Member Spotlight: Candice Wooten Brown

This member spotlight was written by Gabrielle Jean-Louis, a student at Salem Academy and intern with REACH Women's Network. This blog post was part of her project to conduct information interview with REACH members.

Candice Brown is not only a hardworking individual, but also a beautiful and inspiring soul who has advice that will last you a lifetime. She has a way with words, and her way of connecting and communicating with others is like no other. I had the pleasure of speaking with her for 30-minutes, and those thirty minutes couldn’t have been more impactful for me. Her words and wisdom deserve to be shared with others.

A Working Woman

Candice Brown is Vice President of Human Resources for Kaplan, North America. Her job is fully remote due to the effects of the pandemic and how hard it hit, causing her job to never really go back to being in-person again. This allows for her to have some flexibility within her schedule, allowing her to take her kids to school or have a little coffee chat with her husband!

Once her day begins, a series of meetings usually take place – all addressing employee issues and opportunities. Most of her meetings consist of discussing engagement strategies and relationship building, as a strong HR depends on its ability to engage and stay connected with its employees.

She prides herself in being able to be someone others can come to and sit with to discuss concerns or problems they may have. Those bonds are important within the workplace and will continue to be. She understands how important it is to be able to impact employees' lives and step into their world with an open hand, being that someone to offer guidance. As someone who is representing the company, it can be hard to be seen as someone who is a helper of your employees, but Candice tries her hardest to make sure they see she’s there for them. It warms her heart to know she’s positively impacting their lives. That’s one of the biggest highlights of her career.

Her Advice to You

“Run your own Race”

Many people struggle with creating a perfect work-life balance. The hard truth is, there is no ‘perfect’ work-life balance schedule. At least, not one that applies to everyone.

Early on, Candice was very hard at work in her job. Constantly grinding day in and day out.

Due to this, she sacrificed many holidays,vacations, and even family events. After a while, she began to regret the things she missed out on for all the work she prioritized over her daily life.

She then realized it was time for a change.

After trying a multitude of different balance routines, she’s found out that a work-life balance doesn’t just consist of going out on a spa-day or winding down by watching Netflix (or maybe it does if that’s your thing!), it truly depends on what you are comfortable with. It doesn’t depend on the norm. Sometimes, if you’re like her, a book is all you need. Designing a schedule that works for you works best.

Candice emphasizes how people tend to fall into the loop of trying to curate their lives to match others, which isn’t beneficial. When it comes down to jobs, your career choice, your car, or even your grades, comparing yourself to others won’t help you in the long run. Trust your gut and be confident in where you are and you’ll succeed. Everyone’s story and how it ends is going to be different and that’s life. The only problem is when you cheat yourself out of a good story by trying to be like everyone else.

The REACH Experience

“Action and Impact.”

Candice was introduced to REACH by Julia Townsend and by others within the area. Though most of her interest stemmed from her conversation with Julia who – over an introductory call – helped her fall in love with the concept of REACH by being transparent and authentic with her throughout the entirety of their call.

REACH allowed her to rediscover her voice and see the value of it as she was brought into a diverse community that was full of action and impact. She grew more passionate due to the impactful nature of REACH, and even grew to serve on the Pink Couch for REACH as an influential member.

Whether it be serving on Pink Couch panels, or making sure her employees feel heard, she continues to be actively involved with her community. Her authenticity and passion can be seen from a mile away.