We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ellisa Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ellisa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
Being the “only one” is always a lonely space. Many family members, friends, co-workers, and well-meaning HR representatives will do their best to make spaces inclusive. Still, outside of bringing in more people who share your experience and look like you, there is very little that can be done to make most environments more inviting.
In those instances, my most effective tactic is to bring my full and authentic self into every meeting, networking event, and professional occasion. It is always tempting to shrink to a more appetizing size, but actively refusing to dissect my strengths and compartmentalize my passions has made me a force to be reckoned with within any room.
With my work, I focus on impact – not an arrow straight career path or the quickest ladder to a pretty title. As a result, my professional pursuits range from writing children’s books to building an experience-based civic education curriculum to participating in the local spoken word scene in Dallas to volunteering throughout my community. I stay outside the box and emphasize my “only one” status.
This approach doesn’t make sense to many. I am consistently told: “You are doing too much.” “Pick a niche and stick to it.” “You can’t do it all.”
Those pieces of advice, while well-meaning, don’t work for me. In short, I’m a professional multitasker who needs to pour into my community to feel fulfilled in my work.
Is this the path for everyone? No. Is it messy? Yes. Do I juggle every project perfectly all the time? Of course not. But I need to stretch the muscles of all my passions and exercise all my God-given gifts. After all, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a Texas native, professional multitasker, and innate storyteller who pursues my purpose every day.
My current projects are as varied as they are exciting and impactful: I authored Meet Cairo, the first in a series of books on my fun-loving, stubborn puppy Cairo. You can check her out @cairothecocoyorkie on Instagram. My experience publishing my first book inspired me to start Books by Cairo, a company that promotes literary fiction for all ages that fill gaps in cultural and social representation.
The company now runs The Inkwell Exchange podcast – available exclusively on Instagram at @ellisaspillsink and YouTube at @EB Essentials – where I chat with creatives about the books, art, or content they create. My guests range from authors and poets to audiobook narrators and screenwriters. As of this month, Books By Cairo also offers book consulting services, including editing, development, and publishing advice. Interested? You can reach us at booksbycairo@gmail.com.
In my “spare time,” I love to share my poetry and writings with my community. My work has been featured on Fox 4 Dallas and WFAA Dallas–Fort Worth. I also regularly perform at open mics across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including those at Black and Bitter Coffee, Black LIT Bookstore, and the Farr Best Theater. I have been a featured poet at the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Luncheon and the Arlington Art Museum.
I am also the Founder of Civic Essentials Education Fund, where I work to innovate traditional civic education by building a practical, engaging, and experience-based civics education curriculum.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University and my master’s degree from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris in Politics and Public Policy. As a result, it should be no surprise that I occasionally dabbled in the political scene.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Focus on collaboration over competition. You should always cheer on the people in your network and be genuinely happy for their successes like they are your own. I found there are very few instances in life where framing opportunities as “may the best one win” or “once in a lifetime” is actually helpful. In fact, it leads many people to burn important bridges with soon-to-be very important people.
Instead, look for opportunities to collaborate with “competitors” in your industry – make them allies to your purpose. It may initially seem overly optimistic or naive, but I challenge you to try it. Win, wins exist, and they will move the needle on projects more often than strategizing for another person’s downfall.
Time management is another essential skill when juggling multiple or divergent interests. I’m a professional multitasker, so I take full advantage of every Google Calendar function while also keeping a running to-do list readily available on all my devices.
To prevent burnout, you must also remember to set aside time for yourself. A good time manager knows that working every minute of the day is not sustainable (i.e., scheduling free time daily).
Make sure to use your resources, including your network. The people you know and the skills they have taken the time to learn are essential resources. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to call on them when necessary. Asking for help is a skill every great professional has to perfect.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
STOP. When I feel overwhelmed, it’s important to stop.
Take a 24-hour break. Yes, no work activity at all.
Next, you have to assess what projects, tasks, or life events are the source of the stress. At the moment, it may seem like it is everything, but I promise it isn’t.
Then, create a specific action plan for just those projects, tasks, or life events. Let everything else come to a pause.
Once you have a plan, you should feel a little better. Then, it’s time to rip off the bandaid. Conquer the most challenging and timely part of the plan. This could include telling the client the project will be late, finishing a lengthy draft, or fixing a complex line of computer code.
It will suck, but it will also be over.
Final step: realize the world did not come to an end.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ebessentials.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellisaspillsink/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellisabrown/