EPS8 Stay Focused & Take it One Step at a Time with Dr Chinwe Akuonu

Dr Chinwe Akuonu graduated from King’s College London with multiple awards to her name, such as London’s Best Young Dentist finalist 2022. She is currently a key opinion leader for Colgate. She dedicates time to mentoring aspiring dentists, creating education videos to promote oral health, volunteering, and advocating for inclusivity within the dental profession. Dr Cinwe joins Dr Omo on Power in Diversity to share her story and hopefully inspire you to aim for the best. KEY TAKEAWAYS Resilience is important to build as a young person. Chinwe always knew she could do whatever she wanted because of her desire and drive. Even with the traumas and challenges she faced when her family moved from Nigeria to Italy and the racism they endured, Chinwe had the personality to let it build her character, rather than break it. Growing up in an area of Italy which didn’t have a black community and without many friends at school, Chinwe had to rely on her family for support. It’s lucky she has a twin sister and another sister only a year different in age from her. Chinwe has the ability to do things by herself, even at a young age she flew to London on her own for her interview at King’s College and impressed them so much they broke protocol and pretty much told her she’d got in. Chinwe’s goal is to create a practice where anyone can walk in and feel like they’re safe and they belong there regardless of race or age or anything that people have made them feel other for. BEST MOMENTS ‘These experiences build you and your resilience.’ ‘I’m not going to give up even if they laugh at me..’ ‘It’s hard when you see injustice and others turn away.’ ‘Validation does not need to come from anywhere external.’ EPISODE RESOURCES Dr Chinwe Akuonu on LinkedIn Dr Chinwe Akuonu (@dr.chinwe.55) • Instagram photos and videos ABOUT THE GUEST Dr Chinwe Akuonu graduated from King’s College London with multiple awards to her name, such as London’s Best Young Dentist finalist 2022. She is currently a key opinion leader for Colgate. Her dental career started 10 years ago, as a dental hygienist in Italy. Chinwe is very passionate about her job. She has a keen interest in restorative and endodontic treatments. She dedicates time to mentoring aspiring dentists, creating education videos to promote oral health, volunteering, and advocating for inclusivity within the dental profession. She has written several articles on the topic of equality and diversity and has been invited to be a speaker at multiple events, in and outside dentistry. PODCAST DESCRIPTION Power in Diversity Podcast is a space where professional women from diverse backgrounds, eager to grow as leaders, come to be inspired and gain wisdom from other leaders. As my guests share their journey, I hope that it will give you; an aspiring or established female leader; meaning to your journey, illuminating your path and equipping you with a greater understanding of how to carve and navigate your success pathway with greater ease. Power in Diversity Podcast is also designed to equip not only individuals but, crucially, organisations who must learn to create diverse and inclusive organisations practically and not merely as a tick box exercise; especially now in this ever-changing world, everyone’s diverse insight is vital to solving world issues. I hope that this podcast allows organisations to appreciate the real barriers female and ethnic minority groups face in stepping into leadership, barriers sadly I and many others have faced, and many continue to face. I’m proud to be British and proud of my African Heritage, my tribe, part of the Benin Empire. I feel blessed to be a woman. This is a non-judgmental space, but a space to learn and to become aware of the gifts and Power in Diversity. ABOUT THE HOST Dr Omo Akoje Okonkwo is a practising Cosmetic Dental Surgeon working in Private Clinics in Surrey. Her passion for empowering her patients and team led her to Transformational coaching to bring about significant change in others. Her many skill sets and ability to motivate people quickly opened leadership roles for her, including Director of Health care Projects and Clinical Lead and Senior Tutor at the prestigious King College Dental Hospital. Along her journey, she faced numerous setbacks despite her passion, academic background and experience. Notwithstanding, her passion for excellence and growth led her to embark on an MBA at the Renowned Warwick Business School. Her desire to empower women steered her to conduct qualitative research exploring Gender, Leadership, and Identity. Her findings revealed what she had always sensed, the leadership labyrinth for female and ethnic minority leaders that exists. It is now Dr Omo’s mission to educate and equip individuals, organisations, and countries on the necessity, mindset, and steps to create inclusion at all levels of society. CONTACT METHOD IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.omo_uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-omo-okonkwo-65b8a542/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omo.okonkwo