EP 108: Clearing the Path: Cinnamon Clark on Turning Inclusion into Action

(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.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

✅ 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.

About the Guest

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

About the Host

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

Want to Go Deeper?

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

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast, a podcast that explores the real experiences of professionals navigating the workplace with layered, leaded identities. I'm your host, Dr. Lola Ateemo, the CEO of EQI Mindset and founder of the nonprofit Immigrants Incorporate Inc. I'm also an author, speaker, and a workplace inclusion strategist. I work with organizations to build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change. This podcast amplifies the voices of professionals from intersectional backgrounds, immigrants, ethnic minorities, first-gen professionals, veterans, working parents, individuals with disabilities, and so many more. Through solo reflections and guest conversations, we'll uncover the eating challenges, celebrate the wins, and offer insights to help you thrive, not just survive in the corporate world. Because in today's global workforce, belonging isn't just a bonus, it's the catalyst for real growth and impact. Let's dive in. Welcome back to another episode of the Thriving and Intersectionality Podcast and the part where I introduce my guests before I bring them on and share a little bit about their bio and professional career. Today's guest is Cinnamon Clark, and as part of our series Spotlighting the Veteran Intersection, I wanted to share a little bit about Cinnamon's journey. She started a career maintaining aircraft with DOS machines and paper records in the United States Navy. 20 years and 44 days later, she retired as a chief petty officer, but her mission to clear the path for others was just beginning. Cinnamon witnessed history as one of the first women integrated into shipboard squadrons. And then she made history herself by clearing the way through policy and sheer determination for the first enlisted woman to complete the Navy's elite special warfare combatant craft crewmen pipeline. She spent all this time doing the work within the military service space, and then she brought it into corporate America. From the deck of the USS Peleliu to advising over 200 global organizations at McLean and Company, Cinnamon has spent more than two decades turning the concept of inclusion from a buzzword into action. Because as she puts it, inclusion is a verb. And we choose to be inclusive every single day. Now, as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the California Department of Justice, she's still embedding equity into the fabric of how she works, how she volunteers at time, how she serves the people. She's embedding it in the fabric of our California serves, and she's also pursuing her doctorate, chairs the San Diego Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission, and continues to volunteer across California. Cinnamon Clark is here to talk about what it really takes to build belonging, not just in policy documents, but in the daily choices we make. And today we get to hear a little bit of the behind the scenes of our journey and how she does our work. Thank you for listening. Today I'm interviewing somebody who is also a friend, has been in my professional network for a while. We've crossed paths a few times. But I'm especially honored to be able to capture our journey in a quick 30 minutes because I know that she has a lot of insights to share with my audience. So hi Cinnamon, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Hey, Dr. Lola, I am amazing. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

I'm doing great. Thank you. All right. So before I bring in Cinnamon with some of the questions we're gonna ask to get to know R, I like to take a minute to just explain this word, intersectionality. It's a big word, and might be a new word for a lot of people. Uh, this might be the first episode you're listening to. Um, this might be the second, the third. I think we we we can never get enough of trying to understand what this is. And I hope you do your own research and learn more about it. But um I came into knowledge of this word through Kimberly Crensure's work, um, and from a research that she did uh on the experiences of black um women um in the workplace. And she coined that term, but before her, there have been other researchers that have done some work on exploring how different layered aspects of our identity intersect. And so in intersectionality itself is a framework that recognizes how multiple aspects of identity, for example, gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, even and and social class, among others, how all of these things overlap and interact, creating unique experiences of privilege or discrimination that cannot be understood by examining any single factor in isolation. And I like to say that every single one of us, we're all layered, we're multi-layered individuals. But guess what? We come into contact with people at work, at a grocery store, in a Uber car, and all we see is that one lens. And my hope is that you know, listening to these episodes, getting to meet my guests will encourage all of us to give people more grace and open up conversations in a new way so that you learn to listen with art as you get to know the people around you. So, all right, Cinnamon, let's get to know you beyond the bio. Um, so I read your bio, so my audience heard about that, and we'll get into your career journey in a little bit. But first, when you think of the word intersectionality, can you please highlight some of the intersections that are relevant to you and that you want to spotlight?

