#BMIE

If you don't have it, make it.

If you want it, do it.

What's stopping you, NOTHING!

These were statements that kept going through my mind when I started the event series (The Importance of Black Men in Education) in June of 2016 at Education Pioneers. With my love for event planning and my black community, I made sure that I found a way to incorporate it in my everyday work.

Of course, it was extra work but I knew it was necessary and timely. I blocked time off in my calendar to find venues, catering, panelists and moderators while also developing questions, budget and marketing materials with team members. The event started in Newark and later went all the way to San Francisco at our national level.

Yes, get those points JNicole!

I have now added a twist to the discussion by revealing the intersection of data and the opportunity gap to specifically show how data can create and shift the narrative. Also, how the lack of data driven decision making can perpetuate inequity. It's a heavy topic but needed discussion.

I decided to planned two events in the month of April in New York and Memphis due to our current talent pipeline. I really do not know what I was thinking planning a wedding and these two events in one month but hey it's preparing me for the future.

New York's panel discussion took place yesterday and all I heard was positive feedback and a need for more open/safe spaces to talk about this topic while developing action plans. Who wants to talk with no action? I know, I don't.

We will find a way to ensure that we increase the number of black men in education even when I'm not in this position. I hope that this event will stop being a discussion one day and we can move into different topics to help our community.

Memphis is next week and I'm just as excited maybe a tad bit more since I never been to Memphis. However, I will say that for me to plan an event where I have never took step in will tell me a lot about my planning and others.

FYI: I GET S*** DONE!

Today's Assertion: Planning doesn't have limits.