Becoming Dr. Brandee Collins

A little professional joy for the timeline!

I am excited to share that I have been accepted into the 2026 Applied Intimate Partner Violence Measurement Short Course hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Women’s Health & Gender Equity!

From July 27–31, I will be learning alongside an interdisciplinary cohort focused on strengthening research and clinical responses to intimate partner violence and maternal health outcomes.

This opportunity is directly aligned with my work in prevention, public health, survivor-centered practice, and doctoral research.

I am excited. I am grateful. I am ready.

Today’s session was so good.

We continued You Were Never Meant to Shrink with Session 2: Flowers: Why Are You Still Waiting to Be Chosen?

We talked about the ways we sometimes wait to be noticed, invited, promoted, affirmed, or given permission before we move.

And whew… this one landed.

One line I keep coming back to is:

Self-advocacy is not about making yourself bigger than the truth. It is about refusing to make yourself smaller than the truth.

We reflected on where we may be outsourcing our authority, where we’ve been waiting for someone else to name our value, and what it looks like to choose ourselves with clarity and intention.

The truth is, you can appreciate the flowers when they come.

Receive the recognition.
Enjoy the applause.
Celebrate the promotion.

But don’t wait for the flowers to decide whether you are worthy of blooming.

So grateful for the women who showed up, shared, reflected, and chose themselves today. 🌸

You were never meant to shrink.

🩷🩷

Thank you, Central Exchange, for the opportunity to facilitate today’s session, Lady Lady: Who Taught You to Shrink?

I’m still sitting with the honesty, insight, and intention the women in the room brought into that space. What made today so powerful was not just the conversation itself, but the way everyone showed up ready to create community, reflect deeply, and engage with one another with openness and care.

That kind of room does not happen by accident.

I’m grateful for every leader who joined us today, and I’m hopeful that because of what we shared, we all leave a little more aware, a little more honest, and a little less willing to shrink.

My CanvasRebel feature is live, and I’m so excited to share it with you!

This interview gave me a chance to reflect on my journey and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the way: overfunctioning is not leadership.

Growth has a way of teaching us what we need to release, what we need to trust, and how we’re meant to lead differently. I’m grateful to CanvasRebel for the feature and grateful for everyone who has been part of the journey.

Take a look here: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-brandee-collins/

If you read it, I’d love to hear what resonated with you most.

Meet Brandee Collins We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandee Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below. Brandee, looking forward to hearing

I’m honored to be partnering with Central Exchange for a three-part morning leadership series called You Were Never Meant to Shrink.

This series is for women who are ready to examine where they’ve been holding back, where they’ve been waiting to be chosen, and how to lead with more voice, visibility, and power. We’ll meet on April 9, April 29, and May 14, 2026, from 8:30–10:00 AM CDT, and breakfast will be served.

If this speaks to you, come be in the room.
Registration link is in the comments.

By this time next Friday… I will have finished my session at the YP Summit.

And I keep thinking about who really needs to be in that room.

Because this isn’t just a session about fear.

It’s about what fear feels like when you’re a first-generation professional… or navigating spaces where the rules were never explained.

No one tells you:

How to speak up without overthinking
How to navigate office dynamics
How to advocate for yourself without feeling like you’re doing too much
How to “read the room” when you were never taught the language

So you start figuring it out in real time.

And sometimes that looks like:

Staying quiet when you have something to say
Over-preparing just to feel “ready”
Second-guessing yourself in rooms you worked hard to be in

Not because you’re not capable…

But because you’re decoding a system while trying to succeed in it.

That’s what we’re talking about.

Braver Than You Think: Reframing Fear as a Signal, Not a Stop Sign

If you’ve ever felt like you were learning the job AND the rules at the same time…

You need to be in that room.

YP Summit is next week—get your ticket.

At 7:00 AM this morning, my phone rang.

It was my niece Grace.
Well technically, it was my sister… but Grace was very clearly in charge.

She had one urgent reason for the call:
To show me her brand-new glittery backpack.

That’s it. That was the meeting.

And honestly? It was a great reminder.

People don’t just want to be recognized for big milestones.
They want someone to see what they’re excited about right now.

Great leaders do the same thing:
They notice.
They celebrate small wins.
They make space for enthusiasm.

Because what seems small to you might be everything to someone else.

This morning’s leadership lesson is sponsored by a little girl named Grace and her glittery backpack