We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Angela Rivers-Harper Ph.D. and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Angela, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
Yes—I would hire me. But not because I have all the answers. I would hire me because I know how to build them with people.
My background in workforce development and community engagement has taught me that progress doesn’t start with programs—it starts with trust. I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of systems and people, translating policy into practice and listening closely to communities who are often discussed, but not always heard. If I were reviewing my own candidacy, that would matter to me.
I bring a deep respect for lived experience. In workforce development, success isn’t measured only by placements or credentials; it’s measured by dignity, access, and sustainability. I understand that barriers to employment are rarely just about skills—they’re about transportation, childcare, housing, confidence, and historical exclusion. I don’t approach communities as problems to be solved, but as partners with insight, resilience, and solutions of their own.
I would also hire me for my ability to connect dots. I’m comfortable sitting with job seekers, employers, educators, and policymakers—and helping each understand the others’ realities. I translate across sectors, align incentives, and ask the questions that move conversations from intention to action. That connective work is often invisible, but it’s essential for systems change.
That said, I’m not the kind of professional who believes any one person can “fix” workforce challenges alone. If I’m honest, I’d note that my work depends on collaboration. Community engagement is slow by design. It requires patience, humility, and a willingness to be changed by what you hear. I don’t rush past that discomfort—and that can be challenging in environments driven by short timelines and quick metrics.
But that’s also why I’d ultimately say yes.
I would hire me because I show up consistently, listen deeply, and stay accountable to the people most affected by the work. I measure success not just by outputs, but by whether opportunities expand for those who have historically been left out. And I believe the strongest workforce strategies are the ones built with communities, not for them.
In a field that demands both empathy and execution, I bring both—and I’m still learning. That’s exactly the kind of hire I’d want.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Angela N. Rivers-Harper, PhD is a Cincinnati-based workforce development leader, public policy scholar, and community advocate whose work centers on equity, economic mobility, and empowerment. A native of Cincinnati, she currently serves as Manager of Workforce Development at Goodwill Industries, where she leads initiatives that support individuals impacted by poverty, justice involvement, and systemic economic barriers—helping them move toward self-sufficiency, financial stability, and hope.
Dr. Rivers-Harper brings a rare blend of academic rigor and real-world impact. She holds two PhDs—one in Organizational Leadership and a second in Public Policy—along with advanced degrees in business, human resources, interdisciplinary studies, and executive leadership. In addition to her academic credentials, she is a certified business consultant, life coach specializing in individual and family wellness, and a notary for the state of Ohio and a certified Life Coach. Through her consulting work, she supports entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders in launching and sustaining mission-driven ventures.
Beyond workforce development, Dr. Rivers-Harper is a dynamic entrepreneur and creative visionary. She is the founder and CEO of multiple brands, including Ohio Kurvy Fashion Weekend, Keep It Kurvy Boutique, Kute Kosmetics by Angela-Nicholle, H.E.R. Hustle (teaching business owners how to start their for profit and nonprofit small businesses), Kute Frames, and Keep It Klassy Handbags, all designed to celebrate confidence, inclusivity, and self-expression. She is also the founder of the “I Love Me” Women’s Empowerment Conference, a platform dedicated to personal growth, leadership, and self-worth.
Her commitment to service has earned her more than 20 honors, including multiple community service awards and a proclamation from the City of Cincinnati declaring May 5th as Angela Rivers Day. She serves on several boards, including the Minority Business Association of Cincinnati, Trustee for the NAACP Cincinnati Chapter’s Prison Support Committee, and Healthy Moms and Babes, and remains deeply engaged in civic and community leadership.
Dr. Rivers is also a proud member of Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Inc and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She is also a National Pageant Director for Royal Productions Pageants and Events by NM.
At the heart of Dr. Rivers-Harper’s work is a belief that sustainable change happens when systems listen to people—and when opportunity is built with communities, not just for them. Whether leading workforce initiatives, mentoring entrepreneurs, or creating platforms for empowerment, she continues to bridge policy, practice, and purpose.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Before I could name myself, before I trusted the quiet instinct that said this is who I am, I was already being seen—clearly, steadily, without hesitation—by my husband and my daughter.
