Meet Brianna Brown Keen

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brianna Brown Keen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brianna, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my family. Watching my mother work her part-time job at a medical center doing coding, but doing the work of three people instead of just one. Watching my father, who woke up at 6am and worked in his office nonstop until late at night to provide for our family. I saw that hard work was important and necessary, not just to get ahead but to survive.

I didn’t come from money; my great-grandparents were immigrants and came from countries where, at that point in history, they weren’t welcomed in the United States. Where they had to change their last name, not speak their native language, and avoid the stores that said they weren’t allowed. We learned to pull ourselves up off the pavement and keep going – and education was vital.

I had my first job at eleven, babysitting, and started working part-time while in school at thirteen. I left for Los Angeles at nineteen – after being told to sink or swim by my parents, I learned how to use the grit I had witnessed and practiced to go from the bottom to the top of whatever activity I was working toward through practice, tenacity, and creating systems. Nothing was handed to me; I created all of my connections, and the numerous setbacks were all opportunities to grow into the person I ultimately wanted to become. I didn’t realize at the time that it was life school on the fast track – because I needed to learn a lot quickly – so my twenties felt like land mine after land mine, personally and professionally, until I got my footing and began thriving in all areas. It is why I can talk and help others quickly, because I’ve been there, done that – or I know the resources and have embodied the learning.

My 501c3 nonprofit, The New Hollywood, has a program called TNH Accountability Program, and we are officially the alumni program for Harvest Home. We help formerly homeless single mothers with grants, goals and mentorship. I’ve supported Ivy League-educated CEO’s, famous and green artists within the entertainment industry, and those who have struggled to survive with MYM Mastermind Goal Group, Thriving Community, TNH Accountability Program and my private clientele. All while filming season 4 of Netflix’s Outer Banks, or the various other TV shows and films I’ve worked on for over 26 years – I’ve been on the silver and small screen over 300 times. Using my book, Manifesting Your Mission Guidebook, annually has helped me leapfrog over my competition and kept me grounded in an industry that most get swallowed up and spit out by. That, and knowing that I just need to “Try try, try until I figure it out.” Also: my ace in my pocket is my faith and relationship with God/source.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I began as a shy, self-conscious, seemingly average young woman in the suburbs of Minnesota, who was too shy to sing past the page during middle school play auditions, and ironically didn’t make any of those plays, to a working, successful actress in Los Angeles where only the top 2% of actors make a living.

I’ve been a professional working actress for over 25 years and am currently in season four of Netflix’s Outer Banks. I’m most known for my roles on General Hospital, Homeland, Devious Maids, Eastsiders, Dynasty, and over 300 other appearances on the small or silver screen.

During my journey, where I had been told to sink or swim by my family, I learned to soar through trial and error, tenacity, grit, community building, and learning how to excel with habits and goal-setting. I usually relied on books as my mentors and then, when I could afford it, coaches to help me leapfrog over my competition.

In my twenties, I created a likeminded community of women also focused on self-discovery, being purpose-driven, and amplifying other women who wanted to support women. For the past 18 years we’ve put forth philanthropic events and fundraisers, and eventually became a 501c3 nonprofit supporting socially conscious artists, entrepreneurs and changemakers with grants, goal and mentorship. I’ve produced stage and film projects, sang beside Broadway legends, spoken at illustrious events like National Women’s History Museum, been a keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies, and created a guidebook, coaching program, and podcast called Manifesting Your Mission. My nonprofit, The New Hollywood, is the official alumni program for Harvest Home, where we help formerly homeless single moms. I am also a mother and wife.

My guidebook, Manifesting Your Mission, is an incredible tool for myself and my communities to help hold yourself accountable or do with friends or family, and I offer small group and private coaching. I also put out a sweatshirt with Cristen Coppen, my friend and co-founder of TNH Accountability Program, called GOAL DIGGER. A percentage of proceeds of both the guidebook and sweatshirt go back to support The New Hollywood.

I’m currently working on a stage production to benefit The New Hollywood for the spring of 2025, my husband and I and Rebel Media are producing a feature film together, Elizabeth Boykewich and I have a Thriving Workshop and are opening up more spots for young actresses in the industry wanting to thrive with our Thriving Community, and I’ve been speaking at different events, retreats, and keynoting women’s conferences sharing the Manifesting Your Mission tools and resources.

In essence, my business is about being creative and adding value. And, like the tag line for The New Hollywood, we want to inspire everyone to Rise Higher, Shine Brighter and Give Back! Why? Because I believe if we are all living our purpose, our world would be a happier, healthier, more harmonious place. Once we can get past tribalism to listen, to learn, and to understand one another, we realize we are more alike than different – and have all been given countless gifts if we choose to nurture them consistently.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Integrity. Tenacity. Authenticity

People want to help good people. People want to help people who push themselves to be excellent, people want to help people who are genuine. How we show up, what we believe is what we create. If something isn’t working in my life, I eventually get to the realization that I am the only one responsible for my results and I get to change, evolve, and shift to be better. When I’ve done that, magic happens. Basically, follow The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and you will be putting your energy toward what you want – and not have it splintered by distractions.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The most impactful things my parents did was not coddle me. While it was difficult to be adulting as a teenager, it was vital to help me have to figure it out, to have to book jobs, to have to work on myself, to have to excel – otherwise I’d have to go home feeling defeated. While my parents didn’t work on themselves personally the way I did, they worked hard. I learned how to not just work hard, but to work smart and efficiently. That’s why I wrote Manifesting Your Mission Guidebook, and why I have been able to help guide clients to not stay in the gerbil wheel of their limiting beliefs, generational trauma, or not-enoughness that sabotages their greatness.

I learned that it is about doing and being and focusing on what one ultimately wants with unwavering faith and conviction, while also having the fluidity to adjust when the tides change and life has other plans. It is a dance between the masculine and feminine energies to doing and receiving, pursuing and surrender. As well as recognizing when there are no doors or windows open, to think outside the box and just create one for yourself.

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Ragan Wallake

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