Cheryl Broom [00:00:00]:
Hi, I'm Cheryl Broom, CEO of GradComm and host of the Higher Education Conversations
Podcast. This month I have an amazing guest on Leticia Clark is the Director of
Communications for the South Orange Community College District. She's also an elected official
and a mom of three. On top of that, she has a brand new book out called Baby's Room to the
Boardroom where she, she weaves in advice from parenting to give women tips about how to
be boss moms. It's such a fun book and the conversation with her is a blast and amazing. And I
think the lessons that she shares doesn't just apply to moms in the workplace, but to everybody
in the workplace. Anybody who is looking to have a healthier work life balance and really to
bring their entire true self to the work.
Cheryl Broom [00:00:59]:
I love the conversation and I know you will, too. Enjoy. All right, Leticia, thank you so much for
being on the podcast. I'm so excited to have a conversation with you.
Leticia Clark [00:01:11]:
It's my pleasure. You know, we go way back, so.
Cheryl Broom [00:01:14]:
We go way back. But I just, I just read your book and I'm, I feel like, oh, my gosh, there's so
many things about you I didn't know that I. And I don't know how you even have time to sleep or
eat or. You are so accomplished and do so much. And I think our listeners are going to learn a
lot from you.
Leticia Clark [00:01:38]:
I look forward to that. And really it's because I'm not unlike many other women that I wrote these
two books because many of us wear so many hats and so we just find time to do the things that
we need to do. But my message in both books is to try to do the things that you want to do and
try to do the things that, you know, give you purpose and fulfill your own, you know, goals.
Because sometimes we lose that.
Cheryl Broom [00:02:08]:
Oh, no, I know. Because we're often so focused on what everybody else needs.
Leticia Clark [00:02:13]:
Exactly.
Cheryl Broom [00:02:14]:
That we forget what we need and we want. But before we dive into the big heart, so many
things I want to talk about. Tell our listeners who you are, the college you work at, and a little bit
about your books.
Leticia Clark [00:02:26]:So my name is Latisha Clark. I work for the South Orange County Community College District
as their Chief Communications officer. I've been here for about five years. Prior to coming to this
district, I served at the Coast Community College District. So I've been in higher ed for almost
10 years now. And before that, I did a small stint with the American Academy of Pediatrics as
their executive Director here in Orange County. And that was my entry back into California
because I attended undergraduate school in Louisiana and studied political science and then
stayed there for almost a little over a decade and went through Hurricane Katrina and
everything there. And so I had my time as a Southerner down in Louisiana in New Orleans, but
had a really good.
Leticia Clark [00:03:16]:
Several great lived experiences there. But, yeah, so, you know, higher ed is my home now, and
I'm so happy to be down here in South County.
Cheryl Broom [00:03:25]:
And besides serving as the district director of communications, you're also an elected official.
Leticia Clark [00:03:31]:
That's right. So I've been serving on the Tustin City Council here in Orange county for almost
eight years. I got elected in 2016, served as mayor in 2021 in the heart, you know, the middle of
a global pandemic, the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd amidst a PI hate in the
community. And I was a new mom again. So was mayor while pregnant and had my third child.
Sounds crazy when I even say it. And I released a children's book while serving as mayor in
2021 called mommy is the Mayor. And so it's a kids book all about what a mayor does in their
community.
Leticia Clark [00:04:13]:
And wanted to ensure that I got to memorialize that time as mayor because people in my
community definitely weren't used to seeing a black woman, you know, serve in that executive
role at the city level. There hasn't been many in Orange county either. Also, I really noticed that
my kids didn't really understand what mommy did all day. And so they knew I did, you know,
certain things, but they didn't understand everything around our city. Had a. I had a hand in
making decisions on behalf of not only them, but our entire community. So I really wanted to put
that in book form. It's been a great success.
Leticia Clark [00:04:51]:
And I got so many comments from moms almost very identical to the question you just asked.
How are you doing this all? How can I try to do a piece of this? And I realized we have so much
power in what we already bring to the table, and I wanted to kind of articulate that as well and
release my second book this year, Baby's Room to the Boardroom, which is all about how
there's so much intersectionality between what we do as women and moms and what we bring
to the workplace. And if we slow down a little bit, we can merge those skills very uniquely and
efficiently. So those are the two books.Cheryl Broom [00:05:32]:
Yeah. So the Mommy is Mare is adorable.
Leticia Clark [00:05:34]:
Thank you.
Cheryl Broom [00:05:35]:
And I love that you have. So you're the mom of Two twins. And they're in the book.
Leticia Clark [00:05:40]:
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:05:41]:
And they're with you, and they're, like, knocking on doors and they're making phone calls. And I
saw how that theme then carried across immediately into your new book, which I loved, that we
don't need to separate ourselves as moms and women from the job we do.
Leticia Clark [00:05:58]:
Right.
Cheryl Broom [00:05:59]:
And I think that at least women from our generation were taught that you've got, like, home mom
and work person. And I actually had a boss who I decided that we weren't good personality fits. I
actually had a boss tell me that she never wanted to hear about my home life and to never bring
it to work.
Leticia Clark [00:06:21]:
Wow.
Cheryl Broom [00:06:22]:
And because I had given her some advice coming from a mom, and I said, as a parent, I feel
that this decision we were making on behalf of children was not the right decision. And she said,
cheryl, I never want to hear your opinion as a mom.
Leticia Clark [00:06:40]:
Wow, wow, wow, wow.
Cheryl Broom [00:06:42]:
Right? And I'm like, I think I'm bringing value.
Leticia Clark [00:06:45]:
Yeah, absolutely. Right, Right.
Cheryl Broom [00:06:47]:And so I really loved that point of your book. We do have value as moms, and we can bring that
to the table.
Leticia Clark [00:06:55]:
Yeah. About coming from a generation that, you know, gave us certain messages. You know, I
got the message that you can do it all right. Which sounds like a very empowering message. But
I wasn't necessarily given the tools to, quote, unquote, do it all. And so it just felt like I was
always taking more on. And then that was revered as a badge of honor and not really taught to
work smarter versus harder, but feeling like I had to be everything in these different roles. And,
yeah, I struggled throughout my career and feeling like I, like, just like you said, I have to be one
person at work, one person.
Leticia Clark [00:07:37]:
Not merge the two, not talk about my family at work, not be on my phone at home and all those
conflicting messages. But it's really when I became a single mom that out of necessity, I had to
bring my kids certain places if I wanted to attend these community meetings or be a part of, you
know, things that, you know, I had a burning desire to be a part of, they had to come along with
me. And then what I saw was, oh, they're starting to absorb some of this information. They're
starting to learn how to kind of, you know, behave or how to conduct themselves in a
professional setting, you know, in some ways, rather than kind of shielding that from them and
feeling like they can't ever come with me to a meeting. But just so many lessons that I've
learned as a mother, I Translate that all the time. You know, being more empathetic, using real
life experiences to convey, you know, on how to teach someone something versus just telling
them. You know, we learned that with our kids. Our kids have to see us do something and kind
of hear from our own experiences in order to really learn it.
Leticia Clark [00:08:49]:
But yeah, there's so many things that we, we take for granted. And most importantly, I think
moms have to give themselves more credit than we do. Often if they stay out of the workforce,
they think, well, I don't have anything to bring to the table. I've had all these years where I didn't
work in a corporate setting or whatnot. And so my message is, you have so much to bring to the
table. You just have to figure out a way how to tell that story and translate those skills to another
environment.
Cheryl Broom [00:09:19]:
I actually circled your part of your introduction because I loved, I loved this message. And you
said, in fact, one of the greatest lessons that I've learned is that I don't have to separate the
woman I am as a mom from the woman I am as a professional. The two can coexist in the same
space. And I thought that is, I mean, if we, if we can embrace that, what a great place the
workplace would be like. I want to hear funny stories about your kids. I want you to bring
empathy. I want to know when you're running late or you can't, you need more time or you have
a doctor's appointment. Like, I don't understand.
Cheryl Broom [00:09:57]:I think maybe our workplace was set up for dads who weren't and moms who stayed home. And
now everybody's working, right? Moms and dads. And we need a little bit more compassion and
space for that.
Leticia Clark [00:10:08]:
Yeah. And we're both sharing responsibilities in both places. And no, you're, you're, you're,
you're totally right and just kind of being able to relate to that. And my heart breaks for you, for
the boss that you had at one point, because I know I've had maybe non empathetic bosses
before. And so luckily, I've had a lot of women who have actually had babies while I've served
as their supervisor. And I just tried to make a concerted effort to be extremely understanding, to
not make it hard to ask for time off, to not make them feel like, oh, I have another doctor's
appointment that I have to go to, and I have another, you know, I'm not feeling great today. And,
but making it a very safe space for them to just talk about their experience and not make this
one more level of stress on top of everything else. So, yeah, it is important to be able to bring
our whole selves.
Leticia Clark [00:11:04]:
And I think the narrative is changing. The environment is changing where we're talking about
diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly on college campuses where we are more welcoming
and inviting of people bringing their entire selves to work and talking about, you know, healing
and getting through trauma that we went through, our personal lives. So we don't bring that, you
know, to work as well. So I think there's a deeper and a more welcoming conversation about
bringing your whole self, you know, to the places that you frequent, especially work, where we're
spending, you know, the majority of our day. So I think that the narrative is changing, thankfully
for, you know, more holistic environment.
Cheryl Broom [00:11:46]:
Well, I think you're 100%. I was just reflecting as you were talking about me as a supervisor, and
how can I be a better, a more understanding supervisor to individuals who struggle with things
outside of work? And I don't know if you have any tips. You have such great tips for women that
I want to talk about in a minute. You have such. Such great tips for women who are looking to
take the next step in their career. But what about for supervisors? Like, how can we be more
supportive of other women and other parents? What can we do?
Leticia Clark [00:12:21]:
Yeah, sometimes I think about my sorority days and kind of how you. It's not hazing, but it's like
initiation, right. You go through, and it can be tough. And then when you get to the other side,
sometimes you forget or you feel like, well, I had to go through it. So the next wave of people,
they're going to have to go through the same thing. Sometimes I think we do that at work. We
forget how hard it is to transition to a new job. We forget how hard it is to transition from a staff
level to a supervisor level or not have someone support your ambition or your dreams to
promote, to not help you through tough conversations around salary and just upward mobility.
Leticia Clark [00:13:11]:And so I try to be. I try to remember those times so that I can be that support to my staff as a
supervisor. So I try not to just be present in the space I'm in now and forget those lessons that
I've learned, essentially letting them go through the initiation and not helping them through it.
But I see that a lot, particularly in older women who have, you know, they're kind of done with
raising kids or maybe they haven't had a family, and they. They're just like, you know, I'm. I'm
past that stage of worrying about that. So I'm not going to, you know, make that my. My biggest
concern for, you know, other.
Leticia Clark [00:13:53]:
Other people that I'm managing. So I feel like it's just being present with what those struggles
were and making small but consistent just, you know, paying attention to those little things and
those little kind acts of attention and, you know, care, I think, make a difference in the holistic,
you know, part of someone's experience at work.
Cheryl Broom [00:14:18]:
I agree. I agree 100%. Because we're all people at the end of the day. Right? We're not all
robots. We're not workers. One of your. Yeah. One of your chapters is called Information
Overload Quality versus Quantity.
