We explore the intersection of leadership and meaningful change. While many highlight the challenges that divide us, few focus on how to bridge the gaps. This podcast is for leaders ready to break the status quo and build stronger connections across differences.
Kobena-Marcus J. Collins is the diversity and inclusion advisor for Kohl’s Corporate offices and serves as the diversity recruitment consultant for Bridge-Builder Professional Staffing. He has a passion for diversity and inclusion work, as well as helping candidates to get clear on what it is they...
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Kobena-Marcus J. Collins is the diversity and inclusion advisor for Kohl’s Corporate offices and serves as the diversity recruitment consultant for Bridge-Builder Professional Staffing. He has a passion for diversity and inclusion work, as well as helping candidates to get clear on what it is they are looking for, and to help them to find a great fit with an organization. His travels and multicultural background have given him personal insight into the importance of diversity and inclusion, and he brings that to the work he does every day.
In our conversation, Kobena-Marcus and I discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion within roles of recruitment. It is key for employees to see someone they identify with in leadership roles of an organization so that they feel included, which leads to belonging and higher retention rates. He also shares his 5 R’s of Human Resources and we talk about internal versus external hiring for an organization. To connect with Kobena-Marcus, you can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmjcollins
Topics In This Episode
- What brings Kobena-Marcus joy
- The available positions within an organization may surprise you
- Creating an environment where team members can bring their most authentic selves
- Examining ways organizations can connect with diverse candidates
- The power of ally-ship
- Tips for creating an inclusive space
- Having a safe space that allows for positive conflict
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Excited to share a recent conversation with Girish Ganesan, a strategic leader and innovative thinker with a passion for improving organizational performance. In his current role as the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at TD Bank Group, he is responsible for overseeing development, implementat...
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Excited to share a recent conversation with Girish Ganesan, a strategic leader and innovative thinker with a passion for improving organizational performance. In his current role as the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at TD Bank Group, he is responsible for overseeing development, implementation of diversity and inclusion tactics, strategies, and programs for the customers, colleagues, and communities they serve.
In our conversation, he details the importance of travelling and how impactful it has been for him as a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner. We discuss the different DEI considerations for global communities, while also ensuring the implementation of fair, company-wide practices. We also talk abut DEI fatigue in the workplace, and strategies to help prevent it. To connect with Girish, you can go to his LinkedIn page here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/girish-ganesan
Topics In This Episode
- What brings Girish joy
- DEI outside of a North American lens
- Experiencing diversity through travel and living abroad
- Keeping inclusion top of mind while making the shift to remote working
- Addressing the needs of employees and customers in the pandemic
- Holding leadership accountable for commitments they make to DEI initiatives
- When it comes to DEI, it’s not “one size fits all”
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Caroline Chambers is the senior director of diversity equity and inclusion at Graham Media Group, in her role, she leads all aspects of the DEI strategy to ensure intentional, measurable practices for building core talent, fostering workplace culture programs that promote equity as well as inclusivi...
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Caroline Chambers is the senior director of diversity equity and inclusion at Graham Media Group, in her role, she leads all aspects of the DEI strategy to ensure intentional, measurable practices for building core talent, fostering workplace culture programs that promote equity as well as inclusivity. While she may be relatively new to the broadcast space, she is definitely not new to the work of being a DEI practitioner. Her background includes management roles in financial services, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.
In our conversation, we talk about the changes and growth within the broadcast media industry with regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She shares some new approaches Graham Media Group has taken with respect to applying the DEI lens to all areas of the organization. We also talk about the importance of accountability, and even though it may be daunting, there are ways to make it positive and encouraging. To connect with Caroline, you can find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-chambers01cc
Topics In This Episode
- Collaborating with other DEI practitioners
- Addressing the emotional and personal toll DEI work takes
- Having a dedication to service
- The conversation around moving back into the workplace, and addressing the needs of the people, from an emotional perspective
- The different experiences different communities of individuals may have experienced throughout covid and the pandemic
- Some of the things you can do in the workplace that create inclusivity
- Connecting leadership with networks of diverse candidates
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Sabrina Griffith is a consultant, trainer, and strategist who works to encourage inclusion and belonging in corporations, businesses, and organizations, as they strive to create equitable practices. She uses her experience over the last 15 years as a DEI practitioner to develop and facilitate engagi...
