In this Beyond Wisconsin episode, Angela sits down with Ayris Scales, a tri-sector executive who has navigated government, nonprofit, and corporate worlds with intention and wisdom. Ayris currently serves as SVP of Social Responsibility and Global Initiatives at NAREIT, where she works to expand access to real estate investment opportunities, and runs Able Vision Enterprises, her highly selective consulting practice.
This conversation tackles the urgent realities facing Black women professionals in 2025—particularly the 300,000+ who have been pushed out of the workforce in recent months. Ayris doesn't hold back as she discusses the erosion (not just attrition) of Black women in DEI and social impact roles, the importance of knowing when to stop caring, and why our survival has taught us to see the "mud puddles" others refuse to acknowledge.
Key themes include:

Understanding REITs as an accessible wealth-building tool
The truth about "high-performance work" and organizational politics
Why balance is a myth, but harmony is achievable
The difference between a coach who tries to change you and one who helps you get clear
Transitioning with purpose, plan, and priorities
Recalibrating your specialty and knowing your value

Ayris also shares the origin story of her viral Tipsy Tuesday series (tips, not drinks!), her journey through unemployment and burnout, and why this moment requires Black professionals to invest in themselves differently.
Connect with Ayris on LinkedIn and Instagram @AyrisScales, and learn more about Able Vision at ayrisscales.com.
Featured songs: "Millionaire" by Kelis ft. André 3000, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone, "The Man I Need" by Olivia Dean

This week, I'm rebroadcasting a conversation with my dear friend Ali Muldrow. This conversation is all about beauty, joy, and friendship. As we start off 2026, the world continues to feel so heavy and overwhelming. This conversation is all about reclaiming the good in life despite the overwhelm, the noise, the comparison, and the seduction of numbness. It's an invitation to each of us to pause, slow down, to notice and to savor. Noticing beauty isn't about creating new years resolutions - it's not about the performative nature of "new year, new you." It's about noticing beauty as an act of resistance against the pressure to produce, perform, and define ourselves by metrics and outcomes. Noticing beauty is about reminding ourselves that abundance exists all around. I hope that this conversation fills your heart.

Our producer, Nate Chappell, hosts a comedy interview podcast called Several Questions. He's doing a live benefit show at Gamma Ray Bar on Wednesday, January 21st, with ticket sales going to the Autism Society of South Central Wisconsin. Nate is an autistic dad to autistic kiddos, and for this 'Oops! All Autistics!' show, all four guests are also autistic. It's going to be a silly celebration of autistic joy. Follow @severalquestionspod on Instagram for details, and get tickets here:

https://gammaray.bar/show/several-questions-w-nate-chappell-oops-all-autistics/

Come support autistic folks and autistic art on January 21st!

#BlackOxygenPodcast #BlackInWisconsin #BlackWomenInWisconsin #BlackWomenDroppingGems #BlackWomen #Madison365 #DopeBlackPodcasts #AliMuldrow #BlackLeadership #BlackLeadershipInWisconsin #BeautifulWisconsin #WisconsinIsBeautiful #Doula

Dr. Curtis shares her complicated relationship with Wisconsin—a "love and hate" dynamic shaped by leaving Milwaukee at 17, experiencing HBCUs and the East Coast, and returning multiple times before finally seeing the opportunity hidden in her home state. She now runs Taylor Nicole Wine and Cupcakes in Madison's Black Business Hub, creating the cultural space she couldn't find as a young woman in the city.

Research on Black Women's Success Dr. Curtis's doctoral research followed 14 Black women at CEO level or higher in Fortune 500 companies for two and a half years, uncovering the SCALE framework—five foundational elements these women needed to succeed and sustain success for 10+ years:

• Support Systems (mentors, networks, village)
• Capital Management (resources, allocation)
• Assets and Investing (wealth-building)
• Learning and Knowledge (continuous professional development)
• Enabling Technology (staying current with industry trends)

A striking finding: 90% of successful Black women she studied had never had another Black woman as a mentor in their workplace.

The Superpower Nobody Wants Dr. Curtis describes being a Black single mother as "a superpower nobody wants"—the exhausting reality of working harder because "no one was giving me handouts," of always being both woman and Black woman in corporate spaces, and of constantly asking "who's saving her?" when Black women are expected to save everyone else.

From Pain to Healing In a vulnerable moment, Dr. Curtis shares hitting a breaking point during COVID—scoring 50 out of 50 on a stress assessment, meaning "you can break at any moment." Her journey to therapy, initially for her daughters, became her own path to asking a fundamental question: "Do I want success from pain, or do I want success from a healing space?"

The Energy Economy Dr. Curtis speaks candidly about being "energy-led" rather than simply social—giving deeply in every interaction, which means protecting her capacity fiercely. She's retired from being "the strong friend" and encourages other Black women to ask daily: "Did you do anything selfishly for you?"

Honest Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Rather than romanticizing entrepreneurship, Dr. Curtis asks the hard questions: What do you actually want? Can you live in uncertainty? Can you handle anxiety? Can you go into deficiency for a long time? She emphasizes that stability doesn't come from entrepreneurship and that sometimes the answer is investing in someone else's business or keeping your 9-to-5 while building—whatever serves the life you actually want, not the one you think you should want.

