I quit wrong
so they don't
have to.
Author of Smart Quit. Attorney by training. Former Chief Operating Officer. Founder of Smart Restart™ + Smart Start™ Methods.
ABOUT
MY STORY
Five years ago I had a six-figure salary. Two years later I had six figures of debt.
I quit wrong.
I'd spent eight years as Chief Operating Officer at a large nonprofit organization. Before that I was an attorney, graduated from Tulane Law, on Order of Barristers, all the boxes checked. I made it. I had the title, the paycheck, the team of 30 staff and 350 volunteers reporting up to me. I'd negotiated $225 million in contracts. I'd managed $55 million in construction projects. I'd done what success was supposed to look like.
And I was suffocating.
So I did what most people in my position do: I quit. Walked away from the comfort and predictability of a paycheck into the unknown world of entrepreneurship. I thought if I just had the courage to leave, the rest would work itself out.
It didn't.
"There were late nights, hard lessons, and moments where I wondered if I'd made the right decision. The leap is scary. The freedom on the other side is unmatched. But the gap in between is where most people break."
I burned through my savings. I burned through my partner's patience. I burned through every illusion I had about what it took to build something. By month 18, I was carrying six figures of debt and seriously asking myself if I'd made the worst decision of my life.
I hadn't. But I'd quit wrong.
I quit emotional. I quit without runway. I quit without a framework. I quit without auditing what I was actually walking out the door with the relationships I'd built, the skills I'd developed, the operational systems I knew cold. I left empty-handed even though my hands were full.
Three years later I'd built a coaching business from zero to nearly half a million dollars. Not because I got smarter. Because I got methodical. I built a framework: Prepare. Position. Pivot. Profit. and I started running it for myself. Then I started teaching it to other people in the same position.
That framework became Smart Quit. Eight18 Publishing released the book in 2026. The book became Smart Restart™ for HR teams running layoffs. And Smart Start™ for colleges and universities preparing students for a job market nobody trained them for.
Same framework. Three audiences. One playbook.
TIMELINE
The work, in order.
MBA, Florida A&M
2008
School of Business and Industry.
Presidential Scholar.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
COO + General Counsel
2013-2020
Eight years.
$55 in construction projects
$225M in negotiated contracts
Over 350 under leadership
The Quit
2023
Walked away.
Quit wrong.
Six figure salary to six figures debt.
Smart Quit Released
2026
Book launched February 1, 2026.
JD, Tulane Law
2012
Texas Bar
Order of Barristers
Black Law Students Association
COO + Fractional COO
2020 - 2023
Entrepreneurial early-stage
Scaling companies
Certified EOS
Implementer
2023
Small business coaching builds runway.
Framework starts taking shape.
Smart Start + Smart Restart
2026
Speaking.
Coaching.
Two methods.
One framework.
RECEIPTS
The work, documented.
EDUCATION
JD - Tulane University Law School
Order of Barristers
Black Law Students Association
MBA - Florida A&M University
Presidential Scholar
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
CAREER
Author - Smart Quit
Founder - Smart Restart™ + Smart Start™ Founder - Eight18 Solutions & Drealynn.co
Certified EOS Implementer®
Former COO — Multiple organizations
Senior BD Officer — First Liberty Institute
SPEAKING
Global Black Economic Forum @ Essence Fest
The Academy for Advancing Excellence
HR conferences (DFW + National)
Universities (HVCU + R1 + B-schools)
Corporate Keynotes
Available: in-person + virtual + hybrid
SPEAKING TOPICS
What I talk about.
01
Forced Quit. Smart Restart.
Reframe layoffs as inflection points. Two doors out of every layoff.
02
Build While You Work. Smart Start.
For colleges & university. Three audiences in one room. The playbook every graduate needs.
03
Your Job Pays in Four Currencies.
For everyday employees. The currencies your career is paying you that aren't in your paycheck.
04
Build While You Work. Smart Start.
For founders. Emotional, Forced, and Smart. Two of them control you and one of them you are in
Want to work together?
Whether you're an HR leader, a college administrator, an event producer or someone who just picked up the book - I'm in.