Meet Patrice Witherspoon

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrice Witherspoon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrice below.

Patrice, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Where does my resilience come from? For most of my life, I thought it came from the expectation that I had to be strong enough to survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t created to cater to or protect me. I wore the “strong Black woman” label with pride like a crown, believing it reflected generations of Black women before me who fought, persevered, and survived against impossible odds. It felt like a testament to the fact that resilience is engrained in my DNA.

As I once understood, resilience meant enduring hardship—pushing through, even at the cost of my well-being. But over time, I realized that while resilience has been necessary, it’s a survival trait, and I want to thrive.

I recently came across a post by Lynae Vanee that spoke directly to this shift in my perspective and Black women collectively. She talked about transmuting our mindset from resilience to hope. She says, “Hope is not some bystanding, oblivious, naive tactic without labor, toil, or sacrifice. Hope is gritty…it’s underestimated—but every single time it’s believed to be stamped out, hope dusts itself off and tries again because hope is unshakable. Hope must be a Black woman.” She is right, and like Lynae, I want to be thought of as hopeful. When I find that my resilience is burnt out, an ember of hope still burns in me—for many things—and keeps me going.

So, my resilience comes from embracing hope. It’s what’s kept me in the fight for racial and gender justice, and even on the worst days, it’s taught me the value of storytelling and how our stories hold power that can change the world.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I amplify Black voices and advocate for social justice through impactful and creative communications campaigns. What excites me most about my work is not necessarily the high-profile campaign wins, though they are incredibly fulfilling, but rather the more personal moments where I can witness a direct and meaningful impact on an individual’s life. While advocating for significant legislative changes is rewarding, the work I’m most proud of involves moments where I don’t just tell a story but fight for the freedom of a Black survivor of domestic violence and help secure justice. That kind of personal impact is what fuels my passion for this work.

I am committed to continuing to engage with opportunities that allow me to tell compelling Black stories—stories that educate, empower, and inspire hope and joy within my community.

In addition to my ongoing career in social justice, I’m beginning to expand into freelance work. I’m exploring new opportunities to collaborate with diverse clients whose brands, work, or products tell powerful stories about their purpose, passions, and identity. Every story has a unique richness, and I’m eager to be part of the journey to bring that to life. I want to create content and experiences that resonate, uplift, and spark meaningful change.

I’m relaunching my website, patricewitherspoon.com, and I would love to connect with other creators—especially fellow Black women doing powerful work in their communities. Collaboration and connection are key to creating a movement, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back on my journey thus far, three qualities have been most impactful in shaping my path: meeting people where they are, understanding and aligning everything with my values, and, again, resilience transformed into hope.

One of the most critical skills I’ve honed in my work is meeting people where they are. This means understanding people’s unique experiences and crafting messages that resonate with them on a personal level. This comes from my background in public health, in which I studied and learned to apply the concepts of different behavioral health models that emphasize the importance of recognizing an individual’s stage of change and tailoring interventions accordingly. It’s about making information digestible, relatable, and actionable. Since the beginning of my career, I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to distill complex information into simple, clear, and empowering messages. I would advise developing empathy and active listening skills for those early in their journeys and translating that directly into how you research your target audience. Understand that every person is starting from a different place, and the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences will set you apart. Learn to simplify complex concepts and always prioritize accessibility and relatability.

Understanding your core values is essential for aligning with people, places, and opportunities that truly serve your purpose. As a creative, it’s easy for interests and passions to evolve, but your core values will remain a guiding compass throughout your career as they have in your personal life. I’ve learned that the more I have aligned my work with my personal values, the more authentic and fulfilling my path has become. For those just starting, I encourage you to reflect on what truly matters to you—what do you stand for? What excites and motivates you beyond external recognition or success? Your values will only fortify through every experience—because they will be tested—so it’s important to stay grounded in them, especially when the world around you may try to pull you in different directions.

In my journey, I’ve come to understand that resilience—while an important trait—can only carry you so far. You can fortify your mind and spirit to be resilient, but eventually, your body and soul will signal that you need something more sustainable. Resilience, especially in the face of ongoing burnout, can wear thin. That’s where hope enters the picture. It’s the eternal flame of the soul that allows me to rest and motivates me to keep going once I’m recharged. For those early in their careers, I would advise cultivating hope alongside resilience. It’s important to develop a mindset that doesn’t just rely on pushing through hard times but also on fostering hope that renews and revitalizes you. Hope fuels perseverance and allows you to keep fighting, even when you feel like you’ve hit a wall.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

In today’s dynamic creative landscape, it’s not just about doubling down on our strengths but also about developing a well-rounded skill set within the specific lane we’ve chosen. While nurturing what you’re naturally good at is essential, becoming well-rounded in your craft opens up opportunities for growth and innovation, especially as a creative.

This philosophy has been incredibly valuable in my work, particularly in storytelling through social media. On platforms like Instagram or TikTok, crafting a single post requires an understanding of various creative elements—visual composition, color theory, and persuasive writing, to name a few. Knowing how each element contributes to the end goal, you can create more cohesive, engaging, and action-driven content. You learn to communicate the “perfect bite” of information through a visual cue directing the viewer’s eye or through a well-timed call to action that moves people to act. These layers of knowledge and these different creative skills come together to create something powerful.

For example, when I design an entire campaign, my ability to understand the nuances of every element—visuals, narrative, design, and strategy—makes the process more seamless. Without a basic understanding and bird’s eye view of the “full picture,” leading a creative project that feels cohesive and impactful is more challenging to do.

In my experience, creatives often wear more hats than our job descriptions imply. We’re not just writers or designers; we’re strategists, content managers, and even data analysts at times. Embracing a well-rounded skill set helps you meet these demands head-on. By developing diverse skills, you can enhance the quality of your work, adapt to shifting project needs, and collaborate more effectively with others.

Moreover, being well-rounded allows you to lead in the areas you’re most passionate about while still having supplemental tools that can elevate your work. For example, while my core strength lies in storytelling and social justice advocacy, I’ve learned to develop my skills in design and strategy, allowing me to do more impactful work. As I continue to hone these skills, I’m not losing sight of my passion but rather enhancing it through broader capabilities.

Ultimately, becoming well-rounded doesn’t mean diluting your strengths; it means empowering them by understanding the full spectrum of what it takes to bring your vision to life. So, while investing time in refining what you’re already good at is essential, embracing a broader skill set makes you a more adaptable, effective, and impactful creative in the long run.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Simone Hunter, On Brand Creative Agency, Founder

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