Feminist Foreign Policy: Power, Practice, and Accountability with Spogmay Ahmed

This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human Chat GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. With Chat GPT work, you bring the goal and the details. Like notes, files, feedback, calendars, project plans, or data. Then it can help create things like a brief, tracker, analysis, deck outline, or workflow. You stay in control by giving direction, reviewing the work, and choosing the final result. Put Chat GPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting Work Mode, available on-plus and pro plans. You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of Betrayal, Carl thought he was living a normal drama-free life until the messages started. Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. Every piece of evidence pointed to the wrong guy. He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The miles change how you move, but more importantly, they change how you show up for your life. I'm Emily Abadi. On the hurdle with Emily Abadi Podcast, I sit down with elite athletes, record holders, coaches, and everyday runners to unpack the mindset behind pushing through when things get tough. Because the discipline, grace, and grit you build out there on the pavement, that's what helps you show up as your best self everywhere else. I just love to say I never know who's watching. So you want to make sure you, you, through and through, and you just stay true to who you are. Listen to hurdle with Emily Abadi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Carrie Champion and in this new season of biggest rivalries of all-time podcasts, we take you back to the very first rivalry of the WNBA. The comments were the real deal. I mean, come on. The liberty was just tough. Oh, god. The New York Liberty versus the Houston comments. When we hit the floor, it was hot heated fights, elbows, competition, trash talking. Who is the better team? People live in numbers don't. Listen to biggest rivalries of all-time on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What up y'all this your main man Memphis bleak right here. Hosted our rock solid podcast. And each week we bring in your exclusive looks inside music, everything happening inside the culture. Some of the best conversations were the biggest names in the game. You had a little bit more pressure to be good. And they didn't care if you was a girl, like you wasn't getting the points. If you not trash, you better be. Not just good, you better be great. Listen to rock solid on Black Effect Podcasts Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Welcome to my show. I'm Richard McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass. When we encourage people to stop reading other people's success stories and start planning your own. Now you don't want to miss an episode. So please take a moment right now to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. It's free. You can follow me on iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. New Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be successful entrepreneur. Now let's get this podcast started. My guest fights to find the right solutions for families in crisis. With her years of experience as a prosecutor, attorneys respect Tesla as an aggressive advocate who knows how to achieve clients' objectives. Clients see her compassion side where she and her team take the time to listen to gain a full understanding of the situation. Please work in the Money Making Conversation Masterclass attorney Tessa D. Edwards. How you doing attorney Edwards? I'm good. I'm good. Thank you for having me with you. First of all, being an attorney, was that something you dreamed of? It is. I actually knew I wanted to be an attorney since I was in third grade. I had a teacher that asked me what I wanted to be and being a person that likes to talk and debate and just liking to. I just challenged other people against an argument. I knew very, very early that I wanted to be an attorney. So good attorney was now argument and debating. Now you just, well, you just one of those people just want to have to get the last word in. Still sometimes I want to get the last word in. Still want to get the last word in. Oh, you come Tesla. You know she ain't going to let nobody talk but her. Here you come. Here you come. Now when you see a talent like that, I will be a front. I'll be a front with everybody about my life is that. I didn't really know what I wanted to be and for you to say you wanted to have that you had that vision so early. What compelled you was it to your surroundings with somebody something you saw on TV that made you say, you know, something that's what I want to be. Well, kind of like what you're saying, I always had, you know, this idea that I like to argue. I love debating. I love strategizing about a debate. And if I could win an argument with anybody, a sibling, a parent, anybody, it just kind of inspired me. I just like arguing either side. It didn't matter. And so when I realized that I that there was a career for people who like the art of debate. That's what drove me to do that. So