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446 Who am I? Medical Help that Saves Children's Lives Featuring Dr. Rachel Sewall: “I want to shout from the mountain tops!” Today we hear from Rachel Sewall, M.D., a Stanford pediatric endocrinologist who provides medically necessary care for transgender and gender diverse young people. She says that her work is highly emotional, with extreme highs and lows. People view this population with great fear and considerable ignorance as well. Valid medical information is powerful and important. Seeing how people view these young people is constantly on my mind. She says: When I was a medical student, I didn't have clear goals for what type of medical practice I would pursue. However, during my work in the emergency room, I realized, as did my colleagues, that I got very excited when working with children, so I decided to focus on pediatrics. I knew I'd be an advocate for LGBTQ+ young people. A colleague implied that they are rare, but I realized that wasn't true. In fact, surveys tend to underestimate the percent of trans individuals and LGBTQ+, do to underreporting due to feelings of shame and fear, but the surveys still suggest a trans population around 2% and an LBTQ+ population around 15%. So, together, we are likely looking at roughly 20% of the population fall into one or both of these two categories. As a first-year medical student, I did research on hormones. These are chemical messengers telling our bodies to do things. Figuring out the actions of hormones is like a complicated puzzle (Rachel explain a little, pleaee. I also went to a camp for kids with Type I diabetes. It was a perfect marriage for me! (Rachel fill in why please). My work with children and teens is a combination of medical and emotional support. More than anything else, these kids want to be listed to and respected. And the highs and lows I experience, as I mentioned earlier, can be extreme. Many begin sobbing when I talk to them, because they're so grateful that someone is listening! Reviewing basic definitions, your gender is usually assigned at birth, due to your sexual organs. They say, “Hurray! It's a boy!” Or “Hurray! It's a girl!” But as your identity and sense of our gender evolves, and it may not be the same as the gender assigned to you at birth. Gender identity begins to form around 18 months to 3 years old, but can emerge at any time later as well. Most of us “know” our gender identity by the time we are 5 or 6, but it can also emerge during puberty as well, or even later. They may suddenly say, “this is not whom I am.” And some, of course, say “I am neither male nor femail.” That's where the terms cis and trans come from. Cis means that your assignment at birth and your gender identity—your sense of who you really are—can be the same. If so, you are a cis male or a cis female. But if they are not the same, you are a trans. For example, a trans male was born with female genitalia but a male identity evolved. And a trans female was born with male genitalia but a female identity evolve. Many trans individuals experience great distress when taking showers, since they may feel repulsed when they see that they have the “wrong” genitals. Gender identity has overwhelming power. Some have told me, “I just want to tear my skin off!” Sexual preference and gender identity are not the same or linked in any particular way. Sexual preference simply refers to who you love, sexually and emotionally, and want to partner with. Rachel continued, Hormonal interventions can be life-saving. If you are a trans male, having periods can be profoundly disturbing, often to the point of triggering suicidal urges. Helping these kinds and their periods via hormonal interventions can bring enormous relief. They often say, “Dr. Rachel, you saved my life!” I almost always work with the family, and my goal is for the family to learn to function as a team, all working together to provide love and support for their child, so they can say, “this is my child and I love and accept them unconditionally!” I emphasize that there is no right or wrong on their gender journey. Metabolic and surgical interventions both have their place in treatment. The time to go public with who you really are is an important social and cultural decision, and this also varies tremendously. But regardless of age, gender-affirming medical care can always make a tremendous difference in your life! Rhonda and I are deeply grateful to Rachel for giving us this wonderfully patient and clear education in a field that was not even covered, to the best of my knowledge, when I was a medical student at Stanford. We hope your voice today, Rachel, will be heard by many, and will hep to bring greater peace, acceptance, love and understanding to our many podcast fans. Thanks! Rachel, Rhonda, and David
Join us as we listen to Mayrena Guerrero speak about her success and vision for her company and the future of outpatient mental health. How as a BIPOC/LGBTQ/Immigrant she has a unique perspective on how to navigate issues for shared identities and how we need to do better to meet people where they are at. How Colorful Resilience can improve this model in community mental health and how they are changing the way that clients are served. As the 27th largest LBTQ owned business in the state, she is owning her space on the stage and looking for ways to increase the capacity for others. As a 3-year-old company who employs 15 currently, Mayrena is looking for growth opportunities and sees this as a values conversation through partnerships like the one they have with the Smith School for Social Work. Visit www.colorfulresilience.com for more information. Thank you Mayrena for all that you are doing.
Join us as we listen to Mayrena Guerrero speak about her success and vision for her company and the future of outpatient mental health. How as a BIPOC/LGBTQ/Immigrant she has a unique perspective on how to navigate issues for shared identities and how we need to do better to meet people where they are at. How Colorful Resilience can improve this model in community mental health and how they are changing the way that clients are served. As the 27th largest LBTQ owned business in the state, she is owning her space on the stage and looking for ways to increase the capacity for others. As a 3-year-old company who employs 15 currently, Mayrena is looking for growth opportunities and sees this as a values conversation through partnerships like the one they have with the Smith School for Social Work. Visit www.colorfulresilience.com for more information. Thank you Mayrena for all that you are doing.
Join us as we listen to Mayrena Guerrero speak about her success and vision for her company and the future of outpatient mental health. How as a BIPOC/LGBTQ/Immigrant she has a unique perspective on how to navigate issues for shared identities and how we need to do better to meet people where they are at. How Colorful Resilience can improve this model in community mental health and how they are changing the way that clients are served. As the 27th largest LBTQ owned business in the state, she is owning her space on the stage and looking for ways to increase the capacity for others. As a 3-year-old company who employs 15 currently, Mayrena is looking for growth opportunities and sees this as a values conversation through partnerships like the one they have with the Smith School for Social Work. Visit www.colorfulresilience.com for more information. Thank you Mayrena for all that you are doing.
Join us as we listen to Mayrena Guerrero speak about her success and vision for her company and the future of outpatient mental health. How as a BIPOC/LGBTQ/Immigrant she has a unique perspective on how to navigate issues for shared identities and how we need to do better to meet people where they are at. How Colorful Resilience can improve this model in community mental health and how they are changing the way that clients are served. As the 27th largest LBTQ owned business in the state, she is owning her space on the stage and looking for ways to increase the capacity for others. As a 3-year-old company who employs 15 currently, Mayrena is looking for growth opportunities and sees this as a values conversation through partnerships like the one they have with the Smith School for Social Work. Visit www.colorfulresilience.com for more information. Thank you Mayrena for all that you are doing.
Kate and Callie are the presenters of this page by page study of Chapter 2 - There is a Solution. Zoom. This recording was provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate Email: sobercast@gmail.com Event List: https://scast.us/event Roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up? List the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2700+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com
On today's episode I have actress, and filmmaker, Vera Drew! Vera's new the film "The People's Joker" is quickly becoming a hit after her recent win at The Gotham Awards. This film is unlike anything I have seen and is so incredibly unique as Vera tells her story of coming out as a trans woman through the lens of the Joker. I talked with Vera about how she got her start in the industry, how the concept of the film came about, the catharsis of telling her story on her own terms, advice for those in the LBTQ community, or anybody struggling to tell their story, the films amazing guests stars, and so much more. A huge thanks to Vera Drew for taking the time to join me on the show today. I had such a great time talking with her and learning her story. Make sure to follow her on all of the links at www.onthemicpodcast.com and please go check out the film on Mubi or buy it now on Amazon! Thanks, Vera! Enjoy the episode!
Hostem je známý moderátor, redaktor a novinář, pan Jiří Václavek, který pracuje již 25 let v České televizi. Aktuálně ho můžete vidět v televizi jakožto moderátora zpravodajství Studio ČT24 a pořadu 90' ČT24. V tomto rozhovoru diskutujeme jeho práci v ČT, osobní život jakožto aktivního katolíka a člena LBTQ+ komunity, a dále i obraz církve v mediálním prostoru. Pan Václavek si prošel procesem coming outu a je jedním z mála veřejně známých věřících, kteří jsou ochotni diskutovat svoji víru a život v církvi.
Beth D and Katy L share on the topic of Dr. Bobs Nightmare out of the big book, this was recorded in January of 2019. This recording was provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://scast.us/weaa I just added 4 new events to the event list. The 47th Annual Cornhusker Roundup being held in Omaha Nebraska in mid August. Details: https://scast.us/chusk The Redwood Coast Roundup being held in early August in Fortuna Calif. Details: https://scast.us/red The 18th Annual Mountain AA Conference held in Big Bear Lake California in the middle of August. Details: https://scast.us/mount The Sever cAAmpvention held in Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom at the beginning of September (this one looks like a lot of fun). Details: https://scast.us/scv If you have any AA or Al-Anon event coming up let me know I am happy to help get the word out. https://scast.us/event Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate Email: sobercast@gmail.com Roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up? List the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2600+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com
If you were enjoying Milwaukee's nightlife 15 years ago you might remember a rowdy group of LBTQ people playfully takeover your bar. That's when Guerrilla Gay Bar was at its peak.
