Ask Ashley

Nakita Duffus wants everyone who touches a product or walks into a room to leave feeling capable. Growing up in a Jamaican household in New York as the older sibling to her brother David, who had down syndrome, she learned to advocate early, and she carries that into her work today. Nakita is a Support Specialist at CallRail, a UX practitioner, and lead of the divergent minds ERG. She talks with Ashley Russo about neurodiversity at work, building community across employee resource groups, using AI to automate small tasks while keeping humans for the vision, and the advice she would give her younger self.


Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Ask Ashley

00:43 Meet Nakita Duffus

01:08 Growing up as an advocate for her brother David

03:36 A problem solving mindset from an early age

04:35 How advocacy shaped her move into tech

05:56 The customer call that stayed with her

06:56 Leading the divergent minds ERG at CallRail

08:58 Serving employees at the intersections

10:22 Intentionality over budget in ERG events

11:15 The Mental Health Awareness Month panel

12:32 Building trust and preventing knowledge silos

14:52 Helping people show up as their authentic selves

17:00 AI, human capital, and using AI for the boring stuff

19:15 Moving fast and informed at the same time

20:24 The influence of her brother and her mom

21:48 Self-care, mental health, and making a sandwich

23:49 Blending personal passions with professional life

25:16 What she would tell her younger self

26:17 Closing thoughts


You can follow Nakita Duffus here:

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/nakita-duffus-446244197


Learn more about CallRail:

Website - https://callrail.com

What is Ask Ashley?

In Ask Ashley, Founder, Thoughtleader and award-winning media personality Ashley Russo sits down with leaders who bring purpose and humanity to business.

Each episode explores how people navigate uncertainty, lead with empathy, and create meaningful change in their organizations and lives. Listeners gain practical insights on resilience, leadership, and financially confident decision-making amid disruption.

This podcast is brought to you by Ask Ashley. If you’re interested in building a confident, purpose-driven wealth plan, reach out to Ashley at ashley.russo@nm.com.

00:00:01:19 - 00:00:30:00
Ashley
Welcome to Ask Ashley, the podcast, where we shine a light on the unsung heroes of the workplace. I'm your host, Ashley Russo, financial AI board member, thought leader and wealth management advisor. Each week we sit down with inspiring leaders, exploring their journeys, motivations, and the real challenges they face, from job insecurity to the evolving role of AI in a world where many feel overlooked.

00:00:30:01 - 00:00:43:05
Ashley
These guests are building hope and connection for their colleagues. Join us as we uncover their stories and discover how they're making a difference, one conversation at a time.

00:00:43:07 - 00:00:56:17
Ashley
Hello, everybody. Ashley Russo here. Back with an episode that I'm really excited about because our guest is simply fabulous. Please, I'm going to let you do the introductions. Go right ahead. Everybody.

00:00:56:17 - 00:01:08:03
Nakita
My name is Nakita Duffus. I'm a support engineer at CallRail, a UX practitioner, and I also had our erg, our divergent minds erg here at CallRail.

00:01:08:04 - 00:01:27:17
Ashley
Thank you. Thank you for being here. I'm excited for our conversation. I know in our our original call you had quite the journey. So growing up in a Jamaican household in New York to becoming a leader in tech and DNI, I want to know about that journey. What are some of the pivotal moments along the way?

00:01:27:20 - 00:01:56:05
Nakita
Yeah, so my family emigrated to America in 98, around the year I was born. My older brother, David had down syndrome, and at the time, there were not a lot of health and advocacy programs for children with down syndrome. There were a lot of like, superstition around children with down syndrome. And so my mom heard about the different programs up here.

00:01:56:07 - 00:02:19:11
Nakita
And New York seemed to be the most natural place to land. We had family members and family friends that lived in New York, and at the time, they had such a great program and still do for children with down syndrome, and growing up with an older brother who had down syndrome. I ended up naturally falling into the eldest sibling category.

