Dr. Cheryl "Action" Jackson, founder of Minnie's Food Pantry, shares how her own hidden struggle with hunger as a young mother became an organization that has served over 34 million meals. She reflects on the isolation of leadership, the eight-year pursuit that brought Oprah Winfrey to her stage, and why she chooses priority over balance.

• Jackson's personal story of hiding hunger from friends and family as a young mother, and how her father's death led her to found Minnie's Food Pantry as a way to honor her parents
• Her philosophy that "hunger has no ZIP code" and her approach to dignifying guests — red carpets, music, and concierge service — rather than running a typical food pantry
• Lessons on leadership as isolating and often thankless, and her belief that real leaders pull others up rather than gatekeeping once they've reached a certain level
• The eight-year pursuit of Oprah Winfrey as a keynote speaker — a lesson in tenacity and the idea that "someone is always watching," even when you can't see the results yet
• Why she rejects the idea of "balance" in favor of "priority," illustrated by leaving her own conference mid-day to make her grandson's championship football game

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Civil rights attorney Shaylyn Cochran, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, joins The Power Table to discuss her path from journalism to law and what it takes to lead through today's rollbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She reflects on the mentors, family, and history that keep her grounded, and shares hard-won lessons on vulnerability, imposter syndrome, and building a bench of talent behind her.

• Cochran's path from journalism to civil rights law, and how skills like open-ended interviewing and questioning authority now shape her legal strategy and messaging work at the Lawyers' Committee
• The current landscape: the rollback of demographic data collection, the mass exit of Black women from the federal workforce, and the litigation pushing back on executive orders framing DEI as illegal
• Why she believes reclaiming lost ground will take "a generation," drawing lessons from Constance Baker Motley and Civil Rights Movement leaders who acted boldly without a blueprint
• Her leadership style — democratic and rooted in vulnerability — including telling her team when she's running on limited capacity and trusting them to step up
• Wrestling with imposter syndrome as one of the "only" or "first" in the room, and what she'd tell her younger self: "You got it"

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Tiffany Murphy, founder of Culture Equity, breaks down "cultural intelligence" — the marketing superpower behind campaigns for PlayStation, LinkedIn, the WNBA, and more. She traces her confidence back to advice from her grandmother and shares why real leadership is about how you treat people, not the title you hold.

• What "cultural intelligence" means and why understanding how people feel, not just what they say or buy, drives successful brand work across industries from gaming to sports to B2B
• The distinction she draws between position and power — building trust and treating people as human first, rather than leveraging a title, as the true source of lasting influence
• Her advice for being seen in a crowded, uncertain job market: trust your instincts, speak up, and consider the "intrapreneur" mindset even inside a corporate role
• A personal reveal — becoming a teen mother at 17 and not finishing college — and the advice from her grandmother that shaped her career: master every position so no one can take advantage of you
• Practical leadership habits she credits for her success: staying humble enough to learn first, always knowing your numbers and KPIs, and identifying organizational gaps as your vantage point

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Follow Tiffany Murphy: Instagram