Shownotes
2 1 The Truth About Retirement & Representation with April Browne
- Zelken Financial Services on YOUTUBE - April shares tons of information Youtube.
- Zelken Financial Services - How to work with April Browne
Change the Reel is back for Season 2! In this first episode, Monique and Piper sit down with April Browne, retired Durham Police Department captain turned financial advisor, to talk about representation, resilience, and rewriting the story of who gets to lead in finance.
After nearly 30 years in law enforcement, April faced the confusing world of retirement planning and realized how many hidden pitfalls existed for first responders and everyday people alike. Instead of settling for unclear answers, she launched Zilkin Financial Services to help others navigate their financial futures with clarity and confidence. #FinancialEmpowerment #WomenInFinance #ChangeTheReel
Why This Matters Now
Money is one of the last taboos, and financial literacy is often locked behind jargon and inequitable access. April’s work brings transparency and representation to a field dominated by white men, showing why diverse voices are essential in financial services. She reminds us that inclusion in finance isn’t just about fairness—it’s about creating trust and building futures that reflect our communities. #RepresentationMatters #FinancialInclusion #WealthBuilding
Building a Second Career with Purpose
- From Captain to Consultant
- April shares how her transition from law enforcement to finance was fueled by frustration and how that drive now fuels her mission to educate and empower others.
- The Power of Representation
- From being one of the few women of color in the command staff to demanding diversity in financial partnerships, April talks about why visibility and intentional leadership matter.
- Inclusion as a Business Value
- April doesn’t just talk about equity! She practices it. From who she partners with to who she serves, she insists that diversity and inclusion aren’t optional; they’re essential.
Authenticity in Storytelling and Business
Whether it’s building a YouTube presence, bringing humor and honesty to tough financial conversations, or holding boundaries in business, April shows how authenticity attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones. Her story is a reminder that showing up as your true self is a superpower. #AuthenticVoices #WomenEntrepreneurs #FinancialFreedom
Looking Forward
April’s next chapter is about more than money…it’s about service. She’s helping people, especially first responders and those approaching retirement, build confidence in their financial decisions. And she’s proving that representation changes not only who’s at the table, but how the work gets done.
Bottom Line
Representation in finance matters. By blending the skills she honed in law enforcement with her commitment to equity and transparency, April Browne is changing the reel on who can be a trusted guide in building wealth and securing retirement.
Change the Reel: Where representation starts here. Join us twice monthly as we explore how different voices shape the stories we tell and help you navigate the world of authentic media production.
#ChangeTheReel #RepresentationMatters #WomenInFinance #FinancialEmpowerment #AuthenticVoices #InclusionMatters #WealthBuilding #FinancialFreedom #WomenEntrepreneurs #DiversityInBusiness
Transcripts
1
::April Browne: So when I'm looking at who I'm going to work with and who I'm going to actually affiliate myself with, I am looking at your inclusion.
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::April Browne: I'm looking at who is represented in your organization, who you have, who you're connected with, and I say something about it.
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::April Browne: This is important to me to make sure that what I present is my authentic and true self.
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::Monique: Change the Real, a podcast with Monique Velasquez and Piper Kessler.
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::Monique: For over 20 years, we've run a video production business that has achieved what only 3% of women entrepreneurs have done, exceed $250,000 in revenue.
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::Monique: We want to see business owners that look like us succeed.
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::Monique: That's why we've started this podcast.
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::Monique: Change the Real will drop twice a month.
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::Monique: We'll release two types of episodes.
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::Monique: One is with Piper and I kicking it and talking about using video in business.
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::Monique: And the second features conversations with business owners using media to drive diverse perspectives.
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::Monique: This is Change the Real. Representation starts here.
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::Piper: Hey,
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::Monique: y
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::Piper: 'all. I'm Monique. And I'm Piper Kessler.
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::Piper: Today, I'm excited to get to know and introduce our guest, April Brown.
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::Piper: In nearly 30 years of service with the Durham Police Department, April Brown soared to the rank of captain.
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::Piper: Approaching her retirement, April tackled the final challenge with the same relentless drive she always had.
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::Piper: She wanted to decipher what to do with her 401k and how to make her money work for her in retirement.
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::Piper: She found that the system was about as clear as mud, a term I love to use.
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::Piper: April looked for a guide to get her knowledge that she needed to crack the retirement murkiness.
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::Piper: April's eyes were open to the life and income impacting secrets of her pension and taxation, nuggets of wisdom that eluded her until finding and paying for an education about retirement finances. After retiring from law enforcement, she opened Zelkin Financial Services, LLC.
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::Piper: April's business focuses on helping first responders understand their plan for retirement.
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::Monique: April, thanks for coming out today to our new space.
