Ashanti and Tire Gray never expected their career path to lead to where they are now.

The Henderson couple began their careers in call centers and classrooms, respectively. But open and inquisitive minds led them to pioneering positions.

For Ashanti, an accidental interview with a 911 operator led to her becoming the first black female assistant fire chief for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. And Tyre’s career changes from teacher to lawyer to the first black president of the Nevada Mining Association lobby group all came from a desire to use his skills on something new.

The Grays sat down with the Review-Journal during Black History Month to talk more about the intersection of leadership and race in their respective fields. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you two get where you are?

Tire: I always say my life is what happens when you say yes to random questions. I can’t say that I necessarily chose to become president of the Nevada Mining Association. But I can say that as a child, my mother always told me that I could do anything.

I believe that everything I said yes to actually prepared me for this role. So whether you think of me as an educator or whether you think of me as working in the hospitality industry or a practicing lawyer, I learned a diverse skill set that really enabled me to be able to raise to where I am today.

Ashanti: As an adult, I realized that I really enjoyed helping people grow. I felt like a leadership position was where I could do it. I’ve always tried to help people love their work — part of appreciating your work was being good at it.

When I got to the fire department, I was working with people around me because they were always like, ‘This is where I’m going to end up. As I evolved as a supervisor and became a trainer, I was always developing, building teams. I feel like I’m good at bringing together diverse groups of people, with different personalities. So when this position opened up, I realized I could just do it at a higher level and have more impact.

Tyre, you are the first black president of the Nevada Mining Association, and Ashanti, you are the first black female assistant fire chief. What did that mean, both emotionally and in practice?

Ashanti: Being the first is a big deal. One of the things my husband and I often talk about is that we’re surprised there are still opportunities to be first, so we don’t take this lightly. We always talk about how we stand on the shoulders of giants. We recently held an event where we recognized black firefighters in departments across the state. I wanted them to realize that the shoulders of the giants are in the room with me. I see you. I’m not talking about the people who did it decades ago and are no longer with us. I wanted them to understand that you paved the way for me and I want you to hear from me that I appreciate you.

More than that, I want people to know I’m here so people can stand on my shoulders. Because I work in a male-dominated industry and I’m black, I have these two things where people look at me and say, “Wow, how does she handle that? I handle it like I do everything else: with confidence and I ask questions. I’m not afraid to say if I don’t know something, that I need to learn something. But I think it’s really important that people see us and understand that it’s possible.

It’s just a job for me. I think it has more impact on the people who see me than on me. Because I tell people all the time, I’m just Ashanti. I don’t wake up thinking “Oh, I’m black”. It doesn’t come to mind. It’s not about my ethnicity. It’s about what I can contribute and bring to the table. How will I do my job and how can I inspire others to do their job?

Tire: To me, it would be deaf of us to say that our lives are not affected by race and how we move through the world. The initial interaction anyone has with me is not, “Oh, he’s a lawyer and a corporate executive.” I am a black man and I appreciate that. I’ve been that every day of my life, and I’m proud of it.

When you think of mining, this grizzled image of an old white dude with a beard and a pickaxe comes to mind. When I say I’m the president of the Nevada Mining Association, I get a variation of “Oh, really?”

I recognize that I must act in an irreproachable manner. We’d all like to think we’re judged on our individual merits, but the truth is, we’ve all heard some level of the statement, “We’ve tried this before.” It won’t be me then. So I’m very conscious of the fact that I make sure that every day I give my best and every day that I’m prepared, because I recognize that I represent myself, I represent my family, but I also represent little boys and girls that I have not yet met.

What does it mean to be intentional about diversity and how do you chart paths for others?

Tire: Take any business. If you weren’t performing well in your marketing department, you’d call a meeting and discuss it. When you analyze where you are from a diversity perspective, face it head-on.

I think that’s how we have to approach hiring. If we want to see more diversity, we have to go into various areas. We have to work with various clubs, organizations in schools. That doesn’t mean you’re only targeting people from diverse backgrounds, but you’re making sure it actually reaches them.

If you ask the majority of people who work in corporate America, they’ll tell you they got that job because they knew a guy who knew a guy. If you’re from neighborhoods like me, you don’t know these guys or girls. Why should your career opportunity be delayed because you grew up in a different field?

Ashanti: It must also be meaningful. One of the things I often see in the conversations and meetings we have about diversity in the fire service is scholarship. It’s awesome. Send them to school to get their paramedic license, EMT and all that. But if you are giving these scholarships to people who do not meet the criteria (requirements), then don’t do it, because it does not make sense.

If we find that we go through the entire hiring process and the pool we start with is different from the pool we end up with, there is something wrong with the process. A lot of the things I’ve identified in some processes recently is that the assessment we’re using for context has been the same for 20 years. Well, things have changed a lot in 20 years, and the things you value should change with that as well. It’s about doing things externally but also making sure we’re making the changes that matter internally.

What improvements still need to be made to diversity in your fields?

Ashanti: I think we have to look like the community we serve. If you took a picture of all members of the fire department and a picture of the demographics of the area we serve, it wouldn’t match. To me, that would be a real sign of progress towards improving diversity within the fire service.

Tire: We know that diversity and inclusion are important. But it’s really that X component to do something about it. Name the industry, there is an underrepresentation of people from diverse backgrounds, not only in the regular service, but especially when you sign up for leadership.

How do you go from the hierarchical level to the general management? Well, it usually takes someone investing in you. We both agree, we had wonderful mentors – who didn’t look like us, but saw a skill set. They really did what we consider an MLK aspiration, judging by the content of your character and not the color of your skin. We need to invest in human capital.

How do you avoid the intentionality to say, “We did it. We had a conversation about race. How does an organization ensure that it is always on track?

Tire: The beauty of business is that there is always a new way to attract people. I think we just apply that to our recruitment and diversity aspects. We focus a lot now on a business community around people. When you look at the development sector, you had the cradle to grave era that our grandparents may have belonged to. You find a business, you stay there. Maybe they treat you well, maybe not, but you get your pension. Then you have more than one generation where they have some level of loyalty, but they will look for other opportunities. Now you got our generation where it’s like, where’s the best opportunity?

When you continue to make your business a place where people can grow, people want to be there. People want to stay and grow with you. So don’t let it lapse, because it’s really a leader’s responsibility to move on and not let things go. Give your employees the tools they need.

McKenna Ross is a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms. Contact her at [email protected] To follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.