This week on a special edition of the Stoop Storytelling Series, five stories that uplift LBTQ+ voices and spotlight the ongoing struggle for equality. The next live Stoop show is Thursday, June 27th at the Creative Alliance. The theme is “B-More Proud: Queer Tales of Charm City.” Storytellers: Jabari Lyles Eric Thomas Rohaizad Suaidi Katy Caldwell Eric Anderson Music: I Thought You Were Cool by HolinzaCC0 Something Elated by Broke for Free Bird by James Pants Naked Lunch by Jahzzar Prime by DJ Williams Part VI by Jahzzar Love Love Love by HolinzaCC0 The Stoop Storytelling Podcast is hosted by Laura Wexler and Jessica Henkin, produced by Maureen Harvie, and distributed by Your Public Studios.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pres. Biden tried to expand some transgender rights through Title IX... the Utah Legislature just told schools to ignore those changes. The bill, which passed in 1972, is meant to ensure no person be denied any education program based on gender. House Speaker Mike Shultz told Tim and Amanda this morning on Utah's morning news this change doesn't work with recent Utah laws that passed. KSL 5 TV's Lindsay Aerts joins Dave and Debbie to give us the latest after Utah's special legislative session yesterday. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas also join the conversation to give listeners historical and legal context of Title IX.
The Granite School District's plan to ban cell phone use in schools Dating at Her Age, a new KSL Podcast We feel 10 years older than our actual age Buyers are gaining power in the housing market What's at stake as Trump and Biden prepare for first presidential debate? The trend of sleep divorce Fighting summer boredom with Cool Stuff in Utah!
Do YOU Own a LBTQ+ Small Business? We Want To Help... to honor Pride Month, all next week we will be highlighting local small businesses under LGBTQ+ ownership. email us at morningshow@mix1041.com
Do YOU Own a LBTQ+ Small Business? We Want To Help... to honor Pride Month, all next week we will be highlighting local small businesses under LGBTQ+ ownership. email us at morningshow@mix1041.com
April is Earth Month, which is a time to reflect on the one planet we have and for a lot of us that brings up climate change, and how it's affecting our communities. James Comiskey is an activist with Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement that aims to use nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action on climate change. He's also a co-leader of Boston's Rainbow Rebellion, which is an offshoot of the group focused on the intersection of climate and LGBTQ issues. Comiskey joins The Common to discuss how climate change disproportionately affects the LGBTQ community, and the queer legacy of social activism. Greater Boston's daily podcast where news and culture meet.
Hour two we have our weekly visit with Tim Sullivan. Bobby V talks some UofL, KP, NIL and more with Sully. Back end of the hour we have some fun with the text line being nice. Talk some James Spader and David Padgett. Bob has a theory of his everyman-ness. Nick educates us on LBTQ slang. Bob makes peace with Brian Wilson.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Patrick talks about the importance, and biblical truth, of praying through the intersession of the Saints in heaven, helps discern how to pick a confirmation sponsor and delves into the book of Enoch which is not included in the Catholic Canon. Rod - Is it okay for a living person to talk to a dead saint, to ask them to intercede for us? Is there any scripture that says that this is okay? Lia - My son has his confirmation coming up. Who can he pick as his sponsor? Break 1 (18:36) Patrick shares what to do if someone mocks Mary in your presence and gives his take on the Paul - Advice for marriage, his wife is getting influenced by LBTQ group and other bad friends, probably going for a 50-year-old crisis, she had an affair and he has forgiven her. Isabella - Book of Enoch: why does the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have the book of Enoch and other different books? Break 2 (37:08) Barbara - I am a linguist: How do vowels work in Hebrew and when did they get introduced in the Hebrew writing? Mary - Our daughter, a strong Catholic, participated in a ritual dance invoking aid of spirits after the birth of someone; it included n the burning of part of the umbilical cord. What should I say?
Twitter is good for something. Joanna Johnson appeared on my radar this year. When the rest of social media was name-calling (Dean raises hand), doxxing, and calling each other pedos and groomers, Joanna, a teacher with 20 years under her belt, decided to educate. She's become a viral sensation by offering facts on everything from the curriculum your kids actually learn, to what the Save Our Children movement REALLY wants to how to the gaslighting of Israel/Gaza keyboard warriors. Joanna gives 3-minute masterclasses on fats instead of fiction, and she's cool AF about it all. Her podcast is incredible. Her common sense is undeniable, and your education is her privilege. We talked: - Teaching in the smartphone age and how to protect your kids (you can't) - What are child rights versus parental rights? - Kids selling out their parents - Religion's role in academics Part two of our podcast was on Joana's Unlearn16: Shool's in session: Listen here.
Sheriff reminds drivers to remain cautious, Illini football plays Kansas, Illini football breaks attendance record, and LBTQ organization faces threats.Hosted by Kaitlyn DevittStories by Kaitlyn Devitt, Elissa Eaton, Laszlo Richard Toth, and Ashley GilbertMusic by Boxout
With unprecedented numbers of anti-trans and anti-LBTQ+ bills being presented in state legislatures across the country, Tiffany Woods says it is critical that we stand up and fight for trans, nonbinary, and LGBTQ+ people now more than ever. In 2023, more than 500 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 36 states across the country, rolling back decades of progress on trans rights fueled by transphobia, deliberate misinformation, discrimination, and misplaced fear under the false guise of “protecting children, girls and women.” These bills by GOP lawmakers across the country have been focused on prohibiting trans health care for youth, and at least 10 states have already passed such bans. Proposed bills range from gender-affirming care bans, bans on transgender youth participating in sports, bills that bar trans people from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender, and LGBTQ school censorship on what schools can say about LGBTQ people, to drag bans and bans on name and pronoun changes on government-issued documents. Trans youth, who have been the primary focus of anti-trans legislation this year, are experiencing a mental health crisis: A 2022 survey by the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group focused on LGBTQ youth, found that 86 percent of trans or nonbinary youth reported negative effects on their mental health stemming from the political debate around trans issues, and nearly half had seriously considered suicide in the past year. We will highlight the worst of these legislative attacks and the collective efforts to fight back from communities impacted and the states protecting trans and LGBTQ rights. About the Speaker Tiffany Woods is a nationally awarded LGBTQ+ leader and chair emeritus of the California Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus, the first trans woman elected a caucus co-chair, and a member the Democratic National Committee's Transgender Advisory Committee. In 2020, she was honored by the California Legislature's LGBTQ Caucus as a 2020 Pride Honoree. She has 21 years experience in public health with expertise in HIIV prevention and trans health and is currently serving as the first state transgender health manager at the Office of AIDS, Prevention Branch, California Department of Public Health, where her primary responsibility is the development and coordination of departmental and statewide programs and trainings focused on gender and trans health education, with a focus on statewide coordination of HIV prevention services related to the health and well-being of transgender individuals in California. This program contains explicit content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Broadcasting from the Free State of Florida. Joe Biden wants to roll back short-term health insurance plans because they are too "skimpy" and you aren't smart enough to figure out they don't cover all the "essential benefits" that Obamacare mandates. On a related note, they also allow people a cheaper alternative to Obamacare compliant plans and may help people who are looking for limited coverage for "catastrophic" needs. Why have these plans when you can be forced to buy the more expensive ones, enquiring Insurance Company minds want to know. They have found cocaine in the White House but it's looking less and less likely that they will tie it to anyone, and definitely not known cocaine aficionado Hunter Biden. It'll probably be solved the same way they solved the Supreme Court leaker case. Josh Hawley and a member of the Hoover's Boys upper echelon get into it over the unwarranted queries on 278,000 Americans. Surprise, surprise nobody got fired. The administrative state is the major impediment to freedom in America today. Interestingly enough the Judicial Branch seems to be the only part of the govt standing up for freedom nowadays. Law students at Boston University are being offered counseling due to the recent Supreme Court rulings. Maybe after counseling they can go on a woke hiking trail. Woke hiking groups in Oregon have created separate trails for people who are "plus-size & fat, Black, Idigenous, People of Color, queer, trans and non-binary, disabled, neurodivergent, and beyond" so that they can be safe from prejudice. The Philadelphia shooter who dressed posed in a bra and women's clothes on Facebook is NOT part of the LBTQ+ community according to the (left-wing) media but rather a Trump-supporting gun nut. https://doctortommy.com/podcast
Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.alnwickgarden.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianjmcallister/https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-05-24/worlds-biggest-play-park-set-to-open Ian McAllister is the Strategic Head of Marketing and Communications at The Alnwick Garden and Lilidorei. His route into attraction marketing wasn't an obvious one – from not joining the RAF (based mainly on eyesight and petulance) he dabbled in recruitment ( based mainly on proximity to his flat) then television (based mainly on flatmate work envy). He manages a team of marketers who deliver all marketing, PR and communications to these two attractions based in Northumberland. Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip The Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode I speak with Ian McAllister, Strategic Head of Marketing and Communications at The Alnwick Garden.Ian shares with us the magical story behind Lilidorei, logistics of creating a play structure over 26 meters tall, snot ice cream, free Fridays and the impact this will have on the local area and children. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Ian, I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for coming to join me. Ian McAllister: No problem. Kelly Molson: Let's start with some icebreakers, shall we? Ian and I, we had a little pre podcast chat a few weeks ago and we established that we're both from sunny old Essex. This could end up quite messy, really, couldn't it? Because I tend to whenever I'm speaking to my Essex kinfolk, my accent goes, very Essex. This might get messy. Ian McAllister: The good thing is, living up here, people don't know my real accent, but once they hear that, I'm sure that it'll come out. Kelly Molson: They will after this, Ian. Right, okay, icebreakers. I want to know, topical, what's the worst Essex nightclub that you've ever been in? Ian McAllister: Tots, Southend. But it was so bad that I used to go every Friday. It was bad for the sticky floors and for the people that were there and for the music they played and everything about it was terrible. But every Friday I would still go up there. I don't know why.Kelly Molson: So bad. It's so good. I can remember driving there from my part of Essex and going out Tots. Someone broke my big toe into Tots. Literally, like, stamped on my big toe and broke it. Ian McAllister: Do you remember? There was a place called Ritzes, which I think was in Romford, and went there one night, and this was back in the day, where people thought if you were wearing trainers, you were going to cause trouble, so you weren't allowed to wear trainers. And a mate of mine, Paul Mayo. I had two good friends in Essex, Paul Mayo and Ross Gherkin, so they were the three of us. But Paul Mayo went up to the club and they wouldn't let me say trainers. So he left the queue and went around the corner, took his shoes off and took his black socks off, put his trainers back on and his black socks over his trainers, and they just let him straight in. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: Yeah. Which made Moonwalking brilliant, because he had a really good sock that he could moonwalk across the dance floor. Kelly Molson: That is ridiculous. That's ridiculous. So sorry, we just need to go back to your friend's names as well. Mayo and Gherkin. Are you joking? Ian McAllister: Mayo and Gherkin? No. So, I mean, I was always Mac. So I was always Ian Mac. Then there was Mayo and Gherkin. So they were the three of us that used to kick around together in Essex. Kelly Molson: That is chaos already. Ian McAllister: There you go. Opening question. Kelly Molson: This is an ethics thing as well, right? Everybody has nicknames, don't they? You know the Gavin and Stacy thing, where you got Smithy and what? Chinese Allen. That's the thing. That is so Essex, it's ridiculous. Ian McAllister: My nickname for ages was I wasn't a good looking chap growing up. And I had a brace, a demi wave, and I had these big reactor like glasses and I don't know if you've ever seen the National Lampoons European vacation, but the sun was called Rusty Grizzwald. So my friend Gary decided that I was just called Rusty, so he still calls me it to this day. So I'm still just Rusty. Kelly Molson: Oh, God, that's so weird, because my next question was going to be, if you ever been told you look like someone famous, who was it? Ian McAllister: Yeah, but that's not a positive thing. Kelly Molson: No. I wasn't expecting Rusty from National Lampoons to come up. Ian McAllister: I mean, lots of people to try and compare themselves to you, like some Brad Pitt and George Clooney, whereas I'm going for 15 year old Rusty Grizzled. Kelly Molson: Humble. I think that's quite humble, isn't it? Right, final one. I feel like the ice is well and truly broken, melted. What is your best scar story? Ian McAllister: My best scar story is a very recent one. Last year on New Year's Day, I took the kids for a lovely walk to our local woods with the dog. And me being me, I challenged them both to climb a tree. And it was a tree that was like one of these trees that's too good not to climb, do you know what I mean? It was really big branches and big trunk. So I've got twins, 14 year old twins, a boy and a girl. So my daughter was like a whippet and she went up the tree and then my son, with a bit of encouragement, went up the tree and he got his foot wedged in, like the V of the branch, about seven and a half, eight foot up, so he couldn't get out. Ian McAllister: So I climbed up behind him and I held onto a branch either side of him. I said, "Right, all you got to do is just wiggle your foot a little bit". So he obviously didn't hear a word I said. He yanked his foot out, so we both fell out the tree. So I grabbed onto him and he landed on me. And as he landed, I heard ankle snap. So I'm at the top of a woods, probably a mile into the woods. So the kids that week before have been at Scouts and they learned about what three words. So we had to phone an ambulance and they did the what three words and this, that and the other. Ian McAllister: So the ambulance had to then he couldn't drive, so you had to push the stretcher for a mile, pretty much up an incline to get to me. Had to take a breather because it was so far up, put me on the stretcher, but then the ambulance had to drop, so it's just me and the kids that live here with the dog. So the ambulance then had to drop the dog and my kids at my house before they took me to hospital. So turned out I completely broken my ankle, so I had to go for an operation. And I had a metal plate pulse, ligament and wiring all around my ankle. Ian McAllister: So I've got a treat of a scar on my ankle that they also cut through two nerves, so I also can't feel from a nerve down from the little toe, from a knee down to the little toe at the minute. Kelly Molson: I feel like we're going to have to put a warning on this podcast episode, if anyone's like a slightly queasy disposition. Wow. I was not expecting that. Ian McAllister: Yeah, it's a lovely story, isn't it? I think I've learned the lesson. I made a blue plaque on photoshop about Ian fell here and I went back to the tree afterwards and pinned it on the tree. Kelly Molson: It's a special moment. Ian McAllister: That tree will always be in my memory. Kelly Molson: But well done, your children, on learning the skills to get you out of a very tricky situation. Ian McAllister: Yeah, it was great, but they loved it because they got riding an ambulance, so their Snapchat stories were filled up that day with pictures of them and the dog in an ambulance on a muddy New Year's Day. Kelly Molson: Great story. Thank you for sharing. I feel like we've started the podcast on high. Ian McAllister: We can't really go any lower than this, can we? Kelly Molson: Not really, no. Your unpopular opinion, Ian. I dread to think what this might be. Ian McAllister: Had a few and I was trying to think which one would upset the least people. So I had a few. I was trying to think which one upset the least people. So this one's cake. And I hate cake. And I've always hated cake, really dislike cake. And I think people say to me, "what is it you don't like about cake?". And I think I've narrowed it down to the taste, the texture, the smell and the look. Because just everything about a cake, I don't like. So when it comes to birthdays, the kids obviously get me a birthday cake because they can eat it themselves, but I just don't like cake. I've got a bit of a funny not so much now, but I had a funny food thing. I'm sorry in advance. I didn't eat yellow food for about six months. Ian McAllister: It was anything yellow, even to the point where if I got a packet of M&Ms, I wouldn't eat the yellow ones. Kelly Molson: Can I just ask what age you were? Was this 30? Ian McAllister: Probably worse than that? It's about 35. Like my late 30s. Genuinely, genuinely developed an aversion to yellow food. So my friend Steven, who's head of HR at work, he went through a phase of thinking to try and reeducate me. So every Friday he'd go through Steven's adventures in food. It was all the food that I probably should have eaten by the time I was, like, 40 years and hadn't. So things like sushi or porridge. Every Friday he'd bring in something and it would be a chart, like a reward chart. And he'd put a little sticker on if I liked it or didn't like it. Just because people don't know I'm a 47 year old man with two children. Kelly Molson: Oh, God. And have you eaten a banana since? That's what I need to know. Ian McAllister: Yeah, since I started re eating yellow food, I'm all over it. I like a banana, like a bit of pineapple. Cheese is great. We just have the argument because people would say to me, and this was my bugbear, and they get really irritated with this. It's a what about chips? Chips aren't yellow. They're like a beige. So chips were allowed. Kelly Molson: Okay. And pasta as well. They're all in the beige category rather than yellow. Okay. Ian McAllister: Yeah. So can you imagine presenting me with a yellow cake? Yellow cake? That'd be my idea of h***. Kelly Molson: That's your worst nightmare, isn't it? Jaffa Cake. How do you sit about that? Is that a cake or a biscuit? Ian McAllister: But food of choice would always be a chocolate hobnob. No question. Kelly Molson: Great biscuit. Yeah. In the fridge. Ian McAllister: Great biscuit. Crunch. Good for the dunk. Always in the fridge, yeah. Chocolate. What do you think about this chocolate? Does it live in your cupboard or in your fridge? Kelly Molson: Fridge. I like a crunch. I like it to go crunch and then I like that it then melts in your mouth. It's like two different sensations in one. People will argue about this. This is not an unpopular popular opinion, by the way, but people will not be happy about this at all. Ian McAllister: No, but I mean, the people that aren't happy with it are wrong. Kelly Molson: They are. Agreed. Oh, my goodness, what a start for this podcast. Okay, how did an Essex boy end up in Northumberland? Tell me a little bit about your background, because you're not from attractions background at all, are you? You come from a completely different sector. Ian McAllister: Yeah, when I got married, which since divorced, but when I got married, my best man suggested it was witness protection. That's what kind of brought me 350 miles north. But the fact was I was working, I'm from Essex, as we've previously mentioned, and I then went to university in Surrey. I went to Kingston