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::Monique: You're one of the first ones in our space doing a recording, so yay.
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::Monique: I'm glad it was a friend.
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::Monique: I want folks to know that we know you as two things, a woman and a person of color in law enforcement, and as a retirement specialist.
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::Monique: We see both identities as necessary and worth sharing with our audience.
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::Monique: We know that you're out there trying to change the real and the story about who is an expert in both industries.
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::Monique: Thank you for being here.
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::Monique: Thank you for having me. I'm
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::April Browne: excited.
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::Monique: Yeah, well, we are too.
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::Monique: We've known you for a little while, and just recently we've reconnected with this new business venture of yours.
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::Monique: And
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::Piper: we usually start with asking people if you could give your flowers to someone today for your entrepreneurial journey, who would you give them to?
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::Piper: Oh, wow.
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::April Browne: Really, my mother.
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::April Browne: My mother had a business.
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::April Browne: It was called So Rare.
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::April Browne: She was a seamstress, and her expertise was in alterations and men's suits and that kind of thing.
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::April Browne: And I remember my mother was like, I'm going to start my business.
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::April Browne: And I worked her shop for five years.
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::April Browne: So on the weekends as a kid, yes, I was working at my mother's shop.
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::April Browne: And so it would help with the sewing and whatever else I needed to do.
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::April Browne: But, yeah, she was the person who kicked off her own business.
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::April Browne: And even though she had it for five years, you know, part of that was she closed down due to a number of things that had occurred.
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::April Browne: And she was just like, oh, but she always wanted to go back to it, but never did.
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::April Browne: So, yeah.
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::Monique: Yeah. And was there anybody else that helped you along the way for?
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::April Browne: Yeah, actually, how this even really kicked off was I went to.
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::April Browne: So I ended up connecting with this guy who worked with me around my finances and really working my 401k.
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::April Browne: And he and as we were talking, I was like, I could do what you do.
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::April Browne: I mean, really, honey. And he was like, well, OK.
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::April Browne: So he invited me to this business mastery class, which really wasn't a business mastery class.
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::April Browne: It was a rebranding.
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::April Browne: We just didn't know that.
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::April Browne: So I go to the class, and I was just like, okay, I can do this.
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::April Browne: This is really fascinating to me.
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::April Browne: And so I ended up connecting with a guy named Bobby Alford.
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::April Browne: And how I connected, because I love the shoes child, because his shoes are flopsy.
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::April Browne: I was like, boy, that's some dapper damn shoes you're wearing, baby.
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::April Browne: I like them.
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::April Browne: He was like, well, thank you.
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::April Browne: And so that kind of kicked it in.
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::April Browne: And then we became fast and steady friends.
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::April Browne: And I liked him.
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::April Browne: I thought he was a really cool dude.
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::April Browne: And from there, he was like, yeah, I'd love to work with you.
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::April Browne: So he was the person who helped me really get started in understanding the business.
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::April Browne: And when I say the first two years, I was like,
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::Monique: what in the
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::April Browne: world is happening?
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::April Browne: I don't think I know my ass from my head sometimes.
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::Monique: You know, business journeys are no joke.
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::April Browne: Yeah.
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::Monique: Because you go with the idea, oh, I see a niche.
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::Monique: I see what I can
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::Monique: do.
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::Monique: I see
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::April Browne: my
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::Monique: strength working right here.
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::April Browne: Right.
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::Monique: And then you got all these other things that you don't want to do, like marketing and hiring other things.
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::Monique: And all
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::April Browne: these other things.
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::April Browne: So from there, he was like, I need you to do this one thing first.
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::April Browne: Don't talk to me.
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::April Browne: We can't talk business until you do this one thing.
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::April Browne: And I was like, okay, fine.
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::April Browne: And then when I passed and got my license, I was like, oh, I got
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::Monique: my license.
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::Monique: And a license
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::April Browne: in what?
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::April Browne: In insurance.
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::April Browne: So I'm an insurance agent by trade.
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::Monique: Okay.
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::April Browne: And so that's the foundation by which I started from.
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::April Browne: And then from there, I was learning different, I've been learning different things about the financial industry, which has been totally fascinating to me.
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::April Browne: And I was just like,
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::Monique: gah.
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::April Browne: This is, if I knew this like 20 years ago, my whole situation would be very, very different.
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::April Browne: Very different.
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::Monique: Yeah, well, tell us about, you're talking about your business now, and what's the heart of what you do?
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::Monique: Because you're talking about like, you know, 20 years ago, you know, what keeps you motivated to show up in the industry now?
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::April Browne: What keeps me motivated to show up is what I've learned.
