Reimagining You with Danielle Henry

by | Jun 16, 2020 | Podcast

“I’m still on the path to reimagining what my life can look like. It’s hard to have dreams that are not tied to the vision I had for myself before.” –Danielle Henry

An unexpected departure from a 6-year career at Microsoft left Danielle Henry struggling to recognize herself. Here’s how she reimagined her way to a new career – and learned to take care of herself in the process.

More About Danielle:

Danielle Henry is an Empowerment Coach & Speaker, Equity Consultant, and Graduate Clinical Psychotherapist. As a former 6-year marketing executive at Microsoft, she draws from personal experiences of race discrimination and retaliation in tech to motivate women and people of color to release themselves from the victimhood of their lives. After the unexpected loss of her career in marketing, Danielle struggled to recognize who she was and found herself searching for meaning and purpose. With a blend of experiences in corporate spaces and now as a graduate clinical psychotherapist, Danielle is uniquely positioned to support individuals and organizations to create space for the development of programs that address systemic racism and the outcomes for diverse workforces.

In her coaching and therapy platforms, Danielle empowers women and people of color to heal and grow from their darkest experiences and live their boldest life NOW. She is a native Seattleite, graduate student, yogi and lives with her husband and 4-year-old son.


Highlights

  • How Danielle navigate her roles as mother, wife, and therapist – while also taking care of her own needs
  • The personal arsenal of self-care habits that help Danielle stay centered
  • How Danielle knows when it’s time to take a pause and reset 
  • Why Danielle is giving herself and her family more grace right now
  • The daily debrief that helps Danielle zero in on what’s going well and what needs to improve
  • Danielle’s advice for anyone navigating their own transformation – and who to surround yourself 
  • How we can learn to show up for both ourselves and for other people 
  • How to change the narrative in difficult relationships and listen to each other more 
  • How Danielle accepted that her “old life” had ended and got clear about what was next

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Rent women’s contemporary designer clothing at Armoire

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, Brene Brown (Amazon affiliate link) 

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (Amazon affiliate link)

Connect with Danielle: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

I recorded this season’s episodes in mid-May, before the killing of George Floyd. So I’ve asked my guests to share with me their favorite resources on anti-racism and fighting racial injustice – so that I can share them with you here. 

Here’s what Danielle shared:

Resources

At Microsoft, I realized I was being impacted by racist policies that failed to protect their Black employees from discrimination. A popular resource to understand the importance of anti-racism and the adoption of anti-racist policies is Ibram X. Kendi’s book How to Be an Anti-Racist. I recommend this book because it offers compelling strategies for a cross section of folks to begin influencing policy in their local communities. 

Two other powerful resources to assist in understanding and exploring what many white folks are experience through this race revolution are 1) White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and 2) authors Michael Eric Dyson and Tim Wise – I haven’t read his book, but I follow each of these authors/activists on Twitter for a stream of racial consciousness.  

Causes

As a graduate clinical psychotherapist at a community mental health agency, I work with diverse, multicultural youth & families in Seattle. Therapeutic Health Services has a unique partnership with Seattle Public Schools which offers an opportunity to provide school-based services, including support and resource connections to address specific issues identified by students, families and the school community.

Please consider donating to enable our organization to provide effective, evidenced-based therapy, support and resources for some of Seattle’s most vulnerable communities. THS Donate Today.

Thank You for Listening!

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xo,