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Sabrina Griffith is a consultant, trainer, and strategist who works to encourage inclusion and belonging in corporations, businesses, and organizations, as they strive to create equitable practices. She uses her experience over the last 15 years as a DEI practitioner to develop and facilitate engaging and comprehensive sessions on DEI topics, including gender sexuality, LGBTQ+ allyship, bias, race, colorism, and classism to name a few. In our conversation, we discuss how she got started in DEI work, what it’s like to start from scratch with people who are new to these conversations, and ways organizations can approach talent acquisition with intention for creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces. To learn more about and connect with Sabrina, find her on LinkedIn, or on her website, https://www.griffithconsultingservices.com/
Topics In This Episode
- Sabrina’s journey that brought her to DEI work
- Connecting with team members
- The benefits of relationship building, and how to start
- Understanding your needs, as well as the needs of those around you
- Changes that Sabrina sees on the business side around inclusivity
- Performative DEI initiatives
- Is your organization structured to support a diverse and inclusive environment?
- Psychological safety in the workplace
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Heather Holland is the founder and Chief People Officer of Holland Energy Consulting, and in her role, she raises awareness around diversity, equity, and inclusion work within the energy, manufacturing, education, and transportation industries. In our conversation, we discuss the lack of diversity w...
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Heather Holland is the founder and Chief People Officer of Holland Energy Consulting, and in her role, she raises awareness around diversity, equity, and inclusion work within the energy, manufacturing, education, and transportation industries. In our conversation, we discuss the lack of diversity within these industries and we respond to the argument that a diverse workforce just isn’t out there for positions in these industries. We also talk about how companies should examine where they fall when it comes to whether they lead the pack with DEI, if they simply follow trends, or if they lag behind, and some tactics of how they can do better. To learn more about Holland Energy Consulting, go to: https://www.hollandenergyconsulting.com/
Topics In This Episode
- The importance of understanding your skill set so that you can apply it to other industries you may not have considered before
- Considering the needs of various roles within the energy industry, and how to incorporate more diversity
- Looking at the recruitment and interview processes for areas of opportunity to add more DEI to an organization
- Transferable skill sets between industries and overcoming the barriers of entry for applicants
- Challenges in manufacturing and energy industries for DEI
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Gena Pemberton is the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at OmniCom Health Group and in this role she is responsible for developing and driving forward the diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy for the network. Her background includes corporate finance roles over 13 years at Johnson and John...
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Gena Pemberton is the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at OmniCom Health Group and in this role she is responsible for developing and driving forward the diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy for the network. Her background includes corporate finance roles over 13 years at Johnson and Johnson, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a diversity and inclusion certificate from Cornell University.
In our conversation, she talks about the role of bringing current events into the workplace, and how to incorporate our whole selves along with the work of the organization so that team members can have mutual understanding and connection with each other. We discuss the difficulty of DEI and the importance of doing it anyway, and how to lean into those difficult conversations. To connect with Gena, find her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gena-pemberton
Topics In This Episode
- What brings Gena joy with DEI work
- Ways to create connection so that people feel included
- Intentionally making sure that the workplace isn’t separate from events taking place in the society we are in – Making sure we don’t work in a bubble
- Creating a safe space for difficult conversations
- Healthy inclusion – Dealing with difficult conversations in a healthy way
- Putting anger to work
- How to manage fear and worry around DEI work
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Welcome to season 2 of our Uplifting Impact! We have some exciting changes heading your way this season, and one of those is that we have added Justin Ponder as our co-host. Justin is the Chief Information Officer of Uplifting Impact, as well as an educator in the area of ethnic studies. In this epi...
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Welcome to season 2 of our Uplifting Impact! We have some exciting changes heading your way this season, and one of those is that we have added Justin Ponder as our co-host. Justin is the Chief Information Officer of Uplifting Impact, as well as an educator in the area of ethnic studies. In this episode, we talk about some of the updates and changes we’re making to the podcast, we introduce Justin and the work he has done, and he talks about some of the trends he is seeing in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space.
