Women of Color An Intimate Conversation

What does it look like to release your art directly to the people who love it — no label, no gatekeeper, no middleman? In the concluding episode of the She Who Mothers: Redefining Legacy, Love & Lineage series, host Deneen L. Garrett reconnects with RIMIDI, M.Ed. — Miami-born independent recording artist, founder of Noom Recordings, and CEO of GEM CULTURE™ — for a conversation on ownership, sacred impact, and blooming on your own timeline. RIMIDI recently released her latest project, JUNO: THE LATE BLOOMER, direct to fans via Bandcamp — a deliberate move away from streaming platforms that leave independent artists with pennies on the dollar. From building her own infrastructure as a label owner to raising her daughters into the mission behind GEM CULTURE™, this conversation traces what it means to mother a legacy fully and unapologetically, on your own terms. In This Episode Why RIMIDI bypassed streaming and released JUNO: THE LATE BLOOMER direct to fans via Bandcamp What true ownership requires — ISRC codes, copyright registration, and building a sustainable artist infrastructure The birth of GEM CULTURE™ and how motherhood shaped RIMIDI's work with young people Blooming late as an advantage — starting over "from experience," not from scratch Building the right team and community instead of going it alone Giving yourself permission to do what terrifies you, without waiting for validation Connect with RIMIDI, M.Ed. Guest Profile: womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/guests/rimidi Organization: NOOM Recordings / GEM CULTURE™ Full Episode Notes: womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/owning-your-story Join the Movement Are you a Black woman 50+ ready for your next chapter? The Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective brings you the strategy, sisterhood, and structure you need to live boldly. Get started at deneenlgarrett.com. Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a Top 20 Women's Empowerment Podcast · Top 5% of podcasts worldwide. Subscribe · Leave a Review · Share with a woman who needs this today. Host: Deneen L. Garrett, Cultural Alchemist & Media Architect, Creator & Host, Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation Official Website → deneenlgarrett.com Live every Thursday at 1p ET on YT Subscribe → @DeneenLGarrett

What happens when a child grows up carrying grief she has no language for — and discovers at age 12 that she can read minds? In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, host Deneen L. Garrett sits down with Rima Desai — transformational life coach, spiritual healer, and Masters-trained counseling psychologist — to trace her story back to its beginning. Born in Mumbai, India, Rima lost her mother at age 6, growing up in a home heavy with silence and a culture where grief and emotion had no framework for being spoken aloud. Rima shares how she spent years functioning alongside her pain rather than through it, even as an unexpected spiritual gift emerged: by age 12 she was reading minds and predicting events, and by her early twenties — deep into a Master's program in Psychology — she still couldn't complete the sentence "I feel." The conversation follows the divine redirects that eventually led her to a small countryside city in Tanzania, East Africa, a place she had dreamed of since childhood, and the moment her daughter's soul called her away from it. In This Episode The Weight of Silent Grief — losing a parent in a culture with no framework for emotional processing The Gift of Intuition — how Rima's spiritual gifts emerged as companionship in her loneliest years Destiny in Tanzania — the unexpected journey that took her to the land she'd watched on cassette tapes as a child The Power of Surrender — learning to trust a divine plan when your own plans disappear without a trace Why Part 1 is the story and Part 2 is the work — both parts you'll want to hear Connect with Rima Desai Transformational Life Coach | Spiritual Healer | Counseling Psychologist Guest Profile: womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/guests/rima-desai Join the Movement Are you a Black woman 50+ ready for your next chapter? The Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective newsletter brings you the strategy, sisterhood, and structure you need to live boldly. Learn more at deneenlgarrett.com. Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a Top 20 Women's Empowerment Podcast. New episodes every Thursday. Subscribe · Leave a Review · Share with a woman who needs this today. Part 2 here Host: Deneen L. Garrett, Cultural Alchemist & Media Architect, Creator & Host, Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation Official Website → deneenlgarrett.com Subscribe → @DeneenLGarrett

Corporate leadership, faith, and cultural identity don't have to compete for space — they can be the same foundation. In this episode of Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation, host Deneen L. Garrett sits down with Violette Omotosho, a Senior Relationship Manager, Pastoral Leader, speaker, and writer with over 15 years of experience navigating faith and leadership in the financial and insurance industries. Violette shares how showing up as her full, authentic self — rather than code-switching or compartmentalizing — has shaped her influence at work, in her faith community, and at home. The conversation explores what it means to lead without shrinking, why compartmentalizing creates its own exhaustion, and how building influence and cultural identity can coexist with corporate excellence. In This Episode Leading with faith and cultural identity in corporate spaces Why compartmentalizing yourself creates its own kind of exhaustion How to build influence without compromising who you are Navigating global citizenship, heritage, and identity across Sweden, Uganda, and Canada What it means to mother a legacy that extends beyond your career Giving yourself — and your family — permission to think bigger Connect with Violette Omotosho Guest Profile: womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/guests/violette-omotosho Organization: Financial Services / Pastoral Leadership Join the Movement Are you a Black woman 50+ ready for your next chapter? The Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective newsletter brings you the strategy, sisterhood, and structure you need to live boldly. Learn more at deneenlgarrett.com. Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a Top 20 Women's Empowerment Podcast. New episodes every Thursday. Subscribe · Leave a Review · Share with a woman who needs this today. Produced by: The Leon Thomas Group Host: Deneen L. Garrett, Cultural Alchemist & Media Architect, Creator & Host, Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation Official Website → deneenlgarrett.com Subscribe → @DeneenLGarrett

