Career Pivots and Leadership Development with Lonita K. Baker
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Presenting a strong personal brand as a leader is paramount, but it's about more than just perception. It's about how you operate and the value you bring. Lonita K. Baker understands this connection intimately. Her impactful career has spanned multiple sectors and roles, from public defender to prosecutor to representing Breonna Taylor's family, and now serving as Professor of Practice at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and past president of the National Bar Association.
Lonita's journey teaches us that career pivots aren't just possible, they're powerful when done with intention. She's reached her influential positions by staying true to her values, knowing her worth, and never compromising on being genuinely herself. Most importantly, she's learned that helping others isn't just good karma, it's good business.
In this re-release, as the National Bar Association celebrates its centennial, Paula and Lonita discuss embracing leadership, making strategic career moves, and why knowing your value is non-negotiable. Whether you're considering a pivot, stepping into leadership, or simply wanting to build a more authentic personal brand, Lonita's insights will resonate.
Chapters
2:12 – How Lonita defines personal brand and why helping others has shaped her trajectory
5:14 – Lonita's favorite Muhammad Ali quote and other Louisville connections you might not know
8:23 – The '90s hip hop and gospel music that lifts Lonita up when she needs it
10:12 – How Lonita embraced her leadership role and learned to own being "the badass that I am"
14:24 – Why the Breonna Taylor case opened unexpected doors and led to her in-house position
21:06 – The strategic thinking behind Lonita's move from public defender to prosecutor
25:43 – Why flexibility and organizational alignment are crucial for ambitious professionals
29:41 – Four essential pieces of advice for anyone wanting to ascend to leadership
31:16 – What Lonita does for fun and the authentic brand aspect she'll never compromise
36:00 – The empathetic quality that makes up Lonita's Branding Room Only magic
Connect With Lonita K. Baker
Lonita K. Baker serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and Managing Partner of the Baker Westbrook Louisville office. Previously, she has served as in-house counsel for a software technology company, attorney at a well-known personal injury firm in Kentucky, and an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney in the Legislative Services Branch of the Civil Division and as a Supervising Prosecutor in the Criminal Division. Attorney Baker began her legal career at the Louisville Metro Public Defender Corporation.
In 2020, Attorney Baker gained national attention in her representation of the family of Breonna Taylor. This case was a significant moment in Attorney Baker’s career resulting in a ground- breaking settlement with the City of Louisville which included terms of police reform in addition to one of the largest financial awards for an individual civil rights case to date.
Attorney Baker graduated from the University of Louisville in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and minors in Sociology and Pan-African Studies. She continued her studies at the University of Louisville at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law obtaining her Juris Doctor in 2006. In 2017, she obtained a Master of Business Administration with Distinction from the University of Louisville College of Business.
Attorney Baker has shown her commitment to the legal community consistently throughout her career. She is a Past President of the National Bar Association ("NBA"), after previously serving as a Vice-President, Member at Large, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Communications. Attorney Baker also served multiple terms as President of the Charles W. Anderson, Jr. Bar Association an NBA Affiliate Chapter. Attorney Baker has also served the Louisville legal community by serving on the Board of Directors for the Louisville Bar Association. She also served as the lead attorney for the Louisville Urban League Reily Re- entry Expungement Program.
Attorney Baker has received several awards for her service to the community and legal profession including being named a Top 40 Under 40 Attorney by the National Bar Association (2015) and The National Black Trial Lawyers (2017), receiving six Presidential Awards from the National Bar Association (2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022), and being named the 2019 Justice Award recipient from the Louisville Urban League. In 2020, Attorney Baker earned recognition as a Top 40 Under 40 by Louisville Business First, a Wiley Branton Awardee by the National Bar Association, and the Daniel M. Alvarez Champion for Justice Award by the Louisville Bar Association. In 2021, Attorney Baker was awarded the Equal Justice Award by the National Bar Association and the R. Eugene Pincham award by Cook County Bar Association. Most recently, she was recognized by the Charles Houston Bar Association as the Kamala Harris Woman of Excellence honoree, a Muhammad Ali Center Daughter of Greatness, and the 2023 Kentucky Bar Association’s Distinguished Lawyer. Attorney Baker is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
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Email: lonita.baker@gmail.com
Mentioned In Career Pivots and Leadership Development with Lonita K. Baker
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Transcript
Paula Edgar: Hey, y'all, it's Paula Edgar, and welcome back to Branding Room Only. Today's re-release is especially meaningful because as the National Bar Association celebrates its 100th year centennial celebration, I am honoring that legacy by revisiting a conversation with one of its incredible past presidents, Lonita K. Baker.
If you don't already know Lonita, get ready. She is a force, an attorney, advocate, educator, and now managing partner at the Baker Westbrook Louisville office and a professor of practice at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. Lonita gained national attention for her work representing the family of Breonna Taylor, and that case continues to shape the conversation about justice, accountability, and reform. And with recent developments in the federal case, this re-release feels particularly timely.
Lonita's leadership, whether in the community, in the courtroom, or in the classroom, has always been about purpose and integrity. And in this episode, you'll hear her talk about how personal values, public service, and professional growth all show up in her brand. This is part of how we honor the National Bar Association's centennial by lifting up voices like hers. Let's revisit our conversation.
Welcome to The Branding Room Only Podcast where we share career stories, strategies, and lessons learned on how industry leaders and influencers have built their personal brands. Now, let's get started with the show.
Hi, everyone. It's Paula Edgar, your host of Branding Room Only podcast, and I'm excited today to be here with someone who I've known for a while, Lonita Baker. Let me tell you a little bit about Lonita K. Baker. She serves as an associate corporate counsel for Waystar Medical Technologies, and she is the current president of the National Bar Association.
As you know, at Branding Room Only, we talk to people about their brands, their experiences, how they built them, and their perceptions around the concept of personal branding. And so I'm excited about having this conversation. Lonita, welcome to Branding Room Only.
Lonita Baker: Thank you for having me, Paula. I am excited to be here.
Paula Edgar: Of course. So welcome to the club. And so the first assignment that you have is to tell me, as we think about branding, your elevator pitch is something that when you're meeting someone, you say, "This is who I am, this is how I have value," or whatever mix of what you decide to say. So what's an example of an elevator pitch that you might use when you're meeting someone?
Lonita Baker: So first off, I hate elevator speeches because—I think I'm a fun person but I am an introvert too, so I typically wait for people to ask questions. But I also know that you do have to have an elevator pitch ready.
So my name is Lonita Baker. I am an attorney from Louisville, Kentucky. Yes, born and raised in Louisville, which is different from Kentucky. I'm a lifelong learner, which is why I've practiced probably every aspect of law that there is.
Paula Edgar: I love that. I love that. Lifelong learner, which may end up being how you describe yourself, because I'm going to ask you this question. Can you describe yourself in three words or phrases?
Lonita Baker: I will give you lifelong learner. Fun. And my new favorite word that I've learned in the last month is I'm an ambivert, which means I am an outgoing introvert.
Paula Edgar: I would say that that is true, knowing you, that that is a wonderful way of describing you, or an extroverted introvert, which is a similar way. Okay, so on Branding Room Only, we talk about personal brands. And so I want to hear from you when you think of the concept of personal brand, what comes to mind? How would you define it?
Lonita Baker: I think that how I've arrived at the place that I am today is because I'm always willing to help others. And I think that other people see that in me. And so if you're willing to help others, others will help you. It's not to say that you do things with the motivation that, "Oh, if I help them, they're going to help me," but is the world truly altruistic? I don't know. I don't think there's anything that you should do that doesn't somehow grow you as a person, if that makes sense.
Paula Edgar: It does. That makes a hundred percent sense. And I think that people want to think about branding and networking and really any of the stuff that requires effort, they think of it as sometimes transactional. And my thought is that it should be in some ways transactional because you should be getting something from it, whether that is to just feel better or to feel right. But it doesn't have to be transactional in a very creepy or yucky way, but it can be transactional in that if you're giving, you should get, whether that's fulfillment or, on the other side of the scale, be paid. Like, let's call a thing a thing. Awesome. So what is your favorite quote?
Lonita Baker: My favorite quote is—I told you I'm Louisville through and through. So it is from Muhammad Ali, and it is, "Service to others is the rent we pay for our place here on Earth."
