Krystal is the Director of Student Leadership Development at Vanderbilt University and CEO of Krystal N. Clark, LLC. Her hustle(s) encompass many moving parts, but ultimately the end goal is to help students develop an understanding of self, others and the contexts they serve within as leaders. Great leaders are needed now more than ever, and Krystal has made it her personal mission to equip and inspire others to thrive. With undeniable grit and countless accolades under her belt—including serving as the first director of student leadership development at Vanderbilt—it’s safe to say she’s doing just that.

The Basics:

Hometown: Portsmouth, Virginia
Current city: Nashville , Tennessee
Alma mater: College of William & Mary; University of Maryland, College Park
Degree: B.A., Sociology, Psychology; M.Ed, College Student Personnel
Very first job: Office Manager, Campus Rec Center at William & Mary
Hustle: Director, Student Leadership Development, Vanderbilt University; Owner & Chief Education Officer, Krystal N. Clark, LLC

The Interests:

Babe you admire and why?
I admire women who have a strong work ethic. I get very inspired when I see women with many irons in the fire who have strong self-awareness and have diversified their portfolio of opportunities and experiences. I’m off to Chicago at the end of this month to see Jennifer Lopez in concert because I love how she works. I feel the same way about Beyoncé. Watching her “Homecoming” special on Netflix, I was floored by her intention, her vision, her sense of command, and her drive. These women have fire in their bones and they channel it in strategic and fruitful ways. 

How do you spend your free time?
Fitness, serving as a residential tourist of Nashville, reading, movies at my favorite local theater, concerts (I live in Music City), and spending time with friends. I have to move, so fitness is at the top of my list. I ride at Full Ride Cycling or take barre at Barre3.

What’s something you want to learn or master?
I’d love to revisit the Spanish language. I took four years in high school and regret not continuing it in college. I traveled to Mexico City and Cuba earlier this year and I’m proud of how much I remembered. It’s on my list to take classes in Nashville.

If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Oprah Winfrey.

What’s something most don’t know about you?
I have a new obsession with Formula 1 race car driving. Blame it on Netflix and the show “Formula 1: Drive to Survive.” 

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle
I: Design and implement leadership training, education, and development programs; serve as a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach and educator; collaborate with campus partners and student organizations to develop leadership development interventions; serve as a resource for students and staff on all matters related to leadership development; disrupt the current student culture of leadership by offering alternative philosophies and routes to success; and supervise a small and mighty team. I see my job as a person who helps students develop an understanding of self, others, and the ability to understand the contexts they serve within as leaders. I help them develop their leadership identity and fill their toolbox with tools that will serve them long after college. The world needs great leadership and many of the ills we have in this world are due to poor leadership. My role is to help educate, train, and develop students who will contribute positively to the world as effective leaders. Skill development, self-reflection, problem-solving, and perspective-building are core aspects of all our programs.

What does your typical workday look like?
I spend my day meeting with students (about all sorts of things), creating a great deal of content for workshops, delivering the content, coaching students, research, collaborating with campus partners, and handling logistics for all of our programs, such as reservations catering, marketing, and assessment. I supervise two team members. There are many meetings to attend on a college campus, so there’s a fair amount of those on my calendar. I also work on administrative tasks, including our budget and reconciling purchases. With Krystal N. Clark, LLC, I also develop, practice, and deliver content and take care of behind-the-scenes matters including contracts and billing. Most of my marketing takes place on social media, so I manage my presence through my website, Instagram and Facebook. I call clients to solidify arrangements on upcoming events. If I have to travel, I travel.

What additional involvement do you have in your community?
I volunteer with the Women’s Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (incoming board chair), Belcourt Theatre (vice chair), Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Delta Delta Delta Fraternity, and as a Friend of the Nashville Ballet. I served as the President of the Junior League of Nashville from 2017 to 2018 and wrapped up my time as chair of YPNashville (Young Professional Nashville) in August. I think people need to show up, and that’s most of the battle. If you’re interested in something, attend the next meeting. Find a person who looks like they’re in charge and introduce yourself. I know that’s easier said than done for many people—and it’s the best way for you to get involved.

How do you keep a balance with all of the commitments and responsibilities attached to these roles?
I stopped believing in balance a long time ago. I think it’s a fool’s errand similar to perfection. I prioritize what I need to get done and I do it. I like a deadline and nine out of 10 times I’ll meet a deadline. I love a to-do list. I chunk my time on my calendar. I plan my week every Sunday and I execute.

