The year of 2022 has been a remarkable one for Janora McDuffie ’99, an actress, voiceover artist, and host. The alumna catches up with Catalyze about the past eight months, which have included movie deals, hosting Kia’s launch event in Phoenix for their first-ever electric vehicle, attending Pride Celebrations at the White House and Vice President Harris’s residence, announcing the Institute for Responsible Citizenship’s 20th anniversary celebration at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and, of course, serving as the first African American and openly gay female announcer for the 94th Academy Awards.

As a diehard Tar Heel fan, Janora also includes in her personal highlight reel for 2022 watching Coach K lose his last game and cheering on the UNC men’s basketball team at the Final Four championship game in New Orleans. Go Heels!

Janora sat down with Catalyze in August at her home in downtown Long Beach, California, following her return from a movie set in Atlanta. (The alumna will be in a Disney comedy and Christmas special starring none other than Ludacris!) We met up before an ‘Unleashing the Network’ event with Morehead-Cains at the home of Alec Hudnut ’87 that Janora organized with Ellie Teller ’18.

We talked about the illusion of “making it” in Los Angeles and elsewhere, what it was like to be behind the mic in Dolby Theatre for the Oscars, and Janora’s early career days, when she decided to leave the corporate world of consulting to chase her dreams in entertainment on the West Coast.

Janora will serve as the emcee for the 2022 Morehead-Cain Alumni Forum this October.

More about Janora

Janora has appeared in television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and This is Us, among others. Her portfolio also includes films, podcasts, and video games, and she’s represented companies as a speaker, moderator, interviewer, and host.

The alumna is also the managing partner of Cashmere and Gold Entertainment, an events and entertainment company, along with her wife. The two lead boat tours, including wine and cigar experiences, along Long Beach Marina.

Learn more about Janora.

Music credits

The intro music for this episode is by scholar Scott Hallyburton ’22, guitarist of the band South of the Soul.

How to listen

On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.

Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

Episode Transcription

(Sarah)

Janora, thank you so much for opening up your home to us for this episode. It’s such a privilege to be here in Long Beach with you.

(Janora)

Yes. Welcome to Long Beach. It is a privilege to have this conversation with you.

(Sarah)

And I understand you just returned from Atlanta last night. Is there anything you can share with us about what you were working on there?

(Janora)

Well, I did sign some NDAs, but I will share. I’ll share a little bit about the title and to watch out for me. So the first movie I worked on in Atlanta is called Praise This, starring Chloe Bailey. And the second movie that I went right into in Atlanta is called . . . temporarily called . . . Dashing Through the Snow. So right now that is a Christmas movie, and who doesn’t love Christmas movies, right? Believe it or not, starring Ludacris. So that’s about as much as I can share. But I am in there and super excited and blessed to have those movies under my belt now, although I’m still working on both. I’ll return to Atlanta in a couple of months.

(Sarah)

Okay. Your Christmas tree right behind you. As you just mentioned, a Christmas special, and I understand [the tree is] something you have year round. So can you just share how that came about and its significance to you?

(Janora)

Oh, yes. I love my Christmas tree, Sarah, and I’m so excited you can see it in person right now. It is the anniversary tree. The Christmas tree came about during COVID, and every Christmas, I go back home to Durham, North Carolina. My mama takes Christmas very seriously. So there is a marching order for me to come home, but you can’t come home during a pandemic. So I did not. And because we always go home, we never put up a tree here just because we’re not here. So it was the first year we put up a tree, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep it up. Well, two things. I first decided to keep it up because it was, “It’s going to stay up until I get back to see my mama back in Durham.” But the second thing was, “Wow, this is so joyful to just have in the home, putting out not just good energy because it is beautiful, if I do say so myself, but the beauty and decorating itself, being creative, coming up with different ideas and themes.” So now, it is definitely past COVID, I have definitely been back to North Carolina, but now the thing to keep it up is to come up with a different theme so I can’t repeat it. So this is year two. So around this time last year, it was the summer tree, and now it is the anniversary tree. It’s my wife and I, it’s our fifth anniversary, and so—

(Sarah)

Congratulations!

(Janora)

Thank you!—so the tree’s theme are all the colors from the wedding as well as some favorite photos.