Six Months, One Mission: What We Built Together + The Legacy of Our Children Oryne Stewart Sr., producer from The Leon Thomas Group, joins Deneen L. Garrett to close out the first six months of WOC Live — freestyling through the season, unscripted, Mr. Rogers-style, as guests from the WOC Live neighborhood popped in throughout the hour. Deneen and Oryne reflect on what WOC Live set out to build back in March versus what it's become, then shift into an unplanned but overdue conversation about parenting — sparked by May guest Violette Omotosho — digging into entitlement, financial literacy in the Apple Pay generation, access versus earning, and why letting kids fail is a form of love. Along the way, five past guests surprise-joined the live show: Santana Inniss (calling in from Portugal), Dr. Connie Y. Bell, Nicole Seabrooks (mid-celebration for her twins' 17th birthday), Tanya Spencer (calling in from Copenhagen), and RIMIDI (mid-relocation on a Miami Dade College campus). In This Episode Six months, one mission: what WOC Live set out to build vs. what it became Parenting in the entitlement era — money, access, and the generational pendulum Why cash (not Apple Pay) teaches kids the real value of a dollar Letting kids fail forward — from Richard Branson's forest test to "become a resource, not the source" Five past guests surprise-join live, calling in from Portugal, Copenhagen, and a college campus mid-move A tease: something big is coming for WOC Live before the next season Guests Who Joined Live Santana Inniss — Founder & Executive Director, The Glow Initiative (Glowi) | glowi.org | Guest Profile Dr. Connie Y. Bell — Transformation & Operations Executive; Founder, Beyond the Bell Collective™ | Guest Profile | LinkedIn | Instagram: @divamom2u Nicole Seabrooks | Guest Profile Tanya Spencer — Speaker, Bad-Asshery | Guest Profile | fckbeingstuck.com | YouTube: @fckbeingstuckcoaching RIMIDI | Guest Profile Join the Movement The Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective is our weekly newsletter for Black women 50+ who are ready to dream boldly, decide intentionally, and drive their vision → deneenlgarrett.com Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a Top 20 Women's Empowerment Podcast, ranked in the Top 5% of 4M+ podcasts worldwide, with 200+ episodes and counting. Subscribe · Leave a Review · Share with a woman who needs this today. Host: Deneen L. Garrett is a Cultural Alchemist and Media Architect helping Black women 50+ dream boldly, decide intentionally, and drive their vision. Catch WOC Live every Thursday at 1PM ET on YouTube @DeneenLGarrett. Learn more at deneenlgarrett.com. September episodes are TBTs.

Rachel Pierre, Founder and CEO of Parlez!, joins Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation to unpack executive French fluency, accent bias, and code-switching — and how she left a 15-year FinTech career to build a business the market didn't know it needed. Rachel shares how leaving computer engineering and FinTech became the doorway to purpose, why cultural fluency — not just grammar — is what unlocks trust and insider access in French-speaking boardrooms across France, Monaco, and Francophone markets, and how she trains executives to think and operate in French without the exhaustion of translating in their heads. In This Episode Leaving a 15-year computer engineering and FinTech career to build Parlez! Accent bias and pronunciation gatekeeping in hiring and corporate settings Code-switching exhaustion — and how true bilingualism removes it Training your brain to operate fully in a second language What insider access and cultural fluency unlock in high-stakes negotiations Trusting your gut and knowing when it's time to leave the corporate table Connect with Rachel Pierre Website: parlezmethod.com Instagram: @rachelsfrenchmethod YouTube: @Parlez90Days Guest Profile: womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/guests/rachel-pierre Join the Movement The Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective is our weekly newsletter for Black women 50+ who are ready to dream boldly, decide intentionally, and drive their vision → deneenlgarrett.com Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a Top 20 Women's Empowerment Podcast, ranked in the Top 5% of 4M+ podcasts worldwide, with 200+ episodes and counting. Subscribe · Leave a Review · Share with a woman who needs this today. Host: Deneen L. Garrett is a Cultural Alchemist and Media Architect helping Black women 50+ dream boldly, decide intentionally, and drive their vision. Catch WOC Live every Thursday at 1PM ET on YouTube @DeneenLGarrett. Learn more at deneenlgarrett.com. WOC Live | August 2026 — The Legacy Series: Lead. Transform. Leave a Mark. 📅 August 6 — Isimemen Aladejobi 📅 August 13 — TBT/Replay: Dontae T. Muse (Ep. 189) 📅 August 20 — Rachel Pierre 📅 August 27 — Season Finale