hold on a second. I've moved into a community and co-op housing was one that's built with mixed income and the community that the co-op that I moved into the community was based very Spanish, a lot of Spanish people. They're all about community. So we had lots of events and then I became involved from the standpoint of understanding the need for affordable housing in Canada and understanding Canada, even to this day, even though we know housing is a right, it is not a, it is not a human right in Canada. It is not one of our pillars in Canada as much as we talk about it. As I time grew by I started volunteering with committees and learning more and becoming on the board, I understood and began to understand the need for advocacy in this space and how many people needed to live in a community setting where it wasn't just about an affordable place, but a safe place to call home. A place where you could grow your children. A place where they can get mentorship to become leaders in their own right. Not necessarily up and above saying, I'm Mr. I'm Dr. But understanding who they were being able to nurture my family and nurture myself, and I can't just nurture myself without nurturing those around me. I always believe that, we have to take each other along the journey with us, and I've been fortunate to meet some of those people in my life who do the same thing and emulate that thinking.
Rita Burke:Why don't you tell us who one of those people are that you met that also advocate on behalf of our community?
Nicole Waldron:When I, oh my goodness, there are so many amazing individuals doing that in different hemispheres in our community. When I think of two that come to mind, that some people just don't give them the kudos that they need, I think of Quammie Williams and Janelle Skerret, and they have been around a long time. They have given and given to community. I look at Quammie Williams when he started Sankofa, which was the first West African dance company here in Toronto. And people just remember Si Kwame as a drummer and just as an entertainer, but this is a man with a master's degree in business and who has been building community and giving and he, when he married Ginelle, they take young people into their home. People who have been dealing with, challenges at home, mental health, and then Ginelle in her own rights starting I remember meeting Ginelle way back when she was working for Tropicana in that role, and she's always been an advocate and now sitting as the first black woman heading up York Region's Children Aid, and they have Adinkra Farm performance and they just take community and wrap them and when something is wrong, they find a way and if they don't have the way they reach out to community. So those two are really a big inspiration for me when it comes to selflessness, giving love and community.
Elton Brown:We've interviewed Quammie and his wife and we've found both of them to be amazing, absolutely amazing! So what are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career and how have you overcome them?
Nicole Waldron:I would say challenges sometimes myself. You, you get that imposter syndrome you get in your own way. I would say also sometimes, as a black woman, as a woman, as a black person in Canada, we deal with the elephant in the room, which is this subtle racism that comes up in Canada and when you get in it, sometimes you get shell-shocked by it and having to navigate in those spaces. I've also, found myself in a very unique position where I've been the first, in some situations, I was the first black person and woman to be the president of Co-op Housing in Canada. And that in itself taught me so many lessons because it was navigating through those hemispheres and being in leadership and not knowing sometimes who to trust and who was really there for you, and finding the people that I can get the mentorship from. And even now, I would say sitting as the first black woman on the board of the Corporators Insurance Company in their 75 year history, that also blew me away and that's a different hemisphere because you're dealing with a different level of corporate and you have to find your space. So knowing what to say, what not to say, and you're dealing with people at a different level of thinking and finding my spot and knowing that it was okay, even if I didn't have what they had, but remembering that I came with my own unique abilities and my own unique voice, and I was adding something to the conversation. So it's always that balance between knowing that you got something to bring into the room, but fighting against that oh I don't deserve to be here or I shouldn't be here, or should I be here? So it's that self-talk I would say has been interesting.
Rita Burke:And that self-talk is being human there's no question about here. I think most humans experience that, but for us, black people, black women, it's more of a I don't wanna say struggle, more of a challenge. I could identify with what you're saying because I took off from Toronto in 1984 and went to Peterborough to be a professor of nursing at a college of course they'd never seen anybody like me before I too had to navigate. But I believe that what helped me was a sense of. I wanna say false confidence. It wasn't false, but I had to do my thing to establish myself as a viable person to be in that program. But it gives you strength. It gives you strength. There's no question about that. So here is what I have to ask. You have worked in project management in arts administration as a voice animator and podcast hosting. Which of those gave you or brings you more joy? Tell us about that.