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Absolutely, thank you. When I think of, I guess my definition and kind of my outlook on intersectionality has changed, right? As adity, equity, inclusion, and belonging professional, um, pretty much for the last 20-some odd years, um, it's changed from an academic standpoint, Kimberly Crenshaw's work, through what that really means to me as the individual. And I think about my life's journey and intersectionality, it's so complex, right? Because think about it, when you when you hear somebody tell a story, you've already made your judgments about who's at fault, what's going on, and all of those. But if you continue to peel back the layers, you you get a deeper understanding of what the cause and effect and what the factors were at play. And so when I think of intersectionality, I think of my own journey. I'm a veteran, I'm a mom, I'm a friend, I'm a professional. Um, you know, and there's lots of things that you can't see about me. Um, you know, my mixed ancestry, um, which you couldn't maybe tell looking at me. Um, just thinking about my journey. I just think about intersectionality and how it it's a we're at a disadvantage when we judge book by a book by its cover or a person by its cover because there's so many layers up under that. You may see me as one thing, but what you see may not be what you get. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Just a page, just a tiny paragraph in the whole book.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

A page, yes. And you know, intersectionality, we are all so deep and layered. And I think about it like you go to a coffee shop, and I love coffee shops. I love to go to coffee shops, uh, local, you know, single family owners and things of that nature. And I love to ask, what brought you here? Why are you selling coffee? Why, why coffee, right? Why not books? Um, and hearing people's story kind of humanizes the coffee that you're having and the energy and intentionality that they're serving you. And so intersectionality, it just asking questions, it's being curious, it's understanding people's stories. Why are you here? You know, what fuels you? And just like you said, what what are the things that pour into your cup? Pun intended.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Okay, somebody loves coffee. Okay, we have to meet up at a coffee place. And for those listening, we're both in San Diego, although we don't get to see each other as often. So um, now that I know you love coffee, coffee date coming right up. Perfect. All right, um, thank you for sharing that. And I um I also think the goal, and I mean, and we will we would obviously talk about work a little bit because um we we are both in that space of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, as you said. And so we we are interacting with leaders sometimes that talk about the fact that, well, we can't meet everybody's need, you know, everybody has a million, that's not what we're talking about. We're only talking about, you know, the black and the women. And but the goal is not for you to be trying to meet a million people's needs. I mean, you can't. The the goal is for you to create the space for these conversations to happen, is to put on your listening ears um so that you know that there's a reason behind there's another why behind the why, behind the why, um, before you jump to conclusion and and make assumptions. So it's also a leadership, leadership um uh what is it, competency? I I say leader intersectionality is a leadership competency because as a leader, the same way we talk about empathy, the same way we talk about um uh uh emotional intelligence, right? Intersectionality is also sort of a lens and a framework that you need to be familiar with so that you um pause before you react to people's um behaviors, maybe in the workplace.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Absolutely. You know, sometimes especially you and I were talking a little bit about how the cultures collide being first generation, right? And think about it like if you're in the workplace and maybe somebody doesn't make eye contact or a female employee doesn't want to be in the same room as a male employee, like there are cultural factors that kind of that not kind of that dictate those behaviors or those practices, those rituals or those customs. And sometimes we see it as one way, but unless we ask those questions and understand the why behind those things, we've made assumptions and we've lost the opportunity to be curious, to learn and to even see the intersectionality and the humanity in people and where they come from and how that fuels them. So absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

All right, thank you. Um, anything else you want to think about, uh you want to introduce when it comes to you? I think you touched on a couple of intersections, but anything you want to add before we move to your career journey?

