Always Send the Email: Why Protecting Your Brand is Protecting Your Legacy?

I was recently honored to be included on the 2025 InsiderNJ’s Top 100 Policymakers list, an incredible distinction I don’t take lightly. The list included brilliant leaders from across the state who fight every day to build a better New Jersey. I was grateful. I was proud. And then… I saw the photo and read the description.

It wasn’t me.

It was a photo of Newark Deputy Mayor Ligia DeFreitas, someone I know, love, and deeply respect but it wasn’t my image, and it wasn’t my story.

At first, I laughed it off. Then I paused. Because even though it may have seemed like a small mistake, it raised a much deeper truth: If you don’t define yourself, someone else will.

Too often, especially as Black women, we carry the weight of excellence without the visibility, the recognition, or the opportunity to correct the narrative. We’re heads down, doing the work—while someone else is writing the caption.

But legacy demands more than labor. It demands stewardship.

I took a moment. I wrote the email. And thanks to Pete at InsiderNJ who responded quickly and kindly; my title, photo, and bio were updated to reflect who I am and the work I do with intention and integrity every day.

That one act reminded me of something I say to my clients and believe with my whole heart:

Protecting your brand is not about vanity, it’s about values. It’s about vision. It’s about voice.

Your brand is your story in motion. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room, and it’s what will remain long after you're gone. And so, we must tend to it with the care of an elder passing down a family heirloom because that’s exactly what it is.

In a world that often rushes to label, misrepresent, or box us in, protecting your brand is protecting your legacy.

That means:

• Correct the record when necessary.

• Speak your truth, even when it feels uncomfortable.

• Stand tall in your titles because

  you earned them.

• And yes, always send the email.

  
  

This Juneteenth, I was reminded that freedom isn’t just about breaking chains; it’s about owning your name, your narrative, and your next chapter.

To everyone building, advocating, creating, and healing especially those who do so unseen and unsung, I see you. Keep showing up. Keep rewriting your story. And know that your legacy is unfolding with every step you take.

From The First and Last Page, where every story matters especially yours.