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::April Browne: I mean, like, there's so much information out here, and if you can drill it down for a client or a prospective client for them to be able to say, That makes a lot of sense to me.
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::Monique: And that
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::April Browne: actually works for me.
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::April Browne: That's the goal.
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::April Browne: I don't want to convince you to do anything.
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::April Browne: That's the big piece.
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::April Browne: And part of this, I think, is the not wanting to convince people is I'm coming from a background where, you know, we show up because everything is gone to shit.
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::Monique: That's right.
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::Monique: Police is involved.
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::Monique: Yeah, they
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::April Browne: bring us.
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::April Browne: And part of it is really having a conversation.
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::April Browne: So you got to deal with the confrontation of things.
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::April Browne: And so a lot of the skill sets that I've learned really translate to what I do in the financial service industry.
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::April Browne: And so the goal for me is I want to help people who want to be helped.
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::April Browne: However, what that means is I don't want to tell you how to do things.
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::April Browne: I want to show you.
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::April Browne: If it makes sense for you, then do it.
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::April Browne: If it doesn't, then that's fine, too.
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::Monique: Who do you like to work with?
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::Monique: I mean, it sounds like you've got, okay, that's their profile, but, you know, where are you focused on helping people?
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::April Browne: Well, initially my niche was and has been to work with law enforcement.
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::April Browne: I just haven't really had any real traction in that particular niche itself.
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::April Browne: And so what's happening is I'm just talking to various different people.
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::April Browne: And so from talking to people while I've been in this industry, you know, who tends to have the most assets are going to be really your folks, 50 plus and older.
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::April Browne: They've worked the longest. They're the ones who've acquired assets.
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::April Browne: And so as I'm looking at this, people are in different places.
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::April Browne: So my folks who are in my 20s and my 30s and really kind of midway 40s are still trying to acquire.
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::April Browne: And right now, it's really hard to acquire.
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::April Browne: You know, it's hard to get by a home. It's hard to do this. It's hard to save.
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::April Browne: You know, what does saving look like?
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::April Browne: You know, the market's always going crazy.
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::April Browne: things are up and down and folks are just like, I don't know what to do.
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::April Browne: And so my general group has been really my 50 plus and older folks.
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::April Browne: And so some have been in law enforcement, some have not.
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::April Browne: And so I've just kind of talked to different people that run the gamut in terms of where they are for their career.
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::Monique: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally makes sense.
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::Piper: Was there a single moment that stands out to you of realizing that representation wasn't there and that you could fill a void?
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::Piper: Like, was there a single moment that you can think of?
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::Piper: Yes, actually there
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::April Browne: is.
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::April Browne: I attended a training, like a two-day training, and the gentleman, he's like known in the industry, his name is Van Mueller, and he was giving a talk, and one of the things he said was, listen, this industry is known to have white guys, but the community and the country we live in is not made up of white guys." And I was like, "Oh!" And he was like, "We need to see more people, women, people of color." He said, "I'm glad to see people out here who don't look like me are really coming into this industry." So I ended up actually stopping and having a conversation with him and said, "One, thank you for that." I said, "You're the only person and the first person I've heard say that." Secondly, I appreciate your thoughtfulness around people want to see people who look like them.
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::April Browne: And they want to interact with people who look like them. They want to know that there are things out here that they can do that somebody's willing to talk to them about. And I was like, okay, that's cool. And so that let me know, all right, this is the space that I can stay in. And so for me, as a woman of color, I've been really mindful about the spaces that I go into. I'm getting ready to do a program and basically around this program I said you cannot pair me with just anyone.
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::April Browne: You must connect me with somebody who dot dot dot underlying tone understands me. And it was like I'm a woman of color. I'm a woman. I'm black. And if they don't understand that then there's this is not going to be a really good working relationship.
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::Monique: And what was the response to your direct, you know, I want to be connected with this?
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::April Browne: At first they were like, well, of course we're going to interview you.
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::April Browne: We're going to interview them.
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::April Browne: I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
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::April Browne: Let me break this.
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::April Browne: Let me break this down for you.
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::April Browne: And then when I did, they were like, oh, okay, April.
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::Monique: Right.
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::Monique: The light bulb goes
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::April Browne: off and it's like, oh,
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::Monique: I'm going to be more successful with attracting the people that are already attracted.
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::April Browne: Right.
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::April Browne: And so they were just like, we will be mindful of that.
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::April Browne: And I said, okay, that is what I'm asking that you do, is be mindful of that.
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::April Browne: Because if you put me with somebody who, you know.
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::Monique: Wants the older white guy.
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::Monique: Yeah, who's not really, you know.
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::Monique: Corporate for years and years.
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::Monique: I
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::April Browne: said, that's not going to be a good look and it's not going to work
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::Monique: well.
