Choose Inclusion Podcast

Just Listen - Dean Haynesworth (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-haynesworth-3829a659/)

Sandy Cross (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandycross1/), Chief People Officer for the PGA of America, takes us inside one of the world's most exclusive sports to talk about their efforts to make golf more inclusive for everyone.

Kelly Cooper (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-cooper-6b742966/), Founder and CEO of Centre for Social Intelligence, joins the podcast to talk about her ongoing fight for gender diversity and equality, starting as the "token" female in a group of all men in the science and engineering world, to being on the Canadian delegation for UN meetings where the world first united to address gender diversity in the 1990s, to starting her own business to continue the work today.

Just Listen - Ariffa Bevin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariffa-bevin-she-her-hers-8a58ba79/)

Just Listen - Jimi Vaughn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimivaughn/)

Just Listen - Yvan Demonsthenes (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvandemosthenes/)

Deanna Singh (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannasingh/) is leading efforts through various businesses and projects to help those from marginalized communities. That's the common thread that ties all her work together.

Mark Jones (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-jones-baa3a627/) is the Manager, Accessibility & Services for Guests with Disabilities at the happiest place on Earth, Disney. We talk about Mark's journey as an able-bodied person working everyday to bring the same experiences to those with disabilities in a place where everyone just wants to be happy and enjoy life. We also talk about the impacts of COVID on these types of experiences and how a pandemic helps shift how companies think about their employees and customers.

We have a very special and timely episode of our #BlackVoicesMatter series with guest Magalie René (www.MagalieRené.com) who is talking to us about the Georgia Voting Law SB202, the controversial law which many have argued has clear voter suppression intentions. We talk about the organizations and media productions taking a stand in Georgia and how compassionate leadership is needed more than ever to help us fight oppression and systemic inequalities. Please listen.

What a milestone that we honestly never thought we'd achieve! But here we are and we wanted to share our learning journeys and A-HA moments from some of our favorite episodes.We talk about everything from racism, disabilities, intersectionality, global views, and the one thing that ties it all together - hope.

Just Listen - Nichelle Pace (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nichellenpace/)

We catch up with our favorite Blind Paralympian, Lex Gillette, who was our first #BlackVoicesMatter guest after George Floyd's murder.

Just Listen - Jourdan Saunders (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jourdansaunders/)

Caroline (care - o - line) Casey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-casey-837ab822/) is the Founder of The Valuable 500 and she's on a mission to get 500 companies to agree to recognize the value and worth of the one billion people globally living with a disability on their business leadership agendas. She, along with our cohost, Mike Hess, were named one of the Top 20 Disabled People with a Global Voice You Must Follow.

Just Listen - AJ Moody (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-aj-moody-27609b71/)Also, we recorded this episode in video because AJ is deaf and was accompanied by his two interpreters who were both in different locations. So please watch this special episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Kn0l7M1ATeM

Rio Cortez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rio-cortez-87926063/) is the author of the incredible children's book, The ABC's of Black History (https://g.co/kgs/L1Dxbw), teaching the ABC's with historical facts and details about the Black community. You should pick up a copy at your local bookstore today because adults and children alike can learn from this!

Elena Joy Thurston (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenajoythurston/) is the Executive Director of the Pride and Joy Foundation. She believes the best way to decrease the rate of suicide and homelessness in the LGBTQ community is to help families learn Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness, and to regain their freedoms lost due to religion or expectations of others, or even a pandemic.

Just Listen - Dee C. Marshall (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deecmarshall/)

Hannah Smolinski (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-smolinski-cpa-she-her-16994aa/) is Founder and CEO of Clara CFO Group and a Senior Advisor to Upside Financial. For this special and timely episode we are talking about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), its original implementation a year ago, the changes since then (including the new changes in effect this past week), and its impact on inclusion of all business owners in this country.Here are some resources for business owners in regards to the PPP: https://f.momentumtools.io/?form=v4_mbfghfvvixio&rp-id=RP016115 - Upside Financial's lending partner for anyone looking to apply for a PPP loan https://borrower.upsidefinancial.com/promo/HannahSmolinski - Upside Financial link for anyone looking to maximize their forgiveness https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1TfAapbr2J8izI8MH3ttw - Hannah's YouTube channel for PPP clarity

PresenTense (https://www.linkedin.com/company/presentense/), led by co-CEOs Ariella Rosen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariella-rosen/) and Khouloud Ayuti (https://www.linkedin.com/in/khouloud-ayuti-09a80858/), is a nonprofit based in Israel working to bring together all the vastly diverse groups in Israel, empowering these mostly marginalized groups through entrepreneurship in the "Startup Nation."

Just Listen - Zhalisa "Zee" Clarke (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhalisa/)

Just Listen: Mayor Travis Stovall, Gresham, Oregon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-stovall-21499/)

Joze Piranian (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jozepiranian/) is of Armenian descent, born and raised in Lebanon, living in Toronto, and a TEDx speaker and stand-up comedian who has a stutter. With humor and insight, he talks about his story of growing up mostly silent in a place where his stutter was taboo to taking the stage to control his story and inspire others to be more inclusive.

Nick Lum (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicklum/) went from being an attorney to creating Beeline Reader (https://www.beelinereader.com/) to help anyone read a screen more easily using the color spectrum. He truly took the "accessibility for all" to heart and he tells us his story in this episode.

