Empowering Women to Lead Purposeful Lives
“I Am African & I Can” is a women’s empowerment blog highlighting stories of Black women’s struggles and successes.
By Hadiatou Wann | 01/15/21
After earning a Business degree, working a 9 to 5, then spending a number of years as a stay-at-home mom, Valerie Ashford Brown, MA, CPC adapted the experience and skills she would later need as a leader whose mission is to push women to lead thriving lives. She is a coach, speaker, consultant and trainer, and has an award-winning podcast. She is on her way to being on a global stage.
Valerie was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She is the middle child but was often treated like the oldest. When she completed her degree in Business Administration, she moved to Atlanta and worked for an insurance company. She later followed her husband to South Florida, where he had a new job opportunity. This is when she transitioned from the corporate woman to the Chief Operations Officer of her family, which she loved. For over 15 years, she was a stay-at-home mom before going back to work. Though she juggled several jobs simultaneously, she knew that there had to be more to life and she was going to find a way to build her own business that she could be proud of, impact others, and leave a legacy for her daughters.
Today, she is a certified lifestyle, career, and leadership coach, and holds a Master’s degree in Management & Leadership, a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University and a Change Management Certification from Georgetown University. Her consulting work includes equity and inclusion as well as change management, transforming organizational culture through recruitment, retention, and employee engagement.
Her role as a coach is to guide women as they transition from where they are now to where they aspire to be. She transitions women from a place of overwhelm to a place of overjoy so they can start living and stop merely existing.
Thus far, she has coached women over the age of 40 who want to elevate their leadership presence, expand their influence, and grow their career. She has coached women through the empty nest syndrome serving as an evangelist to handle the emptiness that often comes when children move away. Also, she has been able to champion them as they adjust and stay relevant in the world of technology and in non-diverse environments. Her coaching sessions last anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months.
In order to reach your highest potential, Valerie highly recommends having an accountability partner or mentor that can pinpoint some of the things you may not notice about yourself and to hold you accountable: She believes that, “You cannot know yourself, nor grow yourself, by yourself.” As Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel,” she pointed out. As the African Proverb goes “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
For someone who dedicates her time and energy to build confident and productive women, Valerie says to excel in this profession, one must be a problem solver, provide tools and resources that can assist clients with the problems they have; dissect the problem and then propose a strategy to partner with them. “They come into the coaching session with scattered thoughts/ideas, and go away having clarity and direction,” she said.
Although she has many years of experience under her belt coaching women, one way she pours into herself so she could benefit others is by continuously taking speaking and personal development classes.
Although Valerie coaches many women, she is aware that she cannot cater to everyone’s needs. “I’m not a Jill of all trades. Every client that comes my way is not my ideal client.” And if she isn’t a good match for someone, she directs them to other coaches she knows who would be able to assist them.
While working with so many women, Valerie realized that women often neglect self-care because they are too occupied with caring for others. “Women need encouragement and to own their power. We lose ourselves in our families. We don’t put ourselves first sometimes, and we have a lot of fear of what we can’t do because of age or feeling like it’s too late,” she expressed. For this reason, she ensures that all her clients learn the importance of self-care.
Denise Cummings, Valerie’s close friend expressed: “There is much I could say about Valerie. First, she is rooted and grounded and that there is not much that can discourage her. She is a dedicated wife, mother, and faithful friend. She looks to impart wisdom and empowers many women with her knowledge and motivation. Valerie hails from Columbia, South Carolina and comes from what we call ‘good stock.’”
“I remember when we were (very) young mothers, our children were all between 1-3 years old. I became very discouraged with the mothering and the “wifing” and the cooking and the cleaning. I told Valerie 'I am ready to pack my bags!' and she said 'Girl I am going WITH YOU!'. We laugh about it today but from that moment we knew that we were going through together and we have continued to 'go through.’ She is a blessing to me and a sister-beloved,” Denise added.
A few years from now, Valerie hopes to have a global presence, hold many speaking engagements and continue coaching and consulting. Her success story teaches us the importance of reaching out to those that are often forgotten in society due to their age, and use our skills/talents to uplift and remind them that they could still lead a purposeful life. One of her favorite quotes that she’s adopted is that “it’s not too late and you’re not too old to be what you might have been.”
Welcome to Valerie’s World
“We live in a dark world. I believe I light up the world.”
“A strong woman is unapologetically herself, but is also vulnerable and can take constructive criticism. She knows how to get a long with others, and knows what is working and what is not working.”
Valerie is an avid runner. She also enjoys walking, hiking, biking, and reading personal development books. She’s been part of a book club for 10 years.
“Women need encouragement and to own their power. We lose ourselves in our families. We don’t put ourselves first sometimes, and we have a lot of fear of what we can’t do because of age or not having enough time.”
Connect with Valerie:
Facebook: Valerie Ashford Brown
Instagram: @valbrownspeaks
LinkedIn: Valerie Brown, MA, CPC
Check out Valerie’s award-winning podcast “Women Boldly Living”: https://eliteconversations.com/women-boldly-living.html
Website: Valerie Ashford Brown - Coach | Speaker | Leadership Development Strategist
Read other success stories here: www.iamafricanandican.info/blog
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