Cheryl Broom [00:14:34]:
And I wanted to ask you a little bit about that chapter and how you set your book up. But first I
want to share with you a story about my kid, because I. I don't. Well, you can't see it on the
zoom, but if I come in and out a little bit, you can see watching on YouTube. But I have this new
tablet called Remarkable. It's amazing if you're a certain age and you love to take notes, it's a
tablet where it feels like you're writing and you can like PDFs. So I made notes all through your
book, and then I just noticed my younger son wrote me from Jackson, mom is the best mom in
the world. Oh, and then he also wrote the word poop just to punctuate that.
Leticia Clark [00:15:15]:
So can I capture that and put that. That is so good.
Cheryl Broom [00:15:21]:
So cute. From Jackson. And then poop. So I'll send it to you as a testimonial of the power of
your book.
Leticia Clark [00:15:36]:
That is so, you know, just quintessential to the mom experience. Right?
Cheryl Broom [00:15:40]:
Yes. 100%. The way that your book is structured because it's called Baby's Room and the
Boardroom. Right. That's Baby's Room. Not Baby's room to the Boardroom, but Baby's Room.
Leticia Clark [00:15:52]:Yeah. Kind of like from the baby's room to the boardroom. How to merge these lessons together.
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:15:57]:
So you start each chapter, which. The chapters are great because they're like. You can read
them in, like, five minutes. Which I really appreciate it. I'm like, wow, she's actually structuring a
book for working moms.
Leticia Clark [00:16:11]:
Right.
Cheryl Broom [00:16:11]:
But you start with a great story about your children, and then you move on and you apply it to a
lesson at work. So I just. I really loved the format of the. Of the book. And you talk a lot about
people being around people who. Who can encourage you and motivate you. And I like to call
that your tribe. But tell us a little bit about how important it is to have the right people
surrounding you.
Leticia Clark [00:16:36]:
Yeah, you know, I often, if I speak somewhere, you know, a lot for my elected role, you know,
people will ask me what, what advice do you have? Or if you could go back, you know, 20
years, what would you tell your 20 year old self? And often part of that is I usually say two
things. One, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Realize that you're going to be in a lot of
uncomfortable spaces in your life. And if you start grappling with that and then getting past the
fear, you will accomplish things that you never knew you were capable of. And two, find people
and start getting almost require that you have people who speak life, who speak positively
around you. And particularly when I was running for office, there were so many negative
responses, including from my family, people putting their fears on me of this sounds like a scary
thing to do. I don't want you to be in a scary environment. So out of love, putting a lot of fear
onto me, a lot of doubt and then just people who are very, and that's the political arena where
critical of the way I look, the way I sounded, the way I dress, the what they, what they saw on TV
and that it wasn't the, you know, the same as the image that I portrayed.
Leticia Clark [00:17:59]:
And so just getting a lot of negative responses about what I was, you know, capable of doing.
And so what I really remembered were the people who said, of course you can do it, of course,
you know, why, why wouldn't you? And I'm going to be right here to support you every step of
the way. So even when my internal doubts were starting to bubble to the top, having people
around me to say no, keep going, you got this. I know today's a hard day. Go knock on five
more doors, go make 10 more phone calls. And so that actually got me to the finish line. Had I
not had that positive those affirmations people to speak life into the dreams that I already
proclaimed, then they just would not have been accomplished. And so if we do that in every part
of our lives, then we really will achieve what we set out to do.Leticia Clark [00:18:53]:
But even something as simple as just being a good parent, being a good employee, if we don't
have people who think, but it really is like a mindset, you have to have people around you that
actually think positively and that's the only way they're going to speak that on a regular basis.
But just Finding people who are not naysayers, finding optimistic people, finding people who
are, you know, dreamers, people that want to put things into action. And so if that. And then that
energy just kind of attracts each other, and then you'll find that a lot of folks around you, you
know, kind of have those same sentiments.
Cheryl Broom [00:19:29]:
Yeah, that is so true. I know when I started my company, my mom and I love her and she's a
working mom, she was like, you're crazy. This is crazy. You're in a job, and for jobs, like, that's
my question. But what do you do? But then I talked to other people who were like, you're gonna
crush this. Like, just do it.
Leticia Clark [00:19:47]:
Like, you're gonna.
Cheryl Broom [00:19:48]:
I had to really grapple. And then at the end of the day, you do have to trust your own instinct.
Leticia Clark [00:19:54]:
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:19:55]:
You get the advice and you're like, you know what? I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna believe in
myself.
Leticia Clark [00:20:00]:
Yeah. And then the story in the book, I just remember when I was having twins, no one had
good advice.
Cheryl Broom [00:20:08]:
Oh, my God, I laughed so hard. When you said, what? Like, you googled. You googled having
twins. And it was like you started reading an article about conjoined twins.
Leticia Clark [00:20:16]:
I'm like, they're going to have five arms. They're going to have three eyes. And I'm just like, oh, I
like, throw those books away. And then I realized what I was so nervous about was, you know,
things like breastfeeding and things that women struggle with. But so many things just kind of
kicked in the. To play. And so I had to realize as human beings, as women, and then eventually
as mothers, there. There's so much that we, you know, kind of just learn along the way, and we
don't give ourselves grace.Leticia Clark [00:20:45]:
That I'll. I'll figure it out. And we don't do that in our careers either. You know, we feel like we
have to have every training, read every book, get two more degrees before you can, you know,
step foot into this. This role that you're. You're seeking and not giving ourselves some grace
that, you know, you can learn on the job. You can learn as you go.
Cheryl Broom [00:21:05]:
I actually want. I want to bring up a study I read that's really relevant to that. But first, I'm going
to take a quick break so we can listen to our sponsor.
Cheryl Broom [00:21:15]:
How do higher education decision makers find the right solution when technology evolves at
light speed? Well, we usually start with our network. EdTech Connect is the network that's
democratizing the higher ed technology. Conversation. EdTech Connect is free, so anyone with
a edu email address can sign up and list the software and services they use in their role at their
school. Once you're in, you can find out what solutions similar schools are doing all over the
country. Whether you're looking to find the hot new AI tool or maybe learn options, you have to
upgrade your campus search.
Cheryl Broom [00:21:51]:
Engine or even get to your short.
Cheryl Broom [00:21:53]:
List of marketing solution vendors. EdTechConnect is the place to go. So visit
EdTechConnect.com and set up your free profile to get a pulse for what's happening with higher
ed technology today.
Cheryl Broom [00:22:07]:
All right, we're back. Before the break, we were talking about believing in yourself. Right. And
giving yourself grace. And I. Something that stuck in me that I have been guilty, that I was guilty
of in my career, especially early on, was that a lot of women won't put themselves in positions to
advance because they feel like they need to get.
Cheryl Broom [00:22:32]:
That degree or they need to have.
Cheryl Broom [00:22:34]:
More experience or, you know, I'm not going to run for mayor because I've never been a school
board member. Or maybe I should start smaller where a man is like, no problem.
Leticia Clark [00:22:46]:
I'm not me. Yeah, I'm out this. Yep, yep.
Cheryl Broom [00:22:49]:I've never done it, but I can figure it out. And so we can be our own worst enemy because we
doubt our own innate abilities.
Leticia Clark [00:22:58]:
Yeah, it's a blessing and a curse and one we are so thoughtful about, you know, doing things
and seeing how it impacts our lives others. And I think that's part of the hesitancy that doesn't
allow us to, you know, it's, it's kind of like a mama bear type trait that we have to make sure the
coast is clear before we enter into danger. Right. So it's a good trait, but also, yeah, it definitely
keeps us from just stepping into these roles for elected women in politics, women, on average
have to be asked seven times to run for office before they don't even consider it. Versus, there's
almost no data on how many times a man has to be asked.
Cheryl Broom [00:23:41]:
They don't even have to himself. You just wake up and they're like.
