Meet Trailblazer Candice Tolliver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Candice Tolliver.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Okay, so I was born, raised, and currently reside in south Phoenix. I am one of four siblings. I  have been the youngest, eldest, and middle child with my siblings at different times in my life. They are my favorite people and I love them more than words. I come from a blended family; my parents divorced early in my life and although not ideal, they instilled character values in me that have made me into the person I am today and for that I am forever thankful. I have the most amazing step parents who have played pivotal roles in my life experience, they are the real MVP’s. I am also a mom! I have a wonderful son who is eight years old and he is amazing. His presence in my life has been and continues to be one of my greatest gifts. Some of my favorite things to do are reading, eating delicious food, gawking over pictures of beautiful libraries, dancing, astronomy, spending time with family, my famcho/faith community, and watching Rocky IV.

To give you some history, I was involved in a lot of things growing up like sports, ballet, church, orchestra, etc.  In school, my favorite subject was Servant Leadership. In grades 6^th – 12^th, I  attended a charter school that emphasized the development of  leadership skills in every part of the student experience and had an actual class dedicated to developing our leadership skills. My love for building community and leadership development was sparked and I never looked back. As an adult, I now realize that my love for leading and increasing the quality of life of my community was influenced by my mom and dad. In my growth and development in leadership, I began to take leadership roles in my church and throughout college (Go WILDCATS!).

My junior year of college was pivotal because it was the time that I found out I was pregnant. After initial shock and straight up fear of the unknown, I decided to stay in Tucson, get a doctor, fulfill my commitments (internship and research assistantship) along with my classes and finish off my junior year. I moved home, completed the rest of my degree, and graduated in Tucson with my 1-year-old in tow and my massive support system beside me. Post undergrad, I served as a high school Leadership teacher for a total of four years, with a 2-year gap , at the school I attended from 6th – 12th grade, taught dance, led youth groups, mentored teens at my church, and volunteered at youth camps. I eventually found myself at a non-profit in Phoenix that provided me the opportunity to be in the AMEX leadership Academy through ASU Lodestar Center as a participant, which led me back to the classroom after my two-year hiatus. In 2017, I was chosen as a delegate to attend the AMEX Global Alumni Summit in NYC.

I have, since then, moved from my work as a high school leadership teacher, been invited to speak at youth leadership summits and camps, host workshops, and serve on programming teams for youth faith formation. I currently work as a GED Success Instructor, teaching all things self – leadership while pursuing my master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a focus on foundations. I am super excited to fuse my passion for education, leadership development, and curriculum building to create content that will positively influence individuals, families, communities, and our world. That about sums me up!

Has it been a smooth road?
This road has not been smooth at all! There have been some inclines, steep declines, pot holes, tight spaces, some areas smoother than others, and all the above.

I have experienced many struggles, some self-induced and others outside of my control, as we all do or will. My initial struggle was being a twenty-year-old mom and learning how to raise a child, finishing school, while still figuring out who I was and how I wanted to engage with the world. I felt like I had missed out on opportunities and I wasn’t going to end up where I should career wise. I had those, “this is what I should be doing by now” thoughts and although they are not as loud, I still have to tell them to take a seat every now and then.

The word “should”,  is not my favorite especially when it comes to a timeline for life. I have learned and am still learning to embrace my own journey and not to hold myself to a timeline that has been self-imposed because of societal pressures. I place my focus on the goals I want to achieve and do my best to set myself up for success, but not because of societal pressure, simply because those goals will increase the quality of my, my son’s life and the lives of those I influence.

One of my most paralyzing internal struggles has been dealing with imposter syndrome and consistently questioning my abilities to execute the things I know I was meant to do in this world. My advice for this struggle, to myself and others, would be to consistently keep things we can access in close proximity that will remind us why we are pursuing our journey, which is different for every individual. I have video footage, notes, and photos of the work I have done and it always ignites me to get my mind right with my work. In very deep struggles, when I am less than motivated, I sometimes just have to take action on a project and let my feelings catch up. I have to remind myself that the work I am passionate about was made for me. I know this because of the electricity I feel when I am in my element – my hope is that all individuals experience that electricity, the knowing inside of you that you are doing work you love that is needed in the world.

An external struggle that rears its head every now and then is the struggle of those you expect to support your endeavors compared to those who actually do support you. This is something that I really struggled with in the beginning and as I have grown it has carried less weight. However, when the struggle is real and its eating at me, my advice to myself and to others would be to change the focus. I have learned to focus on those who are supportive and connect with communities who are involved in the work that I am pursuing.

The truth is that no one is going to love and go hard for what you are doing more than you and we have to remind ourselves that our work is bigger than us and we cannot allow the non-supporters to throw us off our A game and risk not being our best selves for those we serve.

The support will come, it may not come from where you expect, but it will come. There are people I have just met this year who have been more supportive in my endeavors with their words and actions more than others who I have known for years (and this is something I have heard other people experience too so it’s nothing new, it’s just a shared experience). At the end of the day continue to keep your passion, vision and work at the forefront of your mind.

Two last pieces of advice I would give is to find a healthy community of people that encourage, uplift, inspire, and want to see each other succeed. It is always helpful to be able to lift someone up when they are down and know that if you are down, a hand would be reaching down to help you up.

