Equality Matters

This episode was so special to me because I got to speak to Blaire G Harvey and Karen Foster, two incredible women that inspire me and are a continuous reminder that being yourself is your most valuable asset!

In this episode, we hear from my friend and industry colleague Lily Zheng.

Lily is an adviser, thought leader, and equity consultant, She’s been featured in Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur & Fairy Godboss. Lily the author of The Ethical Sellout

She shares her journey, experiences, and feelings about writing her two books, about her career as an Activist turned Academic to independent consultant and entrepreneur.

Lily is honestly one of the most well rounded DEI practitioners I have met. If you are looking to hire a DEI consultant for your company or thinking about making a jump into a full-time equity & inclusion position or simply are curious about how people like Lily make sustainable change in corporate America, this episode is for you.

It was bitter-sweet recording this episode because it's my last conversation for season one of the Equ(al)ity Matters Podcast.

DEIB isn’t a side project, initiative or program. Inequity affects us all whether we choose to ignore it. We ultimately have a lot more growth potential to tackle Inequality if we are mindful of our own individual ability to change and make change.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Zaina Orbai, Chief People Officer at The Real Real.

This episode features a super entertaining talk with Donnie Belcher and Lauren Burke, Founders of Camp Equity.

We talk about the sacrifices it takes to start doing the work that you are passionate about, the dynamic role cis white women can play in anti-racism work and the much-needed work that one camp is doing to embed Social Justice into children's lives as young as age 9.

This last week's observation of the Derek Chauvin Trial in the Murder of George Floyd has thrown me for a loop. All the mental and emotional turmoil I was experiencing just after Goerge Floyd's murder has resurfaced and frankly I just don't have time for all that.

I'm so thankful that I've been able to rely on my community for support, validation and sanity through all this and my conversation with Kim Crowder this week was much needed. As a fellow DEI practitioner, it was great to air out my feelings and thoughts with someone who was also grappling with the implications that this trial is having on our country and society. We also talked about other high profile cases like this and the impact or in some cases non-impact that they may have on us. 

All in all this conversation was healing and I hope it can be the same for you too.

I had the pleasure to sit down with Sydney Coleman to talk about whiteness, allyship, and her responsibility to other white people as a driver to dismantle white supremacist structures. 

Gesche Haas is the founder and CEO of Dreamers and Doers, a private collective created to amplify the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership, opportunities, authentic connection, and access.

Gesche talks about accidentally starting Dreamers and Doers while embarking on her own entrepreneurial journey after an eventful career in finance. What is unique about Gesche is her bi-racial background, and her experience of living in many different cultures, and the different levels appreciation or lack there of for her identity. 

So many of us can relate to living in this in-between space, or being able to "present" as one race/gender/orientation/ability, and what that means for how we navigate different spaces for better or worse, and what that brings up for us emotionally. 

In this episode, I speak with Jessica Childress who was the very last new friend I made in person before everything got shut down in 2020. She is the managing attorney of the Childress Firm, a labor employment attorney, and author of the Juris P. Prudence book series. 

We recorded this podcast on the afternoon of the inauguration at the end of a week of fear and angst, and I personally needed some hope. Jessica lives in DC and was right up in it. So hearing from her how the energy had changed after the inauguration gave me so much hope and motivation.

Jessica is a badass! She is that woman that shows up for young girls now. She sees them, connects with them in an age-appropriate language, and inspires them all while running her law practice. She’s that person who they can look up to and aspire to be when they grow up.

In this conversation, we talk about her journey of leaving her corporate job to build something of her own and we both agree it sent an easy transition.

In this episode, I speak to William Huston who is the founder and Director of Institutional Services for Bay Street Capital.

William and I met over Linkedin in 2020. Since then, we’ve been sharing learnings and collaborating on ideas to increase awareness around financial literacy within corporations, HR, and access to information for employees to make informed decisions around the financial benefits offered to them. 

William's journey to Bay Street Capital is not traditional, which to me, is his clear competitive advantage both as a leader and investment advisor. 

William is a literal geyser of information, and is significantly disrupting the institutional investment industry. 

Find out more below: 

In this episode, I speak with Jabu Dayton, Principle & Founder of Jabu HR. She advises and consults with companies to help their teams be heard, developed & well taken care of.

Her career story alone is inspiring. Formerly HR Lead at Airbnb, Task Rabbit, Ship & Abstract, her experience is rich in regards to retaining team culture during rapid scaling as well as building inclusion into company culture as early practice.

We talk about the choices she’s made when standing up for people who have been discriminated against and how she was ultimately fired for doing what we expect HR to do, advocating and standing up for employees.

She also shares about her transition from retail into tech, her identity and cultural belonging as a bi-racial woman and more importantly how her underlying privilege influences her daily choices.

Jabu is literally my idle for how people, businesses & HR should actually operate.

Find out more about Jabu: 

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Hanif Fazal, Co-Founder of the Center for Equity and Inclusion. 

Hanif is someone I consider a friend, role model, mentor, and teacher. 90% of the facilitation content I use was influenced by and taught to me by Hanif and his co-founder, Frewine Kiros. Hanif has an amazing life story, and it’s clear that the work he does is a true calling. The way that he and his co-founder of the Center for Equity and Inclusion, Frewine, pour their entire being into their facilitations and partnerships with different organizations is such a gift to witness. They don’t let anyone off the hook, and certainly don’t make the work easy for their partners, but holy smokes do they go deep and straight to the heart of Equity and Inclusion in a way that is deeply compassionate, honest, and moving.

So, it goes without saying that our conversation gets super deep, to the point where this self-proclaimed physically unable to cry lady just LOST it.

Welcome to the Equ(al)ity Matters Podcast where we interview everyday professionals who are doing their part to make the workplace more equitable. 

2020 has shone a bright light of racial equity. The murder of George Floyd finally ended silence on the topic causing leaders and policymakers to come out and say that they care about black lives. But what does this really mean? And are they doing the work that is needed to achieve true equity?

In this podcast, we talk about the really impactful actions that are bearing results from seemingly small choices made by individual leaders to grand structural changes made by organisations.

We hope you enjoy this podcast.