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::Monique: It's not going to connect.
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::Monique: You're just not going to.
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::April Browne: We're not going to connect at all.
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::April Browne: And they were like, we get that.
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::April Browne: And so sometimes.
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::April Browne: Not that you won't, but
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::Monique: it is less likely.
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::April Browne: Less likely.
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::April Browne: And so a lot of times, I think, in these spaces, you do have to advocate for yourself.
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::April Browne: Absolutely.
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::April Browne: Two, you have to bring certain things to the forefront for folks that don't necessarily think about these things.
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::Monique: Yes.
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::Monique: And I want to talk a little bit about your, where did you get this push and advocacy for yourself?
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::Monique: Ooh.
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::April Browne: Okay.
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::April Browne: So part of that probably is just from my mother.
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::April Browne: My mother worked in human resources for the city of Durham.
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::April Browne: And she advocated for a lot of people.
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::April Browne: She didn't care what you looked like, who you were.
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::April Browne: If somebody wronged you, she was going to write it.
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::April Browne: That was the bottom line.
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::April Browne: What she wasn't going to allow was people to be rough shot and just kind of run over.
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::April Browne: And she would not allow that.
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::April Browne: And so I learned a lot of that from her.
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::April Browne: Those were the seeds that were laid for me.
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::April Browne: And then even when I went into law enforcement, I was like, listen, if you did something wrong, we're going to handle it.
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::April Browne: I'm not going to let them trample all over you in the process.
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::April Browne: I'm going to keep it fair.
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::April Browne: And if it's unfair, I'm going to speak on that.
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::April Browne: And so that was what I wanted to do in my career, especially as a supervisor.
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::April Browne: And so that really carried over into just kind of what I do in my life in general.
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::April Browne: And so going into this particular industry, I'm just like, you know, that's not going to work.
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::April Browne: And so it's really been interesting to just, you know, kind of feel your way through.
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::April Browne: And so what I did say to them was this.
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::April Browne: I said, you can't talk religion nor politics to me in a workplace.
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::April Browne: It's not acceptable.
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::April Browne: I'm not going to have it.
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::April Browne: I don't care what your religion and your politics is.
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::April Browne: This is work, and this is where we have to draw the line because we're here to do something.
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::Monique: And
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::April Browne: so that's my approach and has been my approach.
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::Monique: Why do you think inclusion matters to you as a business owner?
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::Monique: What's been the most rewarding or challenging part of weaving that in to what you're doing?
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::Monique: The most rewarding.
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::April Browne: That inclusion piece is something for the birds, but I'm trying to tell you right now, it's hard.
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::April Browne: It's hard because a lot of times people don't think about that.
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::April Browne: So when I'm looking at who I'm going to work with and who I'm going to actually affiliate myself with, I am looking at your inclusion.
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::April Browne: I'm looking at
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::Monique: who
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::April Browne: is represented in your organization, who you have, who you're connected with.
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::April Browne: And I say something about it.
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::April Browne: For instance, there's an organization I'm connected with, and they were working with a company, and I remember looking at the company's website and looking at all the people, and I said, you all picked the
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::Monique: whitest company ever.
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::Monique: Let me point out
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::Monique: the obvious here.
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::Monique: And they were
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::Monique: just like, what do you mean by that?
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::Monique: I was like, "Nobody is of color." Really?
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::Monique: Nobody?
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::April Browne: Nobody?
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::Monique: Not one person.
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::Monique: Not one.
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::Monique: Not
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::Monique: even the receptionist.
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::April Browne: Not even the receptionist.
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::April Browne: And then they were just like, whoa.
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::April Browne: And I said, I know you all don't think about that, but you really should think about that.
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::April Browne: Because the bottom line is diversity does matter.
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::April Browne: And it matters because what it does is it brings in different perspectives.
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::April Browne: Everybody ain't gotta look like me.
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::Monique: And I don't
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::April Browne: want everybody to look like me.
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::Monique: And studies show that when you start opening the doors past, you know, sort of your comfort level, that there's representation inside the business that allows you to get bigger profits.
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::Monique: Right.
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::Monique: We talk about this with different industry folks about representation.
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::Monique: And what I also think is, as a business owner, people should be more aware and more willing to flex the idea that I want to work with a company, a business that thinks about these things.
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::Monique: Right.
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::Monique: And that is absolutely, as a business owner, where you can show up and help not just yourself, but the company that does something completely different that also looks like you.
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::Monique: So those are the places that I think business owners should absolutely start talking about with their colleagues, their vendors, and their other business associates about representation.
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::April Browne: Because it does matter.
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::April Browne: It reminds me of, there was a young lady who was, I had hired to do my social media for a little while.