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Absolutely. I think oftentimes, especially when I when I joined the Navy, uh, we'll get into that a little bit later, but I remember when I joined the military, there was one thing that really sticks out. And I didn't really see it as intersectionality then, but I see it now. And I remember in the Navy, you you have to be able to swim and tread water for a certain amount of time. So one of the things you learn in basic training is you have to jump into this pool. I don't know how height the thing is, it felt like 50 feet in the sky. It might have been 12. I don't know. But you have to jump in there and you have to tread water for a certain amount of time. And I remember as we're all shuffling in there in boot camp, they're like, no, you go over here. And I was like, well, why do I need to go to the remediation pool? And they're just like, well, because black people can't swim, right? And I use that as an example, not to be blasphemous or anything like that, but to say that they did not really understand that I'm a black person, yes, and I know how to swim, right? So we've leaned into those stereotypes, but we've missed the opportunity to see the internection, the intersectionality in that. That yeah, I you may see one thing, but two things can be true at the same time. And you know, I think when we lean on those stereotypes and we kind of um we judge a book by its cover, like I mentioned earlier, we miss the opportunity to understand and really, you know, challenge those biases and things of that sure.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Such a great example. And and you know, I I when I started this podcast too, it was the same thing because I I have a lot of guests that I don't know that maybe I also will be hearing their story for the first time. I invite them into this conversation because something about their intersections, one of the intersections made me think, oh, this person will be a good guest. Um, but then I ask them the same questions, and there are certain guests that I have that I'm thinking, oh, she's definitely an immigrant, she should use that descriptor. And no, they don't. Because the things they think about when they think about that word is so much different from where I was even going. Like where I probably approached, you know, people sometimes because their last name or their name sounds like, oh, this person is an immigrant. And I had one such guest, and I remember asking her at the end of the interview, like, oh my gosh, you know, I I thought you were obviously going to talk about your immigrant background. She's like, Oh, I didn't even think of that. Yeah, I am an immigrant, but it never came up once when she was talking about our identity um categories, even though she wasn't born in the US. And I thought it was quite interesting. That one was a like a switch kind of fit for me. Like, you know, and I allowed myself, I embraced going into my conversations, also willing to learn something new about my guests.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

So yeah, that's incredible. You know, I think I wonder if people have to pick. I know in America specifically, sometimes we have to pick, right? So I'm all of these things, but we have to be boxed into one place, which it kind of negates our intersectionality and it kind of it takes away from that. It doesn't take away from who I am, but it makes me pick who I am because it fits the narrative. And so I can definitely understand how your guests went in a different direction. What's at the top of your mind? Okay, who am I that's top of mind?

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yeah, and I think it's also similar with what you said when you started answering this question is like intersectionality, what is top of mind or the top intersections also changes with seasons. I mean, being a mom is just an example, right? You've not had the mom intersection all your life, you know. So it's like if somebody asked you two decades ago what are your intersectionalities, you're not gonna say mom because mom is not on the radar, right? So um it changes with seasons of life as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

