2021 Leadership Institute Recap (Day 2)

October 21, 2021

By Danielle Robinson
TMCF Government Relations & Marketing Intern

Personal Branding Plenary: Wendy’s: The Resilience of Your Personal Brand

On October 19, 2021, the morning plenary session was presented by Wendy’s— Leveling Up Your Brand Essence: The Resilience of Your Personal Brand.

Wendy’s representatives, Blaire Luciano and Beverly Stallings-Johnson, shared how the Wendy’s brand strategy (consistently providing quality products and services to customers) has kept Wendy’s in the know. They discussed the importance of creating your personal brand with the TMCF scholars and offered tips on how to maintain your brand.

3 Step Brand Engagement:

  1. Build your brand – establish your personal brand
  2. Build your network – make connections with other brands
  3. Build your portfolio – continuously work on maintaining your brand

Blaire Luciano shared a little insight from the founder of Wendy’s, Dave Thomas, with our scholars –– “Dave would say you earn you reputation by the things you do every day.

Personal Branding Plenary: Cisco: Building Your Brand: It takes a Village

The afternoon plenary session was presented by Cisco — Building Your Brand: It takes a Village. Cisco’s representatives, Tamira Bell (Customer Program Manager) and Ebonye Smith (Incoming Hardware Engineer), discussed how creating a strong personal brand is sometimes enhanced through personal connections.

The major takeaway from the session was “Don’t be a blackberry, be an apple.

The Village (personal branding tips for TMCF Scholars):

  1. Build personal relationships with your professors
  2. Take advantage of your college resources
  3. Networking, networking, networking
  4. Find your passion and what drives you
  5. Establish a good support system (career & personal)
  6. Be proactive in planning and strategizing
  7. Volunteer- give back to your community
  8. Social media presence is important

Related News

Fifty Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholars attend Hamilton on Broadway, meet the cast backstage

Fifty Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) students participating in the Citi HBCU Career Incubator Program attended Hamilton on Broadway and were invited to meet the cast backstage by actor Jared Dixon, who portrays Aaron Burr in the performance.   The participants were attending Hamilton as part of a planned outing during downtime of the Citi program, […]

TM² Executive Search featured on The Crossman Conversation podcast

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) executive search firm, TM² Executive Search (TM²), was recently featured on The Crossman Conversation podcast with John Crossman. Dr. Dakota Doman, president and managing principal of TM², spoke to Crossman about the role of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in shaping future leaders. Doman and Crossman discussed the […]

Thurgood Marshall College Fund adds senior consultant to help build HBCU capacity through a $25 million grant

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) recently added a new consultant to help historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) build capacity through a $25 million grant the organization received from the Lilly Endowment Inc.  Dr. Cassandra D. Caldwell has decades of experience and leadership roles with Visa, General Electric, Sodexo, 4-H Youth Development, North Carolina […]