Diversity Woman Magazine

FALL 2015

Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds

Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/579568

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 22 of 67

d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m Fa l l 2 0 1 5 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N 21 By Tamar a E. Holmes W hen Tameika Pope grad- uated from Morgan State University with a degree in broadcast journalism, she applied for several entry-level positions in the industry. She didn't get any calls for jobs, so she asked a family member who happened to be a recruiter to look at her résumé. Te verdict: Te content was fne, but "Tameika" was an ethnic name that broadcast that Pope was an African American woman. Although Pope didn't want to believe that her name—and therefore her race—could hurt her job prospects, she was willing to try anything to jump-start her career. So she changed the name on her résumé to "Tammy." Al- most immediately, recruiters began to call. It was at that moment that Pope de- cided to change career paths and enter the feld of human resources. Tere, she would be able to stop others from being victimized by name discrimination. She started as a recruiter and then ascended in the feld, eventually serving as vice president, global learning and develop- ment, for both Morgan Stanley and Legg Mason Global Asset Management. Dur- ing her climb up the corporate ladder, she reclaimed her birth name, putting "Tameika" back on her résumé where it rightly belonged. Today, the 44-year-old is a deputy as- sociate director in the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation at the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Appointed during the tenure of former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, Pope now serves under Chair Janet Yellen, the frst woman to lead the Fed in its 100-year history. In her position, Pope is responsi- ble for the Fed's banking supervision and regulation (domestic), and international learning and oversight strategy. Her du- ties include overseeing leadership and professional development, coaching and consulting, international training, organi- zation development, succession planning, and performance management. Pursuing her passion for personal de- velopment, Pope has launched a pro- fessional human capital development coaching and consulting company called CULTIVATE; a relationship coaching business called Evolution Partners; and a nonproft mentoring organization for African American women called AAWLN (pronounced "all-in"), which stands for African-American Women's Leadership Network. She balances her corporate and entrepreneurial activities with her role as wife to her husband, Jonathan, and mother to their daughters, Chandler, 12, and London, 9. Diversity Woman asked Pope about the need for authenticity in the workplace, the importance of healthy professional rela- tionships, and how she inspires her team. Diversity Woman: What is the biggest career challenge you have overcome? Tameika Pope: Figuring out how to "play the game" while still holding onto my authentic self. It took me a while, but I fgured out the delicate dance between assimilating and bringing who "Tameika" is to the table. The Courage to Be Herself Tameika Pope found success by forging a unique—and authentic—path Power Suit We Mean Business >

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Diversity Woman Magazine - FALL 2015