Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.

Name: LaTrina Antoine

Occupation: Editor in Chief at DC and Baltimore Witness

Where to Find You: LinkedIn

What inspired you to work in court and criminal justice reporting?

My first career ambition was actually to become a lawyer, so I’ve always been fascinated with the criminal justice system. I’ve also sadly been the daughter of a person killed in a shooting, so I know the hurt, pain and confusion that surrounds the system for a victim’s family.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be able to know the facts about violent crime cases, especially since I felt I was never really given all the facts in my father’s case. American Witness, the parent company of Baltimore Witness and D.C. Witness, enables me to make sure other families get the facts. It won’t stop the pain, but at least the facts can answer some questions. 

What is your favorite part of being Editor-in-Chief of Baltimore Witness and DC Witness?

My favorite part is being able to manage operations, so that American Witness can keep looking to the future, building, producing more valuable content, expanding and providing exceptional experiences for students.

What is the most interesting or impactful news story you’ve written or worked on during your career?

Well, I’ve worked on a lot of news stories during my career, and they’ve all been impactful in their own specific ways. I don’t really have one that sticks out because I always give my very best to the stories I write or edit. I like to make sure that considerable thought and consideration is given to each piece because I can’t even fathom how my words or the words in a particular piece will impact the person reading it. Sometimes I’ve been shocked at how some stories are received, and I think that’s because I put so much into getting the full story that I don’t see the full impact the story could have until after it’s published.

How has your experience as a professor contributed to your journalistic work? Is the role of a professor something you’d like to pursue further in the future? 

Being a teacher has impacted my leadership skills in journalism. As a teacher, I’ve learned patience but also understanding in the different ways students learn. Teaching has helped me understand how students and young adults write and think about the world. Teaching has also let me understand that the way I perceive things isn’t how everyone perceives them. 

Teaching has also shown me how to be a better manager. As editor-in-chief, I can really see how some of the same tools I’ve developed as a professor have helped me reach new and seasoned writers.

For example, I used to love class discussions when I was a student, but I’ve learned that not all students or writers learn through open discussions. Some need to try the assignment and learn from the mistakes. Being a teacher has shown me how to effectively guide writers, both beginners and advanced professionals, not only in improving their final piece(s), but also improving the system they go about to create those final piece(s).

I like helping to guide people to reach their full potential, so yes, I would like to pursue professor roles in the future.

What is the best advice you’ve received during your career? 

Question everything.

Is there a new venture or opportunity on the horizon for Baltimore and DC Witness that you’d like to share? 

American Witness is always working on better ways to reach the community.

There is a new venture that we are creating to notify victims or family members of both the victims and suspects of when court proceedings occur. Throughout our coverage, we have seen that many family members and victims are essentially shut out of the process. We would like to help keep them informed about what is happening through a notification system. 

If we were literally “around the table” right now, what food would you have brought to share?

Gumbo. Being a New Orleans native, I love savory food that keeps you full and it tastes good. Let’s not forget to mention, I love cooking with spices. No better way to give your mouth a party than with gumbo. 

Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.

Name:  Rodney Gaines

Company:  Virginia Community Voice

Where to Find You: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

You’re an incredible advocate for your community. How did you get started in advocacy and what inspired you to be a leader in this space?

Well, I met Lea Gibson, our (Virginia Community Voice’s) former executive director back when she was a coordinator in 2017. I was attending a civic meeting at Davy Gardens and her and Nelson Reevely came through to talk to the community. I didn’t think anything of it because groups come through all the time and talk about what they can do, but a question they asked stood out to me. That question was, “What would you like to see be done in your community?” Just giving that option was strange to me as opposed to other groups that would come in and tell us what they were going to do. Immediately after asking the question, hands flew up including mine and we just told them as a community what we would like to see done. She then stated that we wanted done would be done and I didn’t believe her at first. Following that, we had two or three more meetings and different events were held, such as cleanups.

One day, they asked for volunteers for a cleanup taking place on Richmond Highway Corridor and I thought it would be cool experience to take part in. I thought it would be nice for my kids and grandkids to see what I did and how I helped out. Ever since then, I haven’t stopped volunteering.