(Sarah)

I love that it shouldn’t just be once a year when you get to be all sentimental and celebrate those kinds of things. So, I love that you’ve made that a tradition.

(Janora)

Absolutely. And I know I keep talking about my tree and you want to talk about other things, but prior to this, it was the Oscar tree. So it’s also a way to not just celebrate the seasons, but also celebrate yourself. And I was super excited to do an Oscar tree, and then it became Oscar tree 2.0, as in reminding myself to, hey, if there’s something good in your life, why stop it? Why not continue to celebrate or continue just to find things that just fuel you and remind you who you are?

(Sarah)

Yes. Not that you need another business on Etsy or something, but I can see an idea in the works where you help people celebrate yourself with a Celebrate Tree.

(Janora)

Hey, if it happens, I’m not saying no.

(Sarah)

Well, it certainly seems like 2022 has just been your year. In addition to both of these acting roles, you attended Pride celebrations at both the White House and Vice President Harris’s residence. You were the announcer for the Institute for Responsible Citizenship’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in D.C. at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. And, oh, yes, as you mentioned, you were the announcer for the 94th Academy Awards as the first African American and openly gay female announcer. I mean, many of us will never get any of these calls. Can you just take us into some of those moments?

(Janora)

Oh, wow. And one I want to throw in there that is just as important. I was there at the Final Four, and at Coach K’s last game when we really did it right. But that was definitely a historic moment. You are absolutely right, I am just so blessed and blown away by 2022. I actually started off the year working in Phoenix as a live host for the launch of Kia’s EV6 electric vehicle. It was really interesting, but I had a studio, and I was the main girl every day going live in a dealership across the country. And then, yes, from that, it was the 94th Academy Awards, followed by, yes, all the things. How do I break each down? How do I take all of these moments that are moments of a lifetime and answer your question, Sarah, without going into next week?

(Sarah)

I imagine it doesn’t get old where each new opportunity kind of presents exciting things, and so it’s memorable in a different way.

(Janora)

I think—absolutely—everything has its own place in this journey called life, and I really think that the reason I have had so much success this year is because for the first time, I have stopped to enjoy each. I feel like in a journey, like, you got your goals and you got to get them, and then you get it, and then now it’s time for the next one. And hustle, hustle, grind, grind. And that’s a part of what was my journey. But that was also a recipe of reaching these goals that did not leave Janora very happy. This year, I pushed the reset button on how I approached life—and I really think that that has something to do with how things have just been flowing and going in such a remarkable way—is each moment, I am just absolutely present, and I’m absolutely grateful. I’m not thinking about what’s next. And shucks, I couldn’t even predict what would come next in this amazing 2022 year. But I think there’s something to be said about enjoying each moment and trusting the process. Yes, because before it was: I’m grinding, grinding to reach the goal. Now I am breathing and embracing and really enjoying the journey. And at each turn, it’s a new adventure waiting, ready for me to just jump in and enjoy and spread a little Janora magic in. So I don’t know if that made sense, Sarah, but I really feel connected in a way I’ve never felt connected to before. And I think that’s definitely part of this amazing year I’ve had.

(Sarah)

We’re in the QLos Angeles area right now, and so I think it seems like a lot of people are here, of course, to “make it.” But it sounds like what I’m hearing is that maybe that phrase doesn’t carry as much utility for you because you had made it before any of the amazing things that happened this year. Is there a moment that comes to mind where you realized, “Yes, I have made it!”? Or it sounds like you’re kind of distancing yourself from that because it seems like as soon as you have done that, then what’s coming next?

