Coins Over Gossip is a leadership development brand for black career women founded by Cassandra Williams (Holdsclaw), who serves as the Head of Human Resources for a healthcare company based in Nashville, TN, and Ashley Williams, who is Managing Pharmacist for NPS Pharmacy, LLC in Nashville, TN.
Together, the founders have a goal to partner with other successful black career women in leadership roles and provide resources, mentorship, create networking opportunities, and share professional work experiences to help black career women effectively navigate the journey to leadership in their careers.
The Coins Over Gossip brand was launched last year so it’s still a relatively new brand. However, it’s actively growing with a goal to continue raising the bar and generating amazing opportunities for black women.  The dynamic duo plans to achieve this by creating a platform for black women in leadership to share their experiences, lessons learned, and career advice in front of an audience of women who look like them and need to see a high level of success from women they can relate to.
On Saturday, December 8th, the founders of Coins Over Gossip hosted the annual Coins Over Gossip Conference where this year’s theme was Time’s Up: Girl Come Get Your Seat!. The theme is a play on the Time’s Up movement that reminds black career women to speak up and own their careers. This year has proven to be the year of SHE! An example of this was shown in the 2018 election which had the most racially diverse group of female representatives ever elected to the House. “We want to keep striking the iron while it’s hot. We truly believe our time is now and want to contribute to the number of black women in leadership,†said Coins Over Gossip Founders, Cassandra Williams & Ashley Williams. 
The conference opened with Coins Over Gossip co-founder Cassandra Williams (Holdsclaw) interviewing guest speaker, Dr. LaKisha Simmons, author of the Unlikely AchieveHER. She shared book details with the conference attendees and strategies that included balancing being a mom and career professional, salary negotiation, networking, and overcoming adversity. The interview was followed by 4 panel discussions, all with amazing black women in leadership.
The first panel discussion was all about money and the topic was Time’s Up on Lower Wages: Girl Secure Your Coins! The panel, which was moderated by Coins Over Gossip co-founder Ashley Williams, included real estate and entertainment attorney Andrea Perry and corporate attorney & entrepreneur Thallen Brassell. During the panel discussion we discussed the “right†time to ask for money, how to hold people accountable for promises, and understanding facts vs. feelings.
The second panel discussion was about dreaming big and knowing your worth. The topic was Time’s Up on Settling: Girl Settle for More! and was moderated by Coins Over Gossip co-founder Cassandra Williams (Holdsclaw). The panelists included Kirbee Miller, founder of KiNiMi Kitchen, Lydia Dumas, HR consultant for Vanderbilt Medical Center, and Dr. Tameka Winston, Associate Vice President of Research and Institutional Advancement. Some of the key points of this panel were the importance of dreaming big, overcoming the comparison curse, understanding the value in what you bring to the table, and staying focused on your unique gifts.
The third panel discussion was all about the “F†word, FEAR. The topic was Time’s Up on Fear: Girl We Run the World! and the panel was moderated by Ashley Williams, Coins Over Gossip co-founder. The panelists included Ashley Little, entrepreneur & co-founder of Sweetheart Scholars Non-Profit, best-selling author and founder/CEO of Twisted Corks Jasmine Conley, and Brittany Cole, sales & marketing leader with Pfizer, Inc. Our panelists discussed some of their career experiences where they had to trust and have faith in themselves. They also talked about the power in failure and how to fail forward.
The final panel discussion was all about supporting other black women instead of competing. The topic was Time’s Up on Competition: Girl We Got Your Back! and the panelists included Myisha Tibbs, Training Program Manager of Diversity & Inclusion at McKesson Connect, Natalie Fletcher, Regional Director of Career Services, and Lolita Toney, Director of Development & Chief of Staff at the National Museum of African American Music. Our panelists discussed the importance of developing professional support systems at work and how to leave doors open for our sisters coming after us. The conference ended with closing remarks from the founders, networking, and pictures.
Event sponsors and vendors: Cantu Beauty – natural hair care products for swag boxes, Bone McAllester Norton, PLLC – sponsored the venue (beautiful law office space downtown Nashville) and Be Jeweled Boutique @be_jeweled – Accessories and apparel for women of all ages!
Avenue82 designs is responsible for the event décor, she did an amazing job with the Coins Over Gossip vases with fresh flowers and the event back drop.
Photography by ndyimages
Videography by Samantha Hearn
Be sure to join us for the Coins Over Gossip conference in 2019!
For more information on Coins Over Gossip go to www.coinsovergossip.com; also follow them on social media IG: @coinsovergossip  FB: Coins Over Gossip
Courtesy of Coins Over Gossip Brand