and I was working just locally, really, just in pubs and clubs. And I went downstairs to my flat and it was a redeployment, so I thought, it's time to get a proper job. And it was literally under my flat and I ended up working there, mainly because it was under my flat and it took about 10 seconds to commute to it. So I spent a bit of time in recruitment and at the time I was living with two flatmates weirdly, both called Marcus. Ian McAllister: So Marcus One and Marcus Two both worked in TV. One worked, I think Channel Five and One was a BBC or ITV. And I kept telling how good their jobs were and how great their life was, and I thought, "Well, you know what, can't beat them, got to join them". So I did actually beat them. So I wrote to MTV with a really cocky letter saying how much it be their big mistake if they didn't recruit me and this and the other. So I went in for my interview and the guy said, I've got you in because you're either really good or really cocky. And I don't know which one it is. So eventually they gave me a job. So I worked in media in London and I think I was there for two years. Ian McAllister: I just got sick of the rat race and it was just the commute to London. It was an hour each way and I was fed up of it, and I was fed up with the people and I was fed up of the busyness. And I met my then wife, who is from up here, but she had a flat in Edinburgh. I just thought, "You know what, I've got no real commitments down here". I don't have any kids or pets or any of that sort of stuff. So I just chose to order and we moved to Edinburgh and I kind of flipped around in recruitment and odds and ends, moved to the north and set up a property company. So were renting properties to students. Ian McAllister: Then I went to work for a marketing company and then I ended up working where I do now, The Alnwick Garden part time doing marketing and then just kind of worked my way up from there. I couldn't remember what the question was. Was it your background? Kelly Molson: Yeah, you answered it well. Yeah. Well done. Ian McAllister: Thanks. Definitely didn't come from tourism, but I kind of came from marketing kind of sales. And I think I've always been one of these people that might be clear by now that could just talk. Kelly Molson: That's coming across. Definitely getting that on this episode. But I like that you sound like someone who makes their own opportunities in life, which I like. You just go out and get what you want and what's going to fit for you. Tell us a little bit about Alnwick Garden because we're going to talk a little bit about something attached to Alnwick Garden. But Alnwick Gardens itself is quite spectacular. Think it dates back is it 1996? It dates back to is that when. Ian McAllister: It was originally about 1890s. We can date it back to. So it was the original garden kitchen garden for the Alnwick Castle. So it was throughout the two World Wars, it was what fed all the local farmers and the local community and this, that and the other. So come the 90s is when the Duchess of Northumberland, who lives in the castle, was married to the Duke. That's when she took it on as a bit of a project. And she got in some designers from, I think Belgium called Vertz Design. So it's a Vertz design garden and she took it over as a garden and she always wanted it to be she always said it was going to be a stage for people to do whatever they want in, so we can put on events. Ian McAllister: We've had random things, like we've had mixed martial arts in the garden and then we've had Peppa Pig characters coming in. So it's a real variety of things that we do in the garden. But, yeah, so it's been open for 20 odd years now. We're a charity, so we're just about celebrating the 20th year of becoming a charity. So, yeah, the Alnwick Garden itself is a garden, as you'd expect. It's got world's largest Taihaku cherry orchard outside of Japan, got Poison Garden, it's got the world's largest treehouse, which is a restaurant. It's got all these kind of unusual things that you wouldn't necessarily put in, like an RHS garden or a queue garden type place. And it's a great big open space that we market, people come and we do weird events in. Kelly Molson: So it's quite special in its own right, isn't it? But then, about twelve years ago, Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, she had another idea, didn't she? And that's what we're going to talk about today. Do you all get a little bit worried when she says, "I've got this idea?". Because this one's been a pretty mental one, hasn't it? Spectacularly mental one. Ian McAllister: Yeah. It's kind of that first glimmer of, "Oh, God, what's it going to be now with the backup of the thing is that when she has an idea, she sees it through". And I say this, I know a lot of people chuck this phrase around loosely, and I don't mean it this at all. She's a visionary, because she has these completely off the wall ideas, but has then got the determination and the team behind her to actually see them through. So the new project being the biggie, which has been years in the making and years in the planning, and I'm sure do you want to introduce it or do you want me to say what it is? Kelly Molson: Well, what do you do it. The world's biggest children's play park. Ian McAllister: Yeah. So it's called Lilidorei, which every single thing in it is from her head. And she's got this really creative outlook on life, and she's then pulls in the right people to kind of bring them to life. So she imagined this place where kids could just be away from technology, where they could play and actually play like we used to when were little. And we'd go out making dens and kind of making up our own stories. And it's called Lilidorei,. So the concept of the place is that it's a Lilidorei, village and there's nine clans that live in this village and all of the clans worship Christmas. So you've got good clans and you've got bad clans. Ian McAllister: And it's weird talking about this in a normal way now, and I've seen construction staff talk about this, and it feels weird to be saying things like the elves and the fairies and the pixies. But it got to the point when were building where you'd see the big construction workers and the joiners fags in their mouth, talking about pixies houses and fairies and elves. But the concept is that some of the clans are really good, like the fairies and the pixies, and then some are a bit more troublesome, like the goblins and the hobgoblins and the trolls. But at Christmas time, they all come together to worship Christmas. So whilst it's Christmas themed, it's not Christmas all year, apart from the gift shop, which is fully Christmas at every time. Ian McAllister: They can buy a ball tomorrow if you want, but we've also got the world's largest play structure. So the place structure was built by a company called MONSTROM, who are based in Denmark. And it's one of these things that's got to be seen to believed, which makes marketing it quite tricky because you can't really feel it until you stood underneath it. But local landmark, the angel of the north, is always a good point of reference. So our play structure is 6 meters taller than the angel of the north. And there's a slide from the top, so it's a 26 meters high structure and there's a slide that comes from 20 meters up. Ian McAllister: But to get to this slide, you go around this really convoluted system of walkways and corridors and climbing up uncomfortable spaces and squeezing through things and climbing up nets, and that's just part of it. The rest of it is all these clan houses. So it's a really fascinating place. Kelly Molson: It's amazing, isn't it, that all of this came out of her head? So I watched the ITV, did a publication on your launch, which was it was only a couple of weeks ago, wasn't it, that it opened? The presenter of the snippet, he went up the slide and came down it and he was talking it through and he was saying, 26 meters. And I was like, "Yeah, that's quite high, isn't it?". But you can't really grasp when someone says that. To me, I couldn't really kind of grasp what the height of 26 meters actually looked like. So when you said that comparison that you've just given about the angel of the north, that's really big. Ian McAllister: But there's no point. It's all enclosed. So, like, you've got open netting and this and other but there's nowhere that kids can actually fall off, if you like. So I think kids, it tests their bravery. It's handy for us from an insurance point of view, health and safety, certainly, but kids like, test themselves. So you'll see them start the session and they'll just be on the little swings at the bottom or on the little spinny mushrooms, and then by the end of the session, you see them at the top running around like it's no one's business, just testing bravery. I think that's the big thing. Kelly Molson: Yeah. And I love the idea that it opens your imagination. You can be any part of that story. You've got that underlying story of the clans and that they worship Christmas, but then you make your own part of that story to go with it, and based on where you interact and where you go and where you climb or what houses you go into and all of those kind of things. It is pure magic, isn't it? Ian McAllister: It is. And we've got a team of people that work. They're called secret keepers. So they're sitting in their outfits and costumes, but they're really extravagantly dressed with feathers in their hats and all sorts. Their job is almost to facilitate the play. So it was almost a marketer's dream when I started off because we couldn't really talk about what it was because people didn't understand until it was built, couldn't see it. So I came up with a concept, which is the most lazy marketing you'll ever think of and the whole tagline which is carried through is, what's your story? So really what we're doing is we're encouraging people to make their own narrative and to make their own story, which saves me the job for a start, but also we don't want to dictate that. Ian McAllister: Well, that clan looks like this because you can't see the clans, you can see the houses and you can imagine how they are, but you can't actually see anything. So when you get there, it's all brought together by this immersive sound we've got. It's like a million quids worth of sound system for each clan. House has got its own immersive sound system that kind of gives you implications or ideas as to what that clan might be up to or what's happening inside the house. So you can look into their house window and you can see how it's all set up. So it kind of starts to build this picture and then the secret keepers are there to encourage that with the kids and, "What do you think they look like? And could you hear that sort of noise?". Ian McAllister: And it gives this underlying narrative for every kid that comes, is obviously going to leave with a different picture of what a particular clan or a particular circumstance is like. Kelly Molson: That's amazing. So you don't have the characters. They never see what the goblins look like, for instance. They have to make all of that upload in their own minds. Ian McAllister: Yeah, I mean, we've got this sort of narrative in the background. We've got an idea of what Duchess has imagined the Clans to look like or the Clans to do, or the Clans to kind of be like. But we never tell the kids this. It's all about provoking thought and provoking story. There was books that I used to read when I was a kid, and they would choose your own adventure books, and it was kind of you make your own adventure. So every even if one kid came to Lilidorei, five times, they might have a completely different experience each time just because of their imagination and the sort of stuff that the secret keepers have fed them, if you like. Kelly Molson: I love that. While we're talking about secret keepers, you've got ahead of Play, haven't you, Nathan? I don't know any other organisations or attractions that have got ahead of Play. How did that kind of come about? Ian McAllister: So to give me his full name, it's Nathan Bonk.Kelly Molson: Excellent name. Ian McAllister: Nathan Bonk, he's come over from America specifically to organise the play and the secret keepers and this. So that's his kind of creation, if you like, in conjunction with the Duchess. So he was meeting with the duchess virtually daily to make sure he's on the right lines, and she was happy with what he was doing, but to kind of put an extra element of weirdness into the story, which in case we haven't had enough weirdness in the podcast already in the Garden going back two or three years, I'm friends with a guy called Stewart who's the reigning Mr. Gay World, and he's only reigning because they disbanded the competition after he finished it. So he kept title. He's kept that. So he got in touch to say that he wanted somewhere to host Mr. Gay England, which is like a pride initiative. Ian McAllister: And it's not just a catwalk, it's education and it's exams, and then the winner of it ends up representing the gay community to go to Parliament and lobby Parliament and speak in schools and this and the other. So I said, well, the best place, really, if you think of the most sort of unusual place that you could think of in a really rural town where there aren't many people of any persuasion, would be Alnwick. So we put it in the middle of the garden. The cat walks right down the middle of the garden, and we've rebranded that entire day, which we're doing again this year, Gay Day. So what we do is we have Gay Day, and it's everything. We've got market traders, LBTQ+ friendly market traders and face painters, and we do trails and all sorts of things. Ian McAllister: So anyway, last year we had Mr. Gay Europe and Nathan's friends with Stewart. So Nathan came over to help with the competition. Mr. Norway had COVID, so couldn't turn up. So there were one person short. So Nathan ended up weirdly representing America in the Mr. Gay Europe competition. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: If you get to know Nathan, as you'd understand, he's always got an outfit of two just stashed away just in case. So he came out with like, the short camouflage shorts and the face paint and waving the USA flag. Anyway, after Gay Day, he went home and he'd fallen in love with Alnwick. And it was just it wasn't New York. He lived like a six minute walk to Central Park. So it's totally different. But he fell in love with the place. And he sent me an email, a bit of a video explaining why love Alnwick and if there's any opportunities that came up, and this, that, and the other. And the only thing that popped in them ahead as soon as I saw his video was the head of play, and I just knew that he would be the person for this role. Kelly Molson: But was it a role that you were looking for or did you create. Ian McAllister: It for the role we discussed? We always discussed that we needed someone. It was going to be it's almost like a head of operations for Lillidorei, but that sounds far too boring. So we always knew there was going to be a role for somebody. I don't think we quite realised to the extent of how influential this role would be in creating the entire story and the entire visit. So Nathan, with his ideas, he's opened theme parks before. He's been in stunt performances in various theme parks. He opened, like, the Harry Potter experiences in Orlando. So he's done all this stuff already. But I remember he Zoom called me one morning. He said, you're never going to believe it. I've got an interview with the Duchess at lunchtime. Brilliant. So I gave him a few bit of background and what were working towards. Ian McAllister: About 2 hours later, he zoomed me back. He said, you're never going to believe it. I've got the job. They sort me out a house. I'm flying over next week, and I've got a tea at the castle with the Duchess. It's like every American film you've seen where they tried to represent England in a completely fictional way. He was living it. Kelly Molson: What a life. Wow. Ian McAllister: And that was it. And he's been here since. And he loves it. He's absolutely settled. He's incredible. He's got this team of amazing people who do things like juggling with Diablos and teaching kids that go on balance boards and hula hoops. Their job is to interact with everybody that comes in and just create the atmosphere. Kelly Molson: And that's what makes the place so special, isn't it? It's that interaction from the people and the encouragement of the ideas that the children have to explore them that makes it a magical place. Ian McAllister: It is. It's incredible to sit as a construction site. All of a sudden. And now to see 600, 700 kids running around each session screaming and laughing and coming out with ruddy faces and wet trousers, it's everything we wanted it to be come to life, a Kelly Molson: It sounds magic. And I've seen those faces, I've seen the kids faces on the ITV clip, which we'll put in the show notes, actually, so you can have a look at it if you haven't had a chance to go up there yet. I want to talk a little bit about, because you've said a few times now, Alnwick want to talk a little bit about, because you've said a few times now, Alnwick, it's relatively rural, a small community, there's not a huge amount going on there other than this spectacular Alnwick Garden and Lilidorei that's just launched. You offer Free Fridays. And I saw the Duchess talk about this. It's for local children, school children, to come for free on a Friday so they can experience what's happening there. What impact do you think that Lilidorei is going to have on the local community and the children there? Ian McAllister: I think so. Two elements to that, really, then, the creation of the attraction itself. We've always estimated roughly, or looking quite accurately, based on recent figures, that it's going to bring an extra 200,000 people a year into the area. And that's going to benefit, obviously, it's going to benefit us, it's going to benefit the Alnwick Garden Trust, it's going to benefit the Alnwick Castle, which is another attraction up the road. All the local restaurants, pubs, hotels, everyone's going to benefit because what we're hoping to do is turn AlnwickAll the local restaurants, pubs, hotels, everyone's going to benefit because what we're hoping to do is turn Alnwick into a multi day destination, so people won't just come for one of the things and go back to Newcastle, back to Edinburgh. They'll do it as a day trip. So we're hoping that it will really kind of drive the local economy. Ian McAllister: So in terms of local economic benefit, I think that's kind of nailed, really. The figures are already quite obvious. In terms of the Free Fridays, then you don't have to go that far out of Alnwick, particularly if you went to South Northumberland and there's quite a lot of people that are in all sorts of various situations. There's schools in different areas, there's kids that just would not be able to afford to come otherwise because it's comparable to other attractions. But it's still not a cheap day out, it's not three quid to go to the local soft play. So there's a lot of kids that the Duchess particularly just didn't think it was fair, wouldn't be able to experience it, hence Free Fridays. Ian McAllister: So the idea of Free Friday is that every school child in Northumberland, and then eventually, when we've kind of been running for a bit, we'll widen it to Tyne and Wear into Newcastle. But at the minute, every child in Northumberland should be able to experience Lillidorei without having to pay. So we've opened up this application process where local schools can apply to come to one of the sessions and that's for any Friday throughout the year. So already the mini uptake has been phenomenal and there's schools that you see that you think, you know, I know exactly what area that school is in and without making too many judgments, you know, that they just would not be able to afford to come, so we're giving them the opportunity to come. Ian McAllister: So that's part one of Free Fridays, which is well underway at the minute, and I think we're almost booked up for the rest of the next twelve months with Fridays. Kelly Molson: That's amazing. Ian McAllister: But the next part is that the Duchess is to now do other initiatives to try and put money into a ring fenced account. So then eventually when that account builds up, we'll also be able to start to subsidise travel. So if you've got a school that's an hour's journey away, hopefully this pot of money, they can apply to it to pay for their hiring of a school coach or a minibus or whatever it's going to be to actually bring the kids up. So it's an entirely free day and there's different things like she's doing private tours, we're doing packages where you can have a nice meal at the treehouse and then come into Lilidorei afterwards. So like I say, that's all going to be ring fence specifically for transport from Free Fridays. Kelly Molson: That's incredible. What an opportunity. And like you say, for the kids that just would not have that opportunity to be able to go and experience it. It's just such a wonderful thing to be able to do. Ian McAllister: It is, it's incredible. And I think a lot of the feedback we saw before we opened, because again, as I say, it was quite hard to explain the concept of it and what you actually got for your 15 quid entry fee. So a lot of people say you've outpriced us and we can't afford it and this, that and the other. And that's why it was really good to then say, "Look, if you want to