Nicole Waldron:Which brings me more joy. That's a really good question. I think in different parts of my life, they all brought me joy in the earliest stages of my life. I really enjoyed project management and event management in this part of my life. I know my sweet spot is speaking. I know my sweet spot is empowering others. It was a dream that I put down for a long time again because I thought, you know what? There's so many speakers in this space who needs another Les Brown, who needs another Dr. Miles Monroe? And, but I've always enjoyed it and I've worked in the spaces of production and television and I was somehow always behind the scene interviewing people. Then, you get the grace of God and he says, I need you to come back now and when he used the pandemic and I couldn't, I literally couldn't shut up Rita and Elton. I would wake up in the morning and he'd say, be ready and just, I would have to be dressed and I'd be like, where am I going? I'm not going anywhere, but just be ready and then I would just have inspirational messages cuz I recognized that it was always giving advice. I've always been someone, people come to for comfort, for consultation, for whatever. And I started speaking into my phone and I loved it and doing, that's where the podcast first grew as just doing those inspirational messages and dropping the audio podcast. I had no clue what I was doing, but during the pandemic, people started showing up and I saw old friends and I made some new ones who were saying, okay, this is what you need to do. And I, a community got built and so I dropped the, that podcast and I went back to. Spirit said to me, okay, it's time to start back interviewing people, but this time it's gonna be your show. Because I actually had actually worked on producing my own show a few years ago and it just didn't come to fruition. We had interviewed people from all over and it was taped in Niagara Falls. It was a pilot for a TV show and and then Grace happened and I can do it again, and we have the internet. So you don't need a big TV crew! You can be your own TV crew as you learn how to do it and so I can really say right now I am, I recognize and my friend tell me, Nicole, you are happiest. You smile the most when you're interviewing people, when you're pulling out of people, giving people a voice and g letting them shine cuz I love to see people shine and I love to hear what people are doing and I think it's so important that we share those voices and When I think about victory, my name Nicole means victory of the people. And so Victory Speaks came out of that and so I wanna hear people speak their victory and it's not about crossing the finish line first, it's about crossing the finish line as their best selves. So as I speak, I like doing that as I do voiceovers. I love doing voiceovers. I love doing MCing. I just love, I just recognize, I love doing it. Now, believe it or not, I really am an introvert. Or they say you're an omniverse. So you're an introvert when you know, when you're home and when you're around people. But when you have to perform, I can perform. That's me.
Elton Brown:I must say that you sound so enthusiastic about what you do as a voice animator and podcaster. So I wanna know, what do you see as the role in audio storytelling, in promoting social change and advocacy?
Nicole Waldron:I think it has a really powerful role right now because so many people are overwhelmed with visuals. They're overwhelmed with social media and audio. People can find a topic that they like. Find a topic that they're interested in. They could be driving in a car, they could be going for exercise, they could be walking, they can tune out and just listen to audio and there's something about the audio that people can just take in some, and some people can't read a book. Some people don't even know how to read. We know literacy is taken on a different thing but when you have the, when you have the ability to listen and tune in and take something in, I think there is power in it and now that I recognize that the spaces that I'm in, so many are using podcasts now to share the message. Because not everybody's watching TV. Not everybody has cable. So if you can click onto something for free, you don't have to pay anything and you can send that message like the Ontario Caregivers organization. I'm on the board there and we created a podcast. Michelle Jovin, who does the weather, she's now doing, hosting our podcast and bringing her voice because she loves the advocacy and here's a way that she can do something and here's a way that we can talk about caregivers. People tune in and listen and learn. Caregivers are also benefiting from it so it's like a win-win situation and you can sit down and you don't have to wait for anyone. You can just do it on your own time.
Rita Burke:You can just do your thing and get your joy from that. We are doing it with a strain of black excellence, and that is truly wonderful. Now, you have a passion for mental health and bringing awareness to mental health. Where do you think we stand right now as a community in terms of mental health?