Defining Freedom The conversation closes with Dr. Curtis's challenge to listeners: What would you define as freedom? What kind of life do you really want? For her, it's "an unimaginable life"—and getting there requires the honesty to say no to many things to say yes to what matters most.

• LinkedIn/Instagram: @DrShakkiahCurtis
• Email: shakia@thepinkhustle.com (mailto:shakia@thepinkhustle.com)
• Visit: Taylor Nicole Wine and Cupcakes (Madison's Black Business Hub)

This week on Black Oxygen, host Angela Russell sits down with the extraordinary Lachrisa Grandberry—singer, actor, writer, speaker, and Milwaukee native whose journey from fifth-grade teacher to professional theater artist is nothing short of inspiring.

Lachrisa shares the powerful story of how a fifth-grader named Daniel changed her life by challenging her to chase her own dreams. What started as a promise to audition for one show became a full-time career in theater, supported by a network of Black women mentors who helped her navigate the industry with remarkable success.

From opening The Color Purple at Chicago's Goodman Theatre to becoming one of ten fellows selected from 792 applicants for the prestigious Dramatist Guild National Fellowship Program, Lachrisa offers profound insights on overcoming fear, betting on yourself, and the principle that has guided her career: "Don't let the no come from you first."

This conversation explores the radical care found in theater communities, the responsibility we have to show up for each other, and the importance of breaking the brooms and shredding the rugs that keep us silent about our trauma. Lachrisa closes the episode with a stunning reading from her poetry collection, "Shredding Rugs: A Poetic Cleansing."

Key moments include discussions of mentorship, the scariest thing being our own thoughts, finding your people to turn up the volume on positivity, and what it means to have both the strength to hold and the vulnerability to be held.

#BlackOxygenPodcast #BlackInWisconsin #Mentorship #FollowingYourDreams #LachrisaGrandberry #WisconsinTheater #TheColorPurple #ForwardTheater #NorthernSkyTheaterCompany #Dreams

Links for this episode:

https://www.lachrisagrandberry.com/ (https://www.lachrisagrandberry.com/)

https://northernskytheater.com/ (https://northernskytheater.com/)

https://forwardtheater.com/ (https://forwardtheater.com/)

https://www.goodmantheatre.org/ (https://www.goodmantheatre.org/)

Tracy Anderson returns to Black Oxygen to discuss her unexpected 11-year journey in Madison and a recent career transition. She shares her winding path from theater in Chicago to hotel sales, radio hosting on 93.1 Jams, and community outreach at Big Brothers Big Sisters—where she finally found work she truly loved through service.
Tracy opens up about learning to set boundaries, overcoming people-pleasing tendencies, and the challenges of dating as a Black woman in Madison. She reflects on how faith, therapy, and a strong network have helped her navigate this pivot gracefully, and introduces her upcoming podcast "Hustle Her Way," which will spotlight hustlers and nonprofit leaders sharing their unique journeys.

In this powerful episode of Black Oxygen, host Angela Russell sits down with Carla Williams, CEO and founder of The View From Here Wellness Collective, for an intimate conversation about self-care, collective care, and what it means for Black women to move from survival to thriving.
Carla shares her Wisconsin story—from her family's journey from Chicago to Madison in a car without floors, to building a life rooted in community and care. She opens up about the heartbreak that sparked The View From Here Wellness Collective and her realization that Black women often build their identities around giving to others while neglecting themselves.
Through honest storytelling, Carla explores the revolutionary act of rest for Black women and the importance of reclaiming your own narrative. She discusses her podcast "Black Women Deserve," the power of dating yourself, and learning to receive care without suspicion or hesitation.
Carla reminds listeners: "You're not behind. You're not too late. You're not alone. Healing doesn't look perfect, and wherever you are right now, it's exactly where you need to be."
Connect with Carla: Website: theviewfromherewellnesscollective.com Social Media: @CropTopCutie

On this week's episode of Black Oxygen, the tables are turned. Regular Black Oxygen guest Ali Muldrow interviews Angela Russell. The friendship vibes are on thick on this episode as they discuss when Angela first started noticing beauty, her relationship with beauty, and travel the 5 senses of beauty.

#BlackOxygenPodcast #BlackInMadison #BlackInWisconsin #Friends #DopeBlackPodcasts #BeautyAllAround #Madison #MadisonWI #Madison365

Debra Gillispie, founder and CEO-President of Mothers Against Gun Violence, is a women of deep faith, resilience, and extraordinary grace and vision.

After losing her son Kirk Jr. to gun violence in 2003, Debra transformed her grief into action, creating an organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of families affected by gun violence. In this conversation, she shares her remarkable journey through restorative justice, including meeting the man who killed her son nearly 21 years after her son's murder.

In this episode we discuss practical solutions for gun violence prevention, the media's portrayal of victims in urban communities, and Debra's recent work establishing National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day in Wisconsin after losing another child to fentanyl poisoning.

This is a powerful conversation about healing, compassion, and the transformative power of giving grace to ourselves and others.

#BlackOxygen #BlackOxygenPodcast #MothersAgainstGunViolence #GunViolence #StopGunViolence