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::Monique: And
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::April Browne: one of the things that she did was she was like, well, I'm going to hire an assistant.
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::April Browne: And I told her, I said, well, in hiring your assistant, you need to make sure that you're specific in terms of what you're looking for for that person.
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::April Browne: And she was like, oh, yeah. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
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::April Browne: like write that down what you're specifically looking for and be clear with that person as you're interviewing these folks so they understand what your perspective is i said because you're going to run into an issue and so she was like oh yeah yeah yeah yeah kind of listening yeah kind of listening and she hired this lady and they had she had a client who was LGBTQ+ client
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::Monique: and
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::April Browne: the woman said I I can't work with them and she said wait what and she was like well I don't believe in that she said that has nothing to do with anything they're my clients and and so she's telling me this and I said what did tell you write that down and she went I said it matters you have to ask people I like because if there is your business
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::Monique: that's right you know reflection
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::April Browne: of your company their extension of you there exactly and so for me it's really important that whoever I bring into the fold with you know if I bring people to come work for me you you you gotta your reflection of me and if you're not if If diversity doesn't matter to you, then we're not going to work together.
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::Monique: We might be social.
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::April Browne: No.
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::April Browne: No.
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::Monique: No, we're not.
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::Monique: No, listen.
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::Monique: Yes, I
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::April Browne: do remember your story.
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::April Browne: I'm 55, going to be 56 this year, and I am here to tell you my patience for nonsense is really, really short.
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::April Browne: I'm not, there are certain things that I'm just going to not have in my life in general.
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::Monique: Good for you.
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::Monique: Yeah,
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::April Browne: I'm just not.
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::April Browne: Because if you can't be in my business setting, you definitely can't be in my personal setting.
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::April Browne: It's just, it's too much.
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::April Browne: It's too much to, you know, juggle.
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::April Browne: Because there are too many people that I have in my life who, I have a very diverse group of folks that I'm connected with.
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::Monique: Yeah, and we're appreciative of that fact because you are definitely open and willing to
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::Piper: specialize with us.
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::Piper: Yeah, and you've shown yourself to be an ally.
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::Monique: And I
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::Piper: mean, that's important to other people, too, right?
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::Piper: You want to know when you're hiring somebody.
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::Piper: It's like, well, I've got to disclose, especially this.
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::Piper: It's like, I've got to disclose all this information about myself
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::Monique: and assumptions
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::Piper: about what I may want for my future and what my needs are going to be.
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::Piper: And it's like, you've got to be open about that.
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::Piper: You want to hire a person who's not going to be sitting there judging you.
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::Piper: Okay.
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::Monique: Or my clients.
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::April Browne: Or other people that I do business with or I connect with on a business level and personal, those kinds of things.
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::April Browne: And so it's just like, no, no, no, no, no, we cannot have that.
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::April Browne: And so I think it's really important.
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::April Browne: It's just important to me to make sure that what I present is my authentic and true self.
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::April Browne: Like, that's
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::Piper: really
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::April Browne: important.
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::Monique: That's awesome.
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::Monique: You want to go with this
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::Piper: one?
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::Piper: Yeah, so along those lines.
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::Piper: So how has video and storytelling helped you amplify your voice or connect with your audience in a way that feels authentic?
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::Piper: Now, we've watched your stuff, so we need to.
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::April Browne: So it took me a minute to really, first, let me just say, social media is not, I've not been a big fan of.
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::April Browne: But that's because I'm a Gen Xer, and we grew up with MTV and 24-hour news.
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::April Browne: And then, you know, here comes the social media piece.
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::April Browne: I was like, oh, honey, that's living your life out too loud.
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::Monique: I do not
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::April Browne: want to know what you are doing every minute of the day.
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::April Browne: And so, however, I know it's the way.
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::April Browne: So in that, I was like, okay, how do you do this and do this in such a way that you're comfortable with it and you're okay.
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::Monique: So the
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::April Browne: YouTube channel has become my, I really dig it.
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::April Browne: Because I can just record, oh, that thing on YouTube, you know, we're going to get it edited and do that kind of thing.
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::April Browne: And I get to, my personality gets to shine in a way that you may not see if I'm talking to a client, that kind of thing.
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::April Browne: So I get to shine through YouTube.
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::April Browne: And I really dig that.
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::April Browne: I like it.
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::April Browne: And I've had a couple of people who are like, girl, you should do a podcast.
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::April Browne: It's like, the only podcast I would be willing to do is when I get to talk shit.
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::Monique: Well, there you have it.
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::April Browne: What could the title
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::Monique: be?
