About

Introduction

Hi. I’m Mia. I don’t know if these things will register with you, but believe it or not, they changed me for the better. Divorce. Home insecurity. Unemployment. Single parenthood. Depression.

All of these things made me see the world through a new lens, because they all happened at the same time. Ending my marriage left me as a single mother. I moved across the country hoping to find a new job, I didn’t. I slept on my friend’s couch and eventually had to move back in with my parents. This went on for 15 months. With a failed marriage, unemployment, and two kids counting on me, I became depressed.

The First Book and TEDx Talk

After 15 months of unemployment, finally, a job. I made it through rejection after rejection and finally became employed. I saved up and after almost two years of living on the grace and mercy of others, we moved into our own place. It wasn’t an easy journey to endure by any means, but it inspired my first book, Going Through It.

There was nothing more satisfying than having not only a job, but a title again. I didn’t realize when you are unemployed and someone asks you what you do, “unemployed”, creates an awkward moment. As an adult you must have a job title to be someone. I didn’t like that. I took my message to the stage in a TEDx Talk, Define Your Own Title

Single Professional Mother

My career took a turn when I had my first daughter. I knew the mother I wanted to be, so I became an administrative assistant. This allowed me to create the work-life balance I wanted for my life. I climbed the career ladder and chose to only support presidents and boards. For two decades I have sat at the top table within organizations. I realized managing the top executive of an organization is highly demanding, especially as a single mother.

Even though I was an educated professional woman, I faced many stereotypes because of my single mother status. Pre-COVID and the big remote boom, I would be spoken to about my paid-time-off usage. Because even with my kids tucked in bed sick, there was no remote alternative. Then there would be the weeks I stretched myself so thin, I would make appointments with myself to have a good cry, usually the car ride home or the shower. Journaling all this, gave me my second book, Single Professional Mother.

The Second TEDx Talk

There was nothing easy about this journey, but everything was worth it. I dared to name my dreams. Claim my dreams. Pursue them. And in the end, they came true. Even with my accomplishments, at different stages while pursuing them, I almost quit. This made me think, how many people give up on their dreams before they become true? How much power do we give the word no? How many nos will it take for people to give up on their dreams? This led to my second TEDx Talk, Rejection Recovery: A Journey to Your Yes.

My Bio

I am the mother of two wonderful daughters. When I became a single mother in 2009, I faced blatant bias and stereotypes. I didn’t like it, so I set out to change the narrative for single mothers everywhere. I wrote my second book, Single Professional Mother, and established a podcast by the same name, to eliminate the negative stereotypes associated with single mothers. 

This journey stemmed from my marriage ending, while trying to navigate single motherhood. I was unemployed for 15 months and found myself depending on the grace and mercy of family and friends, all the while experiencing food and housing insecurity.

But sis, once my feet found grounding, I became unstoppable. With a drive to be an example for my daughters I set goal after goal for myself and never looked back. Not only am I an author, but I have decades of executive management experience, where I provide elite assistance to presidents and board executives. I am also a two time TEDx Talk speaker. 

I love my alma mater and serve on the Bridgewater State University Alumni Association Board as well as its African-American Alumni Association. I am a hearing officer for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers and Notary Public. I am also a member of the ForbesBLK Community.

I hold my Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and have received three Certificate of Completions and a Certificate of Specialization from Harvard Business School Online.