What motivates you to work with people and businesses to carry out messages as a speaker?
I think sometimes people just need a nudge, a reminder, an affirmation, that one tip that could get you to take a step and start whatever it is you want to do in life. I also think representation matters, and I don’t discount the impact that my identities showing up in a space has on many people in the audience. My personal mission is to “equip people to thrive” and to get people—especially women—to “sit in the front row of their life.” One of the ways I get to do that is through speaking. My hope is to plant seeds and to start a conversation.

You were the first African-American president for the Junior League of Nashville. What’s your advice for other women of color who want to pursue leadership roles?
Read Shonda Rhimes’ “Year of Yes” and check out her “First. Only. Different.” phenomenon. The point is to create a path and not to just be a token marker on the journey. Being the first brings about a great deal of real and assumed pressure. Making mistakes often seems like an option that is not available to you because you might mess it up for all of the women of color behind you. I was highly visible and in many ways, I wanted that because I want other women of color in our community to see the Junior League of Nashville as a home for them. I know my presence created invitation and our numbers of women of color have increased. For other women of color: You can’t change your race or ethnicity, and sitting on the sidelines waiting for change never really got anyone anywhere in the world. Establish your safety (psychologically and physically) and build support networks around you within your organization and outside of your organization. Develop an understanding of the culture of the context you’ll be leading within and decide (ready or not, but you’re never really ready) whether you want to invest a great deal of yourself into its mission. When you’re a minority at a majority table, you’re going to have to call audibles on a regular basis about how you want to intercept comments that are made with/without malintent, decisions that are made that do not take into account matters of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and navigating moments when your lived experience is radically different from those you’re leading and you feel a lack of connection with those around you.

How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
I’m in a very nurturing profession, and so I think my nurturing doesn’t always fit the mold. My tendency to be a little harder with students is sometimes a shock to people’s system. I’ve been called a “warm demander,” because my students know I care for them and I will not back down from challenging them or requesting they “do better” as humans. I can’t separate my identities: I am an African-American woman and I know that has affected how I’m perceived in the workplace, and possibly what opportunities have come my way or not come my way. Microaggressions occur; working in predominantly white spaces leads to incidents of “white fragility” that are damaging to how others perceive me. I work in education and so for many of us, it will never be a well-paid field. I think that often staff positions like mine are discounted heavily when it comes to the importance we have in the life of our students and of the institutions we serve. People like me see students the most on a college campus and work with them during their highest highs and lowest lows.

What’s been your biggest career milestone?
Opening a new office and serving as the first director of student leadership development at Vanderbilt. I also take great pride in creating and building my business. Neither of these opportunities were on my radar. I said “yes” to both with great fear (I don’t believe in fearlessness), but have come to embrace Marie Forleo’s gospel that “everything is figureoutable.” Building something from scratch and having your name on every aspect of the product is both terrifying and an honor.

What’s the gender ratio like in your industry? Do you see it evolving?
In higher education, I think there are many women and opportunities for women at my level of the institution. For senior administrative levels, including chancellors and presidents, we need to look at the presence of women. I think a great deal about opportunities not just for women, but for women of color. Only around 5 percent of college presidents are women of color. The dearth of women of color at the top level of our institutions is something I hope continues to evolve. There’s layers of issues that needs to be addressed for that number to increase, including building and supporting a pipeline of candidates, addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion issues on college campuses, digging into who gets to select college presidents, building representative selection committees, plus so much more. There are inherent biases when we think of what it means to be a college president, and those biases often eliminate entire groups of people from consideration. Until the top changes, it can be hard for cultural change to trickle down to the rest of us.

Career and/or life advice for other babes?
You have everything you need to be successful. Unfortunately, the last person we often invest in developing is ourselves. Self-awareness is critical to your success and it takes time to understand who you are and how to best use the talents you have in your arsenal. Don’t skip out on personal and professional development. I always tell people to not forget the mountains they’ve already climbed or moved. When we have a bad moment or a failure, we tend to suppress it because we don’t want to keep experiencing the feelings that go along with that tough moment in time. It’s good to keep an accessible reminder that the current challenge you’re facing isn’t your first challenge and it won’t be your last challenge. You’ve climbed or moved many mountains, and you can do it again. When you suppress these feelings to the point of forgetfulness, you spend way too much time reinventing strength you already have to do what you need to do to prevail.

Connect with Krystal:

Instagram / Email

This interview has been condensed and edited.

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