00:02:19:13 - 00:02:47:19
Nakita
So a lot of my life was just walking alongside my brother and making sure that his experience was just as normal as mine. He was extraordinary, but he wasn't. I didn't want him to feel othered, and he always just had this sweet disposition about him. And I made it my mission to protect him. And so I kind of I naturally grew up into like, the anti-bullying because sometimes, you know, kids don't really understand that.

00:02:47:21 - 00:03:12:21
Nakita
And so I was a strong advocate and a strong defender of my brother. And so even in his passing, like just the way that he went about life and the way that he thought about life and the way that he cared about people, there was nothing that stood out about anybody that made that scared him. He saw other people with disabilities and he embraced them.

00:03:12:23 - 00:03:35:23
Nakita
He had a he had an unusual understanding about life and how fragile it could be in the way that he handled people. And so he just had this like natural empathy towards people. He was always kind, and it was something that I looked up to even as his older and not so older sister. It was something that he and printed on me, and it's the way I lived my life.

00:03:36:00 - 00:03:57:10
Nakita
You know, I heard this online and somebody said it and I was like, I'm gonna make that my motto. My ducks are not always in a row. And so I'm not judging anybody else that doesn't have their ducks in a row. And if I can, how can I help people get their ducks in a row? So I naturally grew up with this problem solving mindset.

00:03:57:11 - 00:04:21:02
Nakita
Like, why is this like this? And of course, it got me in trouble as a kid because I was always asking why stuff was the way that it was, and that led me into like problem solving roles. I remember, like starting out in the Walmart bakery as a teenager, and I saw some of the processes that they were doing, and I was like, this doesn't make sense.

00:04:21:06 - 00:04:35:08
Nakita
And it's there's there's a better way to do this. And, you know, I, I ended up being a disruptor in some things, but it was for the good of everybody. I promise I'm not a troublemaker on purpose.

00:04:35:12 - 00:04:58:00
Ashley
Knowing your career. I think it's probably served you in so many ways. I want to go there, but I wanted to go back to something you said because obviously you took on the role of advocate early on especially. Right? Obviously, to bring your brother and your family. How did that experience shape the way you approach your professional journey?

00:04:58:06 - 00:05:00:12
Ashley
I imagine it's had an impact.

00:05:00:14 - 00:05:30:12
Nakita
Yeah. So this has pushed me. Well, I started in tech one because I was just like, I want to be in a career where I can for people and help people. Being a doctor was not it? I do not like the side of blood like that. Psychology was going to take me a smooth 15 years, and then I learned about tech and building things and some of the softwares that were actually helping people.

00:05:30:12 - 00:05:56:17
Nakita
And then I learned about designing those experiences. And so I started out as a support engineer. That's kind of what I'm doing now and trying to advocate for the customer on the front line, while also synthesizing that feedback and bringing it back to our product team and our UX engineers, UX designers, for them to either, you know, validate the work that they're doing or kind of be like, wait, I didn't realize our customers were dealing with this.

00:05:56:19 - 00:06:12:00
Nakita
And so I naturally gravitate towards opportunities that allow me to build things for people and advocate for people who are normally missed when it comes to product design or even system design.

00:06:12:01 - 00:06:26:00
Ashley
That that makes sense. And I'm what I'm pondering right now. What I'm curious about within your professional career. Were there any specific decisions or experiences that then defined your career?

00:06:26:02 - 00:06:52:05
Nakita
I think when I first got into my support role, there were a couple of things that I noticed that they were just multiple workarounds for the same thing, right? And so, I was just like, this should be built into the experience for the customer. And I remember dealing with and I don't know why that made me so emotional that day.

00:06:52:05 - 00:07:14:09
Nakita
I remember dealing with an older lady and, she was so confused and I can hear, like, her voice shaking on the phone. She was trying to use our software for her small business, for her family's small business. She was trying to look at this information also. I'm just like, oh, my granny on top of marketing, who did that to her?

00:07:14:11 - 00:07:46:22
Nakita
Like, who did that? You know what sense? And so I that brought me back to that feeling of like wanting to advocate so fiercely for someone who felt like they weren't capable. And so I think in anything that I touch, I always think about how can someone leave this experience feeling capable? How can they leave feeling seen, and how can they feel, leave feeling capable that they can do this, that if they put their hands to it, they can eventually get it.

