Starbucks, closures, restructuring, tariffs

by Kandiss Edwards

February 4, 2026

Former Starbucks Director Files Retaliation Lawsuit After Warning About ‘Maggot’ Machinery

Waszak alleges she was fired after flagging problems involving a proprietary espresso system.

A former Starbucks executive filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation after raising health and safety concerns.

Janice Waszak claims that after she alerted higher-ups in the company about the condition of new in-store equipment, she was swiftly let go from her position. Waszak worked at the company for nearly two decades and most recently held the title of director of concept innovation. In addition to retaliation, she alleges workplace discrimination.

According to Fox Business, Waszak alleges she was fired after flagging problems involving a proprietary espresso system known internally as the Siren System. Waszak’s complaint reveals that during equipment testing, she identified a host of safety and sanitation concerns connected to the system. As the Siren System poses cleaning challenges associated with the machine’s design, the “potential for maggots or other contaminants to grow in the equipment” is high. Furthermore, she claims the equipment caught fire during testing.

Waszak claims she reported these issues to supervisors and other company leaders. She urged that the problems be addressed before wider rollout. Instead of acting on those concerns, Starbucks terminated her employment in December 2023.

According to the suit, Waszak initially affirmed internal assessments that minimized or failed to detail the system’s health and safety risks. The former employee says that due to pressure, she went along with the misleading information.

Starbucks has denied the allegations. Fox Business reported that the company said Waszak was terminated following an internal investigation that concluded she violated workplace policies. Starbucks has stated it intends to defend itself against the claims in court, stating the allegations “are entirely without merit.”

The company contends Waszak “was separated from the company after an investigation into allegations that her conduct violated Starbucks’ workplace conduct policies.”

The legal dispute comes when the company is already under increased scrutiny. The company is currently in negotiations with Starbucks Workers United over higher pay and better workplace conditions. Since Nov. 13, 2025, unionized baristas have been on an open-ended strike, beginning with picket signs in dozens of stores and spreading to hundreds of locations across the United States.

Starbucks Workers United said the strike expanded to more than 180 stores in about 130 cities. The barista walkout marks one of the longest labor walkouts in the chain’s history. Some employees have capitulated and returned to regular shifts at unionized locations. The union’s demands include improved staffing levels, higher take-home pay, and resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

by Kandiss Edwards

February 4, 2026

Schomburg Center Releases ‘100 Black Voices,’ A Comprehensive Look At Black Literary Excellence

The selections come from writers, artists, and scholars.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has released 100 Black Voices, a centennial reading list of 100 books by Black authors, with a curated selection available to New York Public Library (NYPL) cardholders as instant e-books and audiobooks through Feb. 28.

The list was led by the Schomburg Center’s Research and Reference Division and draws on recommendations from writers, artists, and scholars, including Jelani Cobb, Glenn Ligon, Imani Perry, Alison Stewart, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison.

The titles include works tied to the Harlem Renaissance as well as widely read contemporary books (Between the World and Me, Things Fall Apart), classics (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Sula), and others.

Access to select titles is available through the New York Public Library site and the Libby app.

“Not only were we able to engage brilliant minds about their favorite books, but we also received thoughtful and unexpected choices to encourage our patrons to read, discover, and explore.,” said Maira Liriano, associate chief librarian of the Schomburg Center’s Research and Reference Division. “The list is a continuation of our legacy of literacy in encouraging the exploration and access to Black literature and highlights the many riches in our vast research collections.”

100 years. 100 books. 100 Black voices. 📚

The Schomburg Centennial Reading List is made up personal recommendations of the most impactful books by Black authors from some of today's most celebrated writers, artists, and journalists, library luminaries, all organized by the… pic.twitter.com/OCQtY34M8U
— NY Public Library (@nypl) January 29, 2026

NYPL said select titles from the list are available right away, with no wait times. Patrons can borrow e-books and audiobooks for three weeks through Libby

The library system has released the 100 Black Voices during the 100th anniversary of Black History Month and of the Schomburg Center.

The center originated at NYPL’s 135th Street Branch. The Division of Negro Literature, History, and Prints opened on May 8, 1925, the NYPL said. It is now one of the world’s leading cultural organizations devoted to preserving and exhibiting materials focused on African American, African Diasporan, and African experiences.

Its collections total more than 11 million items.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 4, 2026

Full Circle Strategies CEO And Win With Black Women Founder Jotaka Eaddy To Receive Luminary Award At 2026 Women Of Power Summit

Jotaka Eaddy's visionary strides across business, tech, and politics have led to a 2026 Luminary Award at the BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit.

Jotaka Eaddy, CEO of Full Circle Strategies, C-suite strategist, and visionary of the Win With Black Women movement, is among the next-generation power leaders set to be honored at the Luminary Awards during the 2026 BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit.

Often dubbed the “Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley,” Eaddy will take the main stage to accept one of five Luminary Awards at the annual awards gala honoring Black women trailblazers making significant impacts in their respective fields. The honor underscores Eaddy’s far-reaching influence across business, tech, and politics, driven by initiatives focused on transformative change and global impact.

As founder and CEO of Full Circle Strategies, she has led high-profile campaigns for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network, Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women initiative, and The Color Purple film launch.

Through her #WinWithBlackWomen movement, Eaddy has also built a formidable cross-sector network of Black women that has shaped major national moments, from Kamala Harris’ presidential run to the confirmation of the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“When we as Black women show our economic power, our political power, it sends a message to the country about our rightful place in this country, but also about the investments in Black women,” Eaddy said of the movement. “How do we close these gaps? How do we harness the collective power of Black women so that we collectively rise?”

Before launching #WinWithBlackWomen, Eaddy had already carved out a reputation as a veteran strategist with more than two decades of experience in policy, advocacy, and movement building. Through Full Circle Strategies, she has led regulatory, legislative, and social impact efforts at the federal and state levels for major nonprofits and top tech companies, serving as a key bridge between Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley.

In 2020, after years of driving meaningful change, she founded #WinWithBlackWomen as an intergenerational, intersectional network of Black women leaders spanning business, sports, politics, entertainment, and social movements, credited with playing a key role in the historic 2020 election that ushered in the nation’s first Black woman vice president. The network of women powerhouses has advanced agendas led by—and benefiting—Black women and their communities, garnering over 600 million impressions across social media.

After years as one of the few Black women in a Silicon Valley C-suite, Eaddy remains a vocal advocate for diversity and accountability in tech, serving as a board adviser to startups including Maker’s Row, Gauge, Tech Dojo, and Hustle. From 2009 to 2014, she also served as a senior advisor at the NAACP, where she helped lead major voting rights wins—from expanding rights for people with felony convictions to pushing back against voter suppression laws nationwide.

The 2026 Luminary Award adds to Eaddy’s growing list of honors, which include a National Action Network Women of Power recognition, Essence’s Women to Watch, SF Business Times Most Powerful Women in Business, the Digital Diversity Network’s Innovation and Inclusion Social Entrepreneurs Award, and Good Morning America’s 2020 All-Stars.

RELATED CONTENT: Women Of Power 2026

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 4, 2026

Philadelphia City Council Wants To Restrict Federal Agents With New ‘ICE OUT’ Legislation

The Philadelphia City Council has introduced ‘ICE OUT’ legislation to limit how the federal immigration agency operates in the city.

The Philadelphia City Council is looking to restrict how city agencies interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through its newly introduced “ICE OUT” legislation.

On Jan. 27, Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau introduced the “ICE OUT” legislative package, a set of seven bills backed by more than 40 local organizations that would restrict how federal immigration agents operate in Philadelphia, CBS News reports. The bills include measures to ban ICE and other agents from concealing their identities with face masks or using unmarked vehicles, among others.

“It’s our responsibility as local electeds to make sure we’re protecting our people here in Philadelphia, so that’s the purpose of this legislation,” Brooks said.

The proposed legislation would bar city agencies from collaborating with ICE, collecting immigration status information, or sharing data with the federal agency—a move Council leaders describe as a focused effort to regulate ICE operations in the city. Mayor Cherelle Parker has said she looks forward to reviewing the bills.

“We are aware of the potential challenges that we face, and we understand the public’s fear of the unknown, as it relates to federal policy associated with immigration,” Parker said in a statement shared on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@phillymayor)

Councilmembers say the legislation will bolster Philadelphia’s existing Welcoming City policies. While similar proposals have been introduced in other cities, Brooks and Landau call this the most comprehensive set of ICE‑related legislation in the country.

“Philly needs to take care of Philly, and that is what we’re doing right now,” one speaker said during the council session.

“There shouldn’t be a single dime of Philadelphia tax dollars and not a single second of Philadelphia workers collaborating with an agency that is stomping all over the Constitution,” Jasmine Rivera, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, said.

The bills, developed with input from immigration and community groups, come as city leaders respond to widely reported ICE‑related violence, including multiple deaths connected to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota that have sparked protests nationwide, and recent concerns about the death of a man while in ICE custody in Philadelphia.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has criticized Philadelphia’s legislation, warning it could make the city less safe.

“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with us, that is when we have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” the statement said in part.

The legislation comes as federal officials signal a shift in enforcement strategy, with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan saying ICE will emphasize targeted operations focused on criminals and may reduce broad street patrols in places like Minnesota. However, city leaders argue the proposed laws would still conflict with that approach, since they would bar city employees from granting ICE access to city‑owned spaces without a judicial warrant.

“While we don’t want ICE in Philadelphia, if they’re going to be here, they need to rise to the level of the basic safety practices we’ve already created in Philadelphia,” Landau said.

by Sharelle B. McNair

February 4, 2026

SBA Shuts Doors On Small Business Loans To Green Card Holders In Latest Anti-Immigration Move

Opponents say the change contradicts the agency’s mission of supporting the growth of small businesses.

Small businesses owned by legal permanent residents (LPRs), or green card holders, will no longer be eligible for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans as of March 1, a move that terminates longstanding eligibility rules and targets immigrant-founded businesses, The Business Journal reports.

The policy change, announced Feb. 2, now requires 100% of direct and indirect owners of loan applicants to be U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals residing stateside or within U.S. territories. Green card holders are no longer eligible.

The two primary loans in question are 7(a) loans, typically used for general business purposes such as working capital and equipment. Then there are 504 loans, used primarily for purchasing commercial real estate and heavy equipment. The new rule applies to eligible borrowers, operating companies, and passive companies, including direct and indirect ownership interests. Loans involving LPR owners are required to receive an SBA loan number prior to March 1 in order to stay eligible.

While the SBA claims the update is in accordance with federal regulations and Executive Order 14159 “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” administrator Kelly Loeffler said the changes reflect the current administration’s goals, according to Inc.

“Under President Trump, the SBA is committed to putting American citizens first again—starting by ensuring that zero taxpayer dollars go to fund illegal aliens,” Loeffler said.

“It’s not very realistic at all,” executive director of Cen Cal Business Finance Group, Frank Gallegos, countered.

“This past year has been the opposite direction,” he explained, urging those impacted to contact their elected officials. “These people legally immigrate, they come here, they’re living the American dream.”

Congressional Democrats such as Senate Small Business Committee Ranking Member Edward Markey (D-MA) and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) say the change is an attack on immigrant entrepreneurs.

“The Trump administration is stoking the flames of hatred, spreading fear and confusion among immigrants and small business owners,” the lawmakers said in a statement. In December 2025, the SBA announced plans to permit up to 5% foreign national ownership while banning Chinese citizens specifically, and then reversing the plan entirely with the new policy.

“Rather than support hard-working legal immigrants to start or expand a business, the Trump SBA is choosing hatred by barring green card holders from receiving an SBA loan,” Markey and Velázquez said.

by Sharelle B. McNair

February 4, 2026

Global Companies Giving U.S. The Boot Amid ICE Chaos

The company's decision stems from a revelation that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded the division in question a $4.8 million contract in December 2025 to assist the agency with “skip tracing services.”

The backlash from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s controversial tactics isn’t just affecting companies in the U.S.; it’s also trickling overseas.

Aiman Ezzat, the chief executive officer of French consulting and information technology company Capgemini, posted on LinkedIn announcing plans to sell a U.S. division that does business with ICE.

CNN reports the company leader’s decision stems from a revelation that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded the division in question a $4.8 million contract back in December 2025 to assist the agency with “skip tracing services” — the process used to locate people who are difficult to find by the use of online information and other sources — like voter registration data. “We were recently made aware, through public sources, of the nature of a contract awarded to CGS by DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in December 2025,” Ezzat wrote in the lengthy post.

“The nature and scope of this work has raised questions compared to what we typically do as a business and technology firm.”

Details of the contract were uncovered by Paris-based corporate watchdog group Multinationals Observatory, whose reporting sparked questions from France’s finance and economy minister, Roland Lescure. The watchdog posted an archived webpage revealing Capgemini was working with ICE to “help it minimize the time required and cost incurred to remove all removable illegal aliens from the US.”

Between 2016 and now, companies have gone back and forth about whether or not to stand up against the Trump administration and its controversial tactics, especially in the wake of violence. After the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, major corporations stood up for social justice, putting initiatives in place to support Black businesses and others affected by racial injustice and systemic barriers.

As several companies bowed down to the administration following the 2025 inauguration, things have turned sour after three U.S. citizens, Keith Porter, Jr., Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, were killed by ICE agents, sparking national and global protests. Canadian politicians urged the real estate company The Jim Pattison Group to halt the sale of an industrial building in Ashland, Virginia, to ICE, and they succeeded.

According to The Washington Post, Niki Sharma, British Columbia’s attorney general, said the province was watching “in horror” the events that took place in Minneapolis and encouraged Canadian business executives “to think about their role in what is unfolding there.”

Another Canadian business, social media management firm Hootsuite, responded to protesters who surrounded its Vancouver headquarters after it was revealed the company held a contract with ICE’s public affairs office. While Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky acknowledged ICE’s recent activities as “wrong” and called the killings “devastating,” she defended the contract, saying the company is simply providing social media support over surveillance tools to ICE.

Here in the U.S., major retailers like Target and Best Buy, and Silicon Valley, called for a “de-escalation of tensions.” Small businesses in metro cities are taking matters into their own hands and being celebrated by local politicians. In a post on X, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt praised the property owners for deciding to end discussions of a sale to DHS. “I commend the owners for their decision and thank them on behalf of the people of Oklahoma City,” Holt said.

“As Mayor, I ask that every single property owner in Oklahoma City exhibit the same concern for our community in the days ahead.”

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 3, 2026

Morehouse Fined For School Security Handcuffing Tuskegee Basketball Coach After Game

"I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today," Benjy Taylor said.

Morehouse College is facing fines from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after a school security guard handcuffed Tuskegee basketball coach Benjy Taylor following a men’s basketball game.

Taylor said he was just asking security to remove Morehouse football players from the handshake line following Morehouse’s 77-69 win against Tuskegee on Saturday, Jan. 31, HBCU Gameday reports.

Following a brief exchange, video shows Taylor being put in handcuffs and led off the court at Forbes Arena in Atlanta.

“I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor, who hired a civil rights attorney after the incident, said in a statement. “For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”

We have new new footage and insight from Tuskegee 👀: https://t.co/eDyEz8cuSK pic.twitter.com/WdcYkcaCpE
— HBCU Gameday (@HBCUGameday) February 1, 2026

Taylor was reportedly released after the game and traveled with the team. Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin said football players joining the line is against conference policy.

“We have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student athlete coaches, and spectators,” explained Ruffin, who disagreed with the officer’s account that Taylor was acting aggressively.

A Morehouse spokesperson said the school is aware of the incident and has launched an internal investigation.

The SIAC, following its own investigation, said it will fine Morehouse an “undisclosed amount” and will mandate “corrective measures to ensure full compliance with conference security policies going forward.”