bring your kids, just tell your kids to speak to their teacher and get the teacher to speak to us and we can facilitate them for free". So it's making a difference already. It's incredible. Kelly Molson: Yeah. And I guess then it's about selling what that 15 pounds gets you the benefits of that 15 pounds. Yes, it's a relatively higher price point, but you start to break it down about the experience that they get there and the magic that can actually happen that they can't get anywhere else, and then it starts to become slightly more appealing purchase. You can stay there for quite a long time, right? You've got that dwell time as well. So when you work it out, cost per hour, it actually seemed quite reasonable. Ian McAllister: And I think having two kids myself, I think what am I going to compare this to? So you can't compare it to going to local council run park because it's nowhere near the same, it's not just a climbing frame. And then I think, "Well, what else would I do for the kids for that time period on a Saturday if we're bored?" Probably get the cinema. So the cinema is going to be 1520 quid to get in. And then, sweetness, you got 2 hours of sitting in silence watching a film and then you come out, go home and that's done. Ian McAllister: So to compare it to that, to Lilidorei, you've got a three hour session where you can come in, whole family can interact and it's running free and it's fresh air, I mean, it's not fumbling, it's always fresh air and by fresh I mean probably freezing most of the time. But you've got this it's a completely different experience and I think where people were just looking at it as it's a climbing frame, well, I could just go up the park. So it's trying to explain to people that it is different and yeah, it doesn't work out a really cheap day if you've got two parents and three kids, for example. But what we have done, we've introduced, and we're going to look at this after some holidays, we introduced the founder Lilidorei membership. Ian McAllister: My idea with this is always it's got to be for the child focused. So it's the child that has the membership. So little Johnny could have a membership for him and an adult, or him and two adults, and that means they could bring in mum and dad or they could bring in Nanny Granddad or they could bring in whoever they want. But it's always for me been the child that dictates this whole thing. So we always say that well behaved adults can come in with a responsible child. So we've kind of flipped the narrative a little bit there. And in terms of the membership itself, I used to read the Beano when I was a kid and the only thing I ever wanted grown up was Dennis the Menace fan club membership. Ian McAllister: And with that it cut a wallet, a membership card and a badge. And so for me, Lilidorei membership, you get a wallet, a card and a badge. So all these founder lidorians walk around proudly displaying their badge because there was a limited number of to be the very first people to be these members. But it's empowering the kids. The adults are allowed to come if the kid says they can come. I almost wanted to wake up on a Saturday morning and the child go, "Right, mom, you've been good, you can come with me. Dad, you got to wash the car and do the dishes". Kelly Molson: I love that. I love that giving them the choice of who they take and to take Granny as well. Yeah, it's a really good point about the memberships, isn't it? Because it is generally tied to the adult and the children that they have. But I love that you've empowered the kids to make that choice. Yeah. So you've got to be the kid. The parents have to be good all week. Ian McAllister: Exactly. That's to end the story points.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Well, we're going back to your food eating and your little sticker chart, aren't we? That's what you need. There you go. Sell that in the shop for the adults to buy their sticker reward chart, whether they get to come back or not on the next visit. Ian McAllister: That's a great idea, talking to the shop, actually, just briefly, because you may. Kelly Molson: Segue listen, I'm on fire today, Ian. Segue into the shop. Ian McAllister: My good friend Matthew Henderson, who anyone who listens to podcast will have heard him before. He has been incredible. He's been absolutely amazing. It was him that put you and I in touch in the first place. We bought him in to get the shop ready. And to say it's shop ready is the biggest understatement of the century, because I've never seen anything like it. The people that work in retail, a retail manager, Tracy, to coin a phrase, and not sound corny, it's like all the Christmases have come at once, because she's always wanted this shop that she's proud of, that she's selling things that she believes in. It's all been sourced specifically for her. And Matt has done just what a job. It's incredible. Kelly Molson: He is such a great guy, Matt. So Matthew came on our podcast. It was only a few episodes away, actually, ago, actually, and Matt used to work at Beamish and now he's out on his own. He's a consultant now and helps lots of attractions work out their special offering, the uniqueness when it comes to products. And I have seen a photograph of the shop and, oh, my God, it looks like an attraction in itself. It looks like something you'd pay to go visit in itself, like a Santa's Grotte or say. It's just incredible. Ian McAllister: It's phenomenal. And he was also fundamental in helping us with all the food and stuff that we're doing across site, but mainly in there. You know about the ice creams? Kelly Molson: I know about the ice cream. Tell us. Ian McAllister: So there's three flavours. I mean, you've got a vanilla, but then you've got the other obvious choices. You've got Troll Snot ice cream and you've got fairy dust ice cream. So fairy dust is like a raspberry ripple with popping candy. And Troll Snot is pure bright green, but it's sour apple, which sounds vile, but it's actually really nice. But I've got pictures of him with a hair net at the ice cream facility, which I keep telling him should be his next Tinder profile. He's got so involved in it, he's been instrumental in the whole thing. I don't think we'd be anywhere near where we are now without Matthew. Kelly Molson: Oh, wow. Well, that is a massive compliment to Matthew in itself, isn't it? No, he's a great guy. And I think it's something that sometimes gets a bit overlooked when it comes to shop. And you often go to places and you see the same things. Exit through the gift shop, you see the same things, and it genuinely just feels like, and I can only say this from the photos, but it just feels like you're stepping into such a magical world as an extension of the magical world that you've just come out of. Ian McAllister: It really is. It's surreal because on Press Day, we had a launch day a couple of weeks ago, it was so hot. It was a beautiful day. I clearly have the sunglasses on all day, caught a nice tan. Apart from the work stuff, it was a really nice day. But then you do, you exit into the shop and it's like you've already sudden fast forwarded six months and you're in the middle of Christmas. There's Christmas trees and candy canes and balls, not to mention the ridiculous amount of old fashioned sweet jars with trolls fingers and different fudges. And it is surreal because then you've had this 20 minutes Christmas experience in the shop and then you're back into 24 degree heat again. It's bizarre. Kelly Molson: You opened on was it the 25th of May? Is that your opening day? Ian McAllister: Yeah. So a couple of days before half term, were supposed to have a lot more testing than we had, but because of construction issues, we ended up with two testing days. We were supposed to have at least a month or two months testing, but we had to literally do it all in two days. So we opened a VIP date and then we opened for the public on the Thursday. We would never have predicted this, the Thursday Friday, and then the full half term, every single slot was sold out to the point where after a couple of days, we made a judgment call to up capacity and then we upped it again. And it's been full, absolutely full. Kelly Molson: And have you kept that capacity as well? Ian McAllister: Because I think we didn't want the risk of opening, saying, right, we're going to get 800 kids in per session, and then all of a sudden there's 800 people trying to go down a slide. So we didn't want to ruin the visitors experience with queues and with too many people and crowds and this and the other. So we opened with 300 capacity, which was, I mean, once 300 people are on the play structure, you kind of see it. It's like you can't hear them, you can't see them, they've just vanished like ants. So we upped it to five and we're looking at up in it again to, I think, 750. We're going to maybe try and push it up to for some holidays. Kelly Molson: Gosh, that's incredible. So safe to say that it's been a successful launch, then. Ian McAllister: You know what, we couldn't have asked for more. We've had the weather, we've had the publicity. Everything has been going so well. It's been a really positive experience. It was touch and go for a bit where we're all sort of walking around a few days before launch. S***, there's a bump there. There's a thing here. And the construction team, I've never seen anyone react like it like the lighting team would pretty much work until 04:00 in the morning. So they'd work all day. But then they'd want to test their lights so they'd have to wait until it got dark. But then they'd work all night till 04:00 the next morning, go home for a few hours kip and then come back again. Ian McAllister: And we've got a big thank you party tonight at Lilidorei to thank all of the staff, volunteers and construction team for everything they've done to a few hundred people coming tonight. And it's been overwhelming how everybody's got involved, even contractors that might be there for a week doing something. It's been almost like a pride project for them. Kelly Molson: It's amazing. Well, but that shines through in what you've created, right? Everybody that's touched it has taken some kind of ownership of it. What a lovely thing to do. Just throw the party as well to say thank you. It's June now. The story behind Lilidorei obviously involves Christmas. I'm really intrigued as to what you might have planned for Christmas. Are you allowed to talk about any of that yet or is it embargoed? Ian McAllister: I can talk about it a little bit because I've seen it. So we had a sneak peek. So for the last two years, we've been followed around by MGM who have been filming the documentary for Channel Four. So Channel Four documentary goes out, I think, August. So there's a six part Saturday night documentary going