Meet DaLeyna Adkinson | Marketer & Cultural Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with DaLeyna Adkinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DaLeyna, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Dare I say what’s life without a little calculated risk taking? Honestly, as I reflect on my journey both professional and personal, risk taking just might be my mantra. I recognize for everyone it looks different. However, for me, I’ve always had a natural curiousity about life, the pursuit of happiness wrapped in big dreams and goals that seemed a little crazy to everyone else. It’s not that I wanted to be the best, I just had a knowing that there was more possible – more life, more world to see, more opportunities and so I chose to lean into that.

With it, came trying new jobs, moving across country (2x), working for some of the biggest brands in the world, traveling to places I never imagined – all making what seemed like a risk feel worth it at times. These moments come with a natural high too – one that serves as a seed of confirmation in your decision making and the feeling of, “I got this” or “everything is going to be alright.”

The flip side is those risks also resulted in a loss of friends with cross country moves, ending an engagement to pursue my career and years later still being single, missing important moments like the birth of new families members or the funerals of others – and that offers perspective. In these moments, it’s easy to question if the risk is worth the reward.

The answer is always yes – because I’ve learned things will always turn out exactly as they are meant to be. So dream big, take big risk or small ones. Give life everything you’ve got and live without regrets. Most importantly without fear. There’s greatness on the other side of fear if you’re willing to take a risk or three.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I don’t think I ever could have imagined I’d be where I am today. I’m from a small town in a very rural area – where the closest uber eats delivery might take 50-75 minutes. I didn’t go to the biggest college or have the best SAT scores. I just chose to do what made me happy and let that be my guiding light.

I have always loved black people. The way we dress, wear our hair, the way we talk, the way laughter can take over our bodies when something is funny and I wanted to be around us. I wanted to tell our stories. The first position that made me feel like this possible was a freelance role for BET where I was contracted to work the red carpet for all of their awards shows (BET Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Rip the Runway). Then, my first full time job was with a company in DC that organized the nation’s first HBCU football classic. This experience ignited my passion for marketing at the intersections of black culture, sports and entertainment and I haven’t looked back since.

This love, I had no idea would be called multicultural marketing or now called inclusive marketing and it would set me on a trajectory I couldn’t have even anticipated. Fast forward to today and over the last 7 years, every position I’ve held has never existed before. It’s hard to believe that just staying true to what I love to afford me a career that has included positions with PUMA, the Super Bowl Champion LA Rams and Meta (formerly Facebook), helping to build marketing departments, champion cultural initiatives and launch brand firsts designed to attract and retain diverse audiences.

If I had to tell you two things I learned in my journey, the first would be never stop being curious – about your industry, about yourself, your company. Webster defines curiousity as “a strong desire to know or learn something.” The positions where I had the most success, I was curious. While at TV One, I had a boss who I spent hours shadowing, asking questions, being curious about the business, the partners, the campaigns, down to how to make a gridlines on a powerpoint. That curiousity led to promotions, winning the CEO’s award and helping the brand introduce a new digital platform that generated over $1M in distribution sales. Stay curious.

The other thing would be work life balance is important. It not just a cliche. There’s more to life that just work. Make time to fill your cup, find hobbies, spend time with friends before you know you could look up and have accumulated a lot of stuff and no-one to share it with. Live for a living.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love LA! A week with me and you’re going to want to stay forever. In a former life, I swear I could sing so karaoke is a must. I love karaoke on Monday nights at Station 1640. It’s a great way to kick off the week with good energy, fun and you never know who you might see! For brunch, my go to spot is Castaway in Burbank. The food is great and seasonal mimosas are even better – not to mention the unforgettable views. I also really love Taisho in the valley. From the drinks to the vibe, it’s great and the food is amazing. For lunch, the rooftop at the Waldorf in Beverly Hills is a must! If you can’t tell, I love amazing views and the lobster burger is a hit every single time.

Now you can’t do all that good eating and singing without a little fitness after all this is LA. Soulcycle with Chris P is must. He’s the hands down the best instructor, his playlist is always top notch and his classes are hard but fun. Can those two things go together? If you don’t want to stay indoors for your workout, I suggest going outdoors for a hike. My favorite hike to take visitors on is the Hollywood sign hike. It takes about 3 hours roundtrip but the photo opt by the sign makes it all worthwhile.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh wow! I don’t know if I could pick just one. In each season of my life, I’ve been blessed to have mentors, bosses, coaches, “aunties”, who have supported me, poured into, offered me life changing opportunities that have helped me get to where I am today. But I’d love to get a shout to my parents, and really my Dad. I was actually adopted but we’re so close most people don’t even know! We also don’t really talk about it. But, he took me in as if I was his own child and wrapped me in an unconditional love that made me feel like I could do and be anything I could ever dream of. His guiding light for me has always been to Trust God and do what makes me happy. I’ve done some amazing things so far and I’m not done yet but I couldn’t have done it without the foundation he provided. It took me almost 15 years to figure out what happy means for me but he’s supported me throughout my journey and his message hasn’t changed. Thanks Dad! I appreciate you! And I’m so happy!

Website: iamdaleyna.com

Instagram: iamdaleyna

Linkedin: linkedin.com/daleynarae

Twitter: twitter.com/iamdaleyna

Image Credits
Headshots by: Will Navarro