Cordney “MAC Woods” McClain, the Partnerships Strategist and Inclusion Expert at the STAAR Foundation of Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City, is a force to be reckoned with. Armed with an unwavering commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and empowerment, McClain has carved a remarkable path that merges artistry, mentorship, and community outreach, all while maintaining an infectious “say YES” mentality.
What do you define as success?
Cordney: I define success by the executed efforts building a prominent legacy. The components of such legacy are efforts dedicated to the betterment of other’s lives, the securing of my family’s futures and freedoms, and my dedication of consistency to initiatives that align with my own self-love and self-respect.
What was the inspiration behind your brand?
Cordney: The inspiration for my brand, MAC Woods Ink, originates from coming from a single-parent household, a gang-infested neighborhood, and standards of “manhood” defined by other boys who also lacked father figures. The “MAC” is an acronym that stands for “Man Articulating Change” and also a family nickname for “McClain”. The “Woods” is an ode to a prominent fraternity member of Kappa Alpha Psi Incorporated, Lawrence “Piney Woods” Jones, who possesses a legacy of education and passion through the art of oration. I combined all of these elements to personify a brand that focuses on education, professional development, goal execution, and community awareness within my desire to be the type of leader and mentor that I rarely saw as a child.
When creating your brand, who did you want to be able to benefit from it? Why?
Cordney: With over 15 years of community outreach experience and 8 years of direct diversity, inclusion, and equity consulting experience, my target audience is a culmination of marginalized groups of students and transitioning professionals. Community entities, prisons and juvenile bureaus, universities and colleges, non-profit organizations, and any corporate companies that partner in such efforts would also be my target audience.
My mission is to give all the gifts that God has given me back to the world so that when I go home to my father, I have left this place a little better off than the way that I found it. This mindset for me is based on relationships over transactions to create accessibility, funding, and educational innovation to improve the opportunities of the marginalized. I have done this by working with police departments, juvenile centers, K-12 entities, colleges, universities, and non-profits providing my expertise from performance arts, curriculum building, grant writing, company partnerships, and mentorship.
Where would you like to see your company in 3 years?
Cordney: Three years from now, I would like to be the owner and operator of an independent incubator organization that will have cultivated hundreds of Oklahoma relationships and consulted thousands in America in the work of feeder programs among the juvenile system, the assessment and creation of metrics mitigating pipeline to prison statistics, youth offenders readiness to enter industry careers programming, and the creation of inclusive pipelines/ pathways for marginalized groups of transitioning students and professionals.
I would like to do all of this while appearing in major films, booking a primetime television show, and becoming a Grammy-winning spoken word artist.
Knowing that a work-life balance is important, how do you maintain that balance?
Cordney: I maintain that “life-work balance” by applying a strength of mine for project management. I have over 20 years of community outreach, team leadership, and project management experience combined with 6 years of direct experience in diversity and inclusion programs. These experiences range from leading corporate teams within the annals of Government contracting, leading military operations in the Army, operating youth programs, and chasing my acting and performance dreams all while being an extremely supportive husband and active father. I organize my life like a corporate project for a Fortune 500. I apply dates, specific routes of completion, and rank of importance and the primary effort in which all falls below is “family”. I then plan accordingly.
What would you like readers to gain from this interview?
Cordney: Advocacy-wise, I would encourage any reader with a focus on helping marginalized groups of professionals develop a strong business acumen, understand elements of inclusion and equity, and/ or cultivate an inclusive organization to contact me to collaborate in creating a strategic plan to accomplish those goals be it virtual or in-person opportunities.
Artistically, I urge readers to listen to my new album, “Pressure Cookers”. A concept album that focuses on men metaphorically being like the pressure cooker, a sealed cooking vessel that uses high pressure to increase the boiling point of liquids. This machine cooks food faster, but it’s way more dangerous and has numerous causes for explosions such as the types of food put in it and inadequate venting –releasing pressure in unsafe ways. I encourage all who read this to listen to the album sequentially, think in-depth about their own self-care or lack thereof, and then adopt a routine of therapy…because we all need to check our heat gauge.
How can people remain connected with you?
Cordney: I am available for correspondence, bookings, and for your viewing pleasure at all of the platforms listed below:
https://www.flowcode.com/page/c_mcclain
Cordney McClain Mba | Facebook
Cordney “MAC Woods” McClain (@mac_since1985) • Instagram photos and videos
Cordney McClain, MBA (he,him,his) | LinkedIn
Add Comment