Leticia Clark [00:23:47]:
What I'm gonna do? Yeah. They're like, I feel like I'm going to be a senator, so let's do this.
Cheryl Broom [00:23:52]:
But you know what? This is really great as a supervisor, too. What a great statistic. Because if
you see something in someone else, maybe you need to ask more than once. Don't just take
the first no. Or I'll think about It. But continue to build them up.
Leticia Clark [00:24:08]:
Continue to ask and maybe ask, period. Don't wait. Just don't assume that someone is, you
know, has reached their potential or doesn't have any ambition, particularly women have to be
asked, you know, have you considered, you know, being a manager? You know, what. What is it
that you would like to do? And some, as a female supervisor, maybe those are things that we
can incorporate. And, you know, as far as asking our employees, what. What have you thought
about, you know, what. What would you like to do? And so I think that's really important.
Cheryl Broom [00:24:42]:
Yeah. And just asking the question can be enough to start somebody down a path or. And
showing that you care. Wow.
Leticia Clark [00:24:53]:
Somebody sees this in me that I didn't maybe see in myself before.
Cheryl Broom [00:24:57]:
Yeah. And that's our role, I think, as leaders is, you know, we set the tone, we set the culture,
but we also empower people to want to be their best selves, maybe to reach for more.
Leticia Clark [00:25:09]:
Absolutely. Yeah.Cheryl Broom [00:25:10]:
And then another portion of your book is a little bit more selfish, which is something that we
women don't do enough about. And that's celebrating yourself.
Leticia Clark [00:25:20]:
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:25:21]:
Like, we don't celebrate our own wins a lot of time.
Leticia Clark [00:25:24]:
Why?
Cheryl Broom [00:25:24]:
Because we're so busy doing the next on and the next thing.
Leticia Clark [00:25:27]:
Yeah, we don't celebrate hardly anything. I mean, think about when somebody compliments you
on your hair or your outfit and you're like, oh, I got it at TJ Maxx, you know, like, don't think it's,
like, special.
Cheryl Broom [00:25:39]:
Like, I just spent 10 bucks on that.
Leticia Clark [00:25:43]:
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:25:43]:
10 bucks.
Leticia Clark [00:25:45]:
We don't celebrate a lot of things, and over time, that becomes, you know, a habit, and then that
flows into your self talk, and then it flows into, you know, what you're willing to try to pursue, you
know, in your life. So we have to be careful with those. Those small, you know, moments of not
celebrating and overlooking, because doing a little bit of that can go a long way and kind of
propel you in ways that I think are beyond our own capacity.
Cheryl Broom [00:26:18]:
Yeah. And you talk about self evaluations. As a supervisor, we have to evaluate and that a lot of
people hate self evaluations, but you and I have a lot in common. But this was one thing is I
loved my self evaluation because I, when I got clear, I don't do them on myself now since I own
the company. But when I did college, my supervisor made me write my list of accomplishmentsfor the year. And when you sit down and think about what you've done over a year, it's like,
whoa, Yeah, I did. I did all that a lot.
Leticia Clark [00:26:52]:
Like, yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:26:53]:
And those were some really cool things, but you're so caught up in the doing that you need to
take a step back to see what you've actually accomplished and then celebrate it.
Leticia Clark [00:27:03]:
And we just live in a culture where it's like, more, more, more, more. You know, that's just what.
What we're in. And so if you don't take that time for yourself to just. Hey, yeah. I actually am very
proud of the things that have happened. And maybe I'll take a vacation. Maybe I'll.
Cheryl Broom [00:27:22]:
Yeah.
Leticia Clark [00:27:22]:
Rest a little bit, you know, after this quarter or something.
Cheryl Broom [00:27:26]:
Yeah, maybe I'll open that bottle of champagne. Well, you know, your book has lots of lessons, I
think. How many?
Leticia Clark [00:27:36]:
30.