Mike Lee went from software developer to speaking on ethics in tech to focusing his work on helping people be better versions of themselves. Listen in to this episode for inspiration on taking the high road to help humanity.

Just Listen: Dr. Dianne Alynda Carson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianne-alynda-carson-ed-d-b47b7064/)

Just listen: Brian "Woody" White (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwoodywhite/)

Sonya Barlow (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonyabarlow/), Founder of the Social Enterprise LMF Network, D&I Coach, and soon to be author, recognizes her privilege in being able to break out on her own and do this work, to share through authenticity and bravery her lived experiences as a woman of color in the corporate world. Her approach is foundational, to help organizations learn the basics of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to make sure they understand that she does not know everything, and that's an advantage to creating strong connections and partnerships.

Just Listen: Vanessa Wakeman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessawakeman/)

Monica Diaz is a DEI author of the book From INTENT to IMPACT: The 5 Dualities of Diversity and Inclusion. She is also a DEI leader at Royal Caribbean Group. In this episode, we talk about the joys and scars of doing this work in large corporations and as solopreneurs and practitioners. We explore some key concepts from her book to help people doing this work put some key strategies in place to keep doing this work successfully.

Rebekah Mersereau founded Rebekah Jane Art as an Inclusive Community Art Instructor to bring creativity and the chance to create art to anyone (mostly children), whether they're neurodiverse or on the Autism Spectrum. In our first crossover episode, Choose Inclusion talks about this concept of creating places of inclusion within small communities, or within teams inside organizations. And then we continue the conversation on Rebekah's podcast, Connections through Creativity (https://rebekahjaneart.ca/connections-through-creativity-the-podcast/) on Friday Dec. 4.

Just Listen: Dan Miller (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmiller9/)

Just Listen: Judge Carlos Moore (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosmoore/)

Just Listen: Sidney James (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidneyjames/)

Vikas Narula and his wife, Priya, are co-founders of KeyHubs in Minneapolis, which uncovers the tapestry of workplace relationships that largely dictate how work gets done. Vikas talks about relationships, open networking, and serendipity, all of which come to life in his story of meeting George Floyd in 2019. Please just listen to learn how relationships like theirs just might save our divided nation.Here is a link to Vikas' blog about meeting George Floyd: https://www.keyhubs.com/blog/how-i-met-george-floyd/

Just Listen: Denise Hamilton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamiltondenise/)

Just Listen: Denise Hamilton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamiltondenise/)

Just Listen: Rhoden Monrose (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhoden/)

Manu Meel is the CEO of BridgeUSA, an exceptional group of young people who are committed to bridging the political divide through empathy. BridgeUSA represents around 30 college and university chapters whose mission is to invest in the future of democracy by developing the next generation of engaged and constructive citizens. They want to help shift the polarization of politics to be driven by empathy! This could not be a better time!

Shailvi Wakhlu (https://twitter.com/ShailviW) is a POC Engineering Lead who is often the only female POC leader on her team. Her original focus in bringing DEI&B to her teams was on gender roles. But as the conversation shifted this year to focus on systemic racism, so has her drive to bring the WHOLE conversation of DEI&B to her teams. How do you do that as a manager, whether your company is focused on the conversation or not? And how do you use this and other data to examine and understand whether your product or services are harming specific groups of people?

Just Listen: Cachet Prescott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cachetprescott/)

Abe used his time in prison to his advantage, reading and studying everything he could to develop technologies that will save the world. He started Imhotec Geoengineering and is readying his investor-backed and patented flood mitigation system for widespread use. Part 2 of Abe's story is all about his entrepreneurial spirit that drove him while he was wrongfully incarcerated. His demeanor and spirit are nothing short of inspiring. Everyone needs to listen to Abe's story.

Abe was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a white man in El Paso County, Colorado over 30 years ago by the same police department depicted in the movie "BlacKkKlansman." In part 1 of this episode, we explore that experience and discuss the systemic racism and oppression that led to his arrest and conviction.

Melinda Arnost (https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-arnost-71b35b14a/) has been teaching special education children as an Intervention Specialist and through her work, she has developed and authored a new book coming out this winter, “Empowering Inclusion - the Tool Teachers Need for ALL Students to Succeed.” She is helping all teachers learn how to build relationships and teach social-emotional lessons to create an inclusive classroom. We believe this book should be required reading for all leaders. Have a listen!

To kick off our second season (Year Two), we have Dr. Steve Yacovelli, known as "The Gay Leadership Dude," who brings a unique lens we haven't looked through yet on this show, the Queer lens, to help leaders build inclusive cultures. His book "PRIDE Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle," while written to help LGBTQ+ leaders develop and lean into their natural ability to be authentic, for example, is actually a guide for anyone looking to be a better leader.

Just Listen - Danielle Shoots (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-shoots-44741338/)

Just Listen: Kelsea Médard (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelseam/)

Neena Patil (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neenampatil/) is the first General Counsel AND leader of DEI efforts at her organization who we've had on the podcast. In a time of two pandemics (COVID and Racial Inequalities), health and other disparities are magnified and the work Neena is doing to ensure that inclusion and diversity flow throughout her organization and the communities they serve is truly inspiring.

Just Listen - Kandice Guice (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kandice-guice-48549752/)

Just Listen - Travis Stovall (https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-stovall-21499/)

Just Listen to our younger generation of Black voices.