what's necessarily my surrounding it was more of my personality. Some people learn to litigate. I feel like I was born to litigate. I like the challenge in the art of trial work and just strategizing debate. Well, I like that. Now when you look at turn on the radio, personal injury commercials dominate the airwaves. And so that means that the legal profession of people have one version of it right now being pounded into them, the sponsors, evening news, they have commercials. It's all types of broadcasts that is making it available for personal injury, talking about how much they can win for you, how much you can give you come to us. You have that version is not the version of law that you practice. Why did you choose the version of law that you are practicing now? Well, as I talk to people and tell them all the time, I project ghetto born and raised. And what I saw around me was a lot of strange suffering, a lot of arrests, a lot of teen pregnancy, which I was a teen mom in a high school drop up myself. And just seeing that around me, I grew up with a very unhealthy idea of the justice system. I saw a lot of friends and family members and neighbors getting arrested. I didn't always believe that what happened was fair. Didn't believe that the police were honest and I wanted to go into criminal justice as a way to argue for my community for my family members and have someone fight for them and have their voice heard. I found themselves in that situation because I didn't feel like that was something that I saw growing up. Now it's interesting because you said something very casual problems because you've overcome it. You said teen pregnancy and high school drop off and now you are very prominent lawyer, family lawyer, practice criminal law as well over 2000 cases. How did that happen? Me and a teen mom. And what age was it that you became a team mom? Well, I was pregnant at 15 and I had my first child as a 16 year old and my second child at 18, third child at 21. I am the proud mother of seven children today. And how I got from being a teen mom to where I am now, which is the proud owner of a multi-million dollar law firm in Atlanta, Georgia, was nothing other than dreaming it, seeing it and then persistently going after it time and time and time again. So I was trying to imagine to even begin to tell you how many hurdles and obstacles were there, but just seeing that vision and that dream so clearly and staying, of course, whatever comes, just having the will to go over it. And when I have my first child, it was very unavailable. Unfortunately, everybody around me, all the girls around me were pregnant teens and a lot of the guys, including some of my family members, were in the system in prison or in probation or some sort of form. And when I have my dollar, my second child at 18. Let's go, let's go to 16 year old because that's, you know, that right there is usually what shuts down opportunities and when you read about it, you know, the dreams, you know, become aware for our kids, second, third, fourth, may go to drugs, may go to a minimum wage opportunities, there are no extended version of education after that at 16 years of age. What did your family, how did your family react to that and how did they come to your, to your assistance? Well, my family didn't actually did not react surprised. Like I said, everybody around me, it was the norm to be 16 and have a baby. Like there's a lot of teen pregnancy. Stay with us, stay with us. And sometimes girls that are already in the system, whether it's juvenile or felony system early, so it was the norm was not a shocker had family members that were team moms. But it wasn't anything that really shocked them, and they rallied. my mom, my mom, my siblings. They all helped with my son don't go anywhere. We will be right back with more insights from money making conversations master class. Welcome back to money making conversation master class hosted by me, Risham McDonald. Let's get back into it and it was very uneventful in my life. So I want to have my second child at 18, it was a girl and that changed everything. She was 6, 8, 6 to 8 weeks old and someone was visiting and they told me that she looked like me. You know how you have that moment, they just kind of thought she wouldn't get a track and get a big frog in your throat, you can't swallow. Chad GPT can do more than answer questions, it can help you get real work done. Chad GPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs, like notes, files, customer feedback, calendars, project plans or data, then Chad GPT can help turn that into a useful work. 