What does it look like to understand a system from every angle, from the inside of a probation office, to the floor of a care home, to the floor of a courtroom?

In this episode of In Her Own Name, I sit down with Creanna Dodson. Mother. Barrister. Business Owner. Founder of Soaring Heights Care.

Creanna did not plan to become a barrister. She will tell you that herself. What she did was spend nearly two decades working inside some of the most demanding spaces in the justice and care systems, and when the lightbulb moment finally came, she had something that most newly called barristers simply do not have. She already knew what the system felt like from the other side.

This is a conversation about protection. About building care for children who arrived in this country alone, without family, without language, without certainty. About what it takes to earn the trust of someone who has every reason not to trust you. About running a team so loyal that some of them have stayed for seven and eight years in one of the hardest industries there is.

It is also a conversation about what it means to finally stop brushing off your own achievements and own them.

In this episode, we explore:

How Creanna stumbled into law organically, through a family crisis, her social work experience and her work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at Soaring Heights Care

What nearly a hundred children over ten years of care has taught her about resilience, deferred gratification and believing that young people are worthy

Why her client care skills are described by other advocates at court as second to none, and where that really comes from

What standing on both sides of the courtroom has taught her about truth, perspective and doing right by people, even when the system is slow

The moment she stopped waiting for others to validate her achievements and started championing herself

What she would shout to her 18-year-old self about believing in your own source

This is not a story about a straight line. It is a story about trusting the process, building something with your hands and your heart, and showing up fully in every role you carry.

Connect with Creanna

LinkedIn: Creanna Dodson

Instagram: @creanna.dodson

Soaring Heights Care: @creanna_shc

In this episode of In Her Own Name, I sit down with Anne-Rose Obidi, founder of The African Parent, for a deeply honest conversation about parenting, power, culture, and the courage to speak up in systems that often feel confusing or intimidating.

This is not just a conversation about raising children. It is about learning how institutions work. It is about understanding how culture shapes our responses. It is about moving from silence to strategy.

Anne-Rose shares how her own journey as a mother led her to build a platform that equips African parents with the tools, language and confidence to advocate effectively for their children.

Together, we explore what happens when respectability meets resistance. What happens when cultural values collide with institutional expectations. And what becomes possible when parents stop shrinking and start engaging with clarity and intention.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why many African parents walk into school systems already feeling disempowered • The importance of systems literacy when advocating for children • How behaviour, culture and neurodivergence are often misunderstood • The hidden cost of raising “good children” who are afraid to challenge • Stepping into your own name after an ADHD diagnosis • Emotional regulation as a leadership skill • Teaching children to question respectfully and lead confidently

Anne-Rose also shares books that have shaped her thinking around leadership and parenting:

📚 Let’s Go Leadership by Obi James: a practical guide exploring different leadership styles and the importance of learning when to let go. 📚 The Conscious Parent: a reflective read focused on intentional parenting and raising self-aware children.

If you are navigating school systems, safeguarding concerns, or simply trying to raise confident children in environments that were not designed with your reality in mind, this conversation will resonate.

Have you ever been told it’s imposter syndrome…When deep down, you knew something else was going on?

In this conversation, I sit down with Beverly Vanterpool, founder of Career Sistas and author of Build Your Table, and we talk honestly about what it means to navigate professional life when the system was never designed with you in mind.

This is not a loud conversation. It’s a clear one.

We speak about those moments when you realise you’re not struggling because you lack confidence, but because you were never invited into the room.

We talk about sponsorship. About visibility. About being over-mentored and under-advocated for.

We talk about redundancy not just as loss, but as an inflexion point. The kind that forces you to ask yourself: What gives me money? What gives me joy? What do I actually want?

Beverly brings both strategy and steadiness to this conversation. She doesn’t pretend the system is fair. She asks a better question: How intentionally are you choosing to move within it?

If you’re building your own table right now, or questioning whether you still belong at someone else’s, sit with this episode.

You are not behind. You are not imagining it. And you are not alone.