00:07:47:00 - 00:07:58:10
Nakita
And so that's kind of driven me into practicing UX research. And that's also driven me into figuring out ways that we can make our systems better for our support team here at Caldwell.

00:07:58:11 - 00:08:06:04
Ashley
Does that play into I'm curious. Making things better. Is that play into being an urge leader?

00:08:06:06 - 00:08:36:00
Nakita
Yeah, it does for sure. I think the great thing about CallRail is that we've stood ten toes down on Di, because we understand the importance of having programs like this for our employees, because we have a diverse customer base. Right. And so if we have a company full of people who all look the same, who all talk the same, who all have the same experiences, they can't advocate for our customers.

00:08:36:00 - 00:08:58:22
Nakita
And so CallRail has figured out. And a lot of, you know, these companies that are doing so well, they figured out that di within their workforce, actually brings in more money. And I know I'm talking about this from a capitalistic standpoint, but I mean, it's true, right? So like whatever is represented in your workforce is also going to be represented in your product.

00:08:58:22 - 00:09:24:08
Nakita
And so and CallRails always been a company that's really embraced people. They've really invested in their human capital. And so showing up as an ear g leader for me. I'm always looking at ways that we can we can benefit our neurodivergent employees and even people that intersect. You know, I love working with the other eras because, you know, I'm I'm neurodivergent, but I'm also a woman.

00:09:24:08 - 00:09:58:17
Nakita
And so, you know, I'm participating in women's circles events. I'm near divergent, but I'm also a woman, but I'm also a black woman. And so, you know, how can we search for opportunity to serve our black neurodivergent employees? And recently in the last quarter, we were able to have, a group effort where we brought in a therapist and a social worker, and she came in and she gave us, like, such great tools for showing up in the workplace, advocating for ourselves, avoiding burnout out, and what that looks like for black neurodivergent employees at Caldwell.

00:09:58:21 - 00:10:22:05
Ashley
And my question is going to be, although I think you answered it, how do you approach building programs that actually impact employees wellbeing and sense of belonging? But it sounds like you're really trying to partner, bring in, you know, speakers and things that actually give back in a real way, in a tangible way. Is that fair to say?

00:10:22:07 - 00:10:47:09
Nakita
Yes, yes. And this year we've built a really strong, I think, all of our ERGs. We've built some really strong legs for from the last couple of years. So this year we're really focusing on maintaining that momentum. And so that looks like strength in numbers. So we've done so many partnerships this year for events between the ERGs and that's also built community.

00:10:47:11 - 00:11:15:08
Nakita
We've learned this year and especially with divergent minds, that you don't have to spend a lot of money to support your employees from the standpoint, as long as there's intentionality and your employees can feel that and they can leave with something from the event, that's what matters. And so this year, we're really focusing on showing up for our employees so that they can show up for themselves and therefore show up for the business.

00:11:15:11 - 00:11:27:23
Ashley
I love that. What are some I'm curious, what are some specific initiatives that you found most effective in empowering all groups, but potentially those that are most underrepresented in your organization?

00:11:28:00 - 00:12:00:09
Nakita
We recently had a panel put together by our co-chair. He did an amazing job putting that panel together, and we had it was for Mental Health Awareness Month, and we had multiple panelists from different walks of life. So we had somebody representing our Women's circle, our AAPI group or black employee group, our Latino group, our LGBTQ community, because mental health intersects across all of these groups.

00:12:00:15 - 00:12:32:15
Nakita
And so it shows up differently in different communities. And so the work that we've done to build community and to bring people together from all different walks of life allowed us to have confidence that an event like this was going to have a good turnout and was actually going to benefit people, because we knew the people that were sitting out there, you know, we built community, we built relationships with these people, you know, through work, those candid conversations that come up, that led up to people listening to this panel and actually connecting with the panelists.

00:12:32:16 - 00:12:43:12
Ashley
How do you build trust among team members in both technical right in the day job and then community based settings?

