About this Episode:

Season 1, Episode 4: “You Deserve to be Here” with Deesha Dyer

Enjoy this conversation with CauseGirl Deesha Dyer, who shares her remarkable path to the White House without having a single connection, fancy degree or even linear path. Instead, she used her background in community organizing and hip-hop culture. From the working-class city of brotherly love, Deesha shows us how to lead with genuine heart and live by a just-do-it work ethic. From her last ride on Air Force One, you’ll hear the story of how she keeps the inner-critic at bay with her formula for success, which includes giving herself the grace to learn.

Here to teach us a thing or two about going for it, this is Deesha’s story.

In this episode…

• Where it all began: Philly, hip-hop culture and lifting up women
• The most non-traditional path (maybe ever) to the White House
• Never underestimate the power of a vision board
• Turning a passion into full-time public service and social-work
• Wisdom from the White House years & Deesha’s formula to live by
• How to build the talent pipeline for black girl students interested in big careers
• Deesha’s top lessons on social media, mental health and change

More about Deesha Dyer

Deesha Dyer is an award-winning strategist and community organizer most known for her public role in serving as the White House Social Secretary for U.S. President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017. Deesha also served as Deputy to the previous Social Secretary, Jeremy Bernard. Her White House career began as an intern in the Office of Scheduling and Advance in Fall 2009. She was the Obama administration’s fourth social secretary and the second of African-American descent. Before working at the White House she worked as the executive assistant at the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and a freelance writer at the Philadelphia Citypaper.

She has been a CauseGirl all her life, having been a community organizer at the height of the HIV / Aids epidemic in Philadelphia as a young girl. More recently, she co-founded beGirl.world, an organization that empowers teen girls through global education and travel and The Black Girl 44 Scholarship, which financially supports black female college students interning in politics or public service in cities across the country. She now serves as founder and CEO for Hook & Fasten, a consulting firm for social impact.

She has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Vogue, Refinery29, Forbes, Glamour and Washington Post. In 2019, Deesha became a Resident Fellow for the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation. She has received the NAACP Image Award and was named to Marie Claire’s new guard of women leaders changing the world in 2015. The Root named her 1 of 100 most influential African-Americans.

Deesha now adds “Official CauseGirl” to her impressive list of credentials.

CauseGirl call to action in this episode

• When it comes to giving, people often think of the big-name charities or the in-store programs around the holidays. These organizations have big marketing budgets and celebrities. It’s often the small, local organizations that need the most support, especially those devastated by the pandemic.
• Start by looking at what interests you. Is it travel? Mass incarceration? Knitting? Whatever it is – start there and then find a local organization meeting these needs in your local community.
• It’s the smaller, on-the-ground community organizations that need immediate and long-term needs met. Ask them what they need, instead of assuming what you think they need.
• Make it a small and local organization that you pick this holiday season for your meaningful contribution(s).

People Links & Resources in this episode

• BeGirl World
• The Black Girl 44 Scholarship
• Hook & Fasten

CONNECT WITH US!

• If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don’t forget to rate and review our podcast.
• Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.
• Find Deesha Dyer on LinkedIn, @DeeshaDyer on Twitter and @DeeDyer267 on Instagram, and DeeshaDyer.com.
• We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at elena@thecausegirl.com.
• Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!