Cheryl Broom [00:27:36]:
I don't have the table.
Leticia Clark [00:27:38]:
Something. Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:27:39]:
20 something.
Leticia Clark [00:27:40]:
Yeah.
Cheryl Broom [00:27:41]:
Is there one that you particularly want to share or story that you love the most in your book?
Leticia Clark [00:27:49]:One that kind of made me laugh over and over again was the one about my son wanting to
become a Medieval Times knight. And I just remember my kids loved Medieval Times. So we
would go and, you know, and so my son would have this DVD that we got from the show, and
he would watch it over and over again. And so one day, you know, I was asking them, like, you
know, what do you guys want to be? And my daughter was always like, you know, an architect
or. And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's good. My son was like, well, I want to be a knight. And I'm
like, well, you can't do that. And he was like, well, why? Why not? And so for a long time, I
thought he was talking about, you know, a real knight in the medieval, you know, period.
Leticia Clark [00:28:35]:
But then he was like, no, I want to be a knight at the Medieval Times place. And I'm like, oh,
well, that. That is a real job. You know, it's somebody's job. But I don't want it to be your job. I
want you to do something more than that. And what I, you know, what I was doing over time
was literally dimming his light every time. I was like, no, not that.
Leticia Clark [00:28:54]:
No, not that. You know, do something else. Dream something else. Have a. Have a better
dream than what you're. You're talking about. And I really just should have entertained it and
dreamed with him about how cool that would be, because he did obviously grow out of that over
time. But what did it cost me to just do that with him? And realizing that we send those
messages so early in our kids, and so it's literally just about what we just talked about speaking
positively, allowing.
Leticia Clark [00:29:28]:
And I realized that as a parent, what I was doing with my child, that I've experienced the same
things over and over again in my adult life. And so what could I be doing for my employees?
What could I be doing for other people in my life? Just learning to catch myself when I'm so
ready to shut someone's idea down or their dreams down and knowing that I don't want that to
happen to me so I shouldn't do it to others. And then definitely learning that lesson with my kids
and kind of realizing much later. But I just remember at the time, it was. It made me laugh when
I was writing it, but also sad. And he probably doesn't remember all the times that he expressed
that he wanted to do this. But again, just a real lesson that if we pause for a second, we're like,
oh, yeah, that should change.
Cheryl Broom [00:30:22]:
Well, and this is the beauty of your book. I mean, these are the moments in parenting that make
you realize something that you can bring to work to help others. And I think that's the beauty of
the whole theme.
Leticia Clark [00:30:36]:
Yeah, just not missing it. Right. You know, and then if we are committed to not separating those
parts of our lives, then that lesson will actually do some good because you'll be able to learn
from it and then, you know, impact others in a positive way.Cheryl Broom [00:30:52]:
100%. Well, I have. I loved your book. I want to ask you one more question, but before I do, for
those listeners who are looking to buy either books.
Leticia Clark [00:31:03]:
Okay.
Cheryl Broom [00:31:03]:
The children's book or this new one. How do they do that?
Leticia Clark [00:31:06]:
Both books are available on Amazon. Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, Walmart, all available
everywhere. You can buy a book online. Amazon will probably get you the copy the fastest. And
then feel free to. To reach out. I'm on all social media platforms. If you'd like a signed copy, I can
send you kind of like a sticker insert, and then you can.
Leticia Clark [00:31:30]:
You can put it in the book. And I'll do that, you know, free of charge, but appreciate the support. I
have a book signing coming up in Orange county at the new Barnes and Noble location in
Tustin, and that's going to be on November 4th. So anybody in the area, maybe I'll.
Cheryl Broom [00:31:44]:
Put that on my calendar.
Leticia Clark [00:31:45]:
Okay. I'll be there 12 to 3pm on Saturday.
Cheryl Broom [00:31:49]:
3Pm okay. If I'm not on a soccer field, I would.
Leticia Clark [00:31:52]:
Okay. Yeah. Understand.
