091: It's One Thing to Help People but Another Thing to Empower Them

Mavis Gragg graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and Pepperdine School of Law and also has her own law practice, Gragg Law Firm. At her firm, she helps individuals and families maintain and grow their wealth. Her expertise is in estate planning, estate administration, and heirs property. Mavis shares what a lot of prominent black families have to go through when it comes to heirs property, things programs and universities can do to attract more diversity, and her personal experiences as a woman of color that works one-on-one with foresters.

Key Takeaways:
[:55] A message from Leadership Nature.
[1:35] A quick intro about Mavis’s background.
[3:50] How did Mavis get into forestry?
[6:35] Mavis explains what ‘Heirs Property’ truly means.
[7:55] What types of clients does Mavis typically work with?
[9:30] How does land loss and loss of ownership rights happen?
[12:20] Mavis shares an example of how land loss can impact African American families.
[16:15] When did land loss really start to become addressed as a problem?
[21:10] How does Mavis find her clients and educate the general public about the work that she does?
[23:15] What’s the most fun/rewarding aspects about this job?
[26:15] What career advice would Mavis give about natural resources?
[30:45] Over the years, what has Mavis learned about leadership?
[34:15] Life does gets busy, but do not neglect yourself. Mavis emphasizes why it’s important to practice self-care.
[34:55] What kind of mentors has Mavis had over the years?
[39:45] Mavis shares some of her personal experiences of being in the workforce as a woman of color.
[41:30] People of color have a strong distrust towards the legal profession, even if the professional is someone of color.
[45:25] Mavis shares what’s it like working with foresters and other professionals in this field.
[48:25] What can the profession as a whole do to better attract people of color into the industry?
[56:50] Find out who the leaders of your community are and connect with them.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Manrrs.org
Gragglawfirm.com
How Not to Save the World by Jessica Yinka Thomas