It does. Great point.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Thank you for that. All right, let's dive into the career path. And um, how did you get here? What are some of the career choices and transitions, keyword along the way? Because I know you've navigated multiple phases, so yeah, walk us through your career path.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Oh my goodness, I think the word of the day today is just unconventional, and even unconventional is the wrong word. Um, you know, right now I am a chief diversity and uh equity, inclusion, and belonging officer. I'm a CDIO. And I think I tell people all the time that this I didn't choose this work, this work actually chose me. And so way back when I was, you know, I grew up in Arizona, and in Arizona, I was the only black woman or the only black girl for quite some time. And even when I graduated from high school, and I remember, I remember back in the day, and I'm a woman, right? And so I remember when I was about to join the Navy, women were cocktail waitresses, they were administrators at schools, they were teachers, they were secretaries. So when I said I was going into the Navy as an electrician, they're like, whoa, girls don't do that. What are you doing? You know, and so you know, that's one thing that comes to mind. But I also think back in the day, uh being back in Arizona, I remember 16, 17, you know, 15, girls always always want to wear or girls want to start wearing makeup. And that's kind of when girls start to come to be. But I remember going back to Kmart and they didn't have my shade. They didn't have anything browner than maybe suntan. And I remember, and it was Revlon, I remember writing them a letter at like 15 years old, like, hey, what's going on? I can't find my shade. And that I really feel like that was my first step into advocacy for self, but also recognizing inclusion and belonging. And that was long before I got into the actual diversity and inclusion space. And so I think about that and I think about having occupied spaces where I was the only. When I was in the military, I did 20 years. Um, and when I joined the military, first of all, I got bamboozled. I went to the recruiting office with my sister, and she was thinking about going into the Navy. She didn't qualify for some reason. I took a test, the next thing I know, I'm swearing in and I have a new assignment, right? And I'm shipping off to boot camp in a year. No true story. You just escorted your sister. Girl, that's what I get for trying to just ride along with my sister. I promise. And I didn't have any experience, you know, we didn't have a family history of service, so I didn't know that between that time I shipped off and when I swore in, I could have gotten out. But it was actually the best decision. When I went into the Navy, I was an electrician. And back then I was it was the it was when the military was integration, integrating women onto ships and different duty stations. So again, I was the only. And I am, you know, I'm uh I'm a black woman. And so again, the only. And I work with all men, and most of them were taller than me. So I'm the only person under six foot. So a lot of only's female, black woman, you know, height, all of those things. And when they were doing the integration, and this is where intersectionality kind of meets reality, and they're just like, Well, what do women want? How do how should we do this? We were trained that women can't do this, women can't do that. And that's when my intersectionality, all of the things that I am, kind of collided. And I was like, Well, I can't speak for everybody, I'm only one experience, right? And you have to ask other people, and I can't just speak on behalf of a whole bunch of people that look like me but may not identify the same as me. And so, you know, I went through the military and that back then when they were integrating the women into uh into the ship onto the ships and living quarters, and they were converting men's spaces that were historically men's into women's. I remember there was a heavy push for equal opportunity, right? Because this was in the 90s, this is only 30 years after the Civil Rights Act and some of those subsequent acts and uh legislation. And I went into equal opportunity and often I was tagged for that because I was the only, fill in the blank, the only whatever, right? And so I did a lot of that work. And again, tying it back to the big picture, that work chose me. I did not choose that work. I was there, I looked like what they thought that I should look like. I'm not advocating for that because I now know that I was part of the problem back then because you know, the weight of everybody that looks like me or identifies the same as me was on my back. And I joined the military, you know, I did my work in the military, I worked in equal opportunity. And as the space continued to evolve into equity, inclusion, diversity, belonging, I just continued to evolve in the space. And, you know, I say that to say that no two paths are the same, right? I was literally in the right place or the wrong place, depending on how you look at it, at the right time, the right time of history and the right time of the evolution of, you know, recognizing that everybody doesn't need the same thing. And so after I retired from the Navy, I was um the last six years, I was a reservist, which means that I did part-time like weekends and a couple of weeks a year. And I was also working in the diversity, equity, inclusion um space as um for the for the Department of Defense, where I stayed for some time. And again, these spaces were just opening up as I was matriculating through and you know, maturing in the space. And another another pin in that saying that, you know, just because something doesn't exist, you can't see it, doesn't mean it won't exist when you make it, right? And so every opportunity that I've had has essentially been building from the ground up to include my current role, right? And, you know, when people think about, well, I can't see it, I don't know it exists. Do what you have to do for you, build yourself, build your skills. And it's like a game of Mario Brothers. I know I'm dating myself, but right, on, you know, when you play a video game, you're getting the tools that you need in the current round for the next round, right? We don't know what the next round is, it's unseen to us, but we know that we can collect the tools and we hold on to them and we'll be able to use them when uh when the next round or opportunity comes about. And so career wise, I've had a lot of I've had a lot of different spaces, as you mentioned. So I work for the Department of Defense, I work for aviation, I was recruiting and outreaching, building relationships with aviation folks. I work for the Navy SEALs, uh, that was incredible. Um I had the opportunity to essentially clear the way as far as equity is concerned for women, you know, clearing the space for them to uh join roles that were historically only for men. Um, and then that role, lots, lots, lots of equity work. I'll give you a quick example. I remember lots of folks don't understand the difference between equality and equity. And really quickly, in the military, we all get issued boots because it's an industrial environment. We've got to protect our feet, all of those things. So in this particular role, one of the things that we noticed was that women were being issued smaller men's boots, right? And that doesn't seem like a big deal, right? But anatomically, men's boots are not built for women. We need lighter boots, we need boots that are smaller. So just because they're smaller doesn't mean that they're built for us. So we treated everybody equitable or equally by giving them boots, but we didn't treat them equitably by giving them boots for their gender, their stature, and all of those things. And what's the result of that? We're just like, oh, it's no big deal. Well, what we did, what we did see through research was that women were having more stress fact fractures and hip issues and issues like that. So, you know, tying the equity piece into kind of my career journey, it's important to know the difference between the equity and the equality in all of the things. Um, and finally, my my role now, I work for the state of California and I have the unique opportunity to be building and paving the way uh for inclusion, for equitable treatment, and just to recognize the humanity and the human in people. When people hear diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, it's become such a buzz, a set of buzzwords and buzzwords and and and it has negative connotations, but we want everybody to have what they need to survive, right? We don't want to say that no, I can't give you a wheelchair ramp because I don't want you to have, you know, equal access to the building like I have. Or, you know, everybody should have equitable access to training in the workplace. Um, so career-wise, that's a little bit of where I've been as far as uh my journey is concerned. So career choices, I've always chose something that was going to be challenging. If you're comfortable, you're not growing. Um, and does that mean the challenge is easy? Absolutely not. I have plenty of gray hairs in here hidden and slicked back to prove that that's not the case. But you know, if I were giving advice to my younger self, I would say one, don't be afraid. Just because you don't you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist and doesn't mean you can't create it, right? Everything that is for you will be for you. There's no reason for you to worry about what other people have. Measure yourself against everybody, anybody, anybody, anybody except for yourself. You're only in this race with yourself and be a good human.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Oh okay, okay. I feel like sitting and just thinking through everything you just said, but okay, we've got to keep moving. Thank you. That was awesome. I I think I had a question immediately. You started talking. I was like, okay, I'm gonna let that finish. And my first question was going to be you didn't even pick the easy path, even going into the Navy, girl. Okay, so talking about being an electrician in the Navy, I mean, what are the ratios there? And also, why electrician?

