Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffanie “Lanelle” Mackey.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up as a church kid, always there for one thing or another. I even coached our church’s cheerleading team at one point. I got to college and attended church on occasion, but mostly as a visitor here and there. By the time I graduated from Spelman College in 2009 with my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, the economy was not in the best shape. At the time, there were few opportunities to pursue a career where I didn’t have to be in a lab all day. I tried a few different careers, even attended a few post-grad semesters of a pre-nursing program, then landed on acting, something I have always loved as a theatre kid. I did that for a bit and then went back into ministry for a few years until around 2012, when I left ministry altogether. I stayed away from ministry and worked in corporate America and IT project management until 2019. I had a really rough year in 2017 after losing my grandmother and my uncle within the span of a few months. I began to deconstruct the Christian theology I grew up with and ended up falling in love with the God I was beginning to know better. Unlike what many churches taught me growing up, the God I was building a relationship with welcomed all of my questions and anger that I felt in some of my deepest moments of grief.
I spent 2018 beginning to travel more, and then in 2019, I started to feel the call to ministry again. However, this time, it had to look different. This led to merging my passion for deconstructing harmful theologies with advocating for marginalized and disenfranchised communities. Advocacy work was something I had done for a very long time, but it was always something I did on the side or as a volunteer.
With twelve years of professional experience in corporate America, I left my senior project management position in 2019 to pursue my Master of Divinity at Emory University and shift my volunteer experience of effecting social change and civic engagement to a full-time vocation.
I am now pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in community witness and social justice while running my consulting businesses for policy advocacy, branding, and operational support for individuals, nonprofits, and small businesses.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth is definitely not a word I would use to describe this journey! There have been quite a few challenges along the way. One of the hardest challenges has actually been me. When you are brought up in a society that promotes getting a 9 to 5 after you get your degree, then getting married and having 2.5 kids with the fence and a nice house is the standard, going against the grain in that can be difficult. Having to make decisions that frequently seemed risky sometimes means that you are putting your absolute faith and trust in God and yourself, and that’s all you have in some of those moments.
When I left corporate America in 2019, I left a six-figure job, not realizing that a global pandemic would then start just a few months later. I had contracts for events that I was planning and different clients that I was working with that fell through suddenly because no one was doing anything. All in all, sometimes you get positions that look good because, well…bills, only to get in it and realize that this was not meant for you at all. So, along the way, it has definitely been a lot of learning experiences, a lot of no’s, some yes’s that should have been no’s. And some no’s that led to a later yes. Each no, yes, maybe, and later I have gotten ended up being some of the best things that could have happened to me. I have learned and continue to learn so much about myself in becoming me. To the point that now I accept the winding journey for what it is, not an end goal, but a full journey.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I have multiple businesses that house different services. I have Tiffanie Lanelle. Yes, that’s my name (first and middle names together), but it is also my policy advocacy and training consulting business. I work with nonprofits and organizations doing policy and legislation research and building training programs that help empower these organizations or community members to become more civically aware and engaged. I am also part owner of UnmutedCo, which is a digital media and business consulting firm I own with my best friend and business partner of twenty years. Through this business, we provide digital media and production services, branding strategy, and operations support to small businesses, nonprofits, and a select few corporate clients. We provide opportunities and support to marginalized and disenfranchised communities and individuals first. We always tell our interns you might be working with a colleague from anywhere from Ohio to Africa, so it’s a great and diverse experience for them and us.
Finally, I have Cherished Memories by Lanelle, which is my event planning and customized branding business. I take very few event clients nowadays and focus on nonprofits that need an event consultant for expos, conferences, or planning meetings.
What’s important to me about anything I do is having a blended foundation of compassion and passion. I worked in corporate America for a long time, feeding my soul and spirit a snack when it needed a 3-course meal of liberation, which was crushing me. Now, I aim to help people and organizations operate as their best selves. That’s why my tagline has been “Living on Purpose” for the last decade. I want to live intentionally and purposefully while helping others do the same. Whether that is helping someone bring their business or brand to life or teaching someone how their local government works so they can better understand the impact of their vote or lack thereof, that passion sticks with me everywhere I go. Often, the first thing I ask myself before taking on any project or client is, “Is this something I can believe in and truly help bring to life?” I do not like performative organizing or engagement, so when I see someone or see a business or organization that has a dream but maybe needs a better website or wants business operations support, I want to help make that dream a reality so others can live on purpose too.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
There’s a documentary I watched called “The Year Earth Changed” that came out in 2021. It depicts how the earth and our wildlife friends in nature were impacted during the most restrictive times of the pandemic. It was breathtaking to watch timelapse videos of the earth healing itself because we were not outside, causing harm to it. The wildlife were being wild as they should be, roaming the earth and co-existing through the natural circle of life. Simultaneously, I was watching friends, family, and strangers on social media find new ways to build and keep community. At one of the worst periods in our most recent years, I had hope in humanity that was paralleling my fear of the unknown and frustration with our capitalistic systems. While watching the globe clear up and reverse some of the damage on our planet, I was also watching disenfranchised communities become further disenfranchised and pre-existing issues being exacerbated. The shock some people had while discovering what was happening in Black and brown communities was alarming and served as a reminder that some people really don’t know what they don’t know. These thoughts continue to sit with me and remind me that with conversation and collaboration, we, as the human species, are capable of so much. It is not too late to reverse the impacts of climate change on our planet. We are capable of being compassionate beings to one another and nature. When we slow down and live with intention, we hold the capacity for great and sustainable change.
Contact Info:
- Website: tiffanielanelle.com
- Instagram: @TiffLanelle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffanielanelle
- Twitter: @TiffLanelle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp65Rmv1MmIDxbwlIDfDYQw
