374: Using Your Voice to Create Change in Yourself and Your Industry with Karen Williams

374: Using Your Voice to Create Change in Yourself and Your Industry with Karen Williams

Join us for a powerful conversation with Karen Williams, also known as the Black Visual Queen.

Karen, a skilled photo director, sat down with our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz, to talk about her journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship, her advocacy for more diversity in the photography industry, and her experience in crafting her impactful keynote talk during a one-on-one VIP Day. Spoiler alert, her talk went great!

In this episode, Karen and Diane talk about:

  • Why and how Karen made the shift from corporate professional to entrepreneur
  • The events that shaped Karen’s perspectives on her work and herself and the actions she took as a result
  • The challenges she faced as a black woman in the photo industry and her path to empowering herself and others
  • Making the decision to use her voice to champion her own work and bring more diversity to her industry
  • Why she decided to work with Diane on her keynote talk and the outcome of her speaking engagement

About Our Guest: Karen Williams is a dedicated mentor to aspiring photographers, advocating for equitable access to information within the industry. With more than 10 years of experience in photography, Karen is a visual creative director, keynote speaker, and founder of Black Visual Queen, a photography consulting firm. An industry insider, she’s had a hand in visual stories for iconic brands like Netflix, Masterclass, Square, Wired, AARP, and San Francisco. In her free time, she loves marathon training and all things pop culture. Karen lives in Los Angeles, California.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/374/

Karen’s website: https://www.blackvisualqueen.com/

Register for our Business of Speaking workshop live on Zoom on February 22: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/business-of-speaking-workshop/

Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/

Get your own VIP Day to create your signature talk by enrolling in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Connect on LinkedIn:


Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.


A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.


As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable

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365: Year In Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next

365: Year In Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next

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364: Your Stories and Experiences Shape Your Thought Leadership and Signature Talk with Samantha Irwin

364: Your Stories and Experiences Shape Your Thought Leadership and Signature Talk with Samantha Irwin

If you think your stories and experiences from long ago aren’t relevant to what you do now, what you speak about, and your overall thought leadership message, this conversation will show how much our ...

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363: Publishing a Best-Selling Book from Your Signature Talk and Thought Leadership with Cara Houser

363: Publishing a Best-Selling Book from Your Signature Talk and Thought Leadership with Cara Houser

Speaking and books go hand in hand. Many authors are public speakers and many speakers have written books. What does it look like to take your thought leadership message and turn it into both a signat...

18 Joulu 202334min

362: [Case Study] Attract More Clients with Your Lead Generation Signature Talk with Danielle Hayden

362: [Case Study] Attract More Clients with Your Lead Generation Signature Talk with Danielle Hayden

Many speakers use public speaking as a way to build awareness for their business and attract leads and clients. Speaking is an excellent way to do this because you automatically have credibility and a...

11 Joulu 202341min

An Insider's Guide on How to Get Selected for a TEDx Talk

An Insider's Guide on How to Get Selected for a TEDx Talk

Do you have giving a TEDx talk on your list of goals?Many speakers do - and for good reason!Those 10-minute talks are a powerful way to share a message and give the audience a way to think about a top...

4 Joulu 202320min

360: Achieve Bigger Things by Having Thought Partners in the Same Industry with Tenice Wehmeyer and Cherie Mylordis

360: Achieve Bigger Things by Having Thought Partners in the Same Industry with Tenice Wehmeyer and Cherie Mylordis

There are always going to be other people who do what you do and talk on the same topic. Have you ever collaborated with someone who’s in your same industry, who does similar work? It may seem counter...

27 Marras 202330min

359: Getting More Women into A.I., Reducing Bias, and How to Use A.I. Responsibly with Juliette Powell

359: Getting More Women into A.I., Reducing Bias, and How to Use A.I. Responsibly with Juliette Powell

Whatever your opinion is about AI, it’s being integrated into everything we do, from what we see on social media to how facial recognition systems work to how decisions are made about you by companies...

22 Marras 202346min

358: Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) as Your Strategic Partner and Coach with Alysia Silberg

358: Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) as Your Strategic Partner and Coach with Alysia Silberg

If you’ve listened to the recent episodes we’ve done on thought leadership, you know that I’ve been working this year on positioning myself as a thought leader in the AI space. I want to make sure the...

20 Marras 202346min

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