out all about the Duchess. It's called The Duchess, but it's all about her leading up to this project. So their last filming day was VIP press day. Kelly Molson: Wow. Ian McAllister: About three days before that, we had a preview one night at 10:00. We would like to go onto site to get a preview of Christmas. I don't even think I can come up with the words. And I'm quite good with words. I can't even put together a sentence that explains quite how magical it is. It's just the lights, the sounds, the atmosphere. And this was a summer's night at 10:00, so I can't even think what it would be like when it is actually Christmas. And we've got three Santa's grottos. To talk, you kind of back a little bit. Ian McAllister: You've probably seen the picture of the big Lilidorei entrance gate. So when you get to the gate, you've got sounds. You've got a troll talking to a pixie and who wants pixie, wants to let us in and the troll won't let her. So you stand there and you can hear this immersive sound and they won't open the gate. So what you have to do is kind of find a way around and go through a hidden tunnel. At Christmas, those gates will open and it's like, all of a sudden, Christmas is there. So you come in, every Christmas tree is going to be lit, and bear in mind, we've got 1400 Christmas trees. Every Christmas trees got fairy lights in. The atmosphere was just phenomenal. It sounds like a cop out, but it's got to be seen to believed. Kelly Molson: Well, I look forward to that, because that sounds right up my street. Ian McAllister: You know, you're welcome. You're more than welcome. I'll even treat you to some troll snot ice cream. Kelly Molson: How could I possibly say no to that? Ian McAllister: It's the Essex charm, isn't it? Kelly Molson: Just wins me over every time Ian, thank you for coming on. So we always ask our guests to recommend a book at the end of a podcast. What have you got for us today? Ian McAllister: And it was post, COVID I read it and someone had recommended it. So I went and bought a copy and it's got to the point now where I've probably funded about 90% of the book sales because I'll keep buying copies and saying to someone, you love this, I've given them a copy and it's The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Have you read it? Kelly Molson: Yeah. Great book. Ian McAllister: For me, I think I am where I am now and my career path, my life path, everything was based on decisions and sometimes it's easy to sit and think, that's a bad decision. If I hadn't made that decision, I'd be much happier now. And The Midnight Library, for anyone who hasn't read it, is all about going back and retrospectively looking at your decisions that you've made in life and you get a glimpse of where that decision took you. And I think for me, what it did was instead of me constantly going back, not depressed or anything, but you kind of sit and dwell sometimes instead of thinking well. Ian McAllister: So, for example, I nearly joined the RAF when I was 17 and I wanted to be military police, but because I've got terrible eyesight, they said, well, we can't give you a gun because you probably shoot the wrong person. So they offered me dentistry. So, looking at the time, I was typical Essex. Toys were out, the pram, I'm not doing this, I don't want to do it. So I went to uni and did all that stuff. But I often think back, I think, you know what? If I'd have gone in the RFN and had paid to train me as a dentist and I've done the service, I could have come out and sat me in dental practice and this, that and the other.Ian McAllister: And I often think, would I be happier had I done that and done that as a career path and been a professional, if you like, because I still don't consider myself a professional. But then this book almost made me reframe that a little bit and think, you know what, I might not have done that. I might have hated it or something else would have changed and I wouldn't have had my beautiful children, I'm a stupid dog, or wouldn't have any of that sort of stuff now if I'd have taken that career path. So in a nutshell, for me, The Midnight Library is a really good read. It's quite an easy read, I found, because I was really invested in it, but it made me reframe a little bit. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's a great book. I've read it a couple of times now and similar to you, it's made me look back at not so much choices but events that have happened to us. Me and my partner, we've had a load of people this is quite public knowledge, we've had a load of trouble having children and we lost quite a few along the way and multiple rounds of IVF and all of that malarkey. And I think that book made me reflect on some of those things that had happened because you start to question, am I a bad person here? Or like, why are these things happening to us? We're good people, what's wrong? Kelly Molson: But some of those things that have happened regardless, despite them being really difficult and quite awful, they've led you to other things that are magic and they've given you gifts of something really tragic happened. Has been able to give us the gift of being able to talk about it openly, which has then gone on and helped other people be able to talk about it or share how they are or just given someone found them, someone that they can talk to. And I think you have to just kind of look back at those things and I don't know, it's a long winded way of saying I completely agree with you and it's a really good book. If you're feeling a bit reflective about your life, it's definitely one to go and have a read of. So yeah, good read. Ian McAllister: I think it may me kind of start to think about the ways I've handled things and how I sort of shape things moving forward so that my best friend died when were at college and my nephew died when he was eight. And all these things in your life that at the time are the worst thing that could ever possibly happen and you could either go one way or the other and it almost explained or kind of put into context a little bit. I think that these things happen not necessarily for a reason, but the way that you cope with it and deal with it and move on after it. That's almost like the learning that you take from it. But this is a different podcast altogether. This is like a griefcast, so we'll do another one. Kelly Molson: This has ended on a complete opposite spectrum than it started, Ian. Anyway, listeners, if you want to win a copy of that book, I'd highly recommend you go and do this. So go over to this podcast announcement and retweet it with the words I want Ian's book. And you will be put into the draw to win a copy of The Midnight Garden. Kelly Molson: Midnight Garden? Midnight Library. Midnight Garden is a whole different book, kids book Midnight Library.Kelly Molson: Ian, thanks for coming on today. It's been brilliant to chat to you. We will put all of the information about Lilidorei and Alnwick Gardens into the show notes so you can have a little look for yourself. But those tickets for Christmas are going to sell out quickly, people, so get yourself on the mailing list. That's all I'm going to say. Ian McAllister: Thank you, Kelly. It's been so nice to talk to you. Living this far north, it's nice to establish my roots with an Essex person again. Kelly Molson: Well, always welcome. Six months check in, right?Ian McAllister: Thanks, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.
If you have any questions or dilemmas please send to Help@lukeandPete.com or message us on any of the socials and we will help you out Luke and Pete style
Kate D and Callie H are the leaders of this book study on Chapter 7. This recording was provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate AA Event: Friends in Recovery Roundup Rally held in Durban South Africa on April 28-29 Details: This event is live and on Zoom. Our group started on Zoom during Covid and this will be our 1st in person event. So we are very excited. https://scast.us/fir AA Event List: https://scast.us/events If you have an AA roundup, retreat, convention or workshop coming up, we would be happy to give you a shout out here on the podcast and list the event on the Sober Cast website. Visit the link above and look for "Submit Your Event" in the blue box. Sober Cast has 2100+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search. https://sobercast.com
Realidad-ES: Ella México : Un lugar seguro para las mujeres diversas Invitada: Beatriz Gabriela Cravioto www.ellafestivalmexico.com FB: Ella International Lesbian Festival IG: @ellamexico Semblanza: Beatriz Gabriela Cravioto López. Estudió psicología, lesbiana transfeminista. directora de ELLA México, el primer festival internacional para mujeres LBTQ+ en Latinoamérica, marketing strategist, directora de The Solvers, agencia de contenidos digitales y producción de eventos. Conducen: Mar Cosio y Guadalupe Ocejo IG: @marcosiorueda @loopsocejo
Kylar Broadus is a true warrior for equality, civil rights, the LBTQ community in general but especially Transgender individuals from communities of color. This attorney, long-time activist, public speaker, author and professor is a groundbreaking trailblazer who forged the way for many of today's leaders. Not content to sit on his laurels, Kylar continues his advocacy in New York, Washington DC and across the nation. He was awarded the Trans Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles. He was awarded the 2018 Gentleman of Excellence Award. Mastercard in 2018 featured Broadus for Pride Month. He was recognized by the Prosecuting Attorney's Office of King's County in Brooklyn, New York in 2018 for his contributions to the legal field.In 2017 Liberty Mutual honored him at the GLAAD Awards for his 30 years contribution to the movement. The Advocate recognized Broadus as one of “25 Legal Advocates Fighting for Trans Rights.” He was named to the Out 100 by Out Magazine in 2013. Broadus was the first out transgender American to testify before the United States Senate in favor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act in 2012. Broadus was given the Pioneer Award at the Trans faith of Color Conference by the Freedom Center of Social Justice. In 2011, he was awarded the Sue J. Hyde Activism Award for Longevity in the Movement at Task Force National Conference on LGBT Equality: Conference Creating Change. He has been featured in Esquire, BlackEnterprise.Com and Diversity, Inc. and numerous other publications. He is founder and director of the Trans People of Color Coalition the only national organization dedication to the civil rights of transgender people of color
Hello Ihr Mäuze, in unserer dritten Christmas Folge gibt es heute einen kleinen LGBTQ-Talk mit der lieben Nora
Trending with Timmerie - Catholic Principals applied to today's experiences.
