About
Behind the Tea
Deidre L. Boswell is an accomplished author, freelance writer and motivational speaker. She is an advocate for the empowerment of African-American women and has her own podcast called ‘Sippin Tea w/ Dee, where women are invited to simply gather in conversation, share experiences, ideas, laughter and opinions. Her goal is to create a platform where these women are celebrated and honored for their skills, talents, and wisdom. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Benedict College in Columbia SC and a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ.
She is the founder of A Mother’s Love Never Dies, a private Facebook Group created to encourage and support those who have experienced the loss of their mothers, and she is also a co-founder of Sandi’s Girls Incorporated founded in 2013, which is an organization created by she and her sisters to aid in providing support and resources for families during troubled times. Sandi’s Girls Incorporated was named for and in honor of Deidre’s mother Sandra Thomas Boswell Richardson following her death after a 13-month battle with uterine cancer.
Deidre has been a member and a participant in several organizations for many years, such as The National Association of Female Executives, The Midlands Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Philadelphia Black Public Relations Society. She was also a representative of The Benedict College Philadelphia Alumni Association, 1st Vice President of the Philadelphia Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund, and a mentor to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Currently, she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, a national sorority committed to public service.
In the earlier days of Deidre’s career, she began working as an intern for entertainment entities such as Gateway Cable in New Jersey as a production assistant on public access shows, then on a local rap program for Our Gang Productions in New York City, later as an editorial intern with Executive Female magazine and for the public relations firm The Terrie Williams Agency. While a student in college, she first served as Literary Editor where she implemented a column that featured book reviews, poetry, and literary submissions. This was very successful, and eventually led to her role as the Editor-In-Chief. She broadened readership with controversial topics and editorials. Her literary work has been published in Executive Female Magazine and Attitudes Magazine for which she was a staff writer. Deidre Boswell is the epitome of multifaceted.
She was also a talent of the John Robert Powers Modeling, Acting & Finishing School of Philadelphia where she pursued acting and a career as a plus sized model. She has auditioned for the gospel singing show Sundays Best in 2013 and NBC’s The Voice in 2014. She also loves to read, watch movies, listen to music, cook, and spend time with family. She is currently working on a manuscript entitled, The Heart of Things, which she hopes to self-publish. She has a big heart for many things.
What Brewed the Tea
In 2013, Deidre believed that God had given her the vision and purpose at one of the most difficult times in her life. As her mother fought uterine cancer, she struggled the unknown being one of her daughters and caretakers. However, she believed God deposited in her spirit the idea of a show that highlights and celebrates women and there then called it “Sippin’ Tea w/Dee.” She knew she was also given exact vision of how the logo would look so she immediately scribbled it down on a piece of scratch paper of how it would look including the colors it would have.
At that time, she didn’t perceive how it would have been possible. So, for seven years she sat, waited, and pulled out minimal attempts without fully committing herself. The pandemic came and she felt as if God had spoken to her once again and said that it’s time. There she began her quest, each step being pushed and nudged by the voice of God telling her to move, get started and do this and that to finally establishing a launch date, June 2020, to now having its third season of sharing the journeys of phenomenal women. Sippin’ Tea w/Dee is now available on seven platforms, an audio and a video version of her podcast, a website, merchandise, and an upcoming book. All these creating the abundance of future opportunities not just for herself but as well as those who have much to share to the world.
She always then questions, “what’s preventing you from living your dreams?” For her, it was fear. But the fear backed out when she decided to listen to what God had been telling her that has ushered her into her greatness. The question then continues to you, what’s stopping you?
An Extra Flavour
In July of 2020, as an extension of her audio podcast, Deidre began a LIVE broadcast on social media in an attempt to connect with her listeners. Her goal was to have a Q & A segment about the episodes from the podcast. However, during these appearances, she began to discuss topics in the areas of mental health, relationships, childhood, and sexual traumas. As a result of her transparency in sharing her own struggles in these areas, she began to connect with others and developed an entirely different audience that consisted of both male and female followers thus creating Tea Time with Sippin' Tea w/Dee!
Tea Time with Sippin’ Tea w/Dee can be seen each week on IG TV. The hour-long segments feature a weekly topic, some segments include a special guest, and the host encourages followers to share testimonials by becoming a part of the Live show.
“remember to bring your tea!”
— Dee