Teresa Harris Ep. 15 - "What?! Women Can Do That?" was some of her awakening. What does it take to turn your life around from mistakes and adversities to immense success? From a childhood of segregation, low-expectations of girls and women and the battle to define her sexuality, Teresa Harris shares her journey. She grew up in the era where being a lesbian was cloaked in secrecy. She talks about the journey from military service, to homelessness, addiction and recovery with college graduation at age 40+. All of this was followed by a stellar civil service career with responsibility for negotiating multi-million dollar contracts with the nation's largest providers of IT services.
Top Takeaways:
- Taking the responsibility of standing on other women's shoulders as a woman so you can provide your shoulders for others who come after you
- Learn to surround yourself with people who are not afraid to give you information they have
- How to take responsibility for your success and strive for greatness
Learn how you can turn your life around and make a difference not only in your life but in the life of others.
"There is responsibility in freedom. There is responsibility in success. And you have to take that responsibility." -Teresa Harris
Best Black Female Podcast for Government Contracting
Teresa Ann Harris has spent twenty years dealing with government contracting in all roles. She has experience from the initial statement of work through every step including monitoring and evaluation. She has worked for Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Corporation for National and Community Services. She has demonstrated success in identifying business process improvements, developing requirements and implementing acquisition strategies. She has a significant strength in negotiation of high dollar contracts.
Learn why it important to surround yourself with people who aren't afraid to share what they know to help you move ahead.
Key Moments
Teresa explains her experiences growing up with her mother's stories of the civil rights movement era plus the many strides made by black women [3:44]
How she started self-sabotaging herself after the death of her mother [8:17]
Why the military was the best decision she's ever made, plus her struggles with its consequences and battling alcoholism [11:41]
How she got sober and used education to turn her life around fulfilling the promise she made to her mother [18:02]
The challenges she went through as an African American lesbian woman and how she learned to overcome them [24:47]
Teresa talks about the life family she has chosen and the relationship she has with her partner [31:08]
She defines her retirement time as her time to lend a helping to others in her community [37:44]