(Janora)

So that’s so interesting that you asked that question or that you have that observation, Sarah, because the whole “made it,” I think, is a misnomer in L.A. or in this industry. I’ll never forget reading a book and part of the story was interviewing John Stewart from The Daily Show, and they asked about his big break, and he said, “There’s no such thing as a big break. It’s just all these tiny breaks where you just show up and you do your best and it just adds up.” So I feel like that is a testament to my own story and journey. You might be referring to, like, in the past, yeah, I made it with Grey’s Anatomy, for example. So I was on six episodes as Social Worker Janet, and I actually thought that was a huge breaking point for me. I’m on your TV on a Thursday night on a big show. And after that, nothing happened. My phone didn’t ring. My phone rang less than it did prior to Social Worker Janet, and it really sent me in a tizzy, as in, I thought: A plus B equals C, you do good work on a good show, and then: tada! And when that didn’t happen, I just was very heartbroken. And that was during the time I moved down to Long Beach. It just kind of, “I’m getting away,” but I’m kind of not, but just enough to just breathe and re-center myself and recalculate. All right, if that didn’t work, how am I going to continue to approach this journey when I thought that that was the recipe? So the recipe is really just to keep going. The recipe is really to find how to survive in the meantime, financially, physically, mentally, what fuels you. So if there’s anybody out there wondering what the secret to success is, it’s just to keep going and find those things in your journey that fuel you, and that make you happy because life is happening in the meantime. So I’m now in a book club, which has now turned into a wine club. Those are things that I really enjoy. I’ve got my tree. So it doesn’t even have to be something specific, but those things that bring you joy again or make you smile or going back to make you really remember who you are. So part of my tree, the Oscar tree, the Oscar 2.0 tree, I had things from Carolina, texts that I printed out from the people like the Chancellor or Megan or people who are just like, “Go, Janora, go!” I had that. So this is not a journey for the faint of heart. And yes, there are times where you think it is, and it’s not. So just really being prepared with your arsenal of like, “Okay, let’s get back to work.” But the work is the journey.

(Sarah)

There’s so much in there about just contentment and not pursuing things that you think will make you happy but are really for someone else, or thinking about yourself only in terms of your self-worth, which should not be defined by moments like that or roles or gigs.

(Janora)

Absolutely. And so it took feeling sad and broken to understand that that’s not the way. So it’s all a trial and error of, like, how do you live your life fully, still staying true to making the dream, but still realizing that you are so much, regardless if you get there or not, or maybe getting there or the dream is like, am I having a good day? Am I being kind today? Am I in service today? Like, how do you reframe what is success or what is making it?

(Sarah)

I think a lot of Morehead-Cain Scholars struggle with that, too, because there seems to be this weight of, what am I going to do with my life? How am I going to make an impact and a difference? I’ve been selected as a leader. Is there anything you would have shared with your Morehead-Cain Scholar self as you were navigating different choices and thinking about your various interests?

(Janora)

Yes. A couple of things come to mind. The first is I attended my very first Forum pre-COVID—shout out to the upcoming Forum that I’m super excited about. Yes, I was not going to come because I felt like I hadn’t “done enough in the world” because I’m a Morehead Scholar. Look at Governor Cooper go. Or all the names of people that hold our beloved title? And I didn’t feel like I had earned it. So I had gotten together as a class—shout out to Laksmi, my beautiful classmate, and Alyssa, who led the charge for ’99 folks to come back. And in our group thread, I was honest. I was like, “I don’t know, guys. I don’t know if I’ve done enough to come back or I feel worthy enough to come back.” And someone in that thread said, “There is worth in being a good human.” And so that stuck with me. So it doesn’t have to be a particular job that you’ve accomplished or award that you’ve won. Being a good human counts a lot in this world. And so I went back as the good human, and it was amazing how my cup was filled. Being surrounded by fellow cousins who have completed or—quote unquote—not completed whatever we think this journey is in life, it really helped me reframe that whole gauge of success. And good human is an amazing place to be and to start, and we need more good humans in this world, and I think that’s really a beautiful thing about the Morehead-Cain is: only good humans get this, and I’m confident to say that. There’s always, like, an exception. No, we weed those out. It is only people who bring good energy to the world, and your good energy is exactly who you are. And we’re all different and all have something to give. So I’m really excited about that and excited to be part of that. So I hope that’s helpful for those out there who think you have to check off something or to accomplish something to wear these shoes. You earned the shoes to begin with, so wear them, and the way that you get the most mileage out of them is just to be you and to trust that that’s enough, how you show up in this world at your best.