My husband saw me in the margins: in the way I carried rooms, in the resolve behind my softness, in the person I was becoming long before I caught up to her. He didn’t try to shape me; he reflected me back, unedited. When I doubted my instincts or minimized my strength, he held the evidence—moments, choices, patterns—and returned them to me like facts, not flattery.
My daughter saw me differently, and maybe more bravely. Children don’t look for polish; they look for truth. Through her eyes, I was capable by default. I was safe. I was enough. She mirrored my values before I articulated them, absorbed my courage before I recognized it as such. In loving her, I glimpsed myself—whole, flawed, powerful—because she assumed I already was.
Between them, I learned this: sometimes self-knowledge isn’t discovered alone. Sometimes it’s borrowed, gently, from those who love us before we’re ready to love ourselves the same way.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain the moment I realized it was never meant to shame me—it was meant to shape me. For years, my pain lived in my body, in how the world saw me as a plus-size woman before it ever saw my talent, my vision, or my worth. But instead of shrinking myself, I chose to stand taller. I created the space I once searched for. Ohio Kurvy Fashion Weekend was born from that decision—a safe, intentional platform where plus-size models and designers could be celebrated, respected, and seen in their full brilliance. I always knew that my weight never defined my class, my dignity, or my purpose. I carried myself as the woman I already was, not the one society said I needed to become. Later, I chose to make changes for my health and lost 142 pounds—but that journey never erased who I was before. I embraced every curve God gave me, then and now. My pain became my power when I realized I didn’t need to apologize for my body or my evolution. I am proof that confidence is not a size, transformation is not betrayal, and purpose can be born directly from the very thing meant to break you.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
One cultural value I protect at all costs is respect—for elders, for self-control, and for faith. Respecting your elders is more than good manners; it’s an acknowledgment that wisdom is earned through experience. Elders carry stories, lessons, and sacrifices that shaped the world we live in, and honoring them keeps those lessons alive. Equally important is learning not to let anger control you. Anger, when unchecked, can destroy relationships and cloud judgment, but discipline teaches patience, humility, and strength. Finally, knowing how to give everything to God is the foundation that holds these values together. Faith offers guidance when emotions run high and reminds us that we are not meant to carry every burden alone. Together, these principles shape character, anchor identity, and provide a moral compass in a world that often rewards impulsiveness over wisdom.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew—without appeal or ambiguity—that I had ten years left, the very first thing I would stop doing is living as if time were refundable.
I would stop negotiating with fear. Fear loves delay; it thrives on “later,” on the illusion that courage can be postponed without consequence. I would no longer let it audition for decisions or masquerade as prudence. Fear does not deserve a seat at the table when the clock is honest.
I would stop treating faith as a fallback instead of a foundation. Faith is not meant to be consulted only in crisis; it is meant to be inhabited. With ten years left, I would anchor fully—daily, decisively—trusting that obedience matters more than certainty, and that clarity often arrives after movement, not before it.
I would stop procrastinating on the life that keeps tapping me on the shoulder. The conversations delayed. The work unfinished. The risks overthought into irrelevance. Procrastination is not laziness; it is misplaced hope that tomorrow will be more convenient than today. It never is.
And then—quietly, firmly—I would adopt a simpler rule: just do it. Not recklessly. Not performatively. But faithfully. Action over rumination. Presence over perfection. Forward over frozen.
Ten years is not short. But it is exact. And once time becomes precise, excuses lose their power. What remains is the courage to begin—now, not later—while the door is still open.
Contact Info:
- Website: msohioplus@gmail.com
- Instagram: drokfwbosslady or okfw_theshow
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-angela-rivers-harper-ph-d-1a96776b/
- Twitter: msohioplus@gmail.com
- Facebook: drangienickie rivers harper
- Yelp: msohioplus@gmail.com
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Image Credits
Blue suit Purple Star Photography
Blue dress TimesEye Photography
