A Safe Space for Black Girls: Career Advice Columnist, Merete Fields, had the pleasure of interviewing two mega powerhouses Courtney Rhodes and Dina Marto of C&D | The Agency. They share their experiences as women in leadership positions in mostly male environments, motivations to start their own all women-led management firm, and how to surround yourself with positive-minded women.
Courtney is a branding and marketing expert with over 20 years of experience. She is also the author of Make You Mark; Personal Branding Through-On Purpose Living, which explores how to use your story, strengths, and authenticity as the foundation for career and personal fulfillment. Dina is a seasoned entrepreneur, who has shattered gender and ethnic glass ceilings during her nearly 20 years as a music executive and small business owner.
Together they have created an agency who’s sole mission is to empower, mentor, and lead businesswomen to collaborate together and increase opportunity for minority women. They are dedicated and committed to building brands and campaigns that are rooted in meaningful initiatives especially within the African-American and Multicultural communities.
Check out Courtney and Dina’s interview below. If you want additional career advice, make sure you write to Merete at her Career Advice Column here!
ABOUT C&D | THE AGENCY
Founded in 2020, C&D | The Agency is an all women-led management agency that provides Marketing, Branding, Public & Media Relations services along with Project, Talent and Operations Management specializing in Business and Entertainment. Our mission is to empower, mentor and lead businesswomen to collaborate together and increase opportunity for minority women. We are dedicated to building brands and campaigns that are rooted in meaningful initiatives especially within the African-American and Multicultural communities.
ABOUT COURTNEY R. RHODES
Courtney R. Rhodes is a branding and marketing expert, the founder of Digital CEO School and co-founder of C&D | The Agency based out of Atlanta, Ga. Equipped with an M.A. degree in Communications Design from the University of Baltimore, for 20+ years, she has worked with multi-million-dollar businesses in getting their marketing messages seen, heard, and experienced across television, radio, magazines, e-commerce, digital and social media platforms. After a rewarding career with Clear Channel Radio (now iHeart Media) as an Account Executive and General Sales Manager for radio stations and their digital counterparts, and CBS Television as an Account Manager for television, magazines, and digital media, she embraced entrepreneurship. As of today, she’s placed over 100 million dollars in advertising dollars across television, radio, digital, social and outdoor media. As the founder of Digital CEO School, through her Brandista platform, Courtney provides content, coaching, and online courses to help women build and monetize their personal brands by marketing and selling their expertise online. She’s the author of Make Your Mark; Personal Branding through – On Purpose Living, which explores how to use your story, strengths, and authenticity as the foundation for career and personal fulfillment. Courtney has appeared on/in Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, CBS, NBC, Jezebel, the Atlantan, MadameNoire and others. She serves on the Board of Trustees at Bethune-Cookman University and has served as a brand influencer for the likes of Coca-Cola, Diageo, and The Fashion Institute of Technology.
ABOUT DINA MARTO
Dina Marto is a seasoned entrepreneur, having shattered gender and ethnic glass ceilings during her nearly 20 years as a music executive and small business owner. She is co-founder of C&D | The Agency, an all women-led management agency formed in partnership with marketing professional Courtney Rhodes. Prior to C&D, she founded Atlanta staple Twelve Music & Studios in 2012 and curated one of the South’s most sought-after creative environments to develop talent and produce Billboard-shattering hits. Previously, she served on the A&R team for music mogul Antonio “L.A.” Reid at Island Def Jam, acting as A&R coordinator for albums by Young Jeezy, Nas, Rick Ross, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J and more throughout a six year period. Currently, she manages a hand-selected group of talent, as well as consults emerging and established artists. Dina is on the management team for superstar Tip “T.I.” Harris and helped launch his popular podcast “expediTIously” which became #1 on Apple Podcasts. In 2015, Dina received a Proclamation from the City of Atlanta for her contributions to the music industry. Dina is a proud Palestinian who was born in Amman, Jordan and grew up in Marietta, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Oglethorpe University.
Social:
IG/TW: @CandDtheAgency