According to SIAC, Morehouse failed to “satisfy the required security standards for a host institution, specifically as it relates to crowd control and ensuring the safe entry and exit of visiting teams and game participants.”

“The SIAC holds its member institutions to the highest standards of sportsmanship, professionalism, and institutional accountability,” SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman added. “Our historic institutions are expected to provide competitive environments that prioritize the safety, dignity, and mutual respect of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. The conference remains committed to upholding these expectations and to ensuring that all SIAC contests are conducted in a manner consistent with our shared values.”

Tuskegee University released a letter signed by Ruffin and university President Mark A. Brown extending support to Taylor and expressing concern over Morehouse’s security measures.

“At no time did Coach Taylor engage in behavior that could be characterized as unbecoming, unprofessional, or inconsistent with the standards of Tuskegee University, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Morehouse College, or intercollegiate athletics broadly,” the statement said. “Conversely, the circumstances that culminated in Coach Taylor being handcuffed—albeit briefly—fall well outside the bounds of what is normal, acceptable, or appropriate in collegiate athletic environments. No coach should ever be placed in such a position for carrying out their duty to safeguard student-athletes.

“Tuskegee University is deeply concerned about the breakdown in established security procedures that contributed to this incident.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

February 3, 2026

UK’s Black Police Association Leader Pushes Allegations Of Campaign ‘To Get Rid Of Him’

George has spent more time fighting toxic behaviors on social media and being the subject of investigations due to online comments regarding British policing.

President of the UK’s National Black Police Association (NBPA) Andy George is making allegations that there is a large-scale attempt “to get rid of him” after facing numerous investigations after speaking out against the injustices experienced by Black law enforcement, The Guardian reported.

“I tell you now, there is an attempt by some of the longer-serving chief constables to get rid of me,” George said, holding the title of longest-serving president to the group since being elected in 2020. “I can guarantee I know exactly what they think of me: that I’m a wee upstart, so I am, that doesn’t know my place.”

After spending years “keeping his head down,” George seemingly stood out as the sensible choice to lead the Black Police Association’s 6,000 members, elected just weeks after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by ex-officer Derek Chauvin.

George claims that things changed for him after he spoke out that racism had a hand in his sister’s suicide. George admitted that his sister dealt with mental health challenges, saying that “the racism side was a big part of it,” adding how she “ended up calling herself the N-word and the P-word – it just ended up shattering herself as a person.”

While George hoped to be a pivotal force of change for racial inequities amid Floyd’s murder, that didn’t happen. Instead, the leader has spent more time fighting toxic behaviors on social media and being the subject of investigations due to online comments regarding British policing. “I believe that I am being victimised and discriminated against in an attempt to silence me,” he said, after most recently being ordered to sustain core duties.

The shift, he feels, is a way to marginalize the group he represents.

George highlights instances that he says support his viewpoints. When Sir Mark Rowley took over for former Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick in September 2022, Rowley banned officers from taking the knee. George cited, “the political environment had changed.” George requested a meeting with Rowley, but it was declined. The group leader says he has only met with Rowley twice in the past three years.

George has faced five misconduct investigations by his local police department, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), accusing him of bashing police leadership on social media.

According to The Independent, George commented on the “disproportionate number of Black officers under investigation for misconduct and being held back in their own careers” after a police officer in London was acquitted of murder in 2024 and then promoted.

He also faced a December 2025 investigation after reacting to the BBC’s Panorama investigation into racism accusations at Charing Cross police station. “How many platitudes and excuses can we hear from the commissioner?” George wrote on X.

“@Metpolice commissioner has empowered toxic culture, and it is laughable for him to suggest it is racists and misogynists who want him out.”

After pinpointing Rowley as the reason for a two-year review into a report that labeled the Met as institutionally racist and misogynistic, leadership reversed the spotlight on George, saying his comments could be reason enough for the public to lose faith in the police force.

However, he feels speaking out is nothing more than keeping light on the truth. “It’s not the behavior, it’s the audience,” George said.