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Great questions. Uh, so the first thing, the electrician, remember I told you I was bamboozled, right? I didn't know anything about the Navy. They just said you scored high enough for these things. What do you want to do? And I was like, Well, this seems legit. Um, I don't know any electricians. Um, but it was the best thing ever. I was an aviation electrician. I love to work with my hands. I feel like working with your hands is very, it's it's a it's a it's a love language, right? You're building, you're touching, you're putting intention into things. And I can see how that aligns with who I am now, right? So something in that uh spoke to me. And then what was the other question, Lola? I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

No, that was that was it. That was the question. Was was why why electrician? I mean, just talking about choices and the reason we choose the the next role, the next task that we go for. And I know I was talking to you a little bit about this before we came on here about just me falling in love and allowing myself to enjoy writing because that was when I got into entrepreneurship, that was the thing for me writing research, reading research, writing articles, and I got busy and I did less. And and just to realizing, rediscovering what do I enjoy doing as as you know, as we shape our career or next step.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Yeah, and you know, we're living in a time where we have to invest in ourselves because there's so many unknowns out there. And what do you enjoy? What fills your cup? What makes you happy? And even though writing and research to some folks it sounds like work, it energizes you. I've seen your work, I've been fangirling to your work for years, and so you know, and those types of things cannot be underlooked uh, you know, overlooked within ourselves. And I think young professionals sometimes miss the opportunity. Maybe younger generations than us get it. Maybe we're we're the keepbacks, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Yeah, maybe. I know we with somebody, um, I worked with somebody who would use the phrase the in uh that was a phrase she used for I guess millennials was like the sandwich. It's it's uh people also call it the sandwich generation, but because it's um I think she used the phrase translator generation and how millennials are key because we understand the traditional so well, because we were raised in the world where they were working, and so we get them, but we also get this younger because we're raising, you know, we're raising them, we're still in tune with them, and so we get to be this translator of culture for different generations, and and it's a unique and lovely place to be in.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Um, I'm loving it, it really is, and it's mind-blowing, right? Because when you were a kid, you weren't thinking about being able to video call your friend and have a podcast, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Like, okay, no, no, no. I mean, think about this podcast. I've had this is um more than we crossed hundred episodes this year, and I remembered how nervous I was to start this podcast um virtual.

