Marieโs Note: We are kicking off our series of plus size women who are not in the fashion industry, who are SLAYINGย it inย life, business, and the community. Each month, we will shine the light on a woman whose works impact, inspire, and who influence life! Know a woman who should be spotlighted? Hit us up below!
Tunisha Brown is a plus size boss. As the Editor-in-Chief of IMPACT magazine, an impact is exactly what sheโs aiming to make. The magazineโs mission is to empower, encourage and educate their readers and Brown is at the helm making sure that messages from members of the community, celebrities and ordinary individuals living extraordinary lives reach her readers. Thatโs a mission that hasnโt changed since the magazineโs inception in 2007.
In addition to the print and digital magazine, Brown runs an event called โCocktails and Conversationsโ and on Sunday September 6, sheโs making a move to bring turn this monthly event into a weekly radio show on Deb Antneyโs BE100 RADIO.
Brown first started IMPACTย magazine after the success of a church newsletter that she had started because she realized her message needed to extended beyond church-goers. So Brown researched the magazine industry and called upon the knowledge she learned from working at a print shop in college and started IMPACT.
Though the magazine has featured everyone from celebrities to community members making a difference, Brown says she has too many favorite interviews to pick just one.
โWe always tell a story from a different angle,โ she says. โI love Angie Stoneโs story because she talked about overcoming obstacles in the music industry. My first celebrity interview was with Kelly Price. We stayed on the phone for two hours.โ
The magazineโs most recent cover story was on Empireโs Malik Yoba and the story Yoba told definitely falls into the realm of the magazineโs mission.
โHe talked about being shot and how when he came out of an interview and he was telling his friend about the incident because they were on the same street [where it happened], ย they had a movie poster of his new show coming out,โ says Brown. โThat moment was crazy for him. Right where he was shot, now thereโs his TV poster.โ
These stories arenโt just what people want to hear; itโs what they need to hear. Another story featured in the magazine is that of Stacy D. Heading who started S.E.E.D, a male mentoring program in Brownโs hometown of Trenton, New Jersey.
The mission of the magazine isnโt just lived out through the words in the magazine, but also in Brownโs actions. She is a strong advocate of women supporting other women. She says in her times of adversity, there was always another woman there to pick her back up.
โI donโt care what another woman does to me,โ says Brown. โAt the end of the day, it is how I treat them in return and my reaction to it. And the best thing for me, Iโve found is to be supportive and positive because from that Iโve gotten so many blessings.โ
Brownโs attitude towards others reflects how she feels about herself which she touched on when I asked her about being a plus size woman in business.
โYou have to confident in who you are, no matter what size you are,โ she says. โMy mother used to tell me when I was younger, โyou have to be satisfied with you when you look in that mirror.โ You canโt walk out the door and need people to give you that confidence. I have to be able to walk outside and be firm in it.โ
And while an attitude like this is rare, itโs paid off for Brown. Her new radio show came about through one of these women supporting women type of connections. Brown first met Antney when she came to one of her โCocktails and Conversationsโ events by way of Brownโs long time publicist, Nikki Walker. Though they werenโt able to make their schedules work to reconnect after the event, Brown and Antney did reconnect at our very own TCF Style Expo where they talked for two hours. And just like that Antney gave Brown an opportunity. She didnโt have to submit a proposal and she didnโt have to have 50,000 followers. This example shows the power of Brownโs women supporting women mantra.
The first episode of the show will feature guest Malinda Williams who has appeared in โDaddyโs Little Girls,โย โTheย Cosby Showโ and most recently TV Oneโs โGirlfriendโs Getawayโ which she will discuss. ย In line with the women supporting women message is the showโs other guest,ย Christina Johnsonย from โAtlanta Exesโ who will be discussing her upcoming empowerment retreat ย in Atlanta.
While the radio show launch is a big deal in itself, Brown is already looking to the future. She plans on turning โCocktails and Conversationsโ into a television show and get Impact Magazine on newsstands as early as January 2016. Currently the magazine can be found through its Instagram, @ImpactMagazine. And just because โCocktails and Conversations,โ has hit the airwaves, the monthly in-person events will still continue with the next event on September 27.
With everything on her plate, Brown is redefining what it means to be a women in business. When I asked her what it meant to her to be a boss, her answer summed it up perfectly:
โTo me a boss is being able to handle your business, being able to affect change, being able to make an impact, and living your dreams as you see fit.โ
And thatโs exactly what Brown is doing.