You’ve brought many new voices to the table to help build a greener, more inclusive and sustainable future in the Richmond region. What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve gathered through this work?

I’ve learned to definitely be open minded and patient. If you’re dealing with a specific community or the public in general, you need to be able to feed off of other ideas. You should try to be transparent because you are all working for one goal in the end. The goal that you are trying to reach may not be reached on that day, but if you keep pursuing it you will reach it. So, I would just say try to be open minded and positive in this line of work, especially if it’s something you like to do. Make sure you focus on your events and plans and definitely incorporate fun into it.

When I volunteered to do my first cleanup, I didn’t know there would be so much participation. When I saw our different communities coming together for one common goal, I believed that we could actually do it and make a change. The typical mentality in my community is that people don’t want to help if it doesn’t benefit them, but we came together, and everyone was open minded to achieve the same goal. When volunteering, everyone’s goal is to network. You want to meet new people and build connections to help with future events or endeavors in a positive manner. At that first cleanup, there were five communities working together. To me, that’s the definition of being positive and open minded.

What do you think is the biggest challenge organizations and government agencies face when trying to engage with the communities they serve?

 Trust and participation are big issues and probably the biggest obstacles when engaging with different communities. Those are two things you’re going to have to deal with when trying to help in any community. You are going into communities and telling people your plans and what you’re going to do to the area in which they live. A lot of times, these communities don’t believe organizations and think there is a hidden motive. That being said, if you want to be successful in any community, you must have those two things in check.

What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?

I’ve had a couple careers in my lifetime. Obviously, I liked them, because I didn’t keep switching, but I started off with UPS and the Department of Information Technology. I liked those jobs, but my advice is to find a job that you love. The job that I have now is the job that I love. I love getting in the community. I love taking something from nothing, like an empty lot and beautifying it. That’s the ultimate goal. I love working with people in the community and seeing the smiles, thankfulness, and gratefulness. So, I would say do something that you like very much, but if you love it, definitely pursue it.

I’ve done things that I really like. I’ve run my own cleaning company, a recycling company, and I have partially owned a barbershop. Although, I liked those jobs, nothing compares to what I am doing now because I love my job.

When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?

When I do get the time, I love spending time with my son and three grandkids. I also love grilling and cooking, so I spend a lot of my free time doing that. I have two fur babies and my son has pit bull puppies and he loves to leave them with me on the weekends. Those are the main things I love to do, but I also love gardening and have two gardens (a personal garden and a community garden) that I love to get into. Oh, and I have a small business that I’ve been running for four years, and it’s called Mobile Kuts. It’s basically a traveling licensed barber that gives cuts to older individuals.

If we were literally “around the table” right now, what food would you have brought to share?

You know I would be like an old grandma and bring everything to the table, but I would keep it light for everyone because that’s what I do when organizing or cooking for people. There are so many choices, but I love vegetables. I would put carrots, brussels sprouts, white potatoes, turnips, and broccoli on a cookie sheet with some seasonings and oil and stick it in the oven. For the protein, I’ll probably do a smoked salmon and I would bring another protein like turkey wings and gravy mushroom sauce. I think those are things everyone would like.

Welcome to Around the Table, a regular series where we talk to people in our network and share the incredible work they are doing in their industry. Pull up a chair and join us for conversation and connection.

Name:  Emily Coccia

Company: WEConnect International

Where to Find You: LinkedIn, Email

What drew you to WEConnect International and working with women-owned businesses?

I’ve always considered myself a “utility player” meaning my career path has not been linear or traditional and therefore my experience and skills can be applied to a number of things I’m passionate about. When reading about WEConnect International’s mission, it was such an interesting combination of my previous work experience – specifically combining my knowledge and interest in supply chains (from my previous work in product philanthropy – moving excess inventory from large corporations to nonprofits who could use it) and my passion for advancing women’s economic empowerment. I never pictured these two things connecting within one role, so it felt serendipitous.

In digging in and learning more about this connection, I also learned it fits my core values. I’ve always viewed nonprofit work as a bridge between the public and private sectors and the best way to increase impact and opportunities for vulnerable communities. Seeing how WEConnect International supports business – both large corporations and women-owned businesses – by providing opportunities for business connections to increase revenue and drive innovation while ultimately supporting international development and the global community is the ultimate win-win-win situation.