And lastly, make time for things that you enjoy outside of your work. I am much more clear headed and stress free when I am participating in some of my favorite hobbies like dancing (Meet me at, The Duce), working out, reading with a yummy London Fog (The Grand has some of the yummiest I’ve had), watching Rocky movies, or going outside at night to star gaze. Participating in these activities reminds me that my work is what I do and who I am is a bit more complex, they may cross over in some areas, but both need attention in order for me to be effective in my personal and public life.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a teacher, student, education and curriculum junkie, and Hope Dealer (this basically means I really like encouraging people).

Currently, for work, I am a GED Success Instructor. I teach a class for students who are beginning their journey towards attaining their GED. The class helps to acclimate students to the classroom and it is also a time of teaching about motivation, overcoming procrastination, growth mindset, and other skills that will set them up for success before starting their subject classes. When not doing  my day job, I am studying and completing assignments for my M Ed. Program. Along with working and pursuing my degree, I have a small business called, LoveLeadTransform.

In my time of school teaching, I remember sharing something with my leadership students and saying the words, Love, Lead, Transform. I wrote the words down, I knew they would have some significance, I just didn’t know what exactly, and continued with my lesson.

Love Lead Transform, a leadership organization dedicated to educating, equipping, and enabling individuals to lead themselves as they lead others (through leadership development workshops, transformational coaching, and youth programs), became the name of my small business, which was officially started in 2018. Since then, I have hosted a few workshops (shout out to my first clients, St. Peters Youth Group- thank you for your support!) and have a few things cooking up for the second half of the year.

The organization specializes in, youth programs, curated workshops, and personal success and self – leadership coaching for groups and individuals.

Our curated workshops are specific to an organization’s needs. I have worked with groups that wanted to focus on confidence within their organization. I created the,  “Uncovering Confidence” workshop and it focused on helping participants to be able to find their confidence, identify what behaviors were crushing their confidence, and applicable ways to sustain and increase confidence. Each workshop is driven by the need of the organization and focuses on achieving  their set learning goals.

Personal Success and Self- Leadership coaching consists of partnering with those who feel unsuccessful and are lacking access to tools that will make their potential actual. Coaching services are provided by a certified transformational coach and can be provided to groups or individuals.

Youth Programs last four weeks and youth participate in eight workshops that range from overcoming fear, peer pressure, and stress to how to set and achieve goals. The workshop sessions include foundational themes of self-leadership, social awareness, community engagement, and will provide youth with opportunities to connect with organizations and community leaders that can enable them in achieving their school and career goals. LoveLeadTransform was inspired by each student I have encountered. I believe they are the leaders of the present and the future. They are passionate, persistent, and hold solutions to the problems we face in our world. It is an honor every time I get to serve them through our programming!

My current focus is engaging with new clients that I can assist through our services to build clientele. I am also focusing on connecting with other organizations in Phoenix who are doing impactful work to increase the quality of life for their communities.

I am most proud of my tenacity and the mission, vision, and values of my business. Pursuing something I have never done has been equal parts scary and invigorating. I am still figuring it all out and enjoying the journey.

When asked, “What sets me apart from others?”, my response is that my approach to leadership development and the passion I have for my work is interdisciplinary. I not only want to share information but I want to be sure that it is presented in the best possible way for learning goals to be achieved. My educational background provides me with the skills to ensure that learning is happening. My philosophy for developing leaders is in the name of my business. LOVE, because it is through love of self and others that we find and commit to purpose. This love is not fluffy, but it is strong, consistent, loyal, and respectful. When we are able to embody this love in our words and our actions, then we will lead from a place that is based on influence and authority so that when in positions of power, we wield power to make decisions that benefit the whole for the common good. LEAD, because when we learn to lead our-selves, who we are, how to increase our strengths, neutralize our weaknesses, and consistently use our abilities to build on the old and forge the new with courage, then we can lead others well. We can enable others to move forward and upward without competition, but instead with support and collaboration. Transform, because transformation takes time, transformation is a process, and it never stops. As we love and lead times will change, we will change and we must transform as we grow so that we can serve at our highest abilities. It is when we transform ourselves through love and leadership that we positively influence our families, our communities, and the world. As I teach, speak, and facilitate I am able to connect with audiences across many demographics. My goal is to enable others to lead by applying their leadership training, unique abilities and experiences, courageously.

Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
Books:

A Knock at Midnight, MLK Jr.
Our Kids, The American Dream in Crisis, Robert D. Putnam
Unclean, Richard Beck
The Adolescent Journey, Amy E. Jacober
Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey, Maya Angelou
Prophetic Lament, A Call for Justice in Troubled Times, Soong-Chan Rah
The American School: From the Puritans to the Trump Era, Joel Spring
Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education, Vajra Watson
She’s Still There: Rescuing the Girl in You, Chrystal Evans Hurst

The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson
Human Learning, Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis

Podcasts:  MyTaughtYou-Myleik Teele, Brutally Honest-Karlie Hustle, Up First – NPR, Hey, Girl-Alex Elle, and Venus Clapback- Muse & Coco.

Blogs: Valencia’s Garden

Apps: Apple Podcast App, Instagram (connects me with those doing similar work and encourages me to share my work with others), Notes & Voice Memo ( I am consistently recording new ideas), Sky Safari (I love astronomy. I’ve been invested in learning astronomy for a very long time and this app allows me to be intentional about staying in touch with that passion.)

Radio: 95.1 KJZZ  and 101.5 (TheRooseveltTape)

Contact Info:

• Email: loveleadtransform@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveleadtransform/ , https://www.instagram.com/candicetolliver_/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CandiceTolliver
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candicemarietolliver/

Image Credit:
Sonoran Light Photography, Gary Pratt

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.