Anna DeShawn, award-winning podcast creator & social entrepreneur
Meet Anna DeShawn, an award-winning media professional and social entrepreneur with over 17 years of experience.
This feature is part of our #WeAreHere series highlighting Black, Indigenous and people of color who provide professional-level services in the podcasting industry. At a time when it has become essential to the success of any company to build multicultural teams and reach diverse audiences, this series is designed to make it easy for any company or individual to find the diverse talent they need to support their projects or build their organizations.
These are people in our community who have demonstrated experience in their respective fields, and a commitment to providing quality services to their clients. Some of the professionals within our directory are also open to freelance opportunities or long-term contracts.
Let’s get to know Anna DeShawn, founder of E3 Radio & The Qube. Anna is an award-winning media professional and social entrepreneur. Her podcast, Queer News won a 2023 Ambie Award for Best DIY Podcast.
Q: What is your area of expertise?
My expertise includes entrepreneurship, storytelling, and community building.
Q: How long have you been doing this type of work?
My entrepreneurship journey started in 2009 when I founded E3 Radio. At that time E3 Radio was a passion project so I while building it, I worked at a tech start up managing webinars and virtual events for Fortune 500 companies. Since 2006, my entire career has been spent in digital media.
Q: What piqued your interest in podcasting?
Our radio station, E3 Radio, is online so we always had an RSS feed. Any shows we produced were always included in our E3 Radio feed. I will say I was not an early convert because I always considered us a radio station not a podcast. So what really peaked my interest was the shift in how we consume media. We became on demand society who had an appreciation for live content but we want to get it when you want. So when thinking about how we would grow the radio station and remain relevant we had to begin talking about podcasting, its impact, and if we could add any value to the space.
Q: What's an audio project you've really enjoyed working on, and why?
I've really enjoyed working on our Ambie Award-Winning Queer News podcast. This podcast was born out of a pivot from a morning radio show I had called “Wake Up with Anna and Friends”. The show was good but after a while it wasn’t bringing me joy and the part of the show I enjoyed the most was the queer news segment. So, after attending Podfest & Afros & Audio, it hit me that I could turn that segment into a daily podcast. That daily podcast is now weekly, far more sustainable, and filling a need in the market. It brings me a lot of joy and I love being of service to my community in this way.
Q: What products or services do you offer?
The Qube has over 90 curated BIPOC & QTPOC (queer, trans, people of color) podcasts which is a benefit to you because you can discover quality content you can’t find in other podcast directories. The Qube is also a podcast production company releasing podcasts which center people living at the intersections of race and sexuality.
Q: What makes you or your services unique?
We are the only company building a podcast discovery platform to amplify BIPOC & QTPOC creatives. In addition, we are the only podcast production company exclusively creating original podcast content at the intersections of race and sexuality.
Q: What are you particularly proud of about your work?
I’m proud that we’ve built something that I believe can really fill a need in the space. I’m proud that we decided to follow our dream and make it a reality.
Q: What would you like to see happen in the podcasting industry within the next five years?
I’d love to see BIPOC podcast creators on the top 100 lists and thriving. I’d love to see independent creators monetizing their content and finding success. I’d love see folks of color as heads of these podcasting companies and sitting in executive seats of these larger companies.
Q: What kind of businesses or clients do you like working with in podcasting?
I like working with people who are just as passionate and driven about their work as I am about mine.
Q: What motivates you to keep growing in your career or business?
I’m motivated by my family because I want to make them proud.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to a creator in the podcasting industry, what would it be?
Make sure you’re making space for what brings you joy. Time is too precious to not live and work in your gift.
Learn more about Anna’s work here. You can also find other experienced professionals within our BIPOC Verified Service Provider Directory.