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It moved the rest of my life. I felt like if she looked like me, she may want to be like me. And so I felt like I needed to be something that she was proud of. And so when she went to school on career day and talk about her mom, she would have a story that she could be proud of. My mom does this month. I didn't want to say my mom is, you know, work at McDonald's, no knock at McDonald employees or anything. But that's not what I wanted for my daughter to aspire to be if she was aspiring to be like her mom. And so that changed everything going forward. And this dream that I had as a little girl now became a goal, just a dream. At that point, it was a goal. So your high school drop out at that point. Tessa. That pregnancy. I did drop out with that pregnancy. I dropped out with that pregnancy because I missed a lot of school and he told me I had to come back and go to summer school. And he being the defiant person. I decided I was done with school that year was my senior year. I wasn't coming back. I was going to college in the fall. So that's what I did. I went and got a GD and went to community college. And I got a AA. So I had decided that was my senior year. And that's so that's what it was. So once you got focused, it wasn't you were relentless. Yes, that is a good word. But you know, because the story, you know, people are listening to this story. Thank you for sharing your story on Monday. Make a conversation masterclass because it's about motivation. It's about overcoming the arts. I'm talking to attorney. Tessa. D. Edwards started a teen pregnancy, 16, 15 going on 16. Now she runs a multi million dollar law practice family law practice in Atlanta, Georgia. And how proud of you when you say that to yourself that you run a multi million dollar law practice in Atlanta, Georgia. No one would give come from Tessa. You know, there are actually sometimes I still am in shock and in awe of how far I came when I look back at that little girl as eight year old nine year old 10 year girl hell even looking back as a 16 year old 18 year old because it was such a long road so many curves so many valleys. It is still amazed me. And when I say multi million, I mean, we have barely even scratched the surface of where we're going to do the aggression will never stop if I want it. I am absolutely going to give it everything in my priority go get it. Now we do so how do how do now let's talk about the journey because you mentioned a lot of kids here and I'm sure it's a strong man in your life who allows you to be able to be yourself also your husband. Now you had did you was there any other experiences after college you do the military did you do go to four year institution audit or the next steps after your second child and you got your gd. Well after I got my gd I didn't know how I was going to pay for college. And so I decided to enlist in the military and because I was a high school dropout, they required me to have a two year degree to join. And so I got my two year degree and I went in and me being the fertile mortal that I am. I got pregnant when I came home for the Christmas break I went in like in November and everybody got to go home for two weeks. Being on birth control to make a long story short I still got pregnant. I was released from the military and on my way home I had a miscarriage. I had a miscarriage that I would never even know. But we're trying to be the crazy thing is I would have never ever known that I was even pregnant. If I hadn't made friends with my drill sergeant and I was trying to get out of doing a drill. He allowed me to go through the clinic and they did a routine test and something that I was pregnant. The interesting thing about that though when I went to the military my drill sergeant and you know the first day or two people had pointed me out and came to me and were commenting on my score. I don't really remember what it was, but they were coming to me talking about my test score how high it was. Why are you here? You're incredibly smart. You should be doing something else. This is it for you. And I'm thinking of myself. Well, I need to pay for college so it might not be for me, but this is where we are. Right. And so when I got out. Okay, well, my plan B is to figure out a number of ways to pay for college because that's the only reason I was there. So I got out and finished, you know, finished up what I was doing and transition into. I love Indian University, and it's in my bachelor's, but I had to finish my back. So when I got out, I finished my bachelor's and then law school all in Indianapolis. Wow, so Florida and Indianapolis military is topping between you got two kids at this point. Unfortunately, my person went out to you on that when you lost your third child. So I'm assuming because you said it in a humorous way, Miss fertile. So you have two kids that you have two kids when you went to law school. Or did you have another kid while you were at law school? I got to ask that question honestly the way you're dropping these kids here. Well, I was fine. I was dropping on my table top potatoes. When I graduated undergrad, when I graduated. But I graduated undergrad, I have five children. I graduated undergrad, I have five kids. My ex-husband, I went to law school together, and I say this to everybody laughing and jokingly, but I don't even know that a lot of people knew our names. You were just a couple with the five kids 'cause we started law school together. - Right. - And we had five kids. And we started law school and everybody was like, "Oh, you should wait until you're a baby "who was very young like one." You should wait until you go to kindergarten. And I say, "All the time, what am I waiting for?" The same four years are gonna go by whether she's in kindergarten or not. So what are we waiting for? Let's go, let's go. And we started and she graduated kindergarten while I graduated law school. There's nothing to wait for, let's go. - You are something else. Can I say that I have never spoken to somebody as determined as you. Five kids, you know, hadn't got your law degree yet. 16 years old, you had a child. 