Paula Edgar: Love that. Wait a minute—and maybe this is my ignorance—is Muhammad Ali from Louisville, Kentucky?
Lonita Baker: Yes. The greatest, the GOAT, Muhammad Ali. Louisville through and through.
Paula Edgar: When you think about branding, think about Louisville, and I immediately think about horse racing. And maybe that's just because I love horse racing. But I just learned something because I did not know that. I had no idea. So, okay, who knew?
Lonita Baker: Everyone from Louisville knows.
Paula Edgar: Fair enough.
Lonita Baker: But I think like because in the movie, they don't show him in Louisville much. But he is very much Louisville through and through up until, you know, his passing. He's buried in Louisville. His wife, she spends a lot of time in Arizona, or his widow. She spends a lot of time in Arizona for tax purposes and because she has a residence there, but she spends maybe 48% of the time here in Louisville.
Paula Edgar: Very interesting. Had no idea. So, well, before I even get to the next question, I have another question. So what else would you say, speaking of branding, that Louisville is known for then?
Lonita Baker: Definitely the Kentucky Derby. You talked about horse racing. And Kentucky itself is known for bourbon. I know New York likes to think y'all have some bourbons, but if it's not made in Kentucky, it's not bourbon.
Paula Edgar: Is that right? Like champagne has to be from Champagne? Okay. Interesting.
Lonita Baker: Bourbon. And whiskey's Tennessee, right? But it's bourbon we want bourbon. University of Louisville. So Teddy Bridgewater, he played for our university. And not only Teddy Bridgewater but Lamar Jackson.
Paula Edgar: Yep.
Lonita Baker: We don't have any professional sports teams. But in New York—Allan Houston—we went to the same high school. Our French teacher used to let us sign our name on the wall when we were graduating. So I signed mine right up under his because I'm like, "It's Allan Houston." So we don't have professional sports teams, so we are a really big college sports town. And in the state of Kentucky, we're college sports, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky. I'm a Louisville Cardinal, not Kentucky.
Paula Edgar: I love the way you say it, because I'm like, "It's not Louisville," but I have—
Lonita Baker: That's the other thing Louisville is known for is that if everyone, I was like, "Am I pronouncing it right?" So people know that there's a way to pronounce it. I say it, it's one and a half syllables.
Paula Edgar: Okay, I'm glad I asked because I'm also a lifelong learner and I just learned something, and maybe there's a connection here, but what is your hype song? And let me just tell you a little bit background about hype songs. Your hype song can be a song that will pump you up when you're about to go do something, or if you need to feel lifted up, you play. So what would you say is your hype song?
Lonita Baker: You said if I need to feel lifted up. I came of age in the '90s. So '90s hip hop. No Limit Records. If you play it and I'm in the club, I'm going to dance as if I'm in the '90s again and I'm in high school. So just disregard that, you know, especially like in NBA, you or not—we will dance at NBA functions. So now that I'm president, I'm still going to dance. And if they play a '90s song, I'm still going to be out there like I'm in high school again.
So that's my get crunk. But like sometimes, just to lift me up, I have a gospel playlist. And I will tell you, anything CeCe Winans or Yolanda Adams, because their voices are so anointed.
Paula Edgar: Agreed. Agreed with you. My song in general is always Prince, Baby I'm a Star. And so, you know, I'm super excited about that. You know the NBA convention is going to be in Minneapolis, because everybody who knows me knows that I'm a Prince fan.
But I also have a gospel song to do the lift me up just in case. But generally, across the board, if I play Baby I'm a Star, my body knows it needs to react and respond.
Lonita Baker: And, you know, I love Prince. You were one of people that got my hashtag. Other people were like, "Oh," and I'm like, "Right?"
Paula Edgar: And the hashtag is Purple Reign. I love me, I was like, "Yes, this is fantastic." Then let's just talk about that. You are the president of the National Bar Association, which is the umbrella organization of all of the Black bar associations within the United States and Canada and another region as well.
Lonita Baker: We have Africa.