Fr. Nathan Cromly joins Trending with Timmerie discussing joy, the gaudete candle on the advent wreath, and preparing for Christ's coming at Christmas (2:53). They take a deep dive into the sacrament of confession as preparation for Christmas (20:32). Harry and Meghan documentary – why are people upset? (36:53) Don't buy the polls claiming everyone is pro-LBTQ. It's not true (41:42). Resources mentioned : https://saintjohnleadershipinstitute.org/ https://www.eagleeyeministries.org/
You've waited, you've wanted, it's here. Welcome to the 3rd Series Queeries - featuring the incredible masterpieces of HalloweenTown - Volumes 1-3! We don't count the 4th movie because it's a mess....Here's our feedback of the first 3 movies. Don't be shook... Paramount+Start your 7 Day FREE trail of Paramount+ on us! Hundreds of Shows, Movies and Exclusive Content, available anywhere! Click here to get watchingINSTACARTGrocery shop without leaving your couch! Get FREE SHIPPING on your first Instacart order of $35 or more! Never go to the grocery store again! Click here to shopSupport the showEnjoyed this episode? Don't forget to share with your pals and follow us on Instagram @TwoBlandGays
Glenn Block is a seasoned leader with 25 years+ experience in software engineering and product management. He is currently working on a stealth startup and also advising organizations on product strategy. Throughout his career, he worked at a number of hi-tech companies including Microsoft, Docusign, Auth0, and Splunk. Glenn has been a big advocate for the open source and developer community and was a maintainer for several successful open source projects. In recent years, Glenn has been very passionate about moving the ball forward for creating a more inclusive and safe environment in tech. He invests a large amount of his energy in mentoring, advising, and sponsorship especially for black women, women of color, and the LBTQ community. He has also worked in multiple organizations to change culture and policies, and has been active with multiple non-profit organizations in this space such as TechBridge Girls and Tech2Empower. Most recently, Glenn became a volunteer fellowship coding instructor at Code Nation. Glenn is a lifelong learner and recently went back to school receiving his executive MBA at Seattle University. He is also an avid rock climber and amateur astronomer. He lives with his wife and life partner in his new home in San Francisco. You can follow Glenn on Social Media https://twitter.com/gblock https://medium.com/@gblock PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Spotify: http://isaacl.dev/podcast-spotify - Apple Podcasts: http://isaacl.dev/podcast-apple - Google Podcasts: http://isaacl.dev/podcast-google - RSS: http://isaacl.dev/podcast-rss You can check out more episodes of Coffee and Open Source on https://www.coffeeandopensource.com/ Coffee and Open Source is hosted by Isaac Levin (https://twitter.com/isaacrlevin) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coffeandopensource/support
A rapper pees off a balcony on people daily, a school bus driver attacked by angry parent, LBTQ movie flops and the director blames homophobia, a jilted ex holds major grudge, voice mail trouble and more! Check out our amazing sponsors! binoid.com use our code 'NERD' to save 10% on Nerds favorite thc edibles and other goodies! built.com use code 'VOMSHOW' to save 10% on all orders on the most delicious, keto approved protein bars! Connecticut Cannabis Company - qoverqfarms.us Use code 'VOM25' To save 25% off all orders! Twitter/Mewe/Parler/Gettr/Rumble: @voicesofmisery Gmail: voicesofmiserypodcast@gmail.com Instagram: voices_of_misery Discord server: voices of misery podcast https://tinyurl.com/VoMPodcastTees
#EnvisionRISE Podcast | Travis Shumake, NHRA Driver, joins us to share his journey into drag racing as NHRA's first LBTQ+ out driver. With a family history in racing, Travis shares how following his childhood dream is shifting perspectives on stereotypes inside and outside of motorsports with fans and sponsoring organizations to improve representation. Watch this episode on YouTube.Follow Travis and his team:Instagram travieshuTwitter @schumaketravis FacebookTravisshumake.com Visit Envision RISE to learn how our evolutionary platform helps companies create a powerful integration and understanding of the relationship between the organization and the workforce. Envision RISE empowers your people to drive change and innovation through the methods of Organizational Change Management (OCM), Human Resource Management (HRM), and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I).
In today's episode Piper takes time to respond to a recent email from a teacher suggesting that the concern about what is being taught in school is not real, that they aren't teaching LBTQ+ to students. It doesn't take two minutes to show her how wrong she is and how prevalent it really is. Ready to join The Rebellion? Become a patreon member and enjoy some great extras while supporting our efforts to speak the Truth into our culture. Learn more at patreon.com/dreverettpiper. Find more resources and info at dreverettpiper.com
Today we have a book study on the topic We Agnostics presented by four folks from the Big Book Awakening Womens Book Study group. This was two separate book study meetings both on the same topic so you get multiple perspectives. Its fairly obvious when it switches from one meeting to the next. Zoom One quick fyi, it did have an audio dropout of around 5 seconds on one of the meetings, so I removed the dead air and added a click track so you know what is what. This recording was provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.
Today we have a big book study of the Preface and Forwards of the book. This group has covered the big book multiple times so we have six different people presenting on the same topic over three separate meetings. I popped a quick click track between the meetings. Recording provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.
In this week's headlines: • The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and there are serious concerns for the LGBTQ community • Kentucky's 2022 Teacher of the Year, a gay man, has resigned his position due to increasing hostility to the LGBTQ community • Spain has introduced new pro-LBTQ legislation • Turkey police violently attacked Istanbul's Pride event while Poland teamed up with Ukrainian LGBTQ refugees for Pride • Marriage equality comes to Switzerland • And we catch up with Oscar the 'gay' dog All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
In this week's headlines: • The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and there are serious concerns for the LGBTQ community • Kentucky's 2022 Teacher of the Year, a gay man, has resigned his position due to increasing hostility to the LGBTQ community • Spain has introduced new pro-LBTQ legislation • Turkey police violently attacked Istanbul's Pride event while Poland teamed up with Ukrainian LGBTQ refugees for Pride • Marriage equality comes to Switzerland • And we catch up with Oscar the 'gay' dog All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Kate and Callie are the presenters of this page by page study of Chapter 2 - There is a Solution. Zoom. This recording was provided by, The Big Book Awakening, a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.
Kasey Coleman joined us to discuss Pride month and LGBTQ
A while back I was contacted by a Womens big book study group that records their meetings and they asked if I was interested in using them on the podcast, my answer was a very definite yes. This is the first one of those recordings (there will be more) and its on the chapter, To Wives. This is a part of the book that doesnt get a lot of love for various reasons, I was really happy to see this was one of the topics covered by this group and thought it a great first podcast, it is presented by Kate and Kate. There is a slight buzz in this recording that I could not remove, its not really prominent however it is noticeable but not so annoying that it precluded using it. About this meeting: The Big Book Awakening is a Womens Big Book Study for all who identify as Women and/or LBTQ+. They meet in person every Saturday in St. Paul Minnesota at 8:30am. If you would like to join them please visit https://westendaa.org (Thanks again for providing these) Email: sobercast@gmail.com Support Sober Cast: https://sobercast.com/donate We have added a page of meetings that have moved online https://sobercast.com/online-meetings Sober Cast has 1900+ episodes available, visit SoberCast.com to access all the episodes where you can easily find topics or specific speakers using tags or search.
LGBTQ+ Empowerment Coach, Kari Dewitt joins me today bringing her love, encouragement, wisdom and beautiful truths to add to the Rainbow. Her wise words, encouraging spirit and open heart will have you looking in the mirror with a renewed sense of self, and more importantly finding your magic again! "It takes courage to be yourself in a world where you are constantly told that who you are isn't enough. Being yourself is the biggest gift you can offer yourself and others. Be brave enough to show the world who you are without an apology."-Ash AlvesShow mentions:Kari Dewitt-LGBTQ+Empowerment CoachWebsite: Home | Karing Transformational CoachingInstagram: Kari | LGBTQ+ Mindset Coach (@karidewitt_) • Instagram photos and videosTikTok: Kari
Target is thinking ahead for this year's Pride Month, as it's known - the time of the year since 1999 in which we celebrate LGBTQ+ persons in the U.S., as well as their loudest and proudest allies in our midst. What is Target doing, you might ask? Why, they're marketing a new line of clothing featuring androgenizing pieces like chest binders and packing underwear. The latter of these innovations is, I presume from the name, intended so young men who want to wear women's swimsuit styles can do so without us noticing, ahem, certain biological anomalies not corresponding to their gender preference. And the former of these is obviously for women who likewise either want to pass for males, or else leave us all guessing. As an aside where Target is concerned, I would point out that I personally am feeling triggered by the fact that they still have among eight categories on their website one for 'Women,' as well as another for 'Beauty,' despite the fact that there is a great deal of debate about what constitutes either of these two things. But I'll just assume they must have biologists on staff who, unlike President Biden's most recent appointment to the Supreme Court, are able to define what in fact a woman is. But on a more serious note, now is as good a time as any for us to talk