Career Arc Stories, A Conversation with Cindy Kynard

In the pilot interview of the new series, Career Arc Stories, I sit down with a former colleague and friend, Cindy Kynard. Cindy is a marketing executive, brand strategist, storyteller, and educator. 

We reconnected during the pandemic and had many conversations about living in NYC, relationships, entrepreneurship, career, and the experiences we share as women of color in the workplace. What I enjoy most about our conversations are her thought leadership, insights and the energy she leaves me with long after the call ends. Because of this, I couldn’t think of a better person to interview first. 

First question, did you find your career or did it find you?
My career’s been a journey. It’s not linear. But for the most part, I found my career. 

I remember growing up watching my single mom go to work everyday, doing the best she could as a working parent. She was a paralegal and had a strong work ethic that always stuck with me. I thought, to get what you wanted in life you had to work hard. 

Back then I used to watch LA Law. I’m dating myself now. Jimmy Smits was an attorney and so charismatic. Seeing him, a person of color, be a leader in a courtroom was so impressive. Getting a college and law degree was my imagined path. To be my parents dream. My responsibility to succeed was palpable. Graduating with good grades and getting a job - that was the epitome of success in my young eyes. So I pursued that by pursuing a legal career. That lasted all of one hot minute. 

After I got the liberal arts degree, I got a nice job as a Wall St paralegal (surprise) getting buried in depositions. It only took a year for me to realize I was just pursuing what looked good, not what was good for me. So I left, making my first leap to do what felt good for me - and that was exploring a career in performing arts fundraising and marketing. I really just fell into it. For I loved jazz, dance and live performance. So why not work at Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)?

And that’s how I first discovered marketing. I didn’t know it at the time for we were jacks of all trades working in a small nonprofit at BAM. I helped build community and board relationships to support our fundraising, while working with our Artistic Director on programming and marketing. It was a blast, but I was poor. And knew many friends going to grad school to level up their skills and value. A good friend influenced me to take another leap. And that leap was getting a masters degree in integrated marketing. My marketing career was born. 

Years later marketing remains my fascination, for it’s a constant learning and means to help people and businesses connect. In my free time I help promote the professional mobility, culture and well being of Black and Brown people through pro-bono marketing and mentoring. It gives me balance. And George Floyd’s murder and protests this summer makes it only more urgent and opportunistic to help. 

How has your personal experience influenced your professional experience?
You know those ageless women who glow from the inside out, with regal joy and beauty? Well that’s my mom. And she’s always been a sharp dresser. Growing up, I watched her get dressed to go to work everyday. And usually being the only a Black woman in her office, her clothes were her suit of armor. The micro-aggressions and things we witness and protest today, she likely experienced and dismissed. Because with her armor, she was able to let it roll off her shoulders. Her silk blouses and suits were her way of saying, “you can’t get to me.” 

When I first started my career, like my mom, I always made sure to dress up and wear my own silk blouses, suits and dresses. They were my suit of armor. Yet they were also my mask. After years of evolving and defining my own path, I’ve grown more into myself, and bring my - yes I’ll say it - full self to work. You don’t realize how much you’ve been burying yourself, or conforming to an image or mask of yourself until you let it go. So now my suit of armor is my mind. It’s my knowledge, experience and thought leadership. I now conform to who I am. 

Relationships played a big role in many of the decisions you made in your career. Your mom. The friends who pursued graduate school. Anyone else?
You’re right a lot of what I’ve done that’s been meaningful is because of relationships. Where I attended graduate school is because of a chance relationship. Exploring schools at a graduate school fair I connected with an admissions recruiter. She got me. Not only did she look like me but she understood my concerns. Financial and career driven. She recruited me to Northwestern University. I knew it was a good school but the reason why I chose that school is because I liked her and saw myself in her. I thought, if she’s there, there must be others within administration or faculty like her. My intuition didn’t steer me wrong. 

Another relationship was my first female boss at BAM, a Black woman. She’s my friend to this day, decades later. A reason why she played a role in my career, like others, is that she saw potential in me that I didn’t see yet in myself. That confidence is so fulfilling, especially to a young woman. 

Today, I try to pour that same energy into other young minds. If you can see it, you can believe it. If you believe it you can achieve it. You don’t realize how powerful your presence is in a young or even adult person’s mind. Especially if you represent them or their journey somehow. It helps them say yes to their dreams, and build resilient confidence to pursue them. Revealing someone’s inner potential, nurtures both the giver and receiver. I’ve done it through teaching, mentoring and work. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?
Believe in yourself and take that leap! Don’t let anyone steal your shine or joy. There’s so much that can distract us from what matters. When I was very young, I sometimes doubted my choices and followed opinion vs my heart. I’ve since learned that the only opinion that counts is my own. 

Your brand in 10 words or less? 

I (see you and) meet you where you are. 

More about Cindy Kynard 

Cindy Kynard is a marketing leader whose mission is to connect audiences with inspiring experiences through brands, cultural events, and education, for raised awareness and social impact. 

Being a NYC native and 1st generation college graduate she knows the value of cultural pride, community and education for it’s been integral to her own success. And as a Black woman she’s especially endeared to helping people of color and women achieve their best. Hence her work as an adjunct professor and mentor. 

As actor/comedian David Alan Grier has shared “America is grappling with cultural diversity, and I just want to put a show on that represents the world in which I live.”