RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 7, 2020) – During a pivotal time for the entire nation, Dr. Nicole Pride has called upon an independent scholar and nonprofit founder, Dr. LaWanda Simpkins, to discuss the least talked about aspect of success – sacrifice.

Simpkins is currently a teaching instructor at East Carolina University, a training consultant with the Renaissance Education Group Inc., and serves as president of her nonprofit organization, Creative Justice Inc. As an academic, she specializes in courses and curriculum development in the areas directly connected to women’s and gender studies, race, and adult education. Her organization specializes in creating spaces for impactful conversations that center social justice and advocacy.

“LaWanda’s journey to becoming the best version of herself is one of constant reflection and great resilience,” Pride said. “I am excited for everyone to hear this conversation because it is important that we all remember that the best parts of our life are often those parts we never planned for.”

In the conversation recorded last spring, Simpkins spoke about knowing the things she wanted for her life and having to figure out just how she was going to maintain it all.

“I remember last spring, I was teaching a women’s and gender studies course. We were reading this chapter on women and workplace and it was emotional for me,” Simpkins said in the conversation. “I was thinking, ‘this is real life for me’, because I was that crossroad – do I choose my career or do I choose my family? Many people say that you can have both, but, what does that look like?”

For Simpkins, it looks like teaching online from home while simultaneously raising her daughters, Zilah and Yuri, and newborn son, Xendae, with her husband Marcell. The Raleigh, North Carolina resident holds a bachelor’s in business administration marketing and a master’s in adult education from North Carolina A&T State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership and cultural foundations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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