18 years old, you have a child. You went to the military. Unfortunately, lost a child. Now you're in the avenues first. Everybody's telling you how fantastic, how smart you are. And that's the interesting thing about living in these communities that don't really push our children 'cause they don't understand. We just trying to survive. You know, I grew up in that type of community. - That part. - You know, feel bored. My father was a truck driver and my mom, she went to college. She went to high school, didn't go to college. Six sisters, two brothers. We lived in two bedrooms, shotgun house. And so I know that they wanted me to be successful. They wanted me to be good. But guess what, when I graduated from high school, I became a forklift driver. That's what I became, a forklift driver. So the same people that saw you in the military, Tesla went, you don't need to be here. You can be better than this. What were you saying yourself when they were telling you those things? I didn't really believe that I was smart. All I knew was me. And so I felt like I was smart, but it didn't feel like anything exceptional. Like I didn't, I wasn't my own cheerleader then. It was just, okay, whatever. I need to do this in order to get to there. - Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more money-making conversations, masterclass. Now I need for you to do me a favor. Right now, to follow or subscribe to money-making conversation, it's free. And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe, money-making conversations. Welcome back to money-making conversation, masterclass. Hosted by me, Richard McDonald. Money-making conversation, masterclass continues online at moneymakingconversations.com. And follow money-making conversation, masterclass on Facebook, X, and Instagram. That's all I need to do to get my podcast. On the car or sit at home, probably eat more. They listen to this interview. But what you're talking about is pretty, pretty impressive. For a 16-year-old team-on, 18-year-old team-on, wandering out there, having five kids and undergraduate before you finish law school, and now you're still focused enough, focused enough, and your children are still in your life, but you're so casual about it. Am I wrong in saying that sounds kind of like you are different? You cut from a different cloth? Well, you know, I say all the time, and I mean it sincerely. I feel like my life is almost fruitful when I say it. But when I feel like my life was so divinely chosen, that the path for me was chosen from somebody higher than me. And I was just given a dream and a courage to go after the dream and blessed enough to have people around me that believe and support my dream and my vision. And so I do think that it is insane when you say it out loud, but you know, I don't usually say it out loud. I'ma say it out loud. Attorney Tessa D. Edwards is a blessing attorney Tessa D. Evans, Edwards, excuse me, is opposed to child for overcoming the odds. You are a person that needs to tell your story over and over again, because you know why? Because I get tired of people being that I come from the inner city. They will, they, they, they, they tell us that we can't achieve or we don't achieve. They don't give credit from the community for people around us, the people who believe in us. And so that is why if I do anything in 2025, and this is not going to be the last time I interview you. And because your story and your personality in general needs to be amplified. Can I do that? You can, I will be honored. I will be honored. No, I'm honored. And I reason I say this is that so many of our people of color, African Americans, you know, we're in a administration right now that, you know, the diversity, the echo and inclusion and the act like they given us opportunities like they, like we have earned opportunity. You are a postage child for earned, earned big E. You're the big E. You've earned everything you've achieved in life. And this new administration will make us believe that you didn't earn it. You didn't achieve it. And so when you look at giving people advice, what advice do you give them, Attorney Edwards? The biggest advice that I can give anybody is to make it, make it clear what it is you're going after. So that you don't waste time doing things that's not going to help you get to that goal. Just be clear about what it is you want, be driven, be focused, be hungry and wake up and go to sleep with your eye on that goal. Even as you go down that path to get to that goal, you have to have people around you that support you. I can tell you my husband Charles, who probably is one of the biggest cheerleaders I have. That daughter that you're talking about is one of my four daughters and three