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::April Browne: side with April. So how do you feel like,
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::Monique: you know, that you feel like in the end people are gonna find you on this YouTube and go, "I want to work with April." Well,
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::April Browne: you know, with that, let me say this. One, it's hard to get traction. Like, I still feel like it's hard to get traction because what you got to do is people got to know, like, and trust you.
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::Piper: Right. And trust
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::April Browne: is the last.
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::April Browne: So maybe the "no" is the beginning, the "like you" is the second, and the trust is definitely last. And because they've got to do those three things you know you gotta how do you get in front of people for them to even just get that and so i i know that i'm not everybody's cup of tea i'm very clear on that that's true and so because i'm not everybody's cup of tea i'm cool with that keep it moving pass me up you ain't even got to look at my stuff if i'm not your cup of tea
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::Monique: that's right
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::April Browne: because i may not however there may be information that i have that is useful for you you may not work with me but there is useful information I have on my YouTube channel which is very helpful so I have a client who I was like girl you wouldn't know how to retire here I send it to you so I sent her everything
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::Monique: right and so
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::April Browne: you know I just feel like who is for me is going to come to me
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::Monique: that
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::April Browne: is and and I don't I don't want to be everybody's thing I'm not interested in it
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::Monique: that's true we talk about how you know being that I authentic self on screen repels the people
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::Monique: you want to
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::Monique: repel.
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::Monique: Right.
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::April Browne: Very much so.
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::Monique: And that is part of the you know part of the equation that you don't really is like I want people that are jazzed by my energy, my presence, my information, and the way I give it to you. Right, because I am a
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::April Browne: cusser.
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::Monique: I am a cusser too.
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::April Browne: And I do use colorful language when I'm talking. I did a, I think one of the funniest videos I've done, and it cracks me up every time I watch it, is I talk about, it's called the three wishes of retirement, and so I equated that to three thousand years of longing with a movie with Idris Elba
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::Monique: and Sweeney.
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::April Browne: and honey i was like honey oh he's just looking so daggone fine good lord i'm sorry y'all i'm sorry let me let me come back let me come
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::Monique: back yeah and so
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::April Browne: and when i watch it it just makes me chuckle because i was like who are you so you had a good time with i did i really did well we'll
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::Monique: chalk that up to i'm going to watch it as soon as we're done here oh
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::April Browne: yeah because my even my the young lady who was working with us she's like you are so silly I was like I was like ladies my goodness.
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::Monique: Yeah I mean for most of the movie because he kind of he goes down. Yeah yeah yeah yeah but
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::April Browne: it was cool I actually liked the movie I just I was when I loved the movie because when they show you know King David who went to go see the most beautiful woman in the world Queen of Sheba
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::Monique: I said gosh she
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::April Browne: is beautiful oh my lord I was like yo man what can you do with that he was like I loved her and we're like yeah
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::Monique: but you was the genie baby David
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::April Browne: kicked you out this he was like you got to go you're interfering with things but yeah cool movie cool movie
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::Monique: yeah it is a cool movie and so you know I wanted to bring you on and talk about business and but the thing about it is like you had this interesting perspective coming from you don't talk about a whole lot your experience in law enforcement and
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::Monique: I get
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::April Browne: that
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::Monique: you know there's you know you're not too far out from it and you you know people still in in place and that's her thing and I know that you're willing to give your opinion on what it is that you think needs to be said but part of it is I want to talk about representation you of women in a very heavily male-dominated field.
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::Monique: What challenges did you see as a woman as you were going through the ranks?
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::April Browne: I came into DPD, Durham Police Department, probably like in the late 90s.
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::April Browne: So I was working there previously in another capacity and then became a police officer.
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::April Browne: And so right kind of mid 90s to the late 90s when I became a police officer in 1996.
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::April Browne: And so what I saw was there was Durham.
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::April Browne: Durham had a decent representation, I think, of black officers, just not a great representation of command staff.
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::Monique: So meaning
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::April Browne: lieutenants, captains and above.
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::April Browne: And as I was, you know, going, working and moving up the ranks, one of the things that probably set that up, her name was Teresa Chambers.
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::April Browne: She was the chief
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::Monique: in
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::April Browne: the 2000s, mid-2000s.
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::April Browne: And because of Teresa and Kathy Kochling, those two women made some things happen.
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::April Browne: And really, I think, I feel like Theresa was like, "Cathy, I need for you to give me women, people of color in the ranks." And because that occurred, we saw this influx of people of color and women coming through the ranks.
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::April Browne: And that's what helped set up the police department when you looked up by the time I made Captain, like our command staff was predominantly people of color.
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::April Browne: I mean, it was a significant amount.
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::April Browne: We never had that many, ever, ever.
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::April Browne: And so it was intentional.