(Sarah)

Thank you so much for sharing that. I think I was thinking of just scholars and hadn’t thought about how alumni seeing this as a reunion, that carries all of the same pressures that you might for a high school reunion of, “Have I been successful enough?” So thank you for sharing that insight, and I’m so glad that you no longer feel that way, and I hope that everyone does feel like this is an event for you. You belong here. It’s not for a certain type of Morehead-Cain or based off any credentials or anything like that.

(Janora)

Absolutely. Of course, it’s easy to say now because I’ve done the Oscars, but I learned that way before that was even on the radar.

(Sarah)

I would love to talk about the Oscars. How do you even prepare for a role like that from just a professional level to the very human level of being mentally ready?

(Janora)

Oh, I love that question, Sarah, and I love answering it because I really think, again, it encompasses exactly who we are and strive to be as Morehead-Cain Scholars. So the new Oscar team, production team, wanted to change everything, including the voice, and I just happened to know the production team, and they said, “Hey, we’re casting for this new voice. Why don’t you send us something, send us an audition?” So I went online, and I transcribed the most creative, beautiful audition that I could come up with, and it got me the part. So I didn’t find that out until about three weeks before the Oscars.

(Sarah)

That is not very much time.

(Janora)

It is not. And two weeks before the Oscars, I think I’m going to have my first rehearsal, but it turns out to be my first taping. So everything in the Oscars that I say is live, except for I announce the full categories for the technical awards, for example, Best Production Design. That first day that I record, they also assign me a linguist. So a linguist comes, and she speaks every language under the sun like she was born in that particular area of the world. She was fascinating to watch, so she would make sure that I said all the names properly. That was something that was a recording not only that I got to practice for my big live, because everything else is live. The presenters, “Oh, so and so won!” And this is confidence that the Oscars really don’t know who’s going to win because when someone is announced, I’ve got five potential scripts that I could read on who was nominated and how many times they won this award, that kind of thing. So I have to be completely on my toes for that. But that package also goes to the presenters. So during the actual broadcast, the presenters have a prerecorded part where they say each nominated person, so they listen to my voice at that point to hear how to say it correctly.

So that’s a fascinating part of the process that I didn’t know existed. So there’s only one main dress rehearsal where all of the presenters come, celebrities come, and at that point, they prerecord and listen to my voice on the proper way to say, but it’s really cool, the whole linguist part. So after that, we do have a couple of dress rehearsals, three, and then we go live. So the first dress rehearsal, I am seated with a script supervisor, basically. She has done that job for 30 years.

(Sarah)

Good to have.

(Janora)

Good to have. So she knows what happens. But also sometimes you think somebody who’s done the same thing for 30 years, they’re a little jaded. It was like Disney World and her birthday, and so she had such positive energy. And this is what I’m getting to—I tell really long stories, Sarah so I hope everybody is following along—the most important thing she said to me was, “Janora, how cool is this job that you get to announce to the world the work of these people who have worked their whole lives for this moment?” So all of a sudden it went from, “Oh, can I say Tina’s name correctly?” To being a gift and a vehicle for, again, celebration and joy and job well done. So the minute I switched it from all about me to being a gift and in service to someone else, it was so much fun and not that pressure. And I think there’s something to be said when whatever it is that you do, whatever gift that you have to give, that is for something greater than you.

I think if it would have been about me and how I said it, and am I on time and doing this right, I would have gotten in my head. I would have lost the joy of this amazing 94th Academy Awards. And that’s one last thing, too, about my technical component. I pushed my own button to go live to the world and into the audience. I have these headphones on. I’m listening to the director, and it’s like, “Lights up. Camera number four.” And then, “Announcer go.” So I have to intently listen. I have to push my button, and I’ve got to share this gift to the world for the people that I’m in service to, which were all the nominees.

(Sarah)

That sounds so nerve wracking, but I love that your philosophy was to think about others and think about the careers that you’re helping advance, too, along those lines, especially for so many people of color and a lot of firsts that happened this year.

(Janora)

Absolutely. And I definitely want to give a shout out. And I hate that there were things that were missed or not quite focused on because of how unique this 94th Academy Awards was. But CODA, I don’t know if you saw CODA, Sarah, but it was “Child of Deaf Adults.” It’s a true acronym. And it’s about this young girl who’s coming of age and does she stay at home with her parents as the interpreter because she is hearing and her parents and brother cannot and only sign? Or does she forge her own way? Beautiful story, but we forget about so many communities and I’m not even just talking about people of color. I’m talking about abled communities or diversity as well. So that was really a beautiful celebration that I hope people were able to have and recognize within this award ceremony.

