Janine Branch loves to give back to those around her, and she strives to be a good example because in her words, “you never know who’s looking up at you or looking down at you.” In this episode of Business Edge, listen to her speak to the challenges and misconceptions that come along with mentorship, the importance of cross-cultural engagement, and how she has been able to help steer the organizations she has been a part of to success. Plus, listen to her discuss the journey of her and her husband’s pin business!
Janine Branch [00:00:00] Mentors don't have to be somebody that you know. You know, it could be somebody that you can look up to. Now, if there is a cookie cutter, mentor-mentee relationship that you're interested in, finding a mentor can be daunting, but I always look at it as, I don't need to know you to be my mentor. I can look up to you.
Finn Lambouris [00:00:20] You're listening to Business Edge, the podcast for professionals looking to excel in the workforce. In each episode, our guests take a deep dive into their personal and professional experiences to give you an edge in the marketplace. This podcast is brought to you by Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:00:35] Welcome, everybody. Back to another episode of Business Edge. This is Chrissy and with me is Nicole. How are you doing today?
Nicole Klemp [00:00:40] I'm good, Chrissy. How are you doing?
Chrissy Vasquez [00:00:42] I'm great. We're going to talk to Janine Branch today. Do you want to share a little bit about her?
Nicole Klemp [00:00:46] Absolutely. So we're really excited to have Janine here. She is the program officer implementing the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program at FHI 360, a nonprofit human development organization. Janine spent almost a decade developing professional exchange programs at the World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She uses her experience to engage across cultures and create shared understanding through meaningful person to person interactions. Janine is passionate about using professional development as a driving force to promote mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations around the world. She's dedicated to building practical training programs to provide young leaders with opportunities to explore the international exchange industry and apply their academic knowledge to the real world. Janine is married to her college sweetheart and has a son, Matthew, and a maltipoo named Obie.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:01:36] Aww, welcome. We're so glad to have you.
Janine Branch [00:01:38] Thank you, guys. It's such a pleasure to be with you today.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:01:42] Oh, thank you. So I want to jump right in because looking at your LinkedIn profile, you are very big on servant leadership. So can you tell us what being a servant leader means to you?
Janine Branch [00:01:53] Sure. So being a servant leader would be first to--well, serve first before you are managing, before you are supervising, before anything, you serve first and encourage others to build their professional development in the workplace and making sure that it's a safe and welcoming place where people can feel like they belong.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:02:17] Oh, that's awesome. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Servant leadership is always a big thing for Alpha Kappa Psi, too. So I like to hear what people personally define it as. Can you explain a little bit more for our listeners in layman's terms what you do in your job?
Janine Branch [00:02:34] Sure. So in the most simplistic form, I'm an event planner. I plan events for people from different countries that come into the United States to meet with their professional counterparts. So say you are a group of probation judges and probation officers. You're coming to the United States for three weeks to meet with your counterparts and learn best practices in probation and the rule of law. So I am contacting their counterparts here in Washington, D.C. I'm coordinating with partners around the United States called community based members who are coordinating their events and their meetings, in their city stops. So that is the most basic way that I can explain it, and I'd be happy to share any other details.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:03:26] I appreciate that. That's helpful for me. Thank you.
Nicole Klemp [00:03:30] Yeah, that's amazing. Well, we'll jump right into some questions. So as a, you know, an AKPsi alumnus, how did AKPsi influence your interest in civics and professional development and kind of get you on the path that you're on today?
Janine Branch [00:03:45] Wow, the impact of AKPsi has been pivotal in my professional development. First things first, the network. Where I used to work, I actually had two brothers that I ended up hiring that I didn't know while I was on campus. But knowing that they had that professional background really encouraged me to recommend them for their positions. And they both succeeded in serving in over five years in their positions before they moved on to different positions. But at the end of the day, you know, AKPsi has provided this opportunity for emerging leaders to get started in their leadership journey while they're in college. So for me, that's what AKPsi has meant to me. Encouraged and allowed me to become a leader so early in my career that I was able to take that energy and utilize that when I was 21, right out of college and was asked to take on larger roles and more responsibilities and mentoring, because I already was exposed to kind of that lifestyle in a sense.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:05:04] That was a recruitment statement, if I ever heard one. You hit all the major points. That's awesome.
