Rhonda Broussard: Staying Centered in Joy

Dreaming in Color

Show description

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for BIPOC social change leaders to candidly share how their life experiences (personal and professional) have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek.

In this episode, we talk with Rhonda Broussard, an award-winning education entrepreneur, public speaker, a queer Black mother. She is a seasoned educator, global researcher, and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beloved Community, a national nonprofit committed to sustainable economic equity in schools, the workforce, and housing. Join this conversation as we discover how to open doors through language, trace the importance of our lineages and loved ones, and interrogate systems that have long needed to be corrected. Tune in as Rhonda returns to the chalkboard to teach us how to lean into our authentic selves, celebrate others, and channel diversity into impact.

Jump straight into:

(00:21) - Introducing Rhonda Broussard, author, CEO of Beloved Community, veteran educator and researcher.

(01:48) - An invocation to set the space, with a powerful quote from All About Love by bell hooks.

(03:14) - Back to school with Darren: Where does Rhonda's joy come from?

(05:46) - In community and conversation: Growing up in French, Creole, and English.

(09:23) - How different languages can unlock different and powerful narratives.

(11:49) - From the US to Brazil to France: On white supremacy and anti-Blackness across borders.

(13:47) - Establishing new paradigms of love and impact through Beloved Community.

(19:17) - Using her positionality: Leveraging power through networks and personhood.

(24:32) - On commitment to creating change: As a queer Black mother and leader.

(27:28) - From blog to book: One Good Question and the answers we seek.

Episode resources

Connect with Rhonda Broussard through LinkedIn and Twitter

Learn more about Rhonda through her website

Learn more about Beloved Community

Check out Rhonda’s blog One Good Question

Pre-order Rhonda’s upcoming book One Good Question, inspired by the blog

Learn more about the works and life of bell hooks

Read killing rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks

Thank you for listening to Dreaming in Color a Bridgespan supported StudioPod production. Nicole Genova is the Show Coordinator and Teresa Buchanan is the Show Producer. The production team from The Bridgespan Group includes Cora Daniels, Michael Borger, Christina Pistorius, and Britt Savage. Additional music and editing provided by nodalab.