S3.8 Dr. Isaac Addae: Embracing the Uncomfortable in Order to Fly

Climbing the Charts with Angie Lawless and Brandon Miller

“It’s a diverse world. Companies sell products to consumers that are very diverse. Their teams and technical talent should reflect the communities that they sell products to.” – Dr. Isaac Yao Addae

Dr. Isaac Addae is a man with many hats – first-generation Ghanaian American, computer engineer, strategist, business professor, entrepreneur, investor, and author of “Black Boy Fly: Embracing My Ancestry, Blackness, and Purpose in the African Diaspora.” Isaac also served as the Treasurer for Freddie O’Connell’s mayoral campaign, and now has agreed to wear yet another hat as the “Small and Minority Business Engagement Liaison” for Nashville.

Listen in as Isaac shares how he came to Nashville, why he will always spend a significant amount of time as an educator, how navigating two worlds as a Ghanaian American became his superpower, and why we should all care about diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in the workforce. Also learn why Isaac’s new role will be one of his biggest challenges yet, and about how some of the plans being put into motion in the Mayor’s Office are likely to move the needle for small and minority-owned businesses. Isaac also makes a unique, compelling case for how Nashville can adjust the lens that the rest of the world views Nashville through and emerge as an increasingly ascendant tech hub.