“They try to single me out as this person that wants to run my mouth all the time, and just likes to be controversial, which isn’t the truth.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 3, 2026

Malcom Butler On How That 2015 Super Bowl Interception Changed Everything

"It probably runs across my mind at least once a week."

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will meet in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015’s memorable contest when rookie Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the game.

The Patriots escaped with a 28 to 24 win. And Butler’s life was never the same.

“It changed my life a lot,” Butler, 35, told USA Today Sports. “More money. More recognition. More expectations.”

Today, the play “probably runs across my mind at least once a week,” Butler added. “I sit around the house, and I’m so grateful for all the things I’ve got. Even if I didn’t make that play, my life was going to be good, because I was always a hustler, a grinder, who is going to make things happen, no matter what. But that really changed my life.”

With less than 20 seconds remaining and the Patriots leading by only four points, 28-24, the Seahawks were poised to defeat New England. The ball was on New England’s half-yard line. And Marshawn Lynch, an unstoppable runner, was in the backfield. But Wilson went back to pass and Butler stepped up.

“Man, you’ve got to be ready when the opportunity presents itself,” he said.

Although Butler was never a superstar, people still remember him because of one play. He won another Super Bowl ring with the Patriots before retiring 2022. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also gave Butler the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado he received for being the game’s most valuable player.

Butler still has it, too. “That’s not a truck,” Butler explained. “It’s a trophy.”

The Super Bowl hero will be in attendance, cheering for the Patriots. “It’s the Super Bowl again. You know it’s going to be special. But it ain’t about me. It’s about those players getting the job done. I feel like I’m playing, but I’m not. I’m going to be here supporting my team.”

by Kandiss Edwards

February 3, 2026

History-Making Olympian Earned $12 An Hour As An Intern After Winning Gold

At her peak the Olympian earned as much as $200,000 a year in sponsorship deals.

Former U.S. Olympian Lauryn Williams once earned a six-figure sponsorship, and only a few years after she earned $12-an-hour as an intern.

Williams won an Olympic gold medal representing the United States in the 4x100m relay in London 2012. Additionally, she was the runner-up in the women’s bobsleigh at the Sochi games in 2014. At her peak, the Olympian earned as much as $200,000 a year in sponsorship deals. That income declined drastically when she stepped away from decades-long full-time athletics.

Williams spoke to CNBC Make It about the financial reality of being an Olympic athlete in a sport that is not mainstream. She said, that although she’d made history, sponsors did not show interest in supporting her journey.

“The news coverage came, but the sponsors didn’t. I made $80,000 the year I became the first American woman to medal in the Summer and Winter Olympics,” Williams said.

Her earnings were above the poverty line, yet did not even touch the lowest level of middle-class salaries.

“The money doesn’t go quite as far as people think it does, even though it was a pretty good living for a 20-year-old.”

Not all pursuit , is for money.
Lauryn Williams., unselfish, pursues what she loves, giving up dream Olympic sponsorship for $12/hr.

Lauryn Williams is a remarkable American athlete and a powerful example of someone who is **unselfish**, relentlessly pursues what she loves,… pic.twitter.com/9NzZ0IK9uH
— Gaijin – Markus (@Gaijin_Markus) February 2, 2026

Without consistent endorsement revenue or guaranteed post-Olympic employment, she realized it was time to pivot.

Williams began searching for opportunities to carry her into the next chapter of life. She eventually found an entry-level internship in finance. The transition was difficult as the woman with a heart and resume of a champion was out of her depth.

“I was behind the ball because I was 30 years old and just starting, whereas I had friends who were already doctors and lawyers and well into their careers,” she added. “I spent all of my 20s competing, so I felt kind of insecure that I didn’t have any real work knowledge.”

Though Williams considered herself behind in her career prospects, she succeeded in her pivot to the financial sector. Williams is now the owner of Worth Winning, a financial planning firm dedicated to helping others set up their financial futures. Worth Winning seeks to give young professionals, much like 20-year-old Williams, “clarity” and guidance as they navigate unknown financial waters.