Why does it feel like you’ve built everything—your service, program, even a book—but it’s still waiting to move? How do you shift when your ideas are racing faster than your systems? What does it take to design growth that carries your work beyond you?

In this final episode of the Built to Move series, we close the loop on how design creates the architecture your work needs to be experienced, distributed, and sustained. You’ll discover how to move from reactive decision-making to strategic structure, why growth doesn’t happen by accident, and how to build momentum that fuels your vision without burning out.

You’ll learn:

• How to design the plan for your work to move forward even when you can’t be everywhere.

• The difference between building new things and designing better growth for what already exists.

• Real-world examples from Strategic Edge magazine and National Black Girl Month that show how intentional design supports lasting impact.

This episode is your invitation to lead from structure, giving your work the rhythm and follow-through it needs to reach further and breathe easier. Ready to stop cycling and start moving? Let’s go.

Next Steps: Apply to work with Felicia: https://media.feliciafordandco.com/work-with-us

Get Strategic Edge Magazine: https://media.feliciafordandco.com/power-moves

Explore the Built to Move series: Episode 066 | How I Build the Rhythm Behind Every Program, Platform & Team Episode 067 | Who's Carrying the Work With You?

How do you know when someone is truly moving with you—and not just watching you move? What if the reason your systems feel strained has nothing to do with your structure and everything to do with who’s standing inside of it? And in this season of building, scaling, and leading—who’s actually carrying this with you?

In this second installment of Built to Move, Felicia Ford shifts the focus to alignment—not the buzzword, not the catchphrase—but the actual pace, posture, and presence of the people in your circle. This conversation is about rhythm as leadership, about systems that breathe, and about what it really takes to sustain your work without breaking your back (or your spirit). Whether you’re leading a team, mapping out your next season, or just trying to determine what’s “off” in your growth—this episode names what most people ignore.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• How to define alignment by pace, posture, and energy—not just intention

• The three questions every Change Maker must ask before calling someone a power partner

• Why rhythm matters more than readiness—and how to spot misalignment before it costs you

If the pace looks right on paper but nothing’s flowing the way it should, this conversation will meet you there.

Next Steps:

Next Steps:

Email me "Structure": https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/thelist

Limited Time - Get Your FREE Power Partner Playbook: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/partnerplaybook

Work With Me: https://media.feliciafordandco.com/services

Get the National Black Girl Month Toolkit: www.nationalblackgirlmonth.com

Access Resources: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com

You’ve already learned how to manage the work. But at this stage, it’s not about management—it’s about movement. Not more doing. Not more hours. Just rhythm. The kind that frees your time without compromising the weight of what you’ve built.

If you’re running a licensed program, managing a multi-channel campaign, or holding the leadership seat in a nonprofit, school, small business, or ministry—you already know what it means to lead across overlapping timelines. And yet, you may not have named the structure that’s holding all of it together.

In this first episode of the Built to Move series, I’m walking you through how I design the rhythm that keeps the work moving—without chasing tasks or micromanaging the pieces. You’ll hear exactly how I’ve built systems that support five-month podcast content plans, multi-platform campaigns like National Black Girl Month™, and high-level client advisory—while still serving as a CEO and Executive Director.

But more importantly, you’ll see what that looks like in your world—in real, local, people-powered community work. Whether it’s coordinating volunteers, onboarding team members, or documenting your impact for funders and partners, this episode unpacks the thinking, the structure, and the tools behind consistency that doesn’t rely on burnout.

This is not about hustle. It’s about leadership that breathes. Because when the systems work, you show up ready—for strategy, for people, and for what’s next.

Ready to hear how I built it? Let’s go.

Next Steps:

Email me "Structure": https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/thelist

Get the National Black Girl Month Toolkit: www.nationalblackgirlmonth.com

Access Resources: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com

The life they taught her to build almost took her with it.

For decades, Katina Barnes poured into families, mentored girls, launched programs, led ministries, and moved mountains with two-person teams. The world clapped. But no one asked what it cost.

In this National Black Girl Month™ feature, Katina joins Felicia Ford and co-host Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown to name what many Black women are only starting to admit: that being “strong” is often a trap. That sometimes it takes collapsing in your own bed to realize what was never sustainable. That no matter how much good you’re doing—you still deserve to live.

This conversation is not a warning. It’s a reckoning. If you’ve been performing strength while privately unraveling, If you’ve been told to push through while your body says no, If you’ve outgrown the expectations that once defined your worth— this episode is where you lay it down.

