Edward Doxen III

Introduction and an Any Means Mindset

Taryell Simmons: Welcome, everybody, to another episode of Rise Urban Nation. I've got my DMV brother, my DC brother, in the building today, so you know it's about to get lit. Edward Doxen III, how are you doing, my brother?

Edward Doxen III: I'm good, man, can't complain. I'm live from Cancun. I live in Florida now, so it's an easy flight, and I'm here celebrating my girlfriend's birthday.

Taryell Simmons: Every time we messaged, you were on another continent. For those who don't know you, who is Ed?

Edward Doxen III: I'm a proud DC native, an only child, family oriented and community minded. I'm always trying to do the impossible and go above and beyond what society said would be our statistics. I'm a product of teenage parents. My mom told me that when she had me, people counted her out. So whatever it is, I feel like it starts in the mind. Get the mindset, and you just go forward.

Taryell Simmons: That's what I tell young people with limiting beliefs from the environments they grew up in. And adults have limiting beliefs too.

Edward Doxen III: I experienced that too. You don't always share your dreams with everyone, especially older adults. They don't mean harm, but they see it through their own fears. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself.

Taryell Simmons: That dream was meant for you, not them, and nobody can tell you how to carry out that vision but you.

From Social Work to Human Resources

Taryell Simmons: Let's get into your career. How would you explain the industry you're in?

Edward Doxen III: I work in human resources, and I've had a few career switches. I got my bachelor's in social work from Delaware State in 2015. I knew I never wanted to be a social worker, but classes like Human Behavior and the Social Environment helped me understand everything I went through growing up in DC. It was the typical story: you might be the only one of your boys who goes away to school, some get locked up, and my best friend got killed at 15. On campus I was active in leadership, working with Congressman John Carney and the Boys and Girls Club.

Edward Doxen III: My first job out of school was in HR with MGM Resorts in Las Vegas. At first I hated it. I didn't know anyone, I was homesick, and I was adjusting to corporate culture after community work. But it was my intro to HR. I saw there's transactional HR and transformational HR: diversity, equity, inclusion, talent management. An older Black man in learning and development showed me how that work keeps an organization moving, and a mentor told me HR is leadership and culture, what you do in the community but at a corporate level, with more money and exposure.

Edward Doxen III: I came back home and did community outreach for Mayor Bowser in Ward 6, Southeast and Southwest, which was always a goal and really rewarding. But I wanted that master's. So I took a leap of faith, walked away from a good salary, and went to grad school full time at Towson University on a graduate assistantship, living on three hundred dollars every two weeks in East Baltimore. In a year and a half I interned at Caesars Entertainment at the Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore and spent a summer at Rolls-Royce in Reston, Virginia, getting experience in recruiting, rewards and talent management.

Edward Doxen III: After graduating, I joined a Citi leadership development program that sent me to New York and then Mexico. After about three and a half weeks, they said I had the wrong visa and sent me to Florida, then told me I could just stay. I ended up in Florida by accident in October 2019, went to the beach on Christmas, and said, I'm never going back. I love DC, but in Florida I get the best version of me. Shout out to Kenny Burns, who said, "The world is bigger than your block."

Edward Doxen III: Now I work fully remote in talent acquisition, recruiting college talent for the healthcare industry. It's the first corporate job where the culture is great, and I'm managed by a Black man in HR, which you rarely see. My community background transfers, because I'm building relationships with students and campuses. I've been able to marry my love for community and HR.

Taryell Simmons: You're a unicorn. Our stories mirror each other. I went from community and workforce development to talent development, and now I lead equity, diversity and inclusion for the County of San Diego, with about twenty thousand employees. Some HR professionals lack the humanness of human resources. What's helped you stand out?

DC Roots, Adaptability and Embracing the Moments

Edward Doxen III: Being relatable and adaptable, and some of that you can't teach. My family are people magnets, and that comes from being raised in the church. My parents split early, so I'd be with my dad in Southeast and with my mom and grandma in Northeast. Those communities are night and day, and I had friends in both. As my mom says, it gave me a chameleon trait: I can adapt to any environment and still be myself. I pride myself on relationship building. Just the other day I was buying flip-flops at Aventura Mall, started talking with someone, and now she's about to be a guest on my podcast.

Taryell Simmons: I realized my energy was different in DC. I wasn't looking for trouble, but it was hard to escape elements of the lifestyle around me.

Edward Doxen III: It only takes one time to mess up. My big bro Tony Lewis once tweeted that the hardest thing to accept is having nothing in common with some childhood friends but the past. But I love DC to death. It has its own food, its own swag, go-go. Growing up there makes you grow up faster, so when you go other places you feel ten times ahead. I meet a lot of people, but I meet and build with the right people. That's been part of my journey.

Taryell Simmons: What's one good lesson life has taught you?

Edward Doxen III: Embrace the moments. I'm turning 30 this year, and I've only really learned that recently. I'd get an opportunity and already be thinking about the next job or the next bag. Then it's gone, and I wish I had appreciated it more. With inflation, Florida rent is like DC prices now, and I thought about moving home to save money. But my mom always told me, never put a price on your peace. So I'm staying and grinding harder, with a side gig and the podcast. Time goes by so quick, so embrace the moments.

Advice for Breaking Into HR: Exposure, Internships and LinkedIn

Taryell Simmons: Say a young kid from DC, or someone stuck in a dead-end job, wants to get into HR. What advice would you give?

Edward Doxen III: Exposure. Fresh out of school, I quit a job on a Thursday without knowing my next one, called a VP I knew in DC on Monday, and was hired that Friday. That's relationship building and faith. In college, get exposure. I'm an HBCU advocate. Shout out to Delaware State and Dr. Harry Williams, now at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. My boy AD Sutton and I started a DMV club there. The DC students stuck together, partly because we were scared to adapt. I stayed cool with my DC people, but I came to grow, so I tapped in with my New York roommate, foreign exchange students, student leadership conferences and mentors on campus.

Edward Doxen III: Internships are the best thing you can do, even in high school. Build relationships and shadow people. At Rolls-Royce I got a one-on-one with the CEO, Tom Bell. How? I saw him on a coffee break and asked. He bleeds like I bleed. He's either going to say yes or no. And get uncomfortable. Don't just take the internship your aunt can hook you up with back home. If you want media, apply to NBCUniversal in LA. Companies often pay for it. A friend told me, if you really want to level up, you have to alienate yourself. That's the mindset I took to Florida. My grandma always says your gift will make room for you.

Taryell Simmons: And I'd add: network, network, network. Your network is your net worth.

Edward Doxen III: And LinkedIn. In 2012, before it was popping, my boy Zay and I spent a summer messaging people about their journeys. Zay is now a performance coach with the Boston Celtics, and when he got a job with the Warriors, one of his managers was someone he had messaged years earlier. I still do it. If I'm interested in D&I, I'll message a VP of D&I and ask for time. College students, get on LinkedIn and work it: post, share your resume, connect, brand yourself. Career fairs are going virtual, so you need a virtual presence. People want to help, but you have to open your mouth.

Taryell Simmons: As my mom used to say, a closed mouth doesn't get fed.

Dreams By Any Means Motivation Station

Taryell Simmons: Tell us about your podcast.

Edward Doxen III: Dreams By Any Means Motivation Station started last January. My boy Reese, who I met at Delaware State, did about five and a half to six years in federal prison. We stayed connected, and when he came home he wanted me, and only me, to interview him about prison and its impact on him and his family. We recorded "Welcome Home" on our phones, me in my closet in Pompano for sound isolation and him in Philly. The feedback was great, so I kept going, and now I'm about 40 episodes in. Most guests are people from my network: childhood friends, mentors, entrepreneurs. Everybody has a story. I close each episode with: hustle plus faith equals success.

Taryell Simmons: Rise Urban Nation, make sure you check out that podcast and give my brother some love.

The Future of HR and the Black Experience in Corporate Spaces

Taryell Simmons: When you look at the future of HR and talent development, and infusing community development into it, what do you see?

Edward Doxen III: George Floyd's death changed the world, including business and hiring. Companies say they need more Black executives and CEOs, and the talent is out there. But it starts young. One day I want to lead resume and interview workshops for people who look like me. Corporate culture isn't for everyone, and it won't be for us without a history in it. My mom worked hard and became a district manager, but never worked in corporate because she doesn't have a degree. Companies should build pipelines not only with universities but with schools, nonprofits and Boys and Girls Clubs. As kids we hear doctor, lawyer, engineer, but nobody says you could be a vice president of learning and development at Apple.

Edward Doxen III: DEI is a long road. At Rolls-Royce, an HR vice president told me they switched from "diversity and inclusion" to "inclusion and diversity," because hiring Black people wasn't the hard part. They left within a year or two because the culture didn't represent them. When Kobe Bryant died, nobody in my office could relate to what that meant to me. What keeps me going is my community outside work, like a group chat with my DC brothers where we build every day.

Edward Doxen III: Many of us grew up with friends getting killed or going to jail. My dad lost his right-hand man growing up, and I lost mine. When I went to free counseling after losing my cousin, we ended up talking about my best friend's death and how it has shaped how I move in life. When George Floyd died, people asked how I was feeling. How do you think I've felt for the last 25 years? If I see police while driving, I go the other way. That's the Black experience. So ask yourself: at your dinner table, outside of work and Zoom, is your conversation about Black people the same? Is it genuine, or just the hot topic?

Edward Doxen III: I love being Black, the music, the food. I never separate myself, because it easily could have been me in the wrong place. One of my friends is locked up for life. When I go home, I run in the park and see the people I grew up with. I'm grounded in who I am. As Wale says, I root for everybody Black.

Taryell Simmons: That's why DEI matters. Think of the mental fortitude it takes for a Black person to navigate a day, from avoiding the police to managing your tone at work. You may be in survival mode without even knowing it.

Edward Doxen III: People assume I come from a Jack and Jill family. No. My mom had me at 17 and gave up a full ride to college to take care of me. I made it because of the community around me. It's tough being Black, but it's worth it, because that's why we create. Look at Puma with Emory Jones and Jay-Z, Louis Vuitton with Virgil, Kanye with Adidas, Pharrell and Pusha T. When you know the culture, you can bring it into corporate spaces and make it pop.

Taryell Simmons: We make culture. If you're not bringing Black people into your company, you're missing an opportunity to build culture.

What's Next and Where to Find Ed

Taryell Simmons: We could turn this into a whole other podcast. Let's wrap it up. What projects are you working on, and where can people find you?

Edward Doxen III: Growing the podcast with better video production and more guests. On Instagram I'm Dreams By Any Means, dreams with an S, one word. On Twitter I'm Dream By Any Means. On Facebook I'm Ed Doxen, on LinkedIn I'm Edward Doxen, and on YouTube and Apple it's Dreams By Any Means Motivation Station. Subscribe, share and leave comments. I just turned 30, and I'm embracing my 30s and trying to be the best version of myself. If you have a story and you're in Broward, Miami-Dade or DC, hit me up.

Taryell Simmons: Edward Doxen, ladies and gentlemen, Dreams By Any Means. Two brothers from DC making things happen. I had a teacher tell me I'd be dead or in jail by 21. I'm in my forties now, never seen a jail cell, and my man just hit 30. We were blessed, and we're going to keep making things happen. Ed, I appreciate you. That ends the show, ladies and gentlemen. One love.

Edward Doxen III: Appreciate you, bro. Peace.