Janine Branch [00:05:11] Yes, yes, yes. Well, it's a great connection. I was reflecting that actually all of the people that I had a hand in recommending or hiring at my last position were either Towson or AKPsi alum. Towson is where I went. So it's just, you know, it's nice because you have this similar educational experience. But then when you throw in the AKPsi and the Brotherhood and it's not just about, you know, building friendships, but it's about building your professional development. You already feel like you have this trust in knowing that we've had those same professional development opportunities. So it was really beneficial.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:05:50] Absolutely. And so speaking of that development opportunity, we spoke to Ashley, who I understand you were on a panel discussion with in Baltimore, PBLI. Tell us a little bit about what your experience was like.
Janine Branch [00:06:02] Oh, my goodness. So that was the first time Ashley and I ever met. And I'm like, "We should do this more often." But I think I went in 2011 maybe as an alumni. So it was really interesting being on the other other side of the event of being a speaker. And it was really great working with Ashley because we really were able to take our unique experiences of perseverance and resiliency and build upon each other. Whereas as I had the journey of being a, you know, young, married, young parent and in her instance where she had to leave school and become an entrepreneur in her development. So it was a great example and a great partnership, I think, for emerging leaders, for students to really see that no matter what life throws at you in any instance, you can still persevere and reach excellence no matter where you go. And it just takes a little bit of energy and a little bit of faith and you'll get there. So.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:07:13] Well, thank you for giving up your time. I know you have a lot of demands on your time, so thank you.
Janine Branch [00:07:18] Thank you. Yes, we have a group from Kosovo coming this weekend. So that's why I'm in the office helping prep welcome packets and going to be dropping them off at the hotel. So that was my example. So those probation officers, they're going to be- there's four of them that are coming this weekend.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:07:38] Very cool.
Nicole Klemp [00:07:39] That is cool. So on that note, so tell us a little bit about cross-cultural engagement. Why is it so important for businesses and for young leaders? You know, just tell us a little bit more about that.
Janine Branch [00:07:50] Mm hmm. So I am not bilingual. I'm not trilingual. I always say that I am a beginner English speaker because I'm not the best speaker in the world. But cross-cultural relations, I think, flows more than just linguistics. I think when you're dealing with cross-cultural engagement in the professional world, it has a lot to deal with body language, understanding, providing space, and at the end of the day, customer service. That is something that I have been fully promoting, the sense of cross-cultural engagement and professional development stems from customer service. Just like when you worked at a supermarket and you had to greet somebody. You're doing the same thing in the business world and you have to be mobile and transparent in that sense when you're dealing with cross-cultural relations. So even though I do work in an international nonprofit organization, I'm not from a different country. And unfortunately, I haven't been able to grasp a second language. So I think that, again, it goes much deeper than just linguistics, but cross-cultural communications just it really emphasizes customer service, being open and willing to have that conversation and create this mutually beneficial dialogue.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:09:16] So what advice would you have for young professionals that are interested in a career in global affairs or going abroad?
Janine Branch [00:09:22] Sure. So exposure, that's the biggest thing. Exposure through internship and start early. Exposure through informational interviews, through joining membership organizations and just being open to learning. My field is quite unheard of in America, in the United States as a career path, and most people might think of, "oh, international development, oh, I have to go serve in the Peace Corps, oh, I have to join the Foreign Service." But there are so many other opportunities to work in international development and international affairs. The biggest thing is exposure. I mean, the way that I got involved in my field very first is my grandmother. She used to say she barely graduated high school, but that wasn't going to prevent her from learning. So my grandmother is turning 89 next month and she is a world traveler. Ever since I was young, she's always traveled. So for me that was a really great guide to show that, okay, you can get involved and you can travel in so many different ways. You can be involved in international affairs even if you don't barely have a high school education like she did. So for me and for the advice that I would give to those that are interested in this field is it's go get exposed. I mean, I very simply, when I was looking for an internship while I was in college, I literally pulled out the phone book and I was like, "Let me find every company that has the word global or world in it." And then I was going to Google it because at least the phone book would tell me what was in my area and then I would Google it to see if they actually made sense. And I literally found the World Trade Center Institute in the phone book.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:11:20] Oh, that's awesome. I love that story.