You’ll hear:

• How burnout disguises itself as achievement

• Why letting go of control isn’t failure—it’s survival

• What real boundaries sound like when they’re held, not explained

• How to model wellness for the next generation without apology

• Why “being needed” can no longer be the measure of your value

This is not about doing less. It’s about doing what’s yours to carry—and no more.

🎧 Listen now and access the free toolkit at NationalBlackGirlMonth.com

Next Steps: Join The Sanctuary & The Strategy: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/nbgm

Connect with Katina at Butterfly Village, Inc.: www.butterflyvillagein.org

Connect with Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown - www.instagram.com/dr.rikesha

Tune in to Echelon Live with Felicia - https://bit.ly/echelonlivefelicia

Get Free Resources: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/

Learn more about Katina Barnes:

I have always had a love for impacting change, whether through my love for fashion or through community building. This passion to for community change was ignited while employed at Children's Hospital of The Kings Daughters where I had the opportunity to coordinate free health insurance for uninsured children. My journey of making a difference in the lives of others led me to The Up Center, a non-profit organization specializing in helping people live better lives. After serving a little over eleven years in Prevention Services, I decided to extend my career to higher education, joining Tidewater Community College in 2011 as an Adjunct Instructor and Academic Advisor. Within the first year I was promoted to work in student engagement and then advancing as the inaugural Director of the Portsmouth Campus Student Center. I changed the culture of co-curricular learning by establishing student success initiatives, incorporating collaborative learning experiences and creating a vibrant environment for academic success. During my tenure at TCC, I also served as the Coordinator of Dual Enrollment Academies, providing opportunities for high school students to concurrently earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. I joined Old Dominion University in 2023 as the Assistant Director of Monarch Internship and Co--Op Success, continuing my passion for ensuring students are successful in their academic journey through work-based learning.​Leadership is important to me. I've had the privilege of spearheading several impactful initiatives, and serving on various boards to include Girls Scouts of Colonial Coast, Portsmouth Schools Foundation, Lefcoe Board of Trustees, YMCA Effingham Street Portsmouth, and Prevent Child Abuse of Hampton Roads. As a dedicated member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc., I am committed to service for my community. I often speak on platforms to advance leadership, women's empowerment, and student success.

#nationalblackgirlmonth #feliciafordandco #drrikesha #superwomansyndrome #echelonlive

You're praised for your strength — but at what cost? You're taught to push through — but when do you finally get to breathe? You're carrying the weight of generations — but no one stops to ask: where do you go to put it down?

In the second of our three-part series on Superwoman Syndrome, mindfulness coach and TEDx speaker Asia Whittedsteps forward to share the truths many Black women have been forced to navigate in silence.

Through her own breaking points, Asia learned what few are willing to say out loud: "Rest isn’t something you earn — it's something you deserve before the world demands more than you can give."

Inside this powerful episode:

• Asia’s personal story of reaching burnout while juggling family, career, grief, and expectations — and the moment she realized survival wasn’t enough

• Why generations of Black women have internalized the belief that peace is a luxury, not a right

• How unchecked strength culture quietly conditions women to feel guilty for needing rest

• The emotional and physical warning signs Asia teaches high-achieving women to recognize before burnout takes over

• Why thriving — not just surviving — requires a radical mindset shift around responsibility, rest, and community care

• A deep look into Asia’s "PAUSE" framework, designed to help women rebuild their lives around intention, boundaries, and self-awareness

As Asia shares, "If I crumble, what happens to all the people I’m trying to carry?" And even more powerfully: "The only thing I was letting go of was myself — and that was never the plan."

This isn’t self-care for Instagram. This is the conversation Black women have needed for generations — about grief, healing, thriving, and reclaiming our own well-being on our own terms.

Next Steps: Get your National Black Girl Month™ Toolkit: www.nationalblackgirlmonth.com

Connect with Azia Renea: www.aziarenea.com

Connect with Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown: www.instagram.com/dr.rikesha

Get Free Resources: https://resources.feliciafordandco.com/

Learn more about Pause with Azia Renea:

Hi I am Azia Whitted, I am on a mission to help busy women, juggling motherhood and business learn to take 5-10 minutes to transform their entire day. I see so many women live life overwhelmed and burned out and I wish they knew that rest was a requirement and not a reward; that slowing down to find calm should be a priority. YOU are a priority, in your home with your family as well in your business. My job is to teach you practical ways to incorporate a pause in your daily life so you can be calm in the midst of chaos and high demands.