Nicole Waldron:So we're further along than we were. I'll start with that. We have a long way to go. We talk about physical health. Everybody talks about exercise. They forget that you have a brain, and your brain is the one that, that is the navigator of the whole body and your brain is your mind, and your mind is your brain. So if you don't take care of your brain helps which deals with your mind, the rest is not gonna work. We had an unfortunate narrative in the black community and in the world about mental health and that stigma, for some reason has stuck. When people were not behaving in a way that was acceptable to society or what they considered normal, instead of finding out what was really wrong. The physicians were mainly men, mainly white men that framed the psychiatry world. We used things like the the asylum and we used really negative words to describe people that were unwell. Then you add our race into it, you add black people into it, and it was just an opportunity for them to degrade us even more. And so now when we come to modern day and we have been using words like crazy, this person is mad and we're not saying, oh, you know what? This person is experiencing strong sadness or dealing with trauma and we have to recognize that as a community, as black people, we have transgenerational trauma that is going through so many generations to now. If any black person say they haven't had trauma, they're just not aware of it. But it's been going through our d n for a very long time and so when we sit down and we look at the stigma of it, and then we look at the, unfortunately, the faith community has demonized it and just label it as a demonn and not realize that we are dealing with a brain disease. If somebody's depressed, if they're dealing with anxiety, if they're dealing with bipolar, schizophrenia, alcoholism we don't even add the alcoholism into the mix which kills more people than a lot of things. We don't add smoking into it because it's an addiction alcoholism is an addiction. So that's part of our mental health and wellness because it affects our brain. So we have a lot of work to do as a community in terms of healing. Unfortunately, we deal with a lot of colonial ways of healing and we don't bring in the village into the community. When we describe family, when we describe caregivers and we go to the doctor, we get pushback. And so the mental health conversation is a huge one, especially for our community. There's a lot of miseducation that has happened and so we need to do a lot of unlearning and learn some truths. When we do that and we start to have the conversations in our homes and stop dismissing children and saying, oh, this one is just misbehaving, whether they're two or three. Recognize that everyone is dealing with their emotions and we need to start paying attention, getting educated and humble ourselves to the process that if you're gonna exercise your body, you gotta exercise your mind.
Rita Burke:Yes. But we're moving in the right direction, aren't we? Because we are beginning to have the conversations now about mental health and something that I have said to people before. As a matter of fact, I've told my students about the stigma because it's one of my areas of specialization. That's what I taught mental health. You see a person walking across the street with crutches and you run to help that person. You see a person walking and talking to themselves and you run from that person. Talk about a stigma indeed, but we're moving in the right direction. I would say.
Nicole Waldron:I will tell you, we just had a amazing mental health conference that Kafcan put on. They brought in Individuals from the American black psychologists and what we, what has just happened in 2021, the American Psychologist Association actually issued an apology to black people about how we have been dealt with in the mental health world. So things are happening.
Elton Brown:It's amazing that you have to deal with this issue every day because of your son's accident. It's a difficult subject. I know for a fact in my family, there were several aunts and uncles that were just quietly put in the corner. They would be well cared for, don't get me wrong. They would, yeah, wash, dressed, fed, but they always sat in the corner and no one actually addressed them. They almost became invisible. It was the topic that was not talked about. If you saw someone that was off kilter you saw them, but it was never talked about. It's wonderful that we. As a community, black community are beginning to just come up and just say it out loud that this is a problem. It's a universal problem within our community, other communities as well. But we must stand and address this and figure a way to resolve the problem and not wait for somebody else to help us do that.
Nicole Waldron:Absolutely.
Elton Brown:You've worked with organizations from many countries. How do cultural differences impact the way you approach event planning and social advocacy?
Nicole Waldron:I think the key thing is to understand a person's culture. And if you're going to do an event in a particular culture, you gotta learn about it. If you don't learn about the nuances, the little differences then you're heading up the wrong street. It's also about respect and honor. We do things different even though we are, if we were even just to take the black community, what they do in Ghana is different than what they do in Nigeria. What we do in Trinidad is different than what we do in Jamaica. In the Bahamas we call things, we have the same fruit, but we call it by different names. We eat things differently. It's all about how we sit down and have a meal. Sometimes we eat with our hands, sometimes we don't. And so it's understanding those nuances and as they say what's common sense for one is different than the other because your country, your nation, your culture, it's different. It's respecting and really taking the opportunity to pause and learn and listen to what your client has to say and what the culture is about, that you're going to go into.
Rita Burke:I quite agree with you that cultures, nations, countries, people are different, but the point about it is they're different. But difference doesn't mean superiority versus inferiority.
Nicole Waldron:Exactly.
Rita Burke:It's just different as soon as we embrace them, accept that as a reality will be a better world. Now, one of your projects was working. In the Senate.
Nicole Waldron:Yes.