Nicole Klemp [00:11:22] For all our young listeners, the phone book is a thing that we used to use. It's a paper book that has phone numbers in it that, before Google that we would use.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:11:32] And there is yellow pages for businesses and white pages for residential, which is why you go to white pages dot com to look up somebody's address.
Janine Branch [00:11:40] Yes. Yes. Basically a directory of organizations that some might have Web presence, but others may not. And, you know, the rest is history, really. By finding that I got an internship and a job offer and been there ever since.
Nicole Klemp [00:12:01] That's incredible. That's really great.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:12:03] So how do you stay- you seem like you're very into learning. So how do you stay up to date working internationally? How do you stay up to date with kind of what's going abroad? I mean, there's got to be things that you don't want to bring up. There's things that you probably should talk about. So how do you stay involved with current events and kind of current foreign policies?
Janine Branch [00:12:22] Yeah, so I would say that I personally don't say that I have this huge desire in foreign policy. And you don't necessarily have to be involved in foreign policy when you're working in international relations because again, it goes back there's so many different angles in what we work. I mean, I was just talking to my colleague. They work in sports diplomacy and that's engaging with international participants through the unique love of sports. And that's international diplomacy, too. So I could say he's not probably involved in policy at all. They're going to soccer games and, you know, that kind of aspect. So, for me to keep updated. It's really based on the projects that I'm working on. I really like researching and learning. So regardless, I always try to do a deep dive in understanding who my visitors are, where they're coming from. And then the larger part of the aspect of international relations is just keeping up with talking with people, reading up, being involved with international associations. I'm a member of Black Professionals in International Affairs, which is a membership organization in D.C., well, based in D.C., but have members all over the world. So joining those types of events and going to seminars and listening to podcasts like this one today and and keeping abreast of the information, that's really what keeps me aware. And then also just again, continuing to have those conversations, even with my participants who've left. So I still keep in contact with visitors from all over the world for the last 14 years that I've been involved in this work. So yeah. In a long, long way to answer that, it's just, Google, podcasts, you know. But going back to your point on, there are some things that you just- it's hard to address. It's, you know, let's looking at the Russian invasion into Ukraine, that has directly affected some of my- not directly my work, but the industry, or the shutdowns in China for COVID because of the you know, the higher stakes that they have for exposure. We don't have any visitors from China that are coming abroad in person, but we're pivoting virtual so that we can still accommodate their projects. So there's a big impact of current crises and current conflicts and emergencies that do affect our industry. But we're very creative in trying to find other opportunities to engage with people, even if they can't come abroad to these programs through, say, virtual exchanges and the like.
Nicole Klemp [00:15:22] That's a great point to bring up COVID and I'm sure that really impacted, you know, your normal routine and your work and having visitors come from overseas. What other challenges would you say are pretty common that kind of interfere with that maybe communication besides the obvious, like maybe, you know, language barriers and things like that? What other challenges do you see between getting, you know, two different parties to connect and engage?
Janine Branch [00:15:49] Sure. I mean, the biggest issue that everybody is having right now is travel. Travel airlines are canceling flights because of staff shortages. You mentioned language, that could always be an issue. I've had a group once before that said that their English language level was higher than it actually was, and we had to try to find an interpreter in a day's notice. So there's many, many, many instances that can impede a project. But to be very honest, I don't look at it that way. I just look at it that we have this opportunity and we have this responsibility to put together these events and these connections. And I'm going to try my hardest to put something together that the visitors will like, but it's also something that I'm proud of. So no barrier, no hiccup really has negatively affected these projects. I mean, there's always something, you know, people getting sick, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, volcanoes. You know, there's so many different instances of conflict or issues that we've dealt with throughout the history of this program, which is 83 years old, by the way. Yeah. So it's the oldest professional exchange program in the State Department. It's been around since 1940. So there's been everything through the civil rights movement that has affected those projects, to, like I said, forest fires and tornadoes and hurricanes and things like that. But again, it goes back to perseverance, to making sure that things come together in the flexibility because the visitors aren't just coming for professional development, but also cultural experiences as well. Whether or not that's having dinner with a family in Des Moines or visiting a museum in Tucson, Arizona, there's also a cultural component, which is great because if needless to say, the speaker gets COVID and they can't meet in person, there's another component of event planning that we can encourage our participants to enjoy, and that's the cultures that they're meeting and the communities that they're in to experience that as well.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:18:23] That's really cool.