Cheryl Broom [00:31:56]:
So you have this really great. At the end of the book, you have, like, a journal and reflection
place for moms. To be able. Or.
Cheryl Broom [00:32:03]:
Or parents.
Cheryl Broom [00:32:04]:
I mean, really, your book is for parents. And even non parents, frankly, can learn a lot from this.
And you have some reflection questions, and you have a question there, like, I gotta ask her this
one. Because you're. You've got teenage twins, right? You have a younger. A younger child, amarriage, you're. You run communications for a very large college district, you're on city council,
you're an author, you're put together, you're beautiful. And so this question, I literally circled it
and I'm like, ask Leticia, how do you recharge? How do you do it? How do you find time for
recharging? And what do you do?
Leticia Clark [00:32:47]:
Yeah, I mean, I'm still kind of working on this, right? What I've tried to do. And yeah, it sounds
like I'm doing a lot of things, but I've learned to do things that I enjoy, even if it sounds like work
for other people. So when I'm doing my city council stuff, some days I'm like, there's literally no
other place I'd rather be than to be doing what I'm doing right now. Seeing that there's a legacy
being left, seeing that I'm able to. People remember not what I did, but how I made them feel.
Being able to interact with folks that I never would have come across their path. I really enjoy
that. And there are so many parts of my life that provide that in our communication spaces, in
my elected role, I meet people that I know for sure.
Leticia Clark [00:33:41]:
If I was not in this role, I would have never met them. And so I get so much joy out of doing that.
But I mean, just personally, I like going to. I like being by the water. We live here, right here in
Orange County. I like to go to the beach. I like to. I'm a Pisces, so the water's always kind of
calling me.
Leticia Clark [00:34:00]:
And so I. I find moments to just be by myself and be near the water. I take sunrise walks.
There's nobody, you know, at the beach. And so I know everyone doesn't have that same luxury,
but if there's a. And then I try not to make it hard on myself to, to do that. So I don't. I don't.
Leticia Clark [00:34:20]:
I try not to, you know, worry about mom guilt and, you know, leaving the kids for, you know, a
few hours and giving my husband a bunch of. Okay, this is this. And this is, you know, having all
these things in place. I just try to try to go and not worry about what's going on at Home or work.
But those moments can, can be fleeting if I, if I don't, you know, if I'm not intentional about doing
that. Even, you know, the books writing is very cathartic for me, so I, I already enjoy doing it and
so I, I've just found a way to kind of put it, put it into a package, you know, to help other folks.
But I enjoy writing, so I just try to do the things that I enjoy and, and not make a lot of excuses
for doing that. I, I know so many women who put all of their, the things that they like to do on the
back burner for everyone else in their lives.
Leticia Clark [00:35:12]:
And so then work is a chore, family is a chore. You know, everything in their life is, is a burden
versus something that they find, you know, moments of joy. And so that's how I kind of stick, you
know, keep the charge going, so to speak.
Cheryl Broom [00:35:29]:Well, so many great lessons. It's been so much fun talking to you and yeah, anybody interested
in the book? It's called Baby's Room to the Boardroom by Leticia Clark. And like she said, it's
available anywhere you buy books. And yeah, it's just been a pleasure. Thank you so much for
being a guest.
Leticia Clark [00:35:46]:
Thank you. Always great to talk with you.
Cheryl Broom [00:35:49]:
And that wraps up this episode of the Higher Education Conversations Podcast. I'm host and
GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom. A big thank you to our sponsor, EdTechConnect. EdTech
Connect is free, so anyone with a Edu email address can sign up and list the software and
services they use in their at their school. So visit edtechconnect.com and set up your free profile
to get a pulse for what's happening with higher ed technology today. And while you're online,
take a few minutes to leave our podcast a five star review. It will help other colleges and
universities find us and learn from the great experts we have on the show. That's it for now.
Cheryl Broom [00:36:29]:
Until next time.