Celebrating black excellence ✊🏽 ✊🏾 ✊🏿

As a black and woman owned company, we love any chance we get to celebrate black excellence throughout the wine and food industry. Today's spotlight is on a influencer that we are obsessing over!

As a young Black woman, Dr. Akilah Cadet experienced judgement, "isms", and numerous barriers in the workplace. One day she thought, “what if I could change that?” and Change Cadet was started. Cadet, her last name, is a French term that means soldier. Change Cadet prepares individuals and companies to be soldiers of change in the workforce so there can be more women and people of color at the top. She wants everyone to feel empowered in their career. To accomplish this, she provides people and companies with services that support anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging (DEIB) including executive coaching, strategic planning, facilitation, and crisis recovery. She advises tech startups from concept to staffing, facilitates strategic workshops, coaches leaders, and speaks at various engagements. Dr. Cadet knows the only way to achieve the goal of true inclusiveness in the workplace is to work with, coach, and speak to as many companies and individuals as possible. She wants Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to know they have something special, for companies to truly recognize the value of their employees, and well, to change the face of the stereotypical leader so that no one would feel how she felt most of her career.

Dr. Cadet has 15+ years in management and building successful projects, teams, and leaders in the public and private sectors. She is a 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Honoree and honored as one of Staffing Industry Analysts’ (SIA) 2021 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Influencers. Forbes and the Wall Street Journal Diversity and Business Newsletter have featured her work. She has worked on federal, state, and privately funded multimillion-dollar projects ranging from public health/healthcare to education. She has spent an extensive part of her career designing training, coaching executives, and informing systematic change to improve the workforce experience for large organizations. Dr. Cadet holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education in Community Based Public Health, a Master of Public Health, and a Doctorate of Health Sciences in Leadership and Organizational Behavior. But more importantly, she lives in/loves Oakland, has an incredible shoe game, and is a proud Beyoncé advocate.

Check out Change Cadet here.

Sue