Episode 2145: Deesha Dyer explains how she undiplomatically rattled the entrenched culture of the White House

Keen On

Many are called, but few are chosen. In her late twenties, Deesha Dyer was still in community college. By the age of 31, however, she had become Michelle Obama’s social secretary in the White House. So how did this self-styled undiplomatic young woman become a member of the most exclusive club in the world? And what does her authentically irreverent attitude which she says, in her new memoir, creates the “best kind of trouble”, tell us about how to succeed in 21st century America?

Deesha Dyer is an award-winning strategist, on-the-ground community organizer, and executive operations expert. She served as the White House social secretary during the Obama administration and is currently the founder and CEO of social impact agency, Hook & Fasten. She curated and instructed a study course called Imposter to Impact at the Harvard Kennedy School. Deesha’s entertaining and engaging style of storytelling allows her to inspire audiences around the world. She co-founded and operates organization, beGirl.world Global Scholars, which tackles the racial disparity in study abroad. Deesha was named Marie Claire’s new guard of women changing the world, the Root’s most influential African-Americans and profiled in Women Who Run the White House by Essence. She’s been featured in Vogue, Travelnoire, and The Washington Post and written for Oprah Daily, Glamour and Lonely Planet. Deesha was recently awarded the Women of Excellence Award by the city of Washington, DC. and lives in Maryland. Deesha can be found on Instagram!

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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