A Leadership Journey Inspired by Belle da Costa Greene

Join Anne-Marie Eze on her quest to lead fearlessly in the world of libraries and museums.

Boss Like Belle blends history and personal growth through the stories of Belle da Costa Greene and Anne-Marie Eze. Belle, a Black woman who passed as white, became a cultural trailblazer in J. Pierpont Morgan's library and inspired bestseller The Personal Librarian. Her leadership legacy empowers Anne-Marie Eze, a Black librarian at Harvard, to lead boldly. Join Anne-Marie, leadership expert Rachael Lowell Ellison, and guests—librarians, historians, and curators— to explore identity, audacity, and empowerment. Uncover how connecting past and present can inspire you to take bold steps in your own journey.

This podcast is for leadership in libraries and museums what the movie "Julie & Julia" was for cooking. Follow Anne-Marie as she embarks on a transformative journey to "Boss Like Belle" under the guidance of Rachael.

Episodes

Episodes
Episode 3: Immaculate Frogs
Episode 3: Immaculate Frogs

It's 1921: Belle becomes a mother at 41, as does Anne-Marie a century later. Inspired by Belle, Anne-Marie learns to boss like a mom and reconnects with her "fertility fairy godmother" Rosanne Austin.

Episode 2: My Beloved Mentor
Episode 2: My Beloved Mentor

Inspired by Belle's advocacy for women librarians in the 1930s, Anne-Marie mentors and sponsors rising librarians of color and visits a protégé at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Episode 1: Belle and Me
Episode 1: Belle and Me

Anne-Marie, facing imposter syndrome at Harvard Library, finds inspiration in Belle da Costa Greene's legacy to boost her confidence as a Black woman leader.

At the turn of the 20th century, Belle Marion Greener crossed the color line from Black to white reinventing herself as Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian and confidant to American banker J.P. Morgan, pioneering career woman, glamorous "it girl," and first director of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. Boss Like Belle charts how this path-breaking librarian who hid her Blackness to succeed in the 1900s helped Anne-Marie Eze find her authenticity as a Black leader at Harvard Library a century later.