RALEIGH, N.C. — Sandra Dubose is a motivational speaker, author, entertainer, personal development coach and now a podcaster.

Back in 2011, Dubose made history by becoming the state’s first bald beauty queen when she won the title of Mrs. Black North Carolina.

At the age of 25, Dubose lost all of her hair to alopecia, a disease that causes the body's immune system to attack hair follicles.

“Winning for me meant victory, not just to win, but it was victory over the days where I was crying and I was depressed. When I was hiding under my wig, when I didn't want anybody to know. So it was the way to say, ‘I'm over it, I've really turned the corner. I've won now. I won the fight against alopecia, not because I have hair now, but because I have self esteem,’” Dubose says.

Since then, Dubose has won numerous accolades and makes it her mission to inspire others.

During the pandemic she decided to start The Urban Parle’ podcast to create a space to keep women over 30 inspired, motivated and focused on achieving their goals.

“During this time you have to find a way to stay connected to your audience, and so for me, the natural next best thing for me to do was to do a podcast,” Dubose says. “Even when you get older, you're not supposed to let that passion that you had in your twenties die. Even if you're somebody’s mom and you have all these responsibilities, you still have to carve out time to give back to yourself, so that you can be who you are, and I really want to be able to help people find their way, find their voice, and find that spark and that passion again.”

Dubose’s podcast will touch on a range of topics and will also include special guests, like the North Carolina Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green.  

The Urban Parle' can be found anywhere you listen to podcasts.