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Learn more about Build Your Table: https://beverlyvanterpool.com/build-your-table-find-career-clarity-make-bold-pivots-and-thrive-even-when-the-system-isnt-built-for-you

Connect with Beverly: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverlyvanterpool/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanterpoolb

Career Sistas: https://www.careersistas.com

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If this conversation met you where you are, share it with someone else who might need to hear it too.

In this episode of In Her Own Name, host Lillian Ogbogoh is joined by Danielle Cudjoe-Michalski, a certified coach, strategist, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Thinking Light Coach. With over 20 years of experience in STEM and corporate leadership, Danielle brings both professional insight and lived experience as a neurodivergent woman to the conversation.

Together, they explore what it means to lead without masking, how to create workplaces that are truly inclusive, and why language, visibility, and belonging matter more than ever.

This is a conversation about leading with authenticity, building with intention, and honouring the full value of neurodiverse minds. If you’ve ever felt the need to hide parts of yourself to succeed, this episode is a reminder that your difference is your strength.

In this powerful conversation, Lillian Ogbogoh is joined by Danielle Cudjoe-Michalski, certified coach, strategist, TEDx speaker, and founder of Thinking Light Coach. With 20 years of experience in corporate STEM and her own lived experience as a neurodivergent woman, Danielle brings clarity, insight, and honesty to a conversation many shy away from.

Together, they explore:

• What true neuro-inclusion looks like in the workplace

• Why masking takes a toll on identity and leadership

• How Danielle reclaimed her voice, and her brilliance

• The founding of GSK’s Neurodiversity Network

• Coaching, resilience, and building systems that see people fully

If you’ve ever felt like you had to “fit in” to be respected, or if you’re looking to lead from a place of authenticity, this episode is for you.

🔥 Notable Quotes:

“We’re not broken. We’re built differently. And that difference is full of value.”

“There’s something powerful in just giving people the language to name what they’ve been carrying in silence.”

“Inclusion shouldn’t be a performance. It should be felt.”

📌 Connect with Danielle

• LinkedIn: Danielle Cudjoe-Michalski

• Thinking Light Coach: LinkedIn | Linktree

• TEDx Talk: Watch on YouTube

• Instagram: Thinking Light Coach

In this deeply resonant episode, journalist, educator, and anti-racism activist Sharon Hurley Hall joins Lillian Ogbogoh to unpack the layers of systemic racism and the legacy of colonialism. With clarity, compassion, and hard-earned wisdom, Sharon shares how the murder of George Floyd shifted her path, catalysing the creation of her newsletter, book (I’m Tired of Racism), and the Share Anti-Racism community.

From confronting the invisible weight of everyday racism to redefining resilience, reclaiming rest, and challenging colourism, Sharon speaks truth to power with grace and candour. She also reflects on the intergenerational blessings that sustain her: language, knowledge, and the unshakeable fibre of survival.

Whether you’re seeking to understand how to advocate meaningfully, looking to unpack internalised bias, or need to hear from a woman doing the work without apology, this episode will stay with you.

• Website: www.sharonhh.com

• Newsletter: www.antiracismnewsletter.com

• Book: I’m Tired of Racism – Available via Amazon, Apple Books, B&N

• LinkedIn: @sharonhurleyhall

What does it mean to lead systems with soul? To enter boardrooms shaped by inequity, and bring both legal rigour and lived wisdom?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Deirdre LaBassiere, a governance strategist, legal mind, and changemaker who has turned policy into purpose across housing, health, nonprofit, and cultural sectors.

Deirdre shares her extraordinary journey, from navigating homelessness and illness to becoming a nationally respected voice in ethical leadership. As Chair of WAITS, The Legacy Centre of Excellence, and the West Midlands Board for Common Purpose, she is a woman reshaping power from the inside out.

We talk: ⚖️ What “governance with soul” looks like in practice 🛠️ How lived experience builds stronger systems 🎙️ Why visibility in leadership, especially for Black women, is radical 💡 Lessons from a legacy led by courage, equity, and compassion

This is more than a leadership episode. It’s a masterclass in transformation.