Rita Burke:Talk to us about working in the Senate. What was that like for you?
Nicole Waldron:It was really, it was, to me, it was one of my best experiences. It wasn't a long it was just over a year, just under two years. However, I was there when the Senate was becoming independent. So when they brought in the first independent senators, I was there and to see the caucuses set up and understand how the Senate worked and really what they did and unfortunately we are not really teaching people the beauty of the Senate, the power of the Senate and the necessity for the Senate and in, and when the independent senators came in where they did not have to because, we had the liberal caucus and the conservative caucus and they had their whips. So they had to, you had to like vote. In the way and together in whatever your caucus was with the independent center, they could use their, really come with their own individuality, with their own originality of their thinking and not be afraid that they were going to be penalized if they didn't vote in alignment with their party's thinking. And that's sober. Second thought. Is so important. And if people realize they, they work hard and they work long hours. One of the things that happened when I was there too with the independent senators, they allowed us as staff to, to be more involved and we had our own caucus. We came together and found out what topic is your senator working on Elton? What's, what topic is your senator working on Rita? Should we come together? How could we share information? It's so interesting the Senator of Canada and even seeing where they are now in the new building. I look at one of the senators now, she's about to retire, but what she did when it came to the indigenous portfolio and even the art she's made sure that artwork is there from the indigenous community. I look at senators who deal with the social justice and injustices, and they really, they go in and they do the research and they fight the battles to make sure that the government, whoever it is in the day, is accountable to the people. So they are actually another voice for the people that we should really pay attention to and if they continue to stay independent, I think we can have a really good governmental system, but we just have to learn a little bit more about the Senate.
Rita Burke:So did you up shoulders with Ann Cools when you were in the Senate?
Nicole Waldron:I loved Senator Ann Cools. I have, oh, I wish it, I had it next to me here when she was retiring. She said, Nicole, come pick whatever you want from my office. So yeah Senator Ann Kools. Oh my God. She was the most informed senator because she's been there, one of the longest senators and so when Senator Kool spoke, you had to just sit up, listen and pay attention, and Senator Kool spoke, and I was able to see when Sandra, Wanda, Thomas Bernard was brought in. So I, I had a good time there and I have some really good friends there that I continue to have in the Senate, and it's a great place.
Elton Brown:It sounds like you have such a full life. You have your son and all of the people that you've worked with, the companies that you've been with sounds like a hectic schedule. What does Nicole do when she needs to relax?
Nicole Waldron:I do several things. Sometimes I don't answer the phone the phone. I'm not tied to my phone anymore. I learn to say no to others, so I can say yes to myself and sometimes I just tune out. And most importantly for me is my faith. My faith has taken me true whether I am reading my word or listening to something that is empowering. I have those few people in my life that once in a while we get out on, once we can coordinate, do something fun and special so even like for Mother's Day coming up, I'm not spending first, my first part of Mother's Day, for example, I'm gonna be spent with my two besties, Emily and Joan, and we're taking ourselves out, right? And we're going out to celebrate each other for a couple hours before we do the other family stuff. Going for the walks, I love water and and I love nature. Then sometimes I just do nothing. Watch a good movie. Have something fun to eat, something I like and not worry about the weight, not worry about is this healthy for me? I just eat it. I like ice cream. I'm gonna eat the Dargon ice cream you know what I am saying no and just have fun and I love food. I love good food. And I remember, I've been reminded to laugh because laughter is something that we need. Yeah.
Rita Burke:No question about that. Laughter is healing, water is healing. Walking in the forest is healing. So thank you for sharing what you do to bring joy and peace into your life. So in your profile, the term Sisters for Hope is mentioned, talk to us about what Sisters for Hope is.
Nicole Waldron:Sisters for Hope is a group of women that came together, black women in particular, and they want to keep hope alive with women and they have, we want to partner with other organizations that are actually doing great work and see how we can support them. So if you're doing something to like a food drive or if you're doing something to empower women, whether they need clothing, we're gonna come together and come alongside you. And then we eventually we are gonna start our own projects. There's so many projects going on. Sometimes you need that group to come alongside you and to work with you. We have nurses in the group, we have entrepreneurs in the group, and we just want to do something a little different to continue to ensure that women are empowered and inspire to be the best that they can be. Because hope deferred makes the heart sick, and so many women show up looking good, saying they're strong. But when they go home, they're crying or they're down. So how can we impact them? And so we are exploring ways that we can do this in a way that is really going to make a difference and keep hope alive.