Nicole Klemp [00:18:24] Yeah.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:18:27] You've been listening to Business Edge, brought to you by Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity and sponsored by Synergos Association Management Company. Now let's get back to the conversation.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:18:40] So you're clearly busy, you're volunteering. You're giving your time. You have a business that I want to talk about in a couple minutes. So with your demanding career, a young child, your puppy, your husband, how do you find time to continue your education and participate in volunteer mentorship roles? How do you do it all?
Janine Branch [00:19:03] I get that question all the time and I don't think you guys know, but I graduated from my master's program two weeks ago.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:19:09] Oh, my gosh.
Nicole Klemp [00:19:10] Congratulations.
Janine Branch [00:19:13] So one of my mentors used to say, you know, you can't toot your own horn if you're just proud of yourself. So it's not being overly proud. It's just like I was able to accomplish all of these things. So to be very honest, my story of being busy starts when I was in college, I commuted 100 miles back and forth to school and I worked two jobs. I put myself through school and back in '08, I was interning at the World Trade Center Institute, where I ultimately started my career, rushing, going through rush and working two jobs and commuting to Towson from Frederick, Maryland, 5 to 7 days a week. So busy has been a part of my life since then. Since I started adulthood, really. So to be very honest, it's a part of life. But I really enjoy experiences. And whether or not that is experiencing being on campus or volunteering to speak at the Towson Business Symposium that Omega Kappa's chapter had a couple weeks ago, I spoke at their event. I don't know. It's just, it's my way to pay it forward and pay it back. When I first started my career, I had an anti-mentor and really pushed me down from the get go. My very first day, she told me not to speak unless I'd gotten permission from her to speak. That was my first day. So even though that's where I've gotten my career started, it's kind of where I was able to get the energy to be an example to everyone no matter what I'm doing, because you never know who's looking up to you or who's even looking down to you. So I'm going to be excellent or try for excellency, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. And I'm always going to give back because I had a position where someone never gave into me or gave to me. So it's really just, it's who I am. It's who I am. And it's so important to give back and to continue to learn, because none of us are experts. We're all in a point in our career where whether or not you've been doing the same thing for 14 years like me, or you're right, brand new out of college, there's always room to learn and you have to do that to just be continue to be successful. And that, it brings me joy. It's honestly, if I go back, on Saturday, I spoke at Omega Kappa's event, on Sunday, I stayed up until 3 a.m., finishing my capstone recording and paper for my master's degree, and on Wednesday I walked.
Nicole Klemp [00:22:30] Wow.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:22:32] Girl, I'm getting tired listening to all the stuff you do.
Janine Branch [00:22:35] I tell everybody, Don't get me wrong, I'm tired. I'm tired. I overslept today, but, I want to be a good example for my son. You know, as a black woman in this culture that we have right now, it's trying to fight against micro-aggression and implicit biases on a day to day basis. Not being seen that I can accomplish these things. So backing that up with an education or a certification or being involved, really gives me meaning.
Nicole Klemp [00:23:14] So, any advice for especially the young women of color listening that if they're looking for a mentor, how can they go about that, finding a good mentor that can help them with their career?
Janine Branch [00:23:25] Well, the great thing is that mentors don't have to be somebody that you know. You know, it could be somebody that you can look up to now if there is a cookie cutter, mentor-mentee relationship that you're interested in, for me, I actually went through programs. So I actually have not quote found my mentor on my own. I went through a professional development institute at the University of Baltimore when I first became a grad student and my mentor, Dr. Carla Shepherd, she was my mentor, assigned to me through kind of an application process. The same thing through the Black Professionals in International Affairs. They have a mentorship program. So I signed up for that, and I got assigned to Cynthia Johnson, who works in New Jersey, and she's the historian. I had no idea who these people were, and I didn't know if they would be good mentors for me. But they took a chance on me and I took a chance on them. And they've been really great leaders for me and people that I look up to. They happen to be women of color. That doesn't mean that I don't have other mentors that aren't women of color, but many of mine are people that I've come across on a professional level or personal level, old executive directors, old professors that I really look up to. So finding a mentor can be daunting, but I always look at it as, I don't need to know you to be my mentor. I can look up to you. Again, going back to being a good example. So I always look for good examples outside of my life and if I can look up to them. But again, for me, it's finding those constructive experiences to find actual mentors. I've also went through another professional development experience at Towson. There's a program for women in leadership there that I was able to get mentorship through the entire cohort that I went through. So I really promote and support engaging with organizations that already have these components because they know the best practices in helping establish relationships.
Nicole Klemp [00:25:48] That's great advice and a good reminder to always use the resources available. If you're a student, go to your organizations that your college offers and take advantage of those relationships and they might pay off for you.
Janine Branch [00:25:59] Yeah. And even in AKPsi I have mentors, I mean, Dave Johnny, who was our president forever.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:26:06] I love Dave Johnny.
Janine Branch [00:26:09] But like, he's also- he's somebody that I've always looked up to and I look in that mentor role in one of the earliest pieces of advice that I got from him was to delegate. And I've been using that same piece of advice forever and that's a mentor to me. So, again, you know, you don't always have to go through these traditional mentor mentee relationships, but it's really for people that you look up to that you trust that you can go to for advice. And also the big thing for me is, is the mentor mentee relationship doesn't have to be something that you maintain all the time, but it's somebody that's always been there for you and you can connect with them 20 years down the line and they would still be a good contact and a good mentor for you.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:26:59] Great advice. So before we get to our signature question, I do want to hear a little bit about your business that you started, it looks like during COVID with your husband. Tell us a little bit about that business and how it is working with your husband.
Janine Branch [00:27:11] Sure. So my husband actually graduated with his doctorate the spring of 2020. So he was a COVID graduate. And a long story short, he didn't want a traditional gift. He wanted to start a business. He's a very ambitious.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:27:31] Sounds like you're well paired.
Janine Branch [00:27:33] Yeah. And we lost his parents back in 2017. So we started a lapel pin company that is in memory of his parents and particularly for his mom. We have a little chibi that he designed and she's graduating and that is his mom, Bonnie. So in many of the pins, you'll see her. But the pins are for educators or people that are involved in continuing learning for educators or professional development. My husband's an assistant principal and he's been an educator since before we were married, so he's been a teacher and an after school teacher, etc., etc.. So that's how we started elemno pins. And how we started it was just he hand drew those on his iPad and came up with some creative visions. And we call it elemno pins is because my son could never say L-M-N-O-P. So yeah, it's a, it's a fun adventure. I love working with him. We have an Etsy shop, so it's really fun packaging and promoting and things of that nature. So it's definitely not my area of expertise. That is his, but I definitely support our opportunity and really enjoy being able to share all of what we design.
Nicole Klemp [00:29:09] That's great. And any chance to recognize educators I think is super important.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:29:14] Absolutely.
Janine Branch [00:29:15] Yeah. He really wanted a pin that said "cite me." So we couldn't find one. We couldn't find one. So we drew it up and made it.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:29:26] That's so funny. There's nothing more exciting than looking yourself up on Google Scholar to see how many people have quoted your paper.
Nicole Klemp [00:29:33] I've never done that, but now I want to.
Janine Branch [00:29:35] Yes. And that that was really, really something that he wanted. And he wanted to be able to wear the pin to school and be proud that he got his doctorate degree. So a lot of new graduates grab our graduation person. We have a couple of COVID related. We have a spray bottle that says, "nope." And a wipe, wipe it down with wipes and you know, I'm looking at it, we have a melanin crayon or a "caution, that's my business" pin. So a lot of fun ones and fun cool ones out there as well. So it's a lot of fun.
