Dr.Felecia Pullen On Addiction Recovery, Prevention, and the Truth Behind Entrepreneurship and Leadership as a Black Women

My process for finding an interview candidate for my final presentation podcast was one of trial and error. I began my search seeking politicians or women in leadership that I admired and attempted to reach out to them, either through their personal emails or through members of their staff. I received very few responses and had those that did respond politely declined saying that they would be unable to assist me with my project. I began my search by reaching out to state congresswomen including, but not limited to, Maxine Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Barbara Lee. After being unable to schedule interviews with any of the people I contacted, I attempted to seek out women in more local government positions, such as district leaders in my hometown and here in Ithaca. I finally received a response from Phoebe Brown, 2nd Ward Alderperson of the city of Ithaca. She said that she was willing to meet with me for a brief interview and we proceeded to arrange a time for us to meet. Unfortunately, a family emergency arose and we were unable to complete our interview at the agreed-upon time, and when trying to arrange an alternative time to meet, Ms.Brown did not respond. 

I finally tried to use my network and reached out to the people that I know to see if they knew or had any connections to successful black women in politics or leadership. A family friend named Stacey Barrett told me that she had two potential contacts that I could possibly interview. The first person that I was suggested to was to reach out to the former school district leader in North Carolina. The second person ended up being the person that I interviewed for my project, Dr. Felecia Pullen. Dr.Felecia Pullen is a successful business owner, with degrees in advertising and social work. After a long career in advertisement and a decades-long struggle with addiction, Dr.Pullen took her life into her own hands, leaving her career to care for herself, and eventually making the decision to change her career entirely. She pursued a master’s and doctorate degree in social work and has created two non-profit organizations based in Harlem, the community where she grew up in. Both organizations she is the Founder and CEO of Work to promote recovery and prevention of drug use in the Upper Wes Side community. Hearing her journey and her advice, as someone who grew up in the same neighborhood as me, and continues to redefine herself while helping the community that we both care so deeply about.