unknown 28:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

And now I get opportunities to go through a studio, and I just think I've interviewed people from outside of the US from different countries, and the just the freedom it gives us to capture what we want to capture without logistics um uh being being a barrier, right? Um, you know, of course, this also talks to another level of access, which is having good internet and a good space, right? So different conversations with that, because I've had a guest before where the power went up. I was a guest in a different country, and the power went up during a session, and the internet was threatened, and then we had to pause. You know, again, we start to talk about access when we are talking about some of these things.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

It's a privilege to have a stable internet and it is privilege to have infrastructure. You are absolutely correct.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Yeah. All right. Well, thank you for sharing all of that. I think um my last question was going to be also tied to my next to the last. I always end with the final question, but was going to be tied to bring pulling all of this together when you think about the background that you have, um, the kind of upbringing that you have, the kind of um experiences you have, maybe even in the mil the military, and how your transition worked out. Uh, for professionals these days, I think transition is a key um conversation that people are having, right? What advice do you have for people that are trying to grow their career professionally right now and are thinking um, you know, things that work for you? What are some of the things that works for you? And then looking forward because you are in this space, you are in this work, you know what the world of work looks like now. So, two-phase questions. What worked for you? What helped you in your career journey that you will recommend for others? And then what do you see looking to the future and advice that you have for younger, even mid-career professionals uh to pay attention to as they grow their career?

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Absolutely. I think what worked for me mainly was that I always had a natural curiosity. And tell me no, and I'm gonna find a workaround, right? So that's the first thing.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Um, I remember the interesting thing about that statement you just made for anyone that doesn't know Cinnamon, she's got a dimple. Okay, dimples are the most charming thing ever. Ever since I was a child, I used to think was there where I could create dimples on my face, and officially um cinnamon has like the sweetest smile and personality. And when she's saying, Tell me no, I'll figure out I'm like, Oh, she would smile you too.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

Yes, that is the truth. And uh side note, the dimples, I hate it when people touch me when I was a kid, so the grass is always greener. I'm like, why because I'm Dileta Kid, everyone wants to touch me. It was wild. I'll probably be one of those people that would touch it. I appreciate it, it's enduring now and it's who I am, so I gotta use it, right? Um, so thank you for that. I so appreciate that. I think what's worked for me is when you tell me no, I'm like, oh, okay, well, let me find a yes. And when I say that, it's not tongue in cheek, it's really show me, right? And I remember when I was in the military, um, I was getting my education, I was getting my master's degree, and I was on a ship, and I remember one of the senior leaders telling me that I was focused too much on my education, um, and I should be focused more on the military, right? That was bad advice. I would never tell anybody that. Right. And that was back in the day. I came in in a day where folks joined the military instead of going to college, right? And again, like your friend, like your previous guest said, I was in that sandwich generation, right? That translator generation. We believe in education, but back in the day, other folks did not. And so I was part of that generation coming up. So that was a great point that I could tie into what you said. And, you know, also just be I keep saying this, just because it doesn't exist doesn't mean that it won't and you can't make it. And that sounds a little bit easier than said than done, right? But continue to invest in yourself. I remember years and years ago, I got a degree, my master's degree is in psychology. And I was, I wanted to work in HR. I was like, how are these things going to make sense? But now we know post-pandemic, especially, that those types of soft, interpersonal, you know, soft skills are really important in transactional HR now and communication and being translators and showing up in the workplace. And so just never doubt what you bring to the table. I remember taking project management classes. Why? Because I was interested in learning and how much is that paying off now? It's it's an invaluable in my experience. And so what worked for me, being curious, putting yourself out there as a natural introvert. I know you probably don't believe that, but I am absolutely an introvert. Lola's seen it in action, right? Um, you know, never limit yourself. Never limit yourself. If I would have stayed in that small town in Arizona, I would have been an administrator or a teacher because that's all I've seen, right? Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And now we have internet, so you can kind of see these things. And like you said, you know, we have that connectivity to other, you know, resources except for the you know the dictionaries we used in the in the library. But I say that to say never limit yourself. The sky is the limit. And oftentimes you pave your own path, right? Stay open to opportunities. And lastly, but most importantly, network, right? Network, network, network. I know some of the younger listeners to your podcast probably don't understand the importance of LinkedIn, but I will say the last two roles I got was because recruiters found me. I didn't find them.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah, absolutely. I love it. Thank you so much. That was good. And if you're not connected to Cinnamon, you should be connected. Um, I believe the introvert part, but I also believe you are at the working promo for introverted strength because people always associate introvert with you know, shy or not able to assert um yourself. And and I think there's a whole conversation we can have around the power of introversion.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Absolutely, absolutely. And you know what? I forgot the forward look. You know, what your question about the forward look, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