sons. The biggest cheerleaders, very supportive, always ready to go in my brother. I have a younger brother, I have several younger brothers have five brothers and five sisters, but one of my brothers who-- Oh, you beat me, huh? You said five brothers and five sisters have six sisters and two brothers. Well, I have a big family, my brother and five brothers and two brothers. But that one brother that's two years younger than me, my day one, like we grew up the heart rate, my business life, me hustling, eating out the garbage can. When we were younger, I would come up with a plan and he was the executor and that was our role. And to this day, if I say, "Hey, I'm going to do this," he's always, "What do I need to do to help? How can I help?" The same thing with my husband, so my husband runs the firm with me. He's there, 100% bought in, he'll tell anybody, "Are we going to bet on us all day?" So things we set up behind to have never failed, anything that we've ever tried to do. We've always succeeded when we are doing it to like mine together, sinking it and doing it at my team and my firm is incredible. Now, one of them is the reason I'm talking to you today. So I have a lot of people around me and just around yourself with people that believe in you and even when you have those tough days, because it's not if, it's when you need people around you that believe in you when you're tired and you don't necessarily have the belief in yourself in that day, it's around yourself with people who are aligned with your vision. Attorney Edwards. My wife just texted me, "Have I been seeing your name wrong?" You have it, it's okay. No, no, no, no, she texted me for sure. You're seeing her name wrong. Please tell her about it, the cracking nonsense you know your first name. Tessie. Tessie. Attorney. Tessie D. Edwards. Yes. I will never make that mistake again. Can we tell everybody how we can reach out to your law firm that's been in practice for 15 years in the state of Atlanta, Georgia? Well, we are making probably some of the other social media platforms. They can call us at 404-330-8833. My website is my name, Tessie D. Edwards. So any one of those things, you can google Tessie Edwards and probably even spell it the wrong way. It's like we're shot. Make me feel bad, make me feel bad, Tessie, come on, make me feel bad. Put on the Tessie. You know, this is the story of our relationship these days, she was, you know, she had my office, she thought it was live in person there, but on the Tessie, Attorney Edwards respectfully speaking to you this way is that your story is why I wanted you on my show today. It's unusual, but it's not unusual because it happens, it's unusual because of the story that they, the overcoming the odds and people looking at you and telling you, you are a blessing and you hearing it, you hearing it and reacting to it and not ignoring it. And that's what happens to a lot of people. They ignore it because the work that goes along with it and that's what people are forgetting this story is that yes Yes, she had two kids. She was a teenage mom. Yes, but she applied work G.E.D. She went to the military then she got scholarships then she went to Indiana University she had five kids at that point She still graduated and now she's in Atlanta and she's like she said she wants to double her revenue 2024 into 2025 when you hear me say that you hear a stranger Send all those things about you. You have a husband who supports you your daughter who you said Somebody said look just like you that motivated you to change your life now works in that same law firm with you How did you feel now? Attorney Edwards I feel thankful, but not satisfied. Thank you. It's so much still to do. Let's go. That's good Let's go. Let's go. We're my friend I thank you for allowing me to come on my show and as we close out this show one more time How we can get in touch with you and again? I want to consider you a person I can call on and I want the next I want to bring you on the show We'll get that straight. Will you be at okay? And I want people to call in and ask questions and I'm pretty sure you have Something at responses that will change some people's life. Can we make a better deal on that? We can definitely make a deal I would love to okay, cool. Thank you. Please tell everybody how to reach out to you and we don't close out this interview Thank you. I'm reaches at 404 330883. I lost on any other social media platforms at my name Tessie the Edwards or they can all flash away Google me I'm laughing because I'm sitting there on my white corn if you don't start seeing her name right right now And then I ask you just even send it wrong, sir. Even send it wrong But again, you're fantastic. Thank you for coming on money making conversation masterclass and we will talk and see each other soon Bye-bye. Thank you for listening to this episode not need for you to do me a favor Right now to follow or subscribe to money making conversation is free and you can find it on the I heart radio app Spotify Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast Please do me that favor follow or subscribe money making conversations keep winning