Author: Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

Servant of Jesus. Truth-teller. Leader. Mentor. Author of Books.

“A Sojourner’s Truth” Podcast is Back!

Hello Beautiful People!

I am thrilled to release the first episode of Season 2 of “A Sojourner’s Truth” podcast. This season we will focus on the theme: Mentoring!

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I kick off the season with my dear friends, colleagues, and founding directors of my nonprofit, Leadership LINKS, Inc. as we talk about cultivating a mentoring community.

Leadership LINKS_Season2Episode1

Introducing Ms. QuaWanna Bannarbie, Mr. Davede Alexander, and Admiral Arthur Johnson, Jr. (U.S. Navy,Retired).

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Founding Directors in the early days, at the end of our first pilot leadership summer program in 2015. From L to R: Admiral Arthur Johnson, Jr., me, Dr. Tracey Nicole Hayes, CDR Tasya Lacy, Mrs. QauWanna Bannarbie, and Mr. Davede Alexander.

Mrs. QuaWanna Bannarbie has over 15 years of professional writing experience in both the corporate and private sectors, specializing in administrative correspondence in support of non-profit start-ups and public service agencies. She is an Adjunct Professor of Nonprofit Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Mr. Davede Alexander is the CEO and Chief Strategist of Innovo Strategic Solutions. Throughout his career he has conceptualized and developed ongoing, popular, leadership programs for organizations such as the U. S. Marine Corps, the U. S. Naval Academy, and the Ron Burton Training Village.

Admiral Arthur Johnson, Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Destiny Aviation Services, LLC.  After leading and commanding at all levels in the U.S. Navy for 33 years, he now seeks to broaden the nation’s pool of aviation professionals through various aviation and education initiatives.

Referenced Resources:

Mentoring Nugget: “When you Learn, Teach” article

Mentor for Life book

Touching the Holy: Ordinariness, Self Esteem, and Friendship by Robert J. Wicks

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How are you cultivating a mentoring community? How have you benefited from a mentoring community?

Nathan Phillips and Catholic boys have Much to Teach Us

I have been delayed in sharing this piece, and am doing so now because we tend to move on too quickly in our culture without learning our life lessons.

A couple weeks ago, a short video clip of a white male Catholic student named Nick Sandmann from Covington Catholic School in Kentucky, along with a group of his predominately white classmates seemingly disrespecting an indigenous elder, Nathan Phillips, went viral on the internet. People were appalled at the student’s disrespect. Within days, the school issued an apology, the families of the students were given a platform to defend their children and tell the world of the death threats they had received.

Then a longer video was released revealing a more complicated situation. The Atlantic article, “I Failed the Covington Catholic Test,” cautioned the viewers who rushed to judgment, encouraged readers to wait for more facts to emerge, and implied that the white students were the victims. The credibility of Nathan Phillips was in doubt.

It was a clashing of three people groups in a polarized society. A situation like that can become dangerous very quickly.

Continue reading at Missio Alliance.

A Sojourner’s Truth Podcast: Our REDEMPTION Stories w/ Janie L. Mines

This episode features Ms. Janie L. Mines, the first black female graduate of the United States Naval Academy.

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Janie L. Mines entered Annapolis—the U.S. Naval Academy— in 1976 as the only African American female in the first class of women. After leaving the military and corporate America, she continued to serve her country as the Senior Advisor, Business Process, in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy. She currently serves on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS and is an independent executive management consultant. As a Sloan Fellow she earned an MBA from the Alfred P. Sloan School of Business Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ms. Mines founded and managed a non-profit organization for over 10 years serving socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescent boys in the community. She won numerous awards and was selected to carry the Olympic torch. She has maintained her relationship with the U.S. Naval Academy throughout the decades and continues to positively impact the lives of midshipmen and naval officers through her mentorship and ongoing support.

Her new book, “No Coincidences: Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy,” releases this month! In it, Janie applies the religious themes taught by her family in a real-world exposé of how those childhood experiences prepared her to enter the class of 1980 at the U.S. Naval Academy. She reveals a painful chapter in American history. It is an insightful, uniquely personal journey of fortitude, faith and resilience told by the young woman who stood alone and forced both the
institution and the armed forces to look in the mirror. Janie Mines is one of the strongest women I know. Her story will stir the conscience of the reader and provoke a truly deeper conversation of race and gender relations in our country. Sadly, it reveals how culture can undermine and corrode the best intentions of law, policy, guidance, and the leadership.
Availability: Pre-orders starting November 10, 2018 at
https://nocoincidencesbook-com.myshopify.com/
Shipping: December 10, 2018

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