We are also excited to announce our 3-day virtual summit, How To Be An Ally, where we provide a safe space and tools for passionate leaders and change-makers to learn action-oriented techniques for creating a community that prepares them for bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion into their practice. Tickets are now available. To learn more, go to https://www.upliftingimpact.com/
Topics In This Episode:
- Insight into Justin’s role as Chief Information Officer at Uplifting Impact
- Asking for your feedback
- Current trends in the DEI space
- The relationship between inclusion and retention
- Turnover within an organization, and the powerful effect DEI can have
- Making connections between the needs of the organization and the needs of the individual
- Ways to make changes within an organization for the most positive impact
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Daniel Shaffer is a freelance nonprofit consultant and grant writer, focusing on women and minority owned businesses. After graduating with a degree in international relations, he joined a program working in predominantly Black and underserved communities within Pittsburgh, and shortly after found h...
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Daniel Shaffer is a freelance nonprofit consultant and grant writer, focusing on women and minority owned businesses. After graduating with a degree in international relations, he joined a program working in predominantly Black and underserved communities within Pittsburgh, and shortly after found himself wanting to leverage his privilege to help open doors for members within his network that may not have had the same access otherwise.
In our conversation, we talk about the landscape of nonprofit funding, some of his tips for clients looking for funding, and how Covid has impacted access and processes for funding. To connect with Daniel, find him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-e-f-shaffer
Topics In This Episode
- Working within a personal network for professional connections
- The catch-22 of funding and running programs as a nonprofit
- Challenges of getting funded as a woman and/or a person of color
- Navigating the unwritten rules for getting funded
- Shifts in funding as a response to covid
- Measuring the commitment of funders to stay dedicated to positive change
Connect
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-e-f-shaffer
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Mita Mallick is the head of inclusion, equity, and impact at Carta, and has previously served in cross-cultural marketing roles, such as the Head of Diversity and Cross Cultural Marketing at Unilever and worked on projects like the Vaseline Healing project. She has been named Working Mother of the Y...
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Mita Mallick is the head of inclusion, equity, and impact at Carta, and has previously served in cross-cultural marketing roles, such as the Head of Diversity and Cross Cultural Marketing at Unilever and worked on projects like the Vaseline Healing project. She has been named Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It, as well as being listed as one of the 50 People Under 40 who are shaking up beauty. In our conversation, we talk about the importance of diversity within an organization from end-to-end, meaning, all aspects of the business. I was also personally excited to share with her how much I loved a recent article she wrote, “I don’t want to be a super mom. I just want to be a mom” and the expectations our society has on mothers and motherhood. To learn more and connect with Mita, you can find her on Linked In.
Topics In This Episode
- The impact of people seeing themselves reflected in marketing
- Her motivation behind her work in marketing
- Opportunities for growth within the United States
- Unseen areas for better DEI within companies
- You can say you stand for values – are you ready to stand up for them when it matters?
Connect
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mita-mallick-2b165822
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mita_mallick13/
Article: https://www.mother.ly/life/pressure-to-be-super-mom
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Laura Kriska is an internationally recognized expert, with over 30 years of experience in cross-cultural relationships and providing that to help organizations bridge gaps in diverse workplaces. Early in her career, she worked for a large Japanese corporation, where she got first-hand experience in ...
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Laura Kriska is an internationally recognized expert, with over 30 years of experience in cross-cultural relationships and providing that to help organizations bridge gaps in diverse workplaces. Early in her career, she worked for a large Japanese corporation, where she got first-hand experience in what it was like to be an outsider of what she calls a company’s “home team”. From that experience, and throughout her career, she developed strategies to help create inclusion and has written all about the “us versus them” dynamic in her book, The Business of We. To learn more, connect with Laura, and order her book, you can find her on LinkedIn or at her website, https://www.laurakriska.com/.
Topics In This Episode
- The dynamics that are created in department mandates
- Unspoken relationships and how they play out in the workplace
- How to identify unspoken dynamics
- Making changes before it’s too late
- Examples of when “us versus them” is ok in an organization
- The “us versus them” self-assessment: https://www.laurakriska.com/assessment
Connect
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-kriska-she-her-0a93902a
Website: https://www.laurakriska.com/
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