Paula Edgar: And Africa. So that is a huge endeavor. And what I love about your trajectory—and you mentioned—is that you have always, in the time that I've known you and before that, been in a space of being a helper. And so I've seen your trajectory throughout the National Bar Association in that way. And I'm happy to see your leadership, your ascent to the top leadership. But tell me about what that's meant for you, and particularly in terms of shifting your brand and becoming a leader in the National Bar Association.
Lonita Baker: I think for me, in terms of helping, I'm like, I am lucky in that the people that I helped—Past President Ben Crump, Past President Joe Drayton—the people that I worked significantly on their administrations, they saw in me something that I may not have even seen in myself. So I was ready to be chief of staff and roll out like you did, Paula. Like, duh. Because we were both presidents of our local affiliates. And at some point it's like, "When do I focus on my career again?" But I saw that the NBA still needed me.
And I say that they saw something in me in that once you—as women, sometimes we think we are just supposed to help and make people look good. And that's been the role for so many years. And so now that I'm here and I'm president, I feel like I’ve embraced the "I'm supposed to be here." And so many times, and we hear from Black women, that we don't acknowledge or accept that we deserve to be at the top just as much as others. And so I'm embracing it.
I will tell you the part that the outgoing extroverted introvert, I am loving meeting new people and really getting to know them, the type of person that I am. And one thing I always tell—you've been around—how many times have you seen where the president is almost unapproachable? No one wants to be a part of that. How are we going to recruit new members if the leaders are unapproachable? Like, why would they want to be a part of us?
But really getting to travel and get to meet and get to know other lawyers and encourage them to become members of the National Bar Association. And then the icing on the top is when I see them later and they’re like, "I paid my dues solely because of the conversation I had with you." And so I get that people get that I'm a genuine person. So, but yeah, from helping to embracing the badass that I am.
Paula Edgar: Oh, I love that. I love that. And I used to push back on the concept of servant leader because I feel like it means to most people that you have to essentially kill yourself in order to lead. And I'm like, "No, not quite." And so to that point about the transactional piece, as well as the what you get from what you do, number one—I consider you to be a servant leader, not in the bad way, but in the way that you are authentic and you are bringing people in. And it’s not like you're leading from over there. You're leading with and among the people.
But also to your point about "when do we do the work?" I do think that when you do leadership right, it should benefit the actual thing that you do as well. And I recall when I was president of my local affiliate, that someone pushed back on the fact that I would talk about what I do in my role as well. And it was like, "No, you have to separate them." I was like, "Absolutely not, because I can't separate myself. And I bring to you what I do and the role that I'm in."
So you are working at Waystar Medical Technologies. Tell me how that is in doing the work, which is a shift for you, as well as managing your leadership at the same time.
Lonita Baker: Yeah. So when I shifted to Waystar and going in-house, it was on the heels of representing the family of Breonna Taylor. And when I say that is the penultimate of my career—my proudest moment—the case that I know I will forever be tied to. And I'm proud of that. But when I say as a Black woman and representing the family of a Black woman who suffered such injustice, it took so much out of me emotionally.
And so as lawyers, we know the Bar Association—not the National Bar Association, but our bar, like our licensing agencies—they preach to you, "Your client is before you." There's no time for mental health breaks when you have individual clients. And so I had to find something that I was like, I can't—I'm not saying I won’t go back to it, because like I said, it was the proudest moment of my career. But I had to break away to recenter.
But it was the work that I did on Breonna Taylor’s case that also gave me an opportunity to even interview for Waystar. Because I’ll be honest, when you look at my resume, it doesn’t bode that here I am in-house counsel reviewing and revising commercial contracts for our growth team or our marketing team.
I went from public defender to prosecutor to personal injury, civil rights, and then I’m in-house now. I did get an MBA in 2017, and I say that I know that the Breonna Taylor case gave me that extra push to even get the interview. And then once I got the interview, I solidified that spot. I got it.
I went back to school when I was at the prosecutor’s office to get an MBA because I was like, "I want to go in-house." Sent my resume out. I got an MBA. I was working full-time as a prosecutor, doing MBA leadership, I think I was chief of staff while I was getting my MBA too. I graduated with a 3.97 GPA for my MBA program.
Paula Edgar: Fantastic.
