A podcast unravelling the stories of LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. In each episode, Will Karkar meets queer people to learn about their careers, as well as the successes and setbacks they’ve experienced along the way.
On today’s show, I speak with the fabulous Edy Massih, founder of the vibrant Edy’s Grocer. Born and raised in Lebanon, Edy tells us about his experience moving to Boston, how he discovered his love for food, and how he’s paving new paths in the culinary world for other queer Middle Easterners.From attending the Culinary Institute of America - which included a brief stint in Italy - and training as a sommelier, to catering private events at Spotify and across New York’s elite townhouses, he has always had his eye on the next big thing.But when the pandemic hit, Edy’s catering business came to an abrupt halt and he had to quickly pivot his business model — and, once again, it seems like his strategy is working as he continues to feed New Yorkers with his delicious Lebanese dishes that pay homage to his home. He’s set on becoming the Middle Eastern Martha Stewart and nothing seems to be in his way, especially as he keeps investing in his greatest asset: himself!So, without further ado, here’s Edouard Massih on Corporate Queeries. Stay active and stay queer!
On today’s show (which happens to be our first episode recorded in lockdown!), I speak with Jamie Love, the CEO & Founder of Monumental Marketing. As an openly gay entrepreneur, Jamie tells us about how he left his job in marketing & PR to start and scale his own company that was just named the UK’s Best Growth Marketing Agency of 2020.He shares some of the lessons and principles he’s upheld while navigating different business spaces as a young and gay CEO… from developing connections early-on to challenging heteronormative expectations, Jamie’s career has been nothing short of inspiring over the last few years. Most impressively perhaps, he tells us about how he’s stayed true to his mission of being diversity-centric and authentically Jamie, even in the most pressing of times.Later in the episode, we learn about how Jamie has helped take the Edinburgh Pride Festival from a couple of thousand attendees to now being a key fixture with tens of thousands of paraders each year. And if all that wasn’t enough, we learn about his most recent big life decision... getting a pup while in lockdown!So, without further ado, here’s Jamie Love on Corporate Queeries. Stay active and stay queer!----------Before you go on your way, I wanted to take a moment to talk about what’s been happening over the last few weeks and months.A few days after our last episode was released, one of the biggest explosions in history devastated Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. I’m sure most people will have seen the news about the blast on August 4th that was caused by almost 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. It killed hundreds of people. It injured thousands. And it even displaced hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of seconds.As someone who’s Lebanese myself, and having spent 8 of my childhood years in Beirut, it has been incredibly difficult to watch the city and country I love continue to go through more hardship and catastrophe. Especially now at an even higher, and unprecedented, level.Its important to recognize that this catastrophe was by no means an accident... there has long been a corrupt system and group of people controlling the governing functions and purse strings of the country who knew of the inherent risk here and enabled the catastrophe to happen in the first place. Diving into these specifics would require an episode if not a full podcast to do it justice.At this point, I want to take this time to ask you to pledge any support - no matter how small - that you are able to offer to the people in need there. There are a number of grassroot organizations that are working to rebuild the city and help those suffering. Here are a few that would benefit hugely from financial donations at this time: @havenforartists, @impactlebanon, @baytna_baytak.Thanks again for your support and for listening!
On Episode 3, I speak with Derrick Del Davidow, a Recruiting and Support Manager at Peloton Interactive. As someone born in the South, Derrick tells us about their journey of self-discovery, and how they’ve learned to be their authentic self at one of the largest fitness tech companies in the world.They share some of the lessons they've learned in their career on how to create safe spaces and hire more queer people in a cis-, male- and straight-dominant field. We dive into the opaque healthcare system, and how trans and GNC people have to work ten times as hard to get the medical and healthcare access they need & deserve.There really is something in this episode for everyone - and Derrick is nothing but honest and thoughtful in our conversation, especially when they talk me through what their best queer "night on the town" would be in their favorite city, New Orleans. I hope you enjoy our conversation and feel inspired to progress queer dialogues around you. Stay active & stay queer!
In this episode, I sit down and speak with Jared Katzman, a software engineer in Amazon’s Artificial Intelligence team. Jared tells us about their experience as a non-binary person in one of the fastest growing and most quickly evolving spaces in the tech scene. They spell out the day-to-day realities as someone who's choosing to live their authentic life in the come-as-you-are atmosphere that tech companies advertise. Jared then shares their thoughts on how we should be recruiting and including queer talent in the tech industry, and educates me on the parallels between technology and social justice. I hope you enjoy our conversation and feel inspired to progress queer dialogues around you. Stay active & stay queer!
On this episode, I speak with Marv McMoore Jr. A rising campaigner in US elections, Marv talks through his experience as a gay Black man in politics and campaign offices, as well as his recent role as the National Youth Engagement Director for Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. Marv opens up as he shares what it was like growing up as queer in Long Island, New York. He then breaks down the behind-the-scenes of campaign offices and tells us about what it was like being a black, gay, cis-man in the campaign team for the first major openly gay presidential candidate. Hope you enjoy and feel inspired to progress queer dialogues around you. Stay active, stay queer!