00:12:43:14 - 00:13:09:17
Nakita
Yeah, I think from the technical standpoint, I think you build trust by being willing to learn as much as you can and sharing that knowledge. So not like, oh, I know all this. I collected all this information, I have all this information. But once you collect that information, sharing it, you know, hey, I learned this. Did you know about this?

00:13:09:18 - 00:13:27:19
Nakita
Oh, you already knew about this or you didn't know about this? Here it is. And then trying to document that so that everybody else that comes in behind you, they learn as well. I remember I was helping train a new cohort that came in and I said, the most important thing that you can do is document what you've learned and share it with other people.

00:13:27:22 - 00:13:49:09
Nakita
This is how we prevent these silos of knowledge, where some people excel and then some people get lost. And it sure it does well for the individual person that's excelling, but it hurts the business because everybody needs. We need strong players across the board. Right. Not just one person or a couple of people. And then in the community, it's similar to the same thing.

00:13:49:09 - 00:14:08:17
Nakita
I think it's very easy to come to work and kind of lock in. Right. You come in from that commute and you just want to do your job and go home. I don't believe anybody that wants to do that. But if you truly want to build community wherever you are and if you understand the importance of community, just open your eyes a little bit.

00:14:08:18 - 00:14:32:13
Nakita
Be willing to talk to people. Be willing to understand where people come from. You don't have to be super nosy. You don't have to worry anybody out with it. But if these natural conversations come up while you're at the break room or while you're in line for lunch, like we have our company lunch every Tuesday, and that's a great opportunity to run into people and just have random conversations and learn about what they do in the company.

00:14:32:13 - 00:14:52:22
Nakita
And if they're a part of an era, oh, why aren't you a part of the Earth? You didn't know about it. Okay, let me add you to the channel. And so now we have another employee who can benefit from this resource group. So I think all in all, I rambled a lot. But just keeping your eyes open in the community and sharing as a technical expert.

00:14:52:23 - 00:15:11:08
Ashley
So with that beautiful ramble, which I loved it. How do you how do you ensure that people are able to show up as their authentic selves feel seen, especially when you're in a professional environment? So you have that other layer, right?

00:15:11:10 - 00:15:37:18
Nakita
I think the Earth is play an important role in that as well. So we're supposed to advocate for the employees, but as business partners, we need to figure out a way that helps our employees show up as their best selves. We want our neurodivergent employees to feel empowered to do their best work to excel. Right. So, you know, we don't want your we don't want your diagnosis to stop you from being promoted.

00:15:37:19 - 00:16:06:02
Nakita
Like, if you have, you know, whatever you're dealing with, whether it's ADHD or, or autism, there's a superpower in there somewhere. We just need to leverage it. And, you know, that shouldn't stop you if you see enough, if you, you know, know that you can be an amazing leader. Why should that stop you? And so, from a professional standpoint, we want to help our employees understand where their superpower is and how they can leverage it.

00:16:06:02 - 00:16:34:20
Nakita
And that's for every ERG. Some areas may be focusing on not burning out or not being afraid to show up as your full self. You know those ergs have different needs and they understand the people that they're serving, so they'll have different goals and different ways that they help their employees. But I think for divergent minds, I think naturally a lot of people get scared and, you know, they struggle with the concept of what could I be if I didn't have this mental health diagnosis?

00:16:34:22 - 00:16:55:21
Nakita
And so, we want people to show up as their best selves with what they have, because if you couldn't do it, you wouldn't be here, right? And that's just the simplest way of putting it. So how can we how can we help you level up? Not that we need to fix you. There's a superpower somewhere that you can use somewhere.

00:16:55:22 - 00:16:57:18
Nakita
How can we find that?

00:16:57:20 - 00:17:22:23
Ashley
You know what you're really talking about here? You said it's far more beautiful. But to summarize it, it's human capital. I mean, it's really leaving capital. So I'm curious, in this environment where there's so many fast paced advancements in AI, navigating the balance between leveraging technology and investing in human capital with your viewpoint on that.