The second part of the question is because of the role that you have right now, um, I feel like you have access to so much um around employment and what the market looks like, and just if there's any advice you have for people that are job searching right now or maybe thinking of career changes um in the new year, what what advice do you have for them?

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Absolutely. I I would say keep an open mind because you can translate your skills in ways that maybe you didn't think about, right? So go on those informational interviews. If there's something you want to do, go talk to those people, find out about their career path. Uh, one of the things that I'm seeing trend, especially in recent times, is entrepreneurship, right? You know a lot about that. And I'm seeing a lot of that and mutual aid. That's something that came up in the last couple of weeks because we've had some things going on in the world. Um, mutual aid, finding ways to help other people. What are you good at? What are you interested in? What fills your cup? And a lot of folks have learned how to monetize that in ways that maybe previous generations, the boomers and my generation, the ex may not have been able to. But what are those things? You know, I'm looking at these websites like Whatnot and Etsy. You can monetize your skills. But if you're really looking for corporate jobs and things of that nature, talk, figure out what the culture looks like, do your research, answer the questions. And as a as a hiring manager, I see oftentimes people don't answer the questions. They just send that one resume out to everybody. You're missing opportunities, you're leaving things on the table. Look at what they're asking for, translate your skills, make a resume for every one of those roles that you're applying for. Because, you know, in my case, humans look at all of the resumes. But in your case, just follow directions. You can always connect with me. I got lots of employment tips and hiring manager tips and how to get on here and how to get on there. Um, but believe in yourself because we're all much more capable than of doing bigger things than we give ourselves credit for more times than not, right? I see the I see the potential in people that are like, you see that in me, or somebody has done that into me. And be a human, be a human. And these times we need grace, we need kindness, and we need to center humans, not you know, what anyway, not any of the things that divide us, but as humans, how do we connect with humans? How can we help other humans? And that's what I'm committed to, and that's why I love this work, and that's why I love what you do, Lola. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Thank you. I am so glad to have you in my network. And and she doesn't just talk it, she she does it, she does the work, and so the invitation to connect to chats, you better do that because cinnamon means it. Yes, for sure. Pink Blazer, LinkedIn. Thank you so much, Cinnamon, for being here. And so on to my final, final question. If you were to share a meal with your co-workers, what would you pick and why?

SPEAKER_00 37:50

If I could share a meal with my co-workers, what would I pick and why? I would probably ask my co-worker to make something that is um a way that they commemorate a holiday in their home, right? I would pick maybe a junior uh associate or something of that nature and ask them what they make for whatever their favorite holiday is. I think that food is a great way. I love your question, by the way. I love that food is a way to connect us, right? And especially in a place like San Diego, there's so many different cultures, there's so many different backgrounds. So um, that's how we connect with people. And when you invest in people and you share, you break bread with them, there's something special about that. And when you make a meal or have a meal prepared for you, again, back to that working with your hands. I think there's a level of intention and love that goes with that. So, to answer your question directly, I would probably ask what you know, a junior associate's favorite meal was or holiday was, and commemorate it by the type of food associated with it. How about you?