(Sarah)

Absolutely. And how do you think about the term trailblazer yourself? Because you have been the first in so many of these roles. Is there a burden that comes with that responsibility, or is it a source of inspiration for yourself? Although both things can, of course, be true.

(Janora)

I don’t see it as a burden. I think we all have the power to define things for ourselves. So I’m all about power of perspective and what serves you best and serves the world best. So serving the world and what brings me the most power is seeing it as a responsibility and an obligation in a good way, as in I’m able to be a visible . . . fill in the blank . . . for a community that might not be seen or have a voice. So whether that is African American community, women, gay, I am proud to stand in that space, because a lot of times, when you don’t see that, sometimes you don’t see it and you don’t recognize that there’s a difference. Maybe you don’t see it and you don’t think that’s something that you’re able to accomplish. But when you do see it, whether you think about it or not, man, there’s power in that visibility. There’s power in that representation. It’s kind of like validation of who you are in this world. And if I can bring that just by showing up and being open about who I am, then that’s my responsibility in this world.

(Sarah)

Yes. I mean, there is sometimes those moments when you receive feedback. Someone tells you directly, “Oh, you’re such an inspiration.” But then, just like anyone who watched the Oscars, hearing your voice, hearing a voice of authority, hearing something that is not what you might have expected from the 93-year history before then, I mean, that’s so powerful, too, and nothing that you could ever quantify.

(Janora)

Yes. I really took charge—or took the directions for why I was hired as a charge. As in, it’s not just a voice of an African American female. Everyone is welcome here. They specifically wanted the Oscars to have this feel of bringing people back to the movies. It’s for the people. So let me channel the way that I connect with others. My Southern charm, my belief and love of people. Let me channel that. And when you see that, if I actually pop up as a picture instead of just a voice, and you see that that’s from a beautiful, strong, Black, gay female, then that I really believe, yeah, it does something. It shatters maybe perceptions that some people might have had about who we are. And if I look like you or identify like you, then that gives you courage and to continue to be you strongly, openly. So I think it’s twofold.

(Sarah)

Yes. Thank you for sharing that. And at this point, in addition to being Oscars host, you’ve been a speaker, you’re a business owner, you’ve been doing voiceover acting and act in all of these shows and movies. Is there an area that you’d really like to focus on in the next few years? Or is it perhaps the variety of the work that continues to create fulfillment?

(Janora)

Sarah, I’m so glad you asked that question, too. You’ve got some great questions. In my life, I have always said I want the Morehead-Cain Scholarship for my life. And I’m not just saying that because I’m talking to you. I really have made that pact because what has always appealed to me was, let’s just say our summer experiences, right? The first summer I am hanging off a cliff, literally, in Colorado, Utah. And the second summer, I’m doing something completely different in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a teacher. Then the third summer, completely different in a big city like New York at a PR company. And final summer, something completely different in a whole ’nother country that I just wanted to be the rest of my life. I wanted the change, I wanted the adventure, I wanted the challenge. I wanted to continue to grow and connect with people. And I am so proud to say I really feel like that is a life that I have been able to build for myself. Whether it’s been all right, I’m acting in this movie in Atlanta, but then wait, a couple of months ago, I was just the voice.

But wait, a couple of months ago. Before that, I was talking about cars in a studio in Phoenix. So it’s been really cool to share my gift of just loving life and the adventures of life and create that to be this. I think some people, or I think a lot of times we are tricked into believing the old paradigm of, all right, you just got to focus on this one thing, and this is just what you have to do for the rest of your life. And I’m really happy I was able to toss that out and create this space of just open to good things, whatever box it came in, and feeling confident in myself to be able to take on that challenge. So I love the variety. That was a really long answer to say, I love the variety that my life has been able to be.

(Sarah)

Well, I love your stories, so thank you for sharing them with me. And I think there is such a currency in the concept of being the best of and the whole 10,000 hours of something, which is a noble thing indeed. But for many of us, we’re just not built that way. Our minds find creativity and inspiration and lots of different things. And it seems like that could be the case for you, too.

(Janora)

Absolutely. So I get that whole idea of mastery and 10,000 hours to get it right. And for those of you who that works for, more power to you. And I love it and I am in awe of it. Not to say that I don’t know how to grind it out, like—I’m in a play. I’m going to be the best version of this character that Janora can be and put in the time to make it work. I don’t think it has to be an either/or. Maybe that’s what I’m trying to say. I think that there is value in all different types of philosophies about how to approach life or how to be your best in life, whether that is following mastery and putting in those hours or following the feeling and creativity and those maybe softer types of skills, but still powerful in terms of manifestation. So I have come up with just a way of things that work for me. So for example, every morning I wake up, I have a big three that I try to do and my big three comes in a whole lot of different ways. Some people are all about waking up meditation.

Waking up meditation. Well, sometimes I like to wake up and write. Or sometimes I like to wake up and look at my gratitude board. Or sometimes I like to wake up and smell my fancy oils. Or sometimes I like to wake up and do a dance around the house. I just have a variety of things that I do each morning to set the space of a good day. Now, in the day we don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know that if I come from a space where it’s just like, “Yeah, Janora, you got this,” then I am more apt to make strong choices when that decision or when whatever it is happens. Where I can choose to have the perspective of I’m going to get through this or see it as a blessing or see it as, okay, if it is a challenge, what’s the opportunity in there? Versus if I just kind of “willy-nillied” every day and the obstacle came. I’m seeing it as that, “Oh Lord, why me?” But I really think there’s power in starting every day with something, and yeah, you just got to find those things that work for you, but stick to it.

Because I do believe in the power of habits that form what happens in our lives. So I don’t think that there is any coincidence in really my purposeful start of every day that has been consistent to what I’m experiencing now. Now, I’m not saying that I did not plant seeds of hard work a long time ago, but I think, again, it doesn’t have to be either/or. It’s a combination of all the things. I’ve been here 20 years, so it’s a combination of the time in the game, the strong seeds I planted, the strong relationships that I built, and a combination of me waking up every day and dancing or making my tree. I think it’s also a joy and an adventure to figure out who are you going to be and show up in this life. So I’m just having a fun time just creating that for Janora.

(Sarah)

I think I’m going to be shopping for a Christmas tree after this interview. And when you were a student at Carolina, I saw that you were studying psychology and communication studies but had performance in there as well. So what was Scholar Janora thinking about when she was thinking of after college and what she was going to get into?

(Janora)

Another great question, Sarah. That leads me back to the Morehead-Cain Program. My advisor at the time was a gentleman named Forrest. Forrest is no longer at the Foundation. Forrest, if you’re listening out there, though, “Hey!” And I talk about this story all the time, Forrest told me, “Don’t worry about what you’re going to major in,” because that was a big deal right now. Morehead-Cain Scholars, so I got to get it right. He said, “Don’t worry about that.” He said, “Major in the things that bring you joy, that make you happy, that get you excited, and everything else will come.” He said, “After college, the recruiters will want to see that you did well in classes, but what were you involved in after your classes? What were your extracurricular activities? What are your leadership skills, what are your communication skills?” He said, “Major is not as important as you are making it.” So at that time, I’m an actor. Communication studies had a performance concentration. So that’s what I jumped in, and that brought me much joy. Paul Ferguson—I don’t think he’s there anymore—but if you’re listening, Paul Ferguson, you were a great, inspirational professor during my time there in the performance field, and Dr. Madison, Dr. Soyini Madison. But I had enough credits that I could do something else. And I think how people think and go about in this world is fascinating. So that’s how psychology came to be my second major.