Not to mention – I just love being surrounded by smart and creative people with diverse perspectives, so working with a network of more than 11,000 women business owners around the world, really does guarantee that.

You are the Vice President of Special Projects. What does that title mean and how does your work support WEConnect International’s mission? 

Within my role at WEConnect International, I work to design and implement custom, global programs. I help identify new funding opportunities, work with corporate partners and government entities to design projects that reach their objectives and address the needs of women business owners, and I then ensure the organization has the right talent and resources to implement these projects across the globe. Additionally, in my role I support organizational strategy by identifying market trends, creating and monitoring organizational goals, and identifying areas within the organization where we can increase efficiency and expand and enhance programming.

WEConnect International works with people all over the world. How do you manage and build these global relationships with the physical distance, language and cultural differences, and different political environments?

Most days I would say that the absolute hardest part of my job is scheduling meetings across multiple time zones and my most common Google search starts with “what time is it in…”. That said, managing global relationships has been my greatest learning at WEConnect International, and the thing that brings me the most joy.

At the beginning of 2020, I was set to visit 13 countries – which for me, was bravery I had to build. When COVID-19 hit, as an organization we had to quickly pivot to move all in-person events to be virtual and what I found in doing so was that on a daily basis I was now able to enter the homes of each of my partners, colleagues, and the women business owners in those countries instead. I believe this is a silver lining of the pandemic in that business was humanized to a greater extent. For example, at 7 a.m. I would enter a home in Bangladesh and hear a baby crying in the background or see floral artwork hanging on the wall or the household pet enter the screen, which is the same thing I would see in Brazil two hours later and Nigeria five hours later and Singapore 12 hours after that. This allowed me to really begin every conversation from a place of common understanding. And from there, it’s about listening and making adjustments each time you learn something new.

For example, for projects in some Southeast Asian countries, it’s important to understand that the weekend starts on Friday. In Australia and many European countries, do not plan on scheduling any events in the month of August because the summer holiday sees many people out of the office. And in all cases, it is important to understand that not everyone understands the nuance of the English language (and there is a huge difference between English in the US and that in the UK). Although these things may seem small and logistical in nature, they remind us of how important it is to be culturally sensitive to the more important things – like, keeping time for prayer during events or adjusting meetings around fasting, or starting an event with an acknowledgment to the Indigenous Peoples of the region – all the way through to adjusting how one presents business concepts in countries where women’s economic empowerment is starting first from the place of making sure women are protected from violence or provided adequate education or basic human rights. 

What I find most in my work is that a woman business owner in one country is pretty similar to that in another – they are independent, creative thinkers and the hardest working people you’ll ever meet. They can accomplish more in one hour (with a baby on their lap and dinner in the oven) than many can accomplish in a week. They see a problem, and instead of talking about it, they come up with a solution and build a successful business around it. Although I claim to support women business owners as part of my role at WEConnect International, what I really do is help provide a space for these individuals to share best practices, challenges, and solutions with each other and watch as they find new ways to positively impact the global community. 

What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?

Changing the perspective of a “corporate ladder” to a “jungle gym” metaphor really resonated with me. Growth in one’s career does not necessarily mean a higher-ranking title or even a larger paycheck. It’s about growing your skillset and increasing your knowledge and ultimately measuring your success by your own standards. My goal has always been to learn as much as I can and to make the world a better place, so my measurement of success and the path to get there is ultimately going to be different than someone with a different set of career goals.

When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?

I love to do what I like to call “villaging.” Everyone needs a village, and I like to be that village for friends and family – helping wherever I’m needed. I am also proud to be on the board of directors for Child and Family Network Centers and advocate for universal Pre-K and other causes important to me. I also love starting new hobbies – currently, I’m cross-stitching and (re)learning how to roller skate.

If we were literally “around the table” right now, what food would you have brought to share?

Easy! I would have brought pizzelles. These Italian cookies have been around every table of mine since I was born, and I love sharing a bit of home with new friends.