PODCAST EPISODES

Erika Stallings is no stranger to uncomfortable conversations. In fact, she invites them as she fearlessly confronts workplace and healthcare inequities and leads the dialogue around hereditary breast cancer for Black women. Erika is a writer, health advocate, and attorney. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, O Magazine, and NPR. Her most recent article appears in The Cut, Racism at My Job Literally Gave Me PTSD. In 2014, Erika underwent genetic testing and learned that she had inherited BRCA2 mutation, a cancer mutation that significantly elevates the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She later underwent a preventative double mastectomy. We chat about her advocacy on behalf of Black women both in the workplace and in healthcare. 

Topics Covered: 

• Why Erika began writing about race and the workplace
• Erika’s article in ZORA, When Black Women Go From Office Pet to Office Threat
• Erika’s experience of the office pet phenomenon in her own career and how she handled it
• The importance of having a personal board of directors and the value of peer mentorship
• How Erika balances speaking out against workplace injustices and workplace retaliation
• Erika’s efforts to increase awareness of hereditary breast cancer among women of color
• BRCA2 gene mutation and its risks for developing cancer
• How to get genetic testing
• Options available for individuals with BRCA gene mutation
• Erika’s decision to get a preventative mastectomy
• Erika’s courage in talking openly about inheriting BRCA2 gene mutation

Highlights:

• “Black women are not dysfunctional. We are awesome and we are often operating in spaces or institutions that don’t allow us to be our full selves.”

Connect with Erika: 

On her website: http://erikastallings.com/

On Twitter: @quidditch424

On Instagram: @erika_m_stallings

Other References: 

• Erika Stallings, When Black Women Go From Office Pet to Office Threat, ZORA, January 16, 2020
• Erika Stallings, The Dangers of Trying to Be Superwoman, ZORA, May 6, 2020
• Break Concrete, Season 1, Episode 3, You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer with Dr. Tsedale Melaku
• Gayle Sulik, Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women’s Health

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