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::April Browne: And what I realized as I was, you know, moving up the ranks, that you had to be intentional if you wanted to see change
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::Monique: happen in your department.
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::April Browne: So if you are a woman and you're a woman chief coming in, you must say, I'm igniting you to make X, Y, and Z happen.
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::April Browne: That is the only way that's going to go down.
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::April Browne: Because as a chief, you're too busy doing, you know, working the day-to-day stuff.
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::Monique: But you
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::April Browne: need that one person, whether it's your deputy chief, your major, your assistant chief, one person who is going to come in and do what it is that you want them to do and make the things happen while you're, you know, doing what you're doing from day to day.
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::Monique: Do you feel like once you got into the command staff that you were able to do that incrementally as you went, like igniting somebody below you to sort of, like, start filling that pipeline too?
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::Monique: We
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::April Browne: did. So it was a group of us that as we moved into the command staff we would do classes for promotional processes and say hey guys promotional process is coming up we were gonna do a class we're gonna walk you through the steps and so on and so forth and every time we did that the group of people that came through they usually did pretty well and so that was really important for us to keep the pipeline going and and however with that you've got to be intentional you things are not going to happen just because you want them to happen if you don't have any intentionality behind that it is not gonna happen period
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::Monique: right you know you know police has a different structure than it's a little more
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::April Browne: paramilitary and
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::Monique: then a corporate situation
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::April Browne: but but
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::Monique: at the same time it can act a lot like a corporation.
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::Monique: It can. Where
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::Monique: you have a leadership that believes in a specific outcome
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::April Browne: and
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::Monique: then they make it happen. The political will makes it happen.
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::April Browne: Right. And so, however, if you have, if your leader is not focused on certain things, then things will fall through the cracks
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::Monique: and
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::April Browne: you know things have just fallen through the cracks and we see we
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::Monique: see that a lot of other places potentially and you know you know organizations change
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::Monique: and leadership changes
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::Monique: and that sort of thing I'm also interested in you know did you feel like there were there was a time that you were like well yes I'm gonna die on this hill and maybe you shouldn't have
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::April Browne: no no
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::Monique: No,
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::April Browne: actually I picked and chose which hills I was gonna die on.
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::Monique: Yeah, and I feel like that is a self-preservation move.
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::Monique: Because you know, you're in it for a career.
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::Monique: Right,
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::April Browne: right. And so if, you know, if I brought it up and people didn't feel like it was important, I was like, "Yo, then okay then, you're gonna be wrong, and I'm gonna be right, but it's alright, we'll see what happens." And so, but then you don't rub it in.
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::April Browne: I did a little bit.
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::April Browne: But anyway.
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::Monique: You know, and there's nothing wrong with that sort of like proof.
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::Monique: There's proof that you had the right idea, the right path, and getting to the objective desired.
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::Monique: And I appreciate that you're outspoken and that you are out there doing this in business now for your own self.
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::Monique: Right.
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::Monique: And so those are the things that I think are amazing.
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::Monique: Thank you.
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::Monique: And why I wanted
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::Monique: to have you here.
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::Monique: Thank you.
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::Monique: and to talk about representation using video and just being the voice in business that shifts the story about who should be your financial advisor.
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::Monique: Why do you think it's important to have black women in the finance field?
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::April Browne: Well, I don't have the credentials for that financial advisor, and I doubt if I may ever get them.
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::April Browne: Okay,
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::Monique: all right.
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::Monique: I'm just gonna say that.
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::Monique: All right, retirement advisor.
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::Monique: Yeah,
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::April Browne: it takes a lot.
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::April Browne: However, I do think it's important to have women of color, just women in general, in this space.
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::April Browne: And because part of the deal is people want to see folks who look like them, one.
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::April Browne: And they want to see folks who look like them because they feel I'm comfortable around a person who looks like me and who understands the vernacular, who understands the nuances of things.
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::April Browne: And so, you know, because if you're coming in with a pretty clear picture of, okay, listen, you know, this is a lot happening.
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::April Browne: But this is what we're going to do.
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::April Browne: And so I've been in some spaces where people are like, whoo, thank you, Jesus, you're black.
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::April Browne: And I was like, I am.
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::April Browne: And they were just like, okay.
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::April Browne: And then we get to talking and I'm like, okay, and now I understand your point of view, your perspective.
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::April Browne: Thank you so much.
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::April Browne: And so I think it's important.
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::April Browne: I do.
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::April Browne: I think there's so much information out here. It could be overload, one. Two, if you can have somebody who's willing to not tell you what to do, but guide you along the way. Because you may not be comfortable with the suggestions I make. And I'm like, Abram, I'm not comfortable with it. Okay, tell me why you're not comfortable with it. And we drill it down. Okay, well, let's think about this.
