BUSINESS ALLSTARS!

A new podcast series called I Choose the Ladder launches nationwide on Spotify and offers an uncensored look into the real success stories of Black women who sought out to make a significant impact in corporate America. The podcast, which promises to deliver authentic conversations and tangible resources that listeners can apply to their own corporate climb is the brainchild of Watchen Nyanue, Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for the WNBA Chicago Sky.

I Choose the Ladder will be available starting Wednesday, September 19th with new episodes Tuesday’s thereafter on Stitcher and Spotify, listeners will also be able to listen via ichoosetheladder.com. The podcast, which has 40 episodes already recorded, will feature interviews with some of the country’s most influential women including Chicago’s top CEO’s such as Andrea Zopp, CEO, World Business Chicago, Dorri McWhorter, CEO, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, and Terrie-Lynne Devonish, Chief Compliance Officer, Aon. The style of the podcast is honest and conversational and will shed light on topics that are more relatable to young Black women.

“Our primary listeners will be Black women between the ages of 22 and 34 who are college educated many with advanced degrees. These women are hungry for mentorship from other successful Black female corporate superstars. When I was starting out as a professional this kind of information was hard to come by. I wanted to create a place where we can have Black female corporate leaders sharing and offering their wisdom and insights based on their own experiences in an engaging, relatable, conversational style,” explained Watchen Nyanue.

The podcast will be ushered in with a networking and listening event on September 19, 2018 at the Chicago Center for Arts & Technology (CHICAT). Attendees will get a premiere listen of a 10 minute introduction segment about the podcast through headphones that will be done in the style of a silent disco party. The event will also feature Nyanue moderating a conversation on being a black woman in Corporate America. The three executives providing their perspectives are Nicole White, Global Counsel and Assistant Secretary, Avison Young, Obele Brown-West Hinsley, EVP, Client Experience Digital & Innovation Lead – Central Region, Weber Shandwick, and Karla Evans-Davis, Head of Integrated Marketing & Media, Ulta Beauty.

Additional Background on Podcast Creator and Host Watchen Nyanue:

Watchen Nyanue is a strategic marketing and business development expert from Liberia, who resides in Chicago, Illinois. She is currently the Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for the WNBA Chicago Sky. 

As an advocate for female leadership and empowerment, her journey has been filled with more than twelve years of executive experience, where she has excelled as a proven business strategy leader who understands the importance of building relationships and capitalizing on a firm “it” factor in order to take the organization to the next level. 

Watchen holds a bachelor’s in communication from DePauw University. She is currently pursuing her MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to working at the Sky, she has had the honor of working with a multitude of renowned companies, including Comedy Central, Hearst Digital, Yahoo!, and Johnson Publishing Company.

When she isn’t immersed in her career, Watchen happily serves on the Board of Trustees of the Associated Colleges of Illinois. The NextGen group of UNICEF and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is also a 2018 Chicago Business Journal Women of Influence Honoree