Elton Brown:Keep hope alive. That basically has been intertwined interweaved with everything that we've talked about today. It's extremely important, and I'm just wondering when you have to go out and work with other races, you mentioned a very key point subtle racism. I, that is something I think that needs to be pushed to the forefront because I think many of us don't know what that is. Living in, in California, living in San Francisco, I suffered from social racism because they would do it with a smile or they would do it with the best intentions. Help, I'm gonna help you. But you couldn't really get angry because in their own minds, they feel that they're doing the best for you. But they're looking through the wrong lens when they're doing it. How did you work with individuals that were looking through the wrong lens?
Nicole Waldron:I love that question. The answer it to it basically is my why. I recognize that any job I do is not a job. I believe that I'm here on an assignment. Every job I get, everything I do, I believe is an assignment and so even when I've been in those spaces, which have been predominantly white, and some people have said maybe you've been voted in there as a token, I said I don't care if they, if I'm the token I'm gonna sit down and I'm gonna make sure that my token has value because I am there for a purpose. And my why is what keeps me going because what we're really dealing with that racism sits under is white supremacy. So when we look, when we recognize the elephant in the room of how people have grown up and been socialized in systems of white supremacy, you are so correct, Elton sometimes they're so unaware of what they're doing because it's just natural. It's how they've grown up. Depending on where you've grown you grow up in these microcosms. But at the end of the day, If we know the system is not broken, it is set up the way that is. It was created to do what it's doing and we need to create new systems. We need to break the system and we do it by change and we have to fortify ourselves with the people like yourself and Rita who've been here and get the mentorship. Cuz when you hit those roadblocks, when you meet those people that come with the microaggressions or microaggressions, how do you get, because it's very painful and it's very traumatic when you're in those spaces. But if you don't have the people around you to fortify you in those spaces, you will fall. Two of my people that one day I pray that I meet before I transition before they transition would be Oprah and Barack Obama, not because of what they do, but it's because how they did what they did. Barack Obama, when he was elected after the inauguration they were crucifying him. Secondly, they were crucifying him. I remember his why. He said he knew that this is what he was supposed to do, so he stayed focused. He was like a horse with the blinders at the side. He stayed focused. Oprah said when she 25 years of doing a show, she goes to start her network. It starts failing. And the same people that were chairing her on for 25 years and the media and support were coming at her, but she remembered her. Why? So those two people, I said, okay, if they can be in the limelight and doing all of that, If you don't remember your why, the same people that praise you today will take you down tomorrow. So you better know why you're in there and have an anchor and have the people that will keep you anchored and you have to stay humble. You have to remember the vision. Be intentional about it, cultivate it. Know that transformation is going to happen. Give yourself some ovation along the way, but are you getting it from yourself or others? Rest in the process, but you have to yield and say yes. You have to be humble and that's victory.
Rita Burke:Nicole, you sounded like a pastor. You preached to us today about your why. You talked about why you are an advocate, why you like to help people shine. You talk to us about your sweet spot and do you know everything that you spoke to SpeakUP! International about today will help us to meet our goals of inspiring, informing, and educating. Thank you so much for being with us today, and feel free to send us an email anytime saying, I want to come back because there's so much more I want to talk about. Thank you. Thank you.
Nicole Waldron:Thank you for having me. Anytime you want me back, we can I'm right here.
Elton Brown:I'm gonna hold you to that. We're gonna hold you to that. Thank you for listening to SpeakUP! International! For more information about our guest speaker and podcaster, Nicole Waldron and her professional services, please visit her Facebook page, Victory Speaks at facebook.com/victoryspeaks77. Nicole's Victory Speaks podcasts can be found on Apple podcasts. If you would like to have a conversation with us, SpeakUP! International, please drop us a message, containing your name, company, name, and email address to info@speakuppodcast.ca. You can reach us using Facebook. Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. To connect to our podcasts, use Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform and search for SpeakUP! International. You can also find our podcasts using our web address, speakuppodcast.ca. Our logo has the woman with her finger pointing up mouth open speaking up! At SpeakUP! International, we aim to inspire, to inform and to educate.