Dr. Michelle Hite on Mothering While Black, Everyday Courage, and the Power of Telling the Truth

What happens when the world sees your child as a threat before it sees them as human? What does it cost to raise a child while defending your right to grieve, to question, to be seen?

This conversation centers the weight—and the wisdom—of mothering while Black. In this featured National Black Girl Month™ 2025 episode, we’re joined by Dr. Michelle Hite, Spelman College professor, public scholar, and cultural critic whose work traces the intersections of Black identity, grief, and resistance. Together with co-host Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown, we examine what it means to mother, nurture, and protect in a world that wasn’t built for our safety.

This episode isn’t about resilience. It’s about truth-telling as a form of care.

You’ll hear:

• How cultural narratives, from Mamie Till to Toni Morrison, shape our understanding of motherhood

• Why public strength can’t replace private witnessing

• The difference between independence and isolation—and why communal living is the lesson we keep returning to

• How everyday gestures become sacred acts of protection, memory, and joy

• Why sharing isn’t a virtue. It’s a practice. And we’re out of practice.

Whether you're a mother by birth, bond, or assignment, this conversation invites you to return to what you know: you don’t have to do it alone.

Listen now and access the free toolkit at NationalBlackGirlMonth.com Access Dr. Hite's work: https://www.spelman.edu/staff/profiles/michelle-hite.html Connect with Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown: www.instagram.com/dr.rikesha Connect with Felicia Ford: www.threads.net/@friendscallmefe

More about Dr. Hite:

Michelle Hite, Ph.D. has been a Faculty Member Since 2004 and is an Associate Professor for English, the Honors ProgramDirector and the International Fellowships and ScholarshipsDirector.

Michelle Hite earned her Ph.D. from Emory University in American/African American Studies in 2009. Her dissertation used Venus and Serena Williams as subjects whose representation in popular media, books, videos, and other texts prompted her research questions regarding what their public portrayal might suggest about the intersection of race, gender, and nationalism during late capitalism.Although Dr. Hite remains deeply interested in sports, her intellectual work now focuses on African-American life, culture, and experience in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. To this end, she is currently working on a monograph about the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963.In addition to her work as an associate professor in the English department at Spelman, Dr. Hite is director of the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program and director of International Fellowships and Scholarships.

#nationalblackgirlmonth

You’re praised for the baby. But not asked about your body. You’re celebrated for becoming a mother. But rarely supported as you grieve the version of you that no one else seemed to notice disappeared.

This episode is for every Black woman who gave birth and then wondered where she went.

In this featured National Black Girl Month™ 2025 conversation, Dr. Phoebe Ajayi—a physician, maternal health advocate, and author of After Birth: Postpartum Recovery of the Body and Mind—joins us to name the invisible weight of postpartum identity loss. From her clinical roots in Nigeria to practicing medicine in the UK, Dr. Ajayi weaves personal story and global insight into a rare reflection on what happens after the delivery room.

She doesn’t just ask what care we deserve. She asks what care we’ve never been taught to expect.

She shares:

• Pelvic floor dysfunction, identity shifts, and global disparities in postpartum care

• Cultural traditions that hold us (like Nigeria’s omugwo) and Western systems that often don’t

• How to protect your identity after birth—and why that work is still yours, even years later

• Boundaries, grief, and the quiet work of nourishing yourself after motherhood begins

This isn’t about going back to who you were. It’s about meeting who you’ve become—with more language, more grace, and more support than you were ever offered before.

*This is a special National Black Girl Month™ feature by Dr. Phoebe Ajayi originally airing on www.youtube.com/@nationalblackgirlmonth

Access the free toolkit at NationalBlackGirlMonth.com Connect with Dr. Ajayi at phoebeajayi.com Connect with Dr. Rikesha Fry Brown at www.instagram.com/dr.rikesha Connect with Felicia Ford at www.threads.net/@friendscallmefe Join Momentum Lab: https://lab.feliciafordandco.com More about Dr. Ajayi: Dr Phoebe Ajayi is an NHS GP with experience across numerous specialities, here in the UK and her home country, Nigeria. She took a professional interest in postpartum rehabilitation and maternal health after a difficult first pregnancy and labour experience in 2017. Her desire is that all women are well supported during and after pregnancy. She achieves this by educating healthcare professionals and the public, influencing policy, and consulting with companies who have the same goal. For her work in this area, she received an award from the Royal College of General Practitioners. She is a published author; her book "After Birth: Postpartum Recovery of the Body and Mind" is available on Amazon and at all major book distributors. Outside of work, Phoebe enjoys crocheting, exercise and a good novel.