SPEAKER_01 38:57

Okay, wait, that that's a very interesting response. You know what? Every time I've asked that question the same way, I what I mean is what you will take. Oh, but you are the first person that ever responded thinking about what the other person wants, and I think it ties nicely to you and the way you work because every time I'm listening to people answer this question, I'm thinking of how it ties to what we just talked about, about their background. You literally went to what do they want? What do they use to celebrate? How can I learn more about them? And that speaks to what is on your mind. I've never had anybody take that question to mean what does the person want to bring? What celebrate? Like people are yeah, it's it's so funny. You said that, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna let her finish because we saw assumptions and the listening and communication. Because I'm like, Oh, that's what I said, okay. But I guess what I said could also mean I have to share the meal with them. But thank you. That speaks about your heart, that speaks to what you're talking about, that speaks to the work you're doing. You're always looking to invite people to get to know them, to give them preference when it comes to choices, like what do you want? What do you prefer? Um, so thank you. That was very relevant. Now we'll ask the other part of the question, which is if you were to take a meal talking about communication, you were to take a meal to your office to share with your co-workers. What would you personally pick in that kind of situation?

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Oh my goodness, I would probably bake something only because typically people like baked things. Um, and I wouldn't want them to criticize me too well too bad. So I would totally take a peach cobbler because it's probably the best thing that I can make and it's so easy. Um, because I everybody's a critic these days, right? And I don't like community food. Um, like, you know, I'm like, who made this? Whose house was this? So I'd probably make a dessert um and it'd probably be peach cobbler because it's easy and I wouldn't want to be judged too badly.

SPEAKER_01 41:13

Oh my gosh, that's so funny. Thank you. Um, I'm with you on that. I the whole potlock concept, I discovered potlocks when I came to the US and um in the workplace, and I'm like, I don't know who made that, I don't know what that is, I don't want to eat it, you know, and people just assume everybody, you know, oh, it's a potlock, you bring oh, I make this, I don't know what it is. I don't, and then if you feel culturally like I don't have a choice, I don't want to offend people by not eating it, and that's a thing, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:47

Like if we go to us down in Mississippi, if you say no to food, that's a problem, and right goes nicely into that intersectionality.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

Your American roots meet your I will go to those potlocks and I will fill my plates with a bunch of stuff, take a bite, and then slowly slide it into the trash because I really didn't want it, but I didn't want to offend anybody by not trying their food, and so it took me a long time to be able to be comfortable to take what you want and walk away. It's okay, you can still ask questions about the foods, you can still enjoy learning about what the food is without feeling like you have to eat everything.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

Absolutely, and just being honest about it, I'm like, listen, I'm high anxiety, so uh yeah, um, I can't do this, but what is it just in case?

SPEAKER_01 42:36

Just something rude. So funny, but thank you, thank you so much. Um, it was fun to get that double part, and you were asking what I will bring. Um I I think for me, I always want to share a little bit of my Nigerian heritage as well. So it's usually gonna be um we have a couple of snacks that I make. Um, one is called puff popp, it's like a pastry, dip fried dough, and then another one is called meat pie. So they're both like seasoned with African spices, but they're like um snacks, pastries that we make back home. So usually that's what I would make and take to work. It does take a long time to make, but if I have time, that's what I will make because I want to share it, and I also want I want to make some, I want to share something that I can eat. Yeah, so I want to be able to have conversations and educate them about oh, what is this? I can talk about my country. Um, and so yeah, that's it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

I love it, and that's how we connect with humans. Thank you for having me, uh Dr. Noah. You are incredible.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

Thank you, Cinnamon. It was nice having you. If you're listening, make sure you check out the show notes. You can find the link uh to Cinnamon's uh LinkedIn and um let me know what you think about these episodes. Thank you for listening. Please rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

Thank you, Lola.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Thank you for being part of today's conversation on thriving in intersectionality. If you are an HR or DEI leader and you need employer resource group or business resource group resources, let's connect and LinkedIn and help organizations build inclusive cultures through inclusive workplace communities, strategy, and storytelling. Immigrants and first-gen professionals join our free community at www.immigrantsincorporate.org for career support, networking, and resources in community with peers who understand your journey. Tag our podcast page on LinkedIn or connect with me directly to continue the conversation. Please don't forget to rate and review to help others discover these discussions. Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters. I'm Dr. Lola Adeyemo, and this has been Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast.