Race at Work with Porter Braswell

Pfizer's Chief Global Supply Officer and Executive Vice President Mike McDemott sits down with our new host, Channa Green, to discuss how leaders can become active and supportive when it comes to having conversations about race and inclusion at work. As you'll hear Mike explain, it takes courage, practice, and persistence. Mike also explains why, despite a bumpy year for DEI in corporate America, he'll continue to focus on promoting inclusion — not just for his employees, but for patients around the world. Race At Work is produced by 2045 Studio.

2045 Studio is proud to present Season Four of Race at Work. Join us this season as host Channa Green and our guests examine the state of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in what's turning out to be its most controversial year since 2020. Tune in to learn from leaders at Fortune 500 companies who will inspire you to become a more inclusive leader at your organization. New episodes are available every Wednesday. 2045 Studio helps companies ensure their employees of color are seen, heard, and valued. Learn more at 2045studio.com.

In the final episode of Race At Work Season 3, Porter chats with Michelle Gadsden-Williams, Managing Director & Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at BlackRock. They discuss the costly mistakes companies make when it comes to retaining employees of color and the milestones that indicate successful DEI initiatives. BlackRock recently released its impact report and launched a 1 billion dollar fund to invest in businesses and projects owned, led by, or serving people of color. Michelle is also an author. Her most recent book, out now, is titled “Driven by Intention: Own Your Purpose, Gain Power, and Pursue Your Passion as a Woman at Work.”

In this episode, Porter chats with Deb Liu, CEO of Ancestry. They talk about why diverse teams in tech build better products - from design all the way through the review process, it all matters. And when it comes to talking about race at work, Deb thinks pretending it doesn't affect the workplace only alienates your employees. Deb's book “Take Back Your Power” is all about lessons from tech, leadership, and motherhood. It will be out Fall 2022.

In this episode, Porter chats with Tom Naratil, Co-President Global Wealth Management and President Americas at UBS. They discuss why for leaders, it's not enough to just be supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion at your company, but you must be committed. Tom also talks about why empathy is an important skill for a leader to develop - he believes the more you work at it, the better you get.

In this episode, Porter chats with Erika Irish Brown, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Talent at Citi. They discuss the elements needed for a DEI leader to thrive - like support from the top and having the human capital as well as budget resources - and how data can help stakeholders understand why DEI isn't a “nice to have”, but an important business case.

In this episode, Porter chats with Jason Mayden, CEO of Trillicon Valley, a modern design collective. They discuss the record-setting projects he worked on at Nike, why he left a dream job to build Superheroic, and why the impact he aims to have with Trillicon is meant to be multigenerational. Jason's forthcoming book “A Kids Book About Design” comes out this May. 

This episode is the second and final part of Porter's conversation with Ryan Williams, co-founder of Jopwell. They share personal stories from the Jopwell journey, like a rejection from TechStars that led to a yes from Y Combinator, what it means to be Black founders in the tech space and the challenges they face when it comes to leading a diverse company.

This episode is part one of Porter's chat with Ryan Williams, co-founder of Jopwell. They talk about the origin story of how they met, what it was like working in finance as young Black men, and how their professional experiences led them to believe Jopwell was a much-needed platform.    

In this episode, Porter chats with David Stiepleman, Co-President, and Co-Founder of the global investment firm Sixth Street. They talk about the reasons for the lack of funding for diverse founders. They also discuss why Sixth Street's summer fellowship program is critical in their approach to diversifying their internal team and the private capital industry more broadly. Porter and David also discuss why it's the responsibility of both the company and the broader industry to create spaces for employees to talk about race at work.

In this episode, Porter chats with Kwasi Mitchell, Chief Purpose Officer at Deloitte. They discuss why Kwasi's role is crucial in creating frameworks for organizational purpose, which is the greater mission that helps companies Deloitte serves and its employees find purpose in their daily work. They also talk about creating pathways of success for employees and why it's a passion for Kwasi.

In this episode, Porter speaks with Dr. Paula A. Johnson, the 14th President of Wellesley College. They talk about how classrooms need to be set up for discussions when it comes to highly charged topics amongst a diverse student body, why simple changes to job description wording can improve corporate recruitment on campus, and how COVID showed that living on campus is an equalizer for students. As a physician-scientist, Paula made a significant impact through her clinical and research work. Before joining Wellesley in 2016, she was a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard. 

In this episode, Porter chats with Kim Davis, Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs at the National Hockey League. They discuss the life-changing impact a sponsor made on Kim's career and why the Rooney Rule - a policy started in 2003 by the NFL that requires teams to interview candidates of color for leadership roles - isn't implemented in the NHL. Kim starts the show by recounting some of the overt racism she experienced early in her career.

To kick off season 3 of Race at Work, Porter chats with Jacqueline Welch, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at the New York Times about why representation matters at all levels of an organization. Jaqueline is the second Black woman to be on the New York Times masthead. They also discuss the 1619 project –– a long-form journalism initiative by the Times paper and magazine that reframes the history of slavery and contributions made by Black Americans. They get into the project's impact and how it's leveraged internally to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture.

This is the second part of a two-part series exploring critical race theory (CRT) and its influence on diversity and inclusion efforts in workplaces and classrooms. Laura E. Gómez, a law professor at UCLA, teaches in the school's Critical Race Studies Program, which uses CRT to explore how legal and other systems intersect with race in the U.S. In the final episode of Season 2, she tells host Porter Braswell that racism isn't about individual prejudice, but rather about the messages our larger society gives us about our identities.

