Brittany Barnwell: Creativity through Leadership
Brittany Barnwell is a Multimedia Designer with the Research Triangle Foundation. Her core values are creativity, growth, and nonconformity, which are evident throughout this conversation. Brittany is a 2022 Transforming Leaders graduate.
“Transforming Leaders has pushed me to seek new challenges, gain self-confidence, and find value in who I am and what I have to offer. In doing so, I have connected with others with similar values and goals, aligned myself with causes I am passionate about, and joined communities where people uplift and support each other through mentorship or other activities.”
We invite you to continue reading to learn more about this month’s Fellow Spotlight, Brittany Barnwell.
What was the primary impact of the Transforming Leaders program on your life?
Since completing the Transforming Leaders program, I have taken a step back, looked inward and evaluated what matters most to me and how I want to show up as a leader, not only at the workplace but in my everyday life. With a strong focus placed on lived experience and individuality, Leadership Triangle helped me identify my core values, which has allowed me to develop and apply a personal leadership framework in my work with others. Transforming Leaders’ impact on my life has pushed me to seek new challenges, gain self-confidence, and find value in who I am and what I have to offer. In doing so, I have connected with others with similar values and goals, aligned myself with causes I am passionate about, and joined communities where people uplift and support each other through mentorship or other activities.
Did you make any meaningful connections during or after the program?Yes! I had the wonderful opportunity to meet many individuals from various backgrounds and lived experiences. The cohort I participated in recently received the honorary annual title of “best cohort ever,” I can certainly see why! From fellow Goodmon leaders within my cohort taking the lead to drum up support for Leadership Triangle’s “Show Your Love” campaign, I was pleasantly surprised to see familiar names and acquaintances spearhead the way. I am continually inspired by the tenacity and passion of those I graduated from the program with, and I am glad to have met such passionate leaders.
How do you show up as a leader in your organization?
Research Triangle Foundation of NC offered a unique opportunity to contribute to the organization by joining the workplace culture committee. I volunteered to join the committee and was quickly nominated as President. During the six months I spent on the committee, I took inspiration from Leadership Triangle’s Transforming Leaders program to get the staff together to work on fun activities and team-building workshops. These activities ranged from collaging and sharing our personal stories to cooking meals together and spending valuable time connecting as colleagues, people, and friends. I also started an internal employee newsletter that captured the spirit of our staff and helped share the story of how we connect at the workplace. At the same time, the newsletter allowed for an excellent opportunity to share information about the Foundation’s amazing initiatives and history, inspiring staff to unite around common goals we all are working towards.
How do you feel you make an impact in the community?
I am impacting the community by expanding my network in the Triangle, which has given me incredible opportunities to meet individuals with similar interests and passions. One volunteer opportunity led me to become a mentor to two high school students at the Durham School of Arts through a partnership with the Durham Art Guild. I have also had the pleasure of meeting individuals who lead community meet-ups in the artificial intelligence and technology industries. I have connected them with the growing innovative communities within Research Triangle Park.
What is one fun fact about yourself?
A fun fact about myself is that I have a side hobby where I use generative AI tools to build my own “AI world” through storytelling, character creation, art, and animation. It’s a slow work in progress, but it allows me the creative outlet I need to practice using AI tools while learning new skills, which also caught the attention of a tech start-up based in Hollywood!