Nicole Klemp [00:30:15] That's great. Well, we will finish out the conversation with our signature question. So, Janine, tell us a time when your personal values were challenged and how did you handle it?
Janine Branch [00:30:29] So coming here at FHI, I came with almost ten years of professional experience. I went from an intern to a director in only ten years, less than ten years. So coming here, I actually had to take a pay cut and a huge responsibility cut. That was intentional and it was all planned. However, coming from a leadership opportunity as a servant leader, I very much work to protect and care for my colleagues and give them opportunities. So coming here to FHI 360, it's a wonderful organization. I love working here, amazing benefits. I love my coworkers. But when I first joined, there was a high turnover, not just within my team but within the larger business, the department that I work in, and I never experienced that because where I had worked, I honestly helped build a culture of belonging that we didn't have turnover until I left. So for me, coming in and within the first eight months, I saw eight people come and go.
Nicole Klemp [00:31:50] Wow.
Janine Branch [00:31:50] I freaked out.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:31:53] Yeah, understandably.
Janine Branch [00:31:56] I was like, what is going on? Does this mean that my job's threatened? And I really questioned if this was the right decision, because how can I protect the people that I'm with? And how can I provide people with the opportunity to see that this is a great career and this is a good organization? So it really, really challenged me to, first and foremost, stop and realize that I have no authority in these decisions at this moment because I took a demotion, if you will, because I wanted to focus on my family. So that was really a big challenge for me to not do anything. And instead of marching in to someone's office and telling them they needed to do something, I sat back. I observed. I queried. I learned. And I found out that one of my colleagues at the time, who was my onboarding champion, who introduced me to the culture of FHI was leaving and I kind of thought about him like, wait, I could be an onboarding champion? That means that I can help share the culture and share why it's so cool to work here. So instead of jumping the gun, when I first joined this organization and causing chaos, I sat and I observed, and I was quiet. And that was super challenging for me because I honestly cried every time somebody left, especially somebody that I really built a relationship with that I felt the need to encourage them or to partner with them. That was such a challenge and to sometimes feel like I was the only one who thought that people shouldn't leave after eight months of being at an organization. So that really, that really put me for a loop and that really challenged me in my career. But because I sat and I observed and I talked to people, I got the opportunity to volunteer as the onboarding champion for our entire department. And granted, I don't have supervisory position, but I have the opportunity to introduce culture and our organizations to every single employee that comes into our department. And I'm very grateful because I'm hopeful that if just by my warm welcome, I can help encourage people and create a wonderful culture of belonging like I did at my last organization. So it was super challenging just to sit and be quiet, but in the long run it was completely worth it.
Nicole Klemp [00:34:57] That's great.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:34:58] Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining us. It's been really great to hear your experience and thank you for being inspiring about going after what you want. Finding ways to build pathways within what you're doing to make the workplace and your life a better place. So thank you.
Nicole Klemp [00:35:14] Yeah. It was so great talking to you today, Janine.
Janine Branch [00:35:17] Well, thank you guys so much. It's been a pleasure, Chrissy, Nicole, I really just appreciate the opportunity to share my experiences. Everyone has a different one. And like I said, I just strive to really be a good example for those that are around me because you never know who's looking up or who's looking down or looking at you and really, too, I like to say my meaning is to help steer the ship instead of stir it, you know, or stir the pot. That we really have to be guiding lights for those around us. And I'm only 35 years old, so I'm young. All of these experiences have been relatively recent and new, but I'm not going to be a leader or work for life. So it's so encouraging to promote and build up others around you because that's meaning that- that is meaning at the end of the day and that's creating meaning and creating belonging for yourself.
Nicole Klemp [00:36:18] Yeah. So well said.
Chrissy Vasquez [00:36:19] Well, thank you.
Finn Lambouris [00:36:23] Thanks for listening to Business Edge. If you have questions, comments or topic suggestions for us. Email BusinessEdge@AKPsi.org.