This is part one of a two-part series exploring critical race theory (CRT) and its influence on diversity and inclusion efforts in workplaces and classrooms. Julia Carrie Wong is a senior reporter for The Guardian, and she's been covering the ongoing debate around CRT in schools and federal employee trainings. CRT is an academic discipline that teaches that racism is deeply embedded into U.S. legal and political systems. Wong talks with host Porter Braswell about what CRT is, efforts to ban CRT from classrooms, and why some institutions are resistant to making CRT a standard educational tool.

Don and Liz Thompson are leaders in their respective industries. Don had a long career rising through the ranks of McDonald's, eventually becoming the company's first Black CEO. Meanwhile his wife Liz Thompson was a rising executive in education and nonprofits – like City Year Chicago, where she was the founding executive director. Throughout their careers, the Thompsons kept their community in mind. In 2014, they started the Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The CAFE), an organization focused on college access and career attainment for the Black community. They talk to host Porter Braswell about being intentional with their work, in order to build economic equity in the Black community whenever they had the opportunity. They also discuss breaking racial barriers while climbing to the top of corporate America.

Shelley Stewart III, leader of the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, discusses a new report that examines the gaps and barriers Black Americans face in the U.S. economy. Stewart and host Porter Braswell review the report's findings and explore how addressing representational imbalances could create greater economic equity.

Anne Chow is the first woman of color to serve as the CEO of AT&T. As a business leader and the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she's made it a point to have conversations about race and ethnicity in the workplace throughout her 30-year career at the company. Chow is the co-author of a book about unconscious bias in the workplace, and she tells host Porter Braswell how business leaders can create safe spaces for employees of color.

As host of a hit new Netflix TV show, “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America,” and founder of a food media company, Stephen Satterfield has a platform to share Black narratives. He tells host Porter Braswell how powerful it is to share these stories, and why it's important for them to be told through the lens of an all-Black production crew.

How should organizations support employees who experience racist incidents in their personal lives, and how can those kinds of experiences affect their work? Grammy-winning trumpeter and activist Keyon Harrold tells host Porter Braswell about a racist attack against him and his teenage son, how the music industry responded, and why that experience changed his career.

CJ McCollum, Portland Trail Blazer and National Basketball Players Association vice president, talks to host Porter Braswell about holding both his team's and the NBA's leadership accountable. He also discusses how management can be supportive of race-related issues happening inside and outside of the workplace.

Carla Hendra, Ogilvy’s global CEO of growth and innovation, talks to host Porter Braswell about her experiences with power and privilege during her decades-long career in the advertising industry – and how those dynamics affect representation within the industry.

Napheesa Collier, forward for the Minnesota Lynx, has been outspoken about police brutality and racism throughout her basketball career. She joins host Porter Braswell to discuss how her team and the WNBA have been using their platforms to fight for social justice.

The director of Talent Management and Diversity at the largest cannabis operator in the U.S. talks about the racial disparities in the cannabis industry and what a more equitable and inclusive future would mean.

What is privilege? Can people of color be racist? Can white scholars and consultants be experts on race? Scholar-activist Devon Lee answers some “uncomfortable” questions about race at work – to lay the foundation for the rest of the show’s new season.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian discusses his journey to become an inclusive leader, and how senior leaders can lead change in their companies to address internal and external racial justice issues.

Deborah Yeh, Sephora’s Chief Marketing Officer, discusses unconscious bias in retail and marketing, as well as how it affects customers and their relationship with brands.

Charles Mah, a leader in talent management within the tech industry, discusses the problems with traditional recruiting pipelines and explains how to improve diversity recruiting.

What’s the difference between unconscious bias and a microaggression? How is diversity actually defined? And what’s problematic about using the term “minority”? Doug Melville, VP, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Richemont North America, joins host Porter Braswell to answer questions about diversity, equity, and inclusion that can be awkward to ask at work.

Goldman’s former head of Human Capital Management talks about the role race plays at work, employee retention strategies, and the importance of having sponsors for one’s career.

The Chief People Officer of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America explains why she leads with inclusion when building more diverse cultures, the important role of language, and how the PGA of America is addressing past discrimination in golf.

Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s Chief People Officer, explains how she approached Cisco’s all-hands meeting on race, where some employees posted racist comments. She also discusses how Cisco engages in the topic of race in a global context and shares her experiences as a Latina climbing the corporate ladder.

U.S. Congressman Antonio Delgado discusses the hidden obstacles he’s faced in his political and corporate career as a Black man operating in largely white spaces, how he engages with race in his work, and how he works across differences in Congress to find common ground.

Havas New York CEO Laura Maness discusses how having more representation is good for business, why breaking down systemic racism means looking at the language we use, and how to hold corporate leaders accountable for increasing racial representation at work.

ESPN host Jay Williams discusses the lack of racial representation in basketball leadership, what corporate America can learn from the NBA about reckoning with race at work, and how he approaches professional situations when he’s the “only” in a room.

Mastercard’s former Chief Diversity Officer Donna Johnson explains how to make long-term change to company culture, why she thinks we should talk about race at work, and when a company should hire a CDO.

WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey talks about using his position as a business leader to speak up in support of Black Lives Matter, why so many start-ups struggle with diversity and inclusion, and what senior leaders can learn from what went wrong with WeWork’s culture.

Host Porter Braswell (Jopwell) is on a mission to create a safe space to talk about race at work. Hear leaders from business and government trace their personal journeys with race, equity, and inclusion. And learn from their mistakes and their triumphs. Join us this season for the candid conversations about race that we need to be having at work.