And then, Forrest was right. My first semester my senior year, there were recruiters that came to town, and there was one from Ernst & Young, and it was their consulting practices at the time. They’ve branched off and renamed but Ernst & Young. And guess what? That whole consulting field was an extension of what I wanted my life to be like, as in patterning off of the Morehead-Cain, as in, it’s change. I’m working on assignment one in city XYZ for a couple of months, and then, wait, now I’m doing something completely different in a whole other city for a couple more months. So again, that whole change, that travel. Well, turns out that my assignment in Atlanta was not travel. It was only an Atlanta assignment, and I was labeled in a very technical position. Okay, I am going into a whole other thing that you didn’t even ask me, Sarah, but I think this is really interesting when it comes to what your heart wants to do and what manifests itself or comes to you when you’re in that space. So now all of a sudden, I’m in Atlanta. I think I got the extension of the Morehead because that’s what I wanted for my life. And I don’t because it’s a position that is not the travel, not the change.

I told two people, that same man that recruited me, I told him, “I’m unhappy. I want to go back to my childhood dream and be an actor.” Because there’s no need to be unhappy and stuck at 21 years old. If you’re out there and you’re listening, there’s no reason to be stuck. So I said I wanted to move to L.A. And then I also told the woman that was assigned to be my counselor at my job, I said, “Hey, I want to quit. I want to move to L.A.” The guy that hired me, he said, “I think that’s a beautiful idea, Janora. I support you. Let me give you two of my contacts.” One ended up being a writer for The Jamie Fox Show, and one ended up being a writer for The Parkers. And they both put me on as a union extra, which is really important in terms of getting in the union, which is a huge part of an actor’s journey.

(Sarah)

Okay, why so? The security benefits?

(Janora)

The opportunities afforded to you, you are taken more seriously as a union actor, and you get union gigs. Whereas if you were non-union, you wouldn’t be able to unless you were in the union. So everything you see on TV and in the movie theater, that’s union work.

So that’s what got me in the union and what got me out to L.A. My counselor said, “I think that’s a great idea, Janora, but don’t quit. I will put in for you to go to the Los Angeles office.” So that’s how I got to LA. And I got there with my job. And it’s way easier to find an apartment and place to stay and move when you’ve got a job. But long story short, I was just unhappy. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to go back to my childhood dream or this dream that I had, and being just genuine in that place, trusting the people in my life, I had no idea that he was going to say, “Great, here are some contacts,” or she was going to say, “Great, let me get you out to L.A.” But I feel like when you operate in that space, like, the sky’s the limit, and you never know what can happen. If it is ordered for you, then the angels will come.

(Sarah)

Yeah. What I don’t hear is guilt in sharing, “What I really want to do is go to L.A.” I hear a confidence in just sharing what you want and what a gift that they responded in that way, and you would never know that if you had just kind of put in your two-week notice and hoped they weren’t mad for a while.

(Janora)

Right. And I think there’s some people who adhere to that. If it’s something really important, just keep it close to the chest. I say no. If you are really genuine about something that’s burning inside you, share it. But, of course, have discernment with who you share it to. ’Don’t share it with the haters of the whole world who’s going to poopoo on your dreams. But I just shared it from a space of these are people, positive, like, mentors in my life. And I wasn’t sharing it to ask for anything, but this is a burning passion, and look what happened 20 years later. You are in Long Beach, California, in front of my anniversary tree after me coming back from shooting my second movie in Atlanta. Who would have thought? But that’s from where it started. So I think people can also sense when you are genuine about something and similar, you were sharing, like the hesitancy, like, no, if it’s real, people will sense that and people want to help. And you had even just said it was a gift for them to be able to do something. And I think sometimes when we ask for things, we think it’s a burden, but people really do enjoy being of service, and so it really becomes something that, yeah, something good for them.

So speak up, speak out, be true.

(Sarah)

It definitely changes the perspective when you don’t view yourself as a burden, but giving someone else the opportunity to honor you in that way, which does make someone feel also that they are valuable in helping you in your next step.

(Janora)

Yes, absolutely.

(Sarah)

Well, I know that you have a busy day ahead, and we’re actually going to be meeting again at the alumni-led regional event. Thank you so much, and Alec and Ellie, for hosting all of these Morehead-Cains who are coming. The last question I wanted to ask was about Cashmere and Gold Entertainment. I saw that you launched that seemingly during the pandemic, which struck me as an interesting time to start an events and entertainment company, but seems like it’s brought you lots of joy. So would you mind just sharing a bit about your business and how you’ve been making time for it now?