Lonita Baker: I couldn’t get an interview from corporations when they opened up their in-house. And so just that name recognition—Waystar is a local company—there was a connection. Someone connected me to the chief people person. Someone who knew me and knew that that had been—now, it was funny, because when we talk about branding, I got a text message from a friend. It was like, "If y’all know any lawyers interested in this position, let me know." And at the bottom, I see the guy, the one that ended up recommending me, he had been my mentor and advising me on how to make the transition into corporate.
I called him. I said, "Why am I getting a notice about a corporate job from somebody else and not from you?" He said, "Well, you just had Breonna Taylor, like I thought that that was the lane you were going in." And I was like, "Well, you know, I could see that." So you always do have to remind people and let people know what it is you’re looking for and what you want to do. Because if you don’t let them know, they will assume that you’re good or you’re taking a different trajectory. So you always have to remind people of.
Paula Edgar: I mean, that’s a mic drop moment. We’ll definitely be pulling that out too because it’s so true. And people have this perception that, "Oh, people know." I was at an event last night and two people who I met came to—you know, we’re networking—and came toward me, and one person was there and I assumed they knew each other, which number one, you should never do that.
But number two, when they introduced themselves, they were like, "I’m [insert name here]," and "I’m [insert name here]," and nothing else. And I said, "What is going on? You’re not Madonna and you are not Oprah, so your first names are not enough for this to be a connection." So you can continue and build relationships. And I find that people are, number one, really bad at the information-giving first, but then you have to continue to remind people what you do.
People still contact me about coaching, and I'm like, "I haven’t coached individuals in years." Yes, my hashtag is #CoachPaula because I'm always going to tell you what I think you should do, but the point is that I do speaking and consulting. That’s what I’ve been doing for a good long time now. You have to keep telling people.
And to that end, I would never have thought that that would be the pivot that you were going to be making. And number one, I want to pull back and say to you, thank you. Because as a Black woman, as a fellow lawyer, as a community leader, and somebody who’s just invested in the world and thinking about Breonna Taylor’s case in particular—I mean, there are so many instances of murders of innocent Black people that we could pull from—but that one in particular for me, because I think about how your home should be a safe space. And I think about how we are supposed to be protected in spaces that we think are safe and by people who are supposed to protect us.
And I can’t even fathom, number one, her experience, but the experience of her family and that having been their child, their sister, all of the things. And so people talk about diversity and inclusion all the time, but justice is what we should be looking for, for all of us. And so I thank you on behalf of all of us for helping to make sure that justice happened in that case.
And I'm glad that you're saying that while you are in-house, that it’s still something that’s on your mind and something that you still might be able to add your energy to, because I just feel like all of us need to be doing something in that space, and you have actually impacted. And so thank you.
And let’s get back before I start crying. So you’ve answered a bunch of questions in that I usually—
Lonita Baker: One.
Paula Edgar: Which is the sign of a good leader. You put all the stuff in there and you're like, "I got my points and I got the things I want to say." But I want to ask you about this. In all the pivots you talked about—and I don't even think I knew all those pivots—in terms of going from being, you said, a prosecutor, right? That's a pivot. First of all, I'm like, "Number one, that's something that people don't normally do. They usually go from prosecution to defense, because now they know the inside scoop." Then to going and working personal injury, et cetera. And now here.
Number one, is there anything that you've learned from all of those pivots about yourself or that you would want to share about making those pivots that you reflect on when you're thinking about the trajectory of branding? But number two, what, if any, mistakes did you make in any of those pivots that you would do differently?
Lonita Baker: So the no mistakes that I made, maybe—well, let me say, maybe—no, yeah, no mistakes. Because I feel like everything has led me to where I am. So I can't say any mistakes.
One thing I've learned about myself—and I'm going to explain why I went from PDs to prosecutors too—I won't even say it's idealistic, but I'm a person who truly believes that the justice system is supposed to work the way that it's supposed to work. So the reason I pivoted from public defender to prosecutor is, in the justice system, when you're talking about representing or prosecuting individuals towards a crime—so not the large-scale, but the individual aspect in each individual case—prosecutors have the most power to truly effectuate justice.
And I don't tell everybody, but the only people that I think who are truly justice-minded and really have the idealistic view of the justice system, I'm always pushing people like, "Go be a prosecutor." Everyone's always pushing, "Go be a public defender." But if you truly, truly want to level the playing field, you can do that as a prosecutor. And we need more people in that space.
And I say the justice-minded because it's not the people who are just like—so I'll give you an example. You'll never hear me say a police officer who's killed someone should be put to death, because I don't believe in the death penalty. It's just not instituted fairly. So that's a strong—I just don't believe in the death penalty.
But you also never hear me saying, "Charge them with murder one," because it's likely not a murder one. So sometimes my activist friends get frustrated because I'm like, "Yeah, that's not the charge. That's not the appropriate charge." I say, "We have to be careful about what we ask for—other people to be overcharged—when we're still fighting for Black people to stop being overcharged." I mean, charge people with what the crime is. And then be fair and equitable in the sentencing.
So, for all of the jobs outside of what I'm doing now—because I'm reading contracts and it's protecting my company—I realized that all of them have been the next step of what I can do to make a more equitable justice system. There was only so much I could do at the prosecutor's office as an assistant prosecutor, unless I was going to run for political office.
Political office is not in my near future. People always ask me, I'm like, "Why can't I be like other people who become rich first?" Because if you look at the salaries of political—
Paula Edgar: Yeah. They're not getting rich with just a salary. That's correct.
Lonita Baker: Let me make money first, so that I don't get swayed by special interests. Let me do it the right way.
Paula Edgar: Fair enough. And I think, similar to how they don't pay teachers enough, [inaudible] folks who are doing the good work for the good people more because they’re sacrificing so many other things and not being valued monetarily for it. So I hear you. Okay, so what else in terms of pivots that you learned about yourself?
Lonita Baker: That you have to be flexible and do what's best for you at any given time. I don't know that I—again, being NBA president—I don't know that I would be able to do that. So I told you I pivoted because of the mental health break that I needed. But I also wouldn’t be able to be representing tons of clients while also being an effective and impactful president.
My job's remote. I can travel to New York and speak and work from my hotel room. You know what drives me nuts? I don't know why we pay for internet on the airplane.
Paula Edgar: It doesn't work. Ooh.
Lonita Baker: So I've resolved I'm not—I'm never going to do the, "Oh, I'll work while I'm on the plane." No. It's either before I leave or after I land. So I try to travel where I can still—but my job is very supportive. And I do think that if you're going to go in-house or work for a company and you have goals like being NBA president or any external goals, one of the things you have to make sure of is that they are supportive of what it is that you want to do.
And so I am lucky that Waystar is very supportive. They recognize the importance of having this strong Black woman that's the president of all the Black lawyers in America.
Paula Edgar: And in Canada.
Lonita Baker: And Africa.
Paula Edgar: Right, exactly.
Lonita Baker: So they're proud to have me and they highlight that every chance that they get.
Paula Edgar: And as well they should. And I like that you mentioned that alignment that should happen. Because I think so many people think, "I can't do X because of Y." And most of the time I've found—I've found this as a coach and I've also seen this for countless clients—it’s not that you can’t, it’s that your limiting belief is what is preventing you. And if you ask, there usually is a way, assuming that you—speaking of branding—have been able to either demonstrate your value previous to or at, so that they understand that you are value regardless in order to be able to do something else.
And to be able to say, "Look, it’s for this amount of time I’m going to do these other things," or aligning, and that’s also a brand proposition that people should be thinking about.
Lonita Baker: Yeah. And I’ll tell you, when I first started getting very active in the National Bar Association, I was still working at the prosecutor’s office. So it wasn’t a remote job that I could, you know—but I understood my value to that office. I go in, I work hard, I prove myself. Nobody’s ever going to be like, "Lonita dropped the ball."
When you work for a prosecutor’s office, you understand you work for a political office. "Oh, you need me in your commercial? Yes, I’ll be in your commercial." So that give and take. I know that I travel at least four or five times a year. You’re not making me use my vacation time up for NBA, but you’re allowing me to participate.
Know your value. If you're hard to replace, a job’s dang near going to let you do whatever you ask, so long as you still remain hard to replace.
Paula Edgar: Right. You make yourself indispensable. I would say you strive for excellence, make yourself indispensable, and then you flex. Then you can, then you’ve built up the brand equity to be able to flex however you need to, and people get it. They’re not afraid that if they give you a little bit of leeway that you're going to stop producing or stop being the value proposition.
Awesome. Awesome. So what advice would you give somebody who is thinking about ascending to leadership, just generally? Because you’ve done it in so many different places. What advice would you give someone?
Lonita Baker: I think know the organization. Know the people—so the members and the other personalities. And you have to have—I do think that leaders need a good amount of emotional intelligence. What do we call that? Emotional IQ?
Paula Edgar: EQ.
Lonita Baker: EQ. You have to, because you deal with a lot of personalities. And you said of three, I think, but I'm going to give you one more.
Paula Edgar: Yes, of course.
Lonita Baker: You have to be willing. You get into leadership for the right reasons. And I mean that. The right reasons are never to boost your brand, but it's to enhance the organization with your brand. And I think that if you do that, and if you do it for the organization, your brand will benefit. Your brand's going to be boosted anyway.
It's never a good idea—just in general with anything—to do it solely with the intent of boosting your brand, because it will backfire on you every time.
Paula Edgar: Yep. I will just agree with you on that one. My head is nodding vigorously on that one. But that's good advice. You started talking about being a dancer, and I know this because I know you. But what else do you do for fun?
Lonita Baker: Movies. So here, our main movie theater is Cinemark, and they have the Cinemark Movie Club. Me and some of my sorority sisters—AKA, hey Sorors—me and a couple of my sorority sisters, we go and see the movies. I need to text them today, say, “Hey, can we go see the Air movie?” Because, I mean, when do you not want to see Viola Davis?
So, movies, dancing, reading a book, and shamefully, I watch reality TV. And not like survival reality TV—I mean like The Real Housewives, the Love & Hip Hop stuff.
Paula Edgar: Well, look, it can't be shameful because they're getting good ratings—because you're not alone. There are a whole bunch of people who are watching that. Hilarious.
Okay, so everybody who participates on Branding Room Only gets asked two questions, and one is this: So, “Stand by your brand.” What is the authentic aspect of your personal brand that you will never compromise on?
Lonita Baker: I think just being genuine. And I know “authentic, genuine,” it’s just being my genuine self with people. I mean, honestly, I have no choice but to be genuine because if I'm thinking something negative, it's written all over my face anyway. So I think just to be your genuine self, your true, authentic self.
Paula Edgar: And that makes sense. So I ask the question, and I always think about this in line with branding, because there's usually a through-line in everything you do, and it is the authentic piece. But it can show up in a lot of different ways. Like, for me, my “stand by your brand,” I always have to be me.
And for me, that means I'm going to have nails—fashion nails—and I'm going to have red lipstick. But I'm also going to bring and add value in a way. So it's all of those things. But it's not the same, right? Some people are like, "It is that I am always ethical," or, you know, whatever. I’d like to hear how people identify essentially the same thing, but just—
Lonita Baker: It is. When you say “me is me,” you're genuine. It's me. You're going to get all of me. Like I said, yeah. A lot of people, especially in leadership, will tell you how you're supposed to lead. And I get a lot of opinions. I get a lot of responses back. And I've learned to, if they don't mean me no good, the ones that are like, "Okay, I can take that," are truly genuine. But at the end of the day, you can only be you. Can I give you a little story on being you too?
Paula Edgar: Of course, please.
Lonita Baker: So, you know our past president, CK Hoffler, right? Being a Black female trial attorney, there's not a whole lot of Black female trial attorneys in the plaintiff's space, I will say, we have them in law firms, so we were at one of the NBA conventions, and she was doing a presentation on litigation skills. She just comes in and she owns the room. She talks about what she does in a closing, and this. I'm like, "Okay. [inaudible]"
I can't be CK Hoffler. Only CK Hoffler can be CK Hoffler. I'm glad I learned it in a practice trial and not in a real trial. But you can see people who you take great things from. When I saw her, I’m like, “She’s a great trial lawyer.” So I started thinking of the things I learned from her, what can I put into my trial techniques? It's not her style. I can’t close with the Latin phrases because I don’t know Latin.
Paula Edgar: Does she close with Latin phrases?
Lonita Baker: I don’t know if in her closing. But you know, when she was NBA president, every time she signed on to a meeting, there was a phrase she would say in Latin. And I’m like, “We don’t even know if she’s saying the right word, but I’m going to…” I think she was saying, I think she was using the right phrases. But that’s her.
Paula Edgar: Yeah. No, and it’s a good point that I’m glad you pulled out. Because when it comes to people trying to build their brands, oftentimes they will look at people and say, “I want to be like that person.” And I always say yes—just exactly what you said—aspects, the things that… but make it your own.
You can never replicate someone else. And even if you tried, you won’t do it well, and people will be able to see right through it.
Lonita Baker: Yep.
Paula Edgar: So the second and last thing is: What is your Branding Room Only magic? So this is essentially something about yourself that is unique, special gift, brand proposition, that a crowd would gather to experience or see.
Lonita Baker: I think little-known fact is I think I'm a funny person. But no, my Branding Room, so I’m an empath. So I didn’t say that earlier. But I’m an empath. And so, because I’m an empath, I need everyone around me to almost feel good or I’m boo-hooing. And so I think I have that aspect to bring out the best in people.
Paula Edgar: I think that that is 100% true. You have a positive nature around you generally. And if you are not in a good mood, I know something is wrong, otherwise. You’re a good gauge in terms of what is happening generally. Which I guess the appropriate answer could have been, “I don’t want people to gather in the room, because I don’t want to have to deal with whatever.”
Lonita Baker: My thing is like, “Okay, so…” I just realized how funny I am. Because I was making people laugh, and I’m like, “Wait, I might need to get on stage. Ricky, come on, give me a Netflix contract too, please.”
But no, I’m not that funny, but I do, I want people to be in a good space. And I understand not all the time is it the appropriate time to be in a good space. But if I can do something to help you get from a bad space to a good space, I’m going to try to do that.
Paula Edgar: I love that. Okay, so if people want to stay in touch or stay involved with the things that you’re involved with, how can they find you?
Lonita Baker: So look, I’m liking this because I’m only NBA president until August. And then I’m back on my Diva Attorney. So I have a website: divaattorney.com. On Instagram, I am @diva_attorney. Twitter, I’m @diva_attorney. It’s Diva Attorney everywhere.
But email, I’m an easy email: lonita.baker@gmail.com.
Paula Edgar: Awesome. And LinkedIn?
Lonita Baker: And LinkedIn, Lonita Baker. But I have my Diva Attorney little logo right there too. So before I decided I was going to run for vice president of NBA, I was like, "I'm going to have this blog, and I’m going to do this." So don’t go to it yet. But after August, Diva Attorney will be up and popping.
Paula Edgar: We look forward to it. And we’ll make sure we link all of those things in the show notes so that folks can continue to find you.
Lonita Baker: Do you remember me, though? I called you and I was like, “I’m getting my headshots done. Do I get my makeup professionally done or can I just do it myself?” And you said, “You better go.”
Paula Edgar: I mean, it’s branding.
Lonita Baker: And I love my headshot.
Paula Edgar: It's a good headshot. So, Lonita, thank you so much for being here with me today at Branding Room Only. I know that people are going to get a lot out of this and hearing the trajectory. I learned so much about you, and I already know you. So I’m happy we had this conversation.
And everyone, make sure you like, share, and rate this on your favorite platforms. And I’ll see you soon. Remember, stand by your brand. Bye.
Well, as you can see, there’s a reason I brought this episode back. Lonita Baker’s story, her brand, and her leadership are more relevant than ever.
From her work on behalf of Breonna Taylor’s family to her historic role as a past president of the National Bar Association, Lonita has used her platform to advocate, to lead, and to make real impact. And that is the kind of brand that lasts.
So as the National Bar Association celebrates the centennial, this conversation reminds us that branding isn’t about buzzwords, it’s about your value in action. Lonita lives that every single day.
So if you found something powerful in this episode—and I know you did—share it with someone else who’s building their brand on purpose. And if you haven’t yet, please head to ratethispodcast.com/branding to leave a review. It helps more people find their way to Branding Room Only and step into the brand they’re meant to lead with. And until next time, stand by your brand. Bye y’all.
