Two Truths, No Lie

I’m tired yet invigorated. I boarded Group 6 on my flight, yet I identify as Group 7 (lol). After spending five weeks in New York, I’m now back in London—missing my first home yet excited to keep exploring my second.

Do you sense a pattern here? Life has challenged my mind to accept the concept of two (or multiple truths)—to embrace how two seemingly opposing things can coexist, even harmonize. What once felt contradictory now feels complementary.

It tracks, considering the kind of student I used to be: I always hated multiple-choice exams. The idea of boiling something down to one out of four answers? Reductive. Written assessments painted a fuller picture. Life feels easier to grasp when I’m not chasing a single “right” answer, but rather embracing the multitudes.

I feel this way professionally, too—and I know many of my peers do as well. A few varied cases in point come to mind:

• Some of the most successful consultants I know are strengthening their core services and experimenting with new offerings to meet the needs of new and prospective clients.

• I 100% agree with Tabitha Brown’s recent claim that there’s nothing wrong with working a full-time or part-time job and pursuing entrepreneurial goals.

• For previous Stella Podcast guest and creatorpreneur Gabby Beckford, embracing multitudes—including creating content geared towards both corporate professionals and entrepreneurs—has led to nine different income streams.

Don’t let one truth hold you back from another.

Now, onto this week’s featured guest…

Stella Podcast: Influencing Digital Media

Featuring Adriana Lacy

With Influencer Journalism, one of various brands under her parent company Field Nine Group, Adriana Lacy is playing media matchmaker for two very different sectors of the industry that are often pitted against each other. She’s empowering traditional newsrooms to work directly with influencers to create the digital-first storytelling vital to their success and sustainability.

Her two truths at play here: media organizations can benefit from the engagement strategies mastered by influencers and influencers can respect and align with the editorial integrity of these media organizations.

If there’s anyone equipped to foster these relationships ethically, it’s Adriana. Before launching her own ventures, the Forbes 30 Under 30 lister and adjunct journalism professor worked across newsrooms and organizations including The New York Times, Axios, and the Nieman Foundation. A formal J-school education was helpful, but much of what she learned—and later mastered—was on the job.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE

Stay In The Groove

Upcoming events for your calendar:

• Black Girls in Media’s 6-Part Webinar Series (October 9-December 18, Virtual)

• AfroTech (October 27-31, Houston)

• BBR Creator Summit (November 6, Los Angeles)

• The Black Girls Tech Summit (November 13, Berlin)

• Black Travel Summit (November 13-16, Rio de Janeiro)

• Femmeland at Sea (February 20-23, 2026, Miami to Nassau, Bahamas)

Some job opportunities I’m seeing:

• Chief of Staff - Field Nine Group

• 2026-27 New York Times Fellowship

• Freelance Content Associate Manager - Betches Media

• Audience Editor, Video - The New York Times

• Multiple roles for The Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival

• Part-time Editorial Production Assistant - The 19th

• “Hot Takes” Travel Pitches - Fodor’s

• Senior UX Writer - Oura

• Reporter, Race & Equity - The Guardian

• Social Operations Lead - Apple

• Marketing Manager - Fenty

• Director of Editorial Operations - The Cut

• Influencer Manager - Cécred

• Intern, Social Media - e.l.f. Beauty

• Lifestyle Writer - Vogue

• Community Manager - L’Oréal

• Internal Communications Partner - TikTok

• Content Director - Allure

• Senior Social Media Strategist - Chime

• Director, Corporate Editorial and Storytelling - Chime

Standout good news of the week: South London-born designer Grace Wales Bonner is the new Creative Director of Hermès Menswear, making her the first Black woman to lead a major fashion house.

Is flirting just banter with a goal? I always considered flirting to require a romantic agenda, but I found this hot take from a recent CultureCon Uncut episode—diving into the act as it relates to business—to be interesting.

Karima Williams is the founder of a budding AI-powered platform called Crash Out Diary aimed at helping people navigate stress and seek emotion regulation with the help of energy-releasing exercises and support from “response friends.” An app is on the way and I’m intrigued. Especially given a post of hers I recently came across on LinkedIn where she writes: “I’m going to be real with you, chatgpt is NOT a safe place to vent or have a mini therapy session. I built Crashout Diary because I wanted a safe space to process my worst moments—and I knew that couldn’t happen if my data wasn’t actually private.” I’ll be watching this space…

Till next time x

Bri