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::April Browne: And so, but that requires having, being one open, being willing to listen to the person.
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::April Browne: And though I might see like 15 things that you need to do, if those 15 things aren't important to you, then guess what?
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::April Browne: They're not important to you.
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::April Browne: I need to figure out by asking you questions, what's really important to you?
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::April Browne: What do you need to do?
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::April Browne: And I work from there.
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::April Browne: And so it's a relationship that you're creating.
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::April Browne: And so people want to talk to somebody who looks like them because there's this comfort level for folks.
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::April Browne: There's a
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::Monique: shortcut to knowing, oh, they might understand my experience a little bit better.
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::Monique: So, all right.
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::Monique: So we are going to wrap up a little bit here and say next steps for if somebody is watching and they want to work with April Brown.
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::Monique: Work with me.
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::Monique: Zilkin Financial. What services, what do they do? How do they reach out?
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::Monique: Well,
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::April Browne: you can reach out to me by going to zilkinfinancial.com.
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::April Browne: I actually have a webinar on my website that they can watch if they want to just kind of get a feel for what I'm talking about.
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::April Browne: It is long. I am going to preface that.
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::April Browne: I know everybody got a three-second span for attention, so just know it is a little long.
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::April Browne: However, it's great information.
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::April Browne: And from there, I can capture your email.
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::April Browne: And then if you want to, you know, reach out to me, if you don't want to watch the webinar, you can reach out to me through fact finder at Zelkin financial dot com.
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::April Browne: Z E L.
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::April Browne: So let me spell it correctly.
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::April Browne: So it's going to be fact finder at Z as in zebra, E as in Edward, L as in Lincoln, K as in King, E as in Edward, N as in Nora, financial.com.
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::Monique: There you go.
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::Monique: And so that's the best way to get a hold of you.
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::Monique: I am, do you have any last words?
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::Monique: No, I mean,
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::Piper: one of the things that I think defines who you are from what I've learned of you in the last few years is you got frustrated learning something.
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::Piper: you got presented with the information and went, I, I know how to present it to someone like me.
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::Piper: And then it was almost like, I feel like you're one of those people that it always feels like when I talk to you that you feel of service to people. Because when somebody's just talking to you about their business, you're like, oh, yeah, I know what you can do, you know, and I know people call on you for stuff like that and and that's just one of the things I mean knowing that that's where you're coming from service that you're you're in service that's very different to me than somebody who's oh I can let me study this learn it and it's something I know and I'll share it it's like you had a need to know
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::Monique: and
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::Piper: you learned it well enough that you're like I can help someone else along this journey?
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::April Browne: Well funny thing is I went from I tell people I went from the fire to what the frying pan to the fire because essentially I went into another industry where it was people.
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::April Browne: It was people it was serving people.
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::Monique: I
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::April Browne: serve people in law enforcement and yes I know right now law enforcement is you know.
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::Monique: Got a little shadow.
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::April Browne: Got a little shadow but when I was in it I was honorable Okay, that's what I'm gonna say.
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::April Browne: However, with all of that, I was still helping people in a different capacity.
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::April Browne: Yeah, you might go to jail.
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::April Browne: Depends on what's going on.
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::April Browne: And then I moved into another industry.
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::April Browne: I was like, oh, man, I'm helping people again.
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::April Browne: And so this is even funnier to me because I tell this joke and it's really serious.
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::April Browne: I say, people would rather show me a body part than talk to me about their finances.
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::April Browne: And it is a true, they're like, "Don't you want, no, I don't. Tell me what's going on with your finances." But you sure you don't want to see
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::Monique: my foot? No, I
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::April Browne: don't want to see your foot.
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::Monique: No. No. No. I don't.
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::Monique: Yeah, money's a funny thing, right? And I think culturally there's a lot in play there.
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::April Browne: Yes, very much so. Because we don't talk about finances.
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::Monique: And we need to normalize talking about how much we make and what's happening next door with the same, you know, job, whether it's the same or not.
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::Monique: Right.
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::April Browne: And so, yeah, it is taboo and it can't be, especially if you want to retire and you want to live the life that you want to live.
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::April Browne: There you go.
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::Monique: All right. Well, we're going to wrap up today.
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::Monique: And I want to say, please work with Zilkin Financial Services because I think you're going to connect and work well with April to figure out your retirement ideas.
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::Piper: And until the next episode.
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::Monique: We'll see you soon.
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::Monique: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change the Real.
507
::Monique: If you liked the episode, follow us, share it, or hop on podchaser.com and leave us a review.
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::Monique: And remember, representation starts here.
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::Monique: Hasta pronto.
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::Monique: See you soon.