(Janora)

Sure. So we actually launched right before COVID, so yeah, now it’s really tough timing, but the reason that we launched it, my wife is a DJ on the side. Shout out to her—Leila Ryan—by day she is not only LAPD, she just made the SWAT team, making her the second woman ever in LAPD history to be LAPD SWAT. So she’s no joke. And before that, she was on the Dignitary Protection team, and she actually protected Kamala Harris when she was our senator for three years. She gave us a wedding gift, hence our invitation to the Pride celebration at the White House because I’m sure she was part of that, too. And the vice president’s estate. So, I was her plus one.

(Sarah)

Wow.

(Janora)

So what a blessing to join in life with somebody who’s doing it as well. And both of us having a really well-timed good year together. Because her entrance into SWAT happened just a few months ago. So on the side, though, yes, she DJs, I love a microphone. And to entertain in that way. So we decided to join forces together. At first it was just for friends, but let’s do it as a business. I chose to do it as a business because at the time on the side because, again, you have to fund the pursuit.

(Sarah)

Yes.

(Janora)

I have worked auto shows. I’m the girl that’s by the car in the convention center answering all these specific questions and doing the presentation. I did that, Sarah, for 17 years, I was always filling in the holes of financial life. But I quit and I said, “Okay, what’s going to fill in the holes now?” And that’s when I decided, hey, we can do this for money, for good money. But it wasn’t just the Emcee/DJ tag team. We also bought a boat right before COVID as well. We bought an electric Duffy boat. My last name is McDuffie. We have a Duffy boat. It was meant to be. I alluded earlier that I like wine. So I will lead a wine tour while she drives, and I focus on female winemakers. And my wife smokes a mean cigar, but she knows all about cigars, the history, all the things that an aficionado would know. So then I would drive and she would do a cigar experience. Yay. All these things. This is our business. What a great business model. We’re either at a party or on our boat because why work for somebody else when you can work and create your own schedule and wealth?

All of this happened, COVID happened, and then my career took off.

(Sarah)

What a combination.

(Janora)

What a combination. So now, again, we just do it for friends. We just do it for fun. But how exciting to create something that you love to do with someone that you do love. So we’re really excited about what we do. We’re just not as . . . it’s not our full-time job.

(Sarah)

And what is your favorite wine for, maybe, when you’re having a book club versus a fancy celebratory occasion?

(Janora)

That’s a good question. So right now I am going to shout out the McBride sisters and Black Girl Magic wine. They actually just launched their own book club where they send you wines that are paired with the book. Okay, so I just joined their book club as well. I didn’t tell my first book club because they would think that I was cheating on them. But I think they have a really good wine, and I think one thing that makes a good wine is the good story. So I’m not sure if you’re familiar with their story, but they’re two sisters. They’re half sisters with the same dad. They didn’t grow up together. One grew up in New Zealand, the other one grew up in Sonoma County here in California. And the dad is on his dying bed. He had a terminal illness and his dying wish was that his two girls knew that they were not alone in the world. So the auntie figured out a way for them to find each other and meet. And they met for the first time, like, in their twenties. And they both discovered their love of wine. And that’s how they became the McBride sisters. And now it’s the largest Black-owned winery in the world. So I love the story, and their wines are very good.

(Sarah)

Thank you for that suggestion. We’re going to have a wine-tasting lesson at the Forum, so I know we’ve got some aficionados as well coming. And also shout out to the Forum where you’ll be the Emcee. We’re so excited that you’ll be our host. Is there anything else you’d like to share today with Morehead-Cains.

(Janora)

Man, just going back to really honoring that you’ve got it. You’ve got it going on! One, being in gratitude, understanding the opportunity that’s been afforded to you, not just for an education without debt, but the travel, the experiences, and your co-cousins. There’s so much power in that. But never second guess that you’re not worth it. Because it’s a very meticulous selection process that sees in you something special, and so rest in that that you are enough and go change the world. Go fly.

(Sarah)

Wow. Thank you so much, Janora. It has been such a joy to talk with you. So thank you again for having us.

(Janora)

Yeah, thank you again. I hope you have enjoyed your time in the LBC. We live downtown, so I apologize for those listening with the extra traffic in the background, but it’s such a joy. Thank you—and a privilege.