THE JOURNEY

What you are about to encounter is a quick Q&A interview that I am having with myself in order to provide you with a bit of insight into my journey.

Note. Check out my LinkedIn profile for my formal career path.

WHO IS DANI JACKSON - WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Dani is the creative professional persona inspired by my middle name Danielle that I created for myself my senior year in college when I was informed by the Chicago Sun-Times that Tamika (my first name) was the name most discriminated against in the corporate workplace. Think of Dani as a Superman/ Clark Kent situation. I personally have to thank Wu-Tang for giving me the tools to fully understand the power of an a.k.a (also known as). The members of the Wu-Tang Clan all had several names, each authentically representing various facets of their personas. While I wasn't putting my writing alias Lady Griot on resumes, channeling the Wu gave me a coping mechanism to face the racism and discrimination of the world without loosing myself. That was a pivotal moment for me where I thoughtfully crafted who I wanted to be.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE ADVERTISING \ PR INDUSTRY?

On the surface, the story is I went to the University of Illinois where I majored in Advertising, I got an internship through the 4A's Multicultural Advertising Internship Program (MAIP) and that is how I got into the industry.

But, I've always enjoyed writing and telling stories. Starting in elementary and high school, I participated on the Yearbook Staff and Radio/TV Clubs. My mother went to school for Journalism and I actually wanted to be like her. I wanted to write stories about our community and have my grandmother put them in our family photo album. Ultimately, I chose advertising because I saw it was a sweet spot between art and business. The movie Boomerang, featuring the Eddie Murphy as Marcus Graham and Halle Berry as Angela Lewis opened my mind to a world that I admired. My passions for graphic design, layouts, writing and production could all be met here.

Always running around with a camera in hand, I leaned into production. I started my own TV show on campus called Inside Out and interned as a locations PA on the movie Roll Bounce before getting my first official advertising internship through MAIP at Leo Burnett. I turned down my first offer to work full-time at Leo Burnett after I received a scholarship to attend the University at Buffalo's Media Arts Masters Program. It is over these grad school years that I learned to work my network. I created freelance segments ABC-7 Buffalo, worked at Leo Burnett over a summer and moved to New York to work for the 4A's MAIP program. I built relationships with my mentors and program leaders that would introduce me to organizations like ADCOLOR.

The internship got me into the industry but the relationships and network have allowed me to flourish in this industry.

TALK TO ME ABOUT STAR-SHAPED PEOPLE?

In high-school, I remember being asked the heavy question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My answers were generally more detailed than most teachers or elders in my family cared to listen to. I knew that I had many passions and from my perspective they all were attainable in some form or fashion. So I'd say something like, " I want to be filmmaker, writer, singer, actress and international ambassador that speaks several languages.

Too often, we restrict ourselves to limiting paradigms that require us to kill off passions in order to neatly fit into boxes that don't ultimately serve us. Star-shaped people tap into their left brain and right brain, pursuing several paths rather than restricting their knowledge and experiences to a single path of expertise. My star-shaped life this means that I embrace and create ways to showcase my talents as a writer, speaker, performer, filmmaker and connecting people. I live beyond my job title and while that often makes it difficult for people to categorize me, I am okay with that.

WHAT HAS SHIFTED SINCE YOU CAME INTO THE INDUSTRY?

When I began in the advertising industry in production, I was brought in as an integrated associated producer. This meant that I was trained in how to produce across the spectrums of broadcast, print, experiential and digital production. This was considered a new way of working because production departments were segmented by their expertise so that there were too few producers that could produce a photoshoot for out-of-home and a tv spot. During that time I was advised that I should solely focus on being an agency producer facilitating productions rather than creating things because we hire companies to shoot, edit, build websites etc. Today, that advice seems so absurd in the world of multi-faceted content creators, makers and influencers.

I've always loved the Reese's slogan "There's no wrong way to eat a Reese's." It's great because there is always someone willing to tell you that the way you are doing something is wrong. When in fact it just may be different. Next level thinking cannot be achieved by doing more of the same so I encourage myself and others to stay curious.