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What's Next? | The Art of Personal Branding

On this episode of What’s Next?, we hear how one Buffalonian took her passion for storytelling and animation and turned it into a Hollywood career. Mia Kai Simonne Moody joins Jay Moran to detail the lessons she learned and skills she honed to land a dream job working on one of television’s longest-running animated shows – “Family Guy”.

More from Mia Simone Moody

After the episode, we continued our conversation with Mia Kai Simonne Moody to find out what she's reading, listening
to, and more.

Books:

"Girls and Their Horses" by Eliza Jane Brazier

"Creating Blockbusters! How to Generate and Market Hit Entertainment for TV, Movies, Video Games, and Books" by Gene Del Vecchio

Podcasts:

"What's Next?"

What people aren't talking enough about:

"I think a lot of people are not talking about what they want to do in their lives. It's always easy to talk about things going on in the world, I would like to see people water their own gardens as well. In my own life, I've seen magic happen when I started focusing more on myself, where I want to go, what are the resources I have available, and what do I need to do to position myself to get where I'm trying to go. I hope one of the things that you start talking about is yourself. And elevators! Elevator pitches are real! I can't tell you how many times I've had a 25-second conversation that changed my life. And it starts with being able to pitch yourself in 25 seconds."

Final thoughts:

"Be a light in the world and remember that lighting someone else's candle does not take away from your light."

Latest Episodes
  • On today’s show, we reflect on the 10th anniversary of the Tribute Garden at Isle View Park, a space created to honor victims of intimate partner violence and to bring awareness to the issue across our community.
  • On this episode of What’s Next? We hear from Dr. Jennifer Roberts, a Buffalo native and University of Maryland professor, then team visits Providence Farm Collective for a tour of their site. And we close with Duncan Kirkwood, Director of the Center for Resiliency.
  • Today we sit down with filmmaker Stephen Rosenthal and actor Stephen McKinley Henderson to discuss their new documentary, It Is Up to Us. The film explores the impact of racism on society and why a deep understanding of history is essential for our future.
  • On today’s show we speak with Maria Ta, the new Executive Director of Ujima Theater, Della Moore and her work with the African American Center for Cultural Development, and we speak with Latino filmmaker Rocco Anastasio.
  • This Hispanic Heritage Month, What’s Next? spotlights leaders shaping the future of Buffalo. Today we sit down with Buffalo School Board candidate Talia Rodriguez. She shares her vision for educational equity, with a focus on multilingual learners and students with neurological differences.
  • On today’s What’s Next? we mark a major milestone with People Against Human Trafficking of Western New York. Executive Director Julie Palmer joins Jay Moran to reflect on ten years of fighting exploitation and to share details about their upcoming Gala on September 25. Then we kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with a visit to El Batey.
  • On this episode, we’re switching things up! Jay Moran sits down with Executive Producer Charles Gilbert to talk about what’s new on What’s Next?
  • On today’s show, we return from our summertime hiatus with a breakdown on the One Big Beautiful Bill. A sweeping new law that supporters call historic prosperity, but critics say will deepen hardship for working families.
  • On today’s episode, we focus on the mental health stigma surrounding Black men. We welcome back Cheney Brockington, licensed master social worker and an Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition board member, and Deja Middlebrook, co-owner of Walking Through Solutions LLC.
  • Southern Fried is one of the largest spoken word and performance poetry competitions in the world. Founded in 1993, it’s rooted in storytelling, soul, and Southern hospitality.