00:17:23:00 - 00:17:57:10
Nakita
You know what, I it took me a very long time to get on the AI train. There's AI sounds scary. It still sounds scary. We're learning as a business, and I think, you know our competitors as well. We're learning that what you learned yesterday about AI can quickly become no longer relevant. So, I think what Conrail has done a good job of is, they've kind of leveraged human capital in a way that we're, like, still writing, we're still developing for humans.

00:17:57:10 - 00:18:22:06
Nakita
How can we build out AI to automate some of the processes that uses up too much human capital? Because we want the creativity and we want the human intelligence and the emotion behind the product. But then again, those small tasks that take up our time and, and uses up all of our creativity and our innovation, we want to use AI for that.

00:18:22:06 - 00:18:43:15
Nakita
And I think that that's a good formula. That's how I use AI in my life. I love using it for organization. I love using it for automating small tasks that would take up my time, that allows me more time to think and to dream. And so for me, I've noticed, you know, using AI, using checked to organize my life.

00:18:43:15 - 00:18:51:08
Nakita
I just the other day, I use it to like take photos of my wardrobe, and it helped me come up with a capsule wardrobe.

00:18:51:10 - 00:18:53:00
Ashley
I love that.

00:18:53:02 - 00:19:12:14
Nakita
Yeah, I, I love AI now I'm an AI head, I don't know. So that's to say that, but yeah, when you use AI to automate tasks but don't use AI to dream, you still need your humans for your dream and for your vision. And then you can use AI to figure out how to automate some of the things behind that.

00:19:12:14 - 00:19:15:00
Nakita
Some of the boring stuff. AI is for boring stuff.

00:19:15:05 - 00:19:34:05
Ashley
Yeah, I love that, I love that. So here's a follow up question to that. In moments where things do seem to be moving at lightning speed, what's something you would like to hit pause on in the current environment?

00:19:34:07 - 00:20:01:03
Nakita
In our current tech environment, I'm seeing a lot of companies choosing to move fast and then inform themselves later. I think that there's an opportunity for companies that once they understand that you don't have to waste money down the line, you can still move fast and informed. And so there's opportunities for companies to invest in fast research.

00:20:01:04 - 00:20:20:15
Nakita
It's still available. It's still possible. You don't have to, you know, keep throwing pasta against the wall to see what would stick. And then you wasted so much money and then you've hurt the customers trust. So I think it's it's important that we move fast. You know, we all want to be competitive in the industry, but we also should move informed.

00:20:20:15 - 00:20:24:15
Nakita
And you can absolutely do both. It's a balancing act but it can be done.

00:20:24:16 - 00:20:47:01
Ashley
You just come across is just simply delightful of just a great mix truly of grounded but also aspirational and at the same time empathetic towards others. I'm curious, who has been the greatest influences on your personal growth and how they shaped you? This incredible perspective?

00:20:47:03 - 00:21:12:07
Nakita
Definitely. My brother, he's he's where I get my dreaming from. I'm more of a oddly enough, I'm a bit melancholy, but I, I enjoy humor, I enjoy a little bit of fun here and there, and I pull from him when I'm not feeling the most positive. I'd say I get my grit from my mom. I've watched her work, multiple jobs.

00:21:12:07 - 00:21:33:22
Nakita
I've watched her love and disciplined her children and make. And I know that it came from a place of wanting us to be the best version of ourselves. And so, like, even while we had moments of struggle, she was still helping other kids in our neighborhood on the block that we grew up in. And she was also helping children back home in Jamaica.

00:21:33:22 - 00:21:48:07
Nakita
So I, I get that from my mom. When she sees an issue, nobody has to ask her to step in and help. That's just who she is as a person. And I aspired to be like that. And I, you know, I want to continue to be like that.

00:21:48:08 - 00:22:01:20
Ashley
What are your self-care tips and tricks? How do you overcome difficult moments? How do you come back to this place of just so grounded and levelheaded.

00:22:01:22 - 00:22:05:18
Nakita
Medication and.

00:22:05:20 - 00:22:31:18
Nakita
Just I'm I'm I'm a mental health advocate through and through. I'm not going to be politically correct. Also. There's a there's a quote that I, a mentor gave me when I was younger and in sounded silly, but I use it. And she was like, whenever you're flustered, whenever you're upset, make a sandwich. I was like, what does that even mean?

00:22:31:19 - 00:22:48:13
Nakita
Well, I take the time to make sure I'm either rested or I have something to eat. And when I tell you 80% of our problems because we're not here, we're hungry, or at least the reaction to some of our problems. So.

00:22:48:15 - 00:22:54:21
Ashley
Fowler, by the way, can I just say that's 100% true? I mean, I see it play out in real life. Okay. Totally.

00:22:55:00 - 00:23:15:17
Nakita
You'd be surprised how adults don't go out of that. You're either. Tiger. You're hungry. Figure it out. It's. I mean, it's a lighthearted way to keep going. Life is too hard to internalize everything and let it bring you down, you know? And on the health issue that comes with, you know, letting your mental health spiral, you know what I'm saying?

00:23:15:17 - 00:23:35:12
Nakita
And this is, you know, I don't preach this as someone who has it all figured out, there are days where I still get flustered and and where I still feel like the world is on my shoulders. I do, I am a woman of faith, so I do, I do pray, I do read a lot, and that helps me as well.

00:23:35:14 - 00:23:49:18
Nakita
That's usually where I run to first. But, you know, it's a combination. It's my faith. It's for my mental health, advocating for my physical health and making sure that I surround myself with people who support me and who lift me up.

00:23:49:19 - 00:23:59:23
Ashley
That's fair, that's fair, that's good advice. What advice would you give to others who want to blend their personal passions with their professional lives?

00:24:00:00 - 00:24:24:12
Nakita
I think that there's a string that ties everything together. So for me, I didn't understand, what I was doing in my community, volunteering at my church and what I did at work. Like, how those, how those overlapped. I think I struggled for a while to figure that out, but I think that it comes back to what I said earlier.

00:24:24:12 - 00:24:42:19
Nakita
Whenever I walk into a situation, I want to know how people can walk out of that feeling more capable. And so I think for somebody trying to balance their personal life or they're trying to find their purpose, and they're trying to make sense of what their professional and personal life look like and how they blend that or overlap that.

00:24:42:20 - 00:25:04:17
Nakita
What do you feel like when you walk into a room? Like what comes to your mind when you see a problem? Is it your first thing to fix it? Is it your first thing to make sure that everybody feels okay, even if the if you can't fix the problem, are you the one figuring out how everybody's feeling? Are you the person who's maybe not like, oh, we don't need to fix it.

00:25:04:18 - 00:25:16:08
Nakita
Maybe we can improve it. Like what? What comes to your mind when you see a problem, and how do you feel about the people surrounding it? And then you kind of take that and you do the work to figure that out.

00:25:16:10 - 00:25:34:23
Ashley
And, well, that I love. That was the that kind of bite sized t shirt. I just sold so many problems. This is my final question in my favorite questions asked. Knowing everything you know now, with all of your life experiences, what would you tell your younger self?

00:25:35:02 - 00:25:52:13
Nakita
It's going to work out. It's going to work out. They'll be afraid. God has you in his hands. He's also going to put you around people that love and care for you and will protect you. And you're going to be really proud of yourself to see how far you've come when you stick it out.

00:25:52:13 - 00:26:17:21
Ashley
I love that that is a mic drop moment. Nakita, you are just, again, so delightful. This is the word I used to describe you. Delightful and enjoyable. It's literally felt through the streaming screens. Right? You're incredible. I'm so happy that we got some time together today. And I know our listeners will take so much from you. Probably write down a quote or two.

00:26:17:22 - 00:26:19:14
Ashley
Thank you for being here.

00:26:19:16 - 00:26:24:18
Nakita
Absolutely. Thank you for having me. This one's fun. This is fun. I'm glad I got to ramble for a little bit.

00:26:24:20 - 00:26:26:13
Ashley
Yeah. Best rambling ever.