Hey BA fam! We’re bringing back one of our most powerful conversations with writer, editor, and cultural critic Roxane Gay — just in time as we come out of Pride Month and Juneteenth, and as I celebrate finishing the 12th and final chapter of my manuscript ahead of my July 1 deadline.

Even though I had to give up my spot at Roxane’s Black writers convention last weekend because of surgery, I’m grateful we get to sit with her voice again in this feed. Brown Ambition will be back with brand‑new episodes starting July 8, and I can’t wait to update you more on this book journey and what’s next for BA.

In this encore episode, Tiffany and I sit down with Roxane to talk about what it means to stand your ground as “a Black, queer, fat woman” in America — her words — and how she thinks about safety, gun ownership, and the reality that no one is coming to save us but us. Roxane walks us through years of threats against her, the decision to buy a gun during the pandemic, and what she learned when she realized Black women are the fastest‑growing group of gun owners in the U.S.

We also get into the heart of Brown Ambition: Black women’s ambition, entrepreneurship, education, and generational wealth. Roxane talks about multiple income streams, negotiating her worth in publishing and media, and why she still has to fight for her value even with a “media empire” and a team of top‑tier agents and lawyers behind her. Tiffany shares her own journey selling hundreds of thousands of books and doing 90% of her own marketing, and I ask Roxane for advice as I write my first book with Legacy Lit.

Along the way, we discuss:
• Roxane’s book Hunger and how it cracked me open and helped me love myself.[Attachment]
• Growing up in gun‑saturated environments and raising Black boys in a country obsessed with guns.
• Sonya Massey, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and why police violence remains a constant threat no matter what we do to protect ourselves.
• Black women’s dominance in degrees, entrepreneurship, and readership — and what that means for wealth‑building.
• The importance of Black editors, hiring independent publicists, and insisting that your book still sounds like you.
• The power of “living in the gray” instead of pretending life is black‑and‑white.[Attachment]

Content note: This episode includes discussion of gun violence, police killings, and anti‑Semitic threats. Please listen when you feel emotionally ready and take care of yourself as you do.

Resources & mentions:
• Roxane Gay – Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and Bad Feminist (essay collection).
• Roxane’s essay series on gun ownership and power on Everand (formerly Scribd).

If you enjoy this encore, please share it with a friend, grab Roxane’s books, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts so more BA fam can find the show. Supporting our living legends — and the storytellers in progress — matters.

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Mandi pops in with a quick life and book update, shares details about the upcoming Brown Ambition Career Reboot Challenge, and then re‑airs one of the most powerful conversations in the BA archive: her interview with Mielle Organics CEO and founder, Monique Rodriguez.

If you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to turn grief into purpose, build a global brand from your kitchen, and navigate the backlash that comes with selling your company as a Black woman, this episode is for you.

You’ll hear:

• How Monique went from nursing to experimenting with hair oils in her kitchen after the devastating loss of her infant son, Milan—and how that grief became the seed for Mielle Organics.
• The story behind Mielle’s sale to Procter & Gamble, why Monique chose to stay on as CEO, and what has and hasn’t changed since the deal.
• The criticism Black women founders face when they sell to big conglomerates, and how Monique handles assumptions about “selling out,” formula changes, and being “just the face” of the brand.
• How she uses faith, submission, and feminine energy in ways that actually support her as a CEO, wife, and mom—and why she wanted to tell a more nuanced story than social media soundbites allow.
• The legacy work she and her husband are doing now, including angel investing in other Black‑owned brands.

Mandi also shares why this conversation hits differently now as she writes her own book about ambition, grief, and career reboots—and why Monique’s story is such a powerful example of turning “why me?” into “what now?.”

🎉Brown Ambition Career Reboot Challenge Kicks off June 22-26!

Feeling stuck in your job, underpaid, bhttps://instagram.com/brownambitionpodcasturned out, or just unsure what’s next for your career? Mandi is hosting the Brown Ambition Career Reboot Challenge—a 5‑day, guided experience to help you:

• Get honest about where you are in your career right now
• Gather your receipts so you can clearly see your value
• Explore what a true “reboot” could look like (raise, role change, new field, or better boundaries)
• Build a simple 90‑day experiment to start making moves, not just dreaming about them

The challenge includes daily prompts and trainings, a reusable workbook, and two live coaching calls with Mandi on Day 1 and Day 5, plus replays.

👉 Learn more and grab your spot here: https://www.mandimoney.com/career-reboot-2026

If you enjoyed this episode
• Share it with a friend who’s building something from a hard season
• Tag @brownambitionpodcast and @mandimoney with your takeaways
• Leave a rating or review—it helps other Brown Ambition fam find the show!

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🔥 In this episode of Brown Ambition, Mandi sits down with Jessica Cruel, the powerhouse Editor-in-Chief of Allure and SELF magazines, to talk about her journey to the top of the beauty media world and how she’s building wealth through real estate investing as a single woman.

👑 We dive into:

✔️ How Jessica climbed the ranks in the magazine industry

✔️ Her journey to financial independence & the FIRE movement

✔️ The ups and downs of being a single woman in real estate

✔️ Smart investing tips for first-time buyers

✔️ The power of mentorship, executive coaching, and community

💰 Jessica shares the exact team she built to succeed in real estate:

✔️ A real estate agent who understands investment properties

✔️ A reliable general contractor & trusted repair professionals

✔️ A financial team to maximize tax benefits & long-term wealth

🔑 Key Takeaways:

1️⃣ Don’t wait for the “perfect time” to start investing—learn as you go!

2️⃣ Build a strong team to support your real estate journey.

3️⃣ Wealth-building is possible at any stage of your career.

📌 Follow Jessica Cruel:

📸 Instagram: @JCruel

🌟 Allure: allure.com

🌟 SELF: self.com

💡 Subscribe for more career, wealth, and entrepreneurship insights and don't forget to leave us a review! It's a huge help to get the show seen by more listeners.

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Hey BA Fam! Today I’m answering a question from a listener who calls herself “Tired Nanny” — a 27‑year‑old who recently moved to the U.S., has a bachelor’s in education, and is wondering if an MBA is the key to pivoting into business. She’s saved enough to cover grad school tuition and a year of living expenses and is tempted to quit nannying altogether so she can focus on school full‑time.

In this throwback Brown Ambition Q&A, I break down:
• Why your current job (yes, even nannying) can be a powerful bridge and not a dead end when you’re pivoting careers
• How to decide if an MBA is actually worth the time and 50K+ price tag for the kind of business or career you want
• Alternatives to grad school: continuing education, mentorship, networking, and learning directly from working entrepreneurs
• How to reframe “this is all that’s left for me” into “this is how I’m planting seeds for my future self” as a young immigrant woman building a new life in the Stats

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This week, we’re heading back into the Brown Ambition vault for a powerful conversation with celebrity hairstylist and image maker Lacy Redway.

Lacy may not always be in front of the camera, but you’ve definitely seen her work. From red carpets to fashion campaigns and TV and film, she’s shaping the way Black women show up on screen and in the culture.

In this episode, we get into:

• Growing up as a Jamaican immigrant, being the “foreign kid,” and learning to do her own hair after a bad relaxer left it broken and damaged
• Braiding classmates’ hair for $5–$10 in middle and high school and realizing, in hindsight, that she was already a young entrepreneur
• How she transitioned from doing hair in school to assisting in salons, working on photo shoots, and building a real portfolio in the pre‑Instagram era
• The behind‑the‑scenes reality of being one of the few Black stylists backstage at fashion week—and why Black models would literally wait in line for Lacy to do their hair
• What it actually looks like to take yourself seriously as a business: investing back into your craft, getting representation, and positioning yourself for bigger brand and editorial work
• How rates really work in fashion and celebrity styling, why there’s no union protecting hair and makeup artists in her lane, and how that impacts pay and job security
• The power and pressure of being an “image maker” for Black women, and why getting the hair right can make or break a character or campaign
We also talk about the evolution of Black hair care, the shift from relaxers to curls and coils, and how much access to education and products has changed since the 90s.
If you’re a creative, service provider, or anyone trying to turn a skill into a sustainable business, this conversation will give you both inspiration and a real look at the money and power dynamics behind the glam.

Tune in to hear how Lacy built her career, claimed her value, and continues to advocate for herself and other artists in an industry that doesn’t always see their worth.

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In this Flashback Friday Brown Ambition Q&A, Mandi and Tiffany tackle two big money dilemmas listeners are facing right now: whether to borrow from a 401(k) to pay off debt, and how to make the most of a 200K inheritance without blowing your shot at building generational wealth.

In the first question, they break down when a 401(k) loan can make sense, the major risks if you leave your job, how balance transfer cards and personal loans compare, and why lenders are often “betting against” your behavior with these products.

Then they dig into Erica’s inheritance and walk through the tradeoffs between paying off a low‑rate mortgage versus using that cash for an investment property or other investments. They talk through landlord realities, using home equity to scale a real estate portfolio, and why parking a windfall in cash for a few months while you build a plan with a financial pro can be the smartest move.

Send your money, career, and business questions via DM to @brownambitionpodcast on Instagram or email us at brownambitionpodcast@gmail.com.

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Debt doesn’t have to be the big bad boogeyman on your back. In this throwback episode of Brown Ambition, I’m joined by two powerhouses in the money space—financial activist Dasha Kennedy (The Broke Black Girl) and National Debt Relief Chief Compliance and Consumer Affairs Officer, Natalia Brown—for an honest, stigma‑free conversation about what debt relief is, who it’s for, and how to finally create a plan you can live with.

We unpack the emotional weight of debt, from shame and secrecy to the very real health impacts of chronic financial stress, and we walk through practical options—from DIY payoff and consolidation loans to credit counseling, debt relief programs, and bankruptcy. You’ll hear exactly what happens when you call a company like National Debt Relief, how settlements actually get negotiated, and the red flags to watch for so you don’t fall for scammy debt collectors.If debt is stealing your sleep, this is your permission slip to put the shame down and pick up a plan.

For more information on a variety of debt topics, feel free to visit National Debt Relief’s Resource page for more information on individual debt situations: https://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/resources/

Note: These show notes may contain link to affiliate products, from which we derive revenue.

We want to hear from you! Drop us a note at brownambitionpodcast@gmail.com or hit us up on Instagram @brownambitionpodcast

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This week on Brown Ambition, we’re joined by none other than HGTV’s powerhouse duo, Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, stars of “Married to Real Estate” and hosts of the Marriage & Money podcast.

Together, we dive into what it really looks like to build a business, raise a family, and keep a marriage strong—all while staying true to themselves. From juggling show tapings to managing their growing empire (hello, new furniture line Indigo Road!), Egypt and Mike don’t hold back.

We talk about:

- The honest truth about therapy, teamwork, and choosing love on the hard days

- How they navigate marriage without competition just collaboration

- The power of understanding your partner’s strengths in life and in business

- Their journey raising daughters while modeling a healthy, ambitious partnership

- What it takes to build a financial dream team and break the mold on outdated gender roles

We also get personal about the importance of communication, leaning on trust, and setting boundaries that protect your peace—drawing inspiration from Michelle Obama, Tabitha Brown, and the many women redefining relationship goals on their own terms.

This one’s for anyone balancing love, legacy, and leveling up

🎧 Tap in and don’t forget to check out Egypt and Mike on YouTube and follow Egypt's newest venture, Indigo Road, for more of her signature style and vision.

Links + Resources:

📲 Follow Egypt on [Instagram https://www.instagram.com/egyptsherrod/ ]

📲 Follow Mike on [Instagram https://www.instagram.com/djfadelf/ ]

LET’S STAY CONNECTED

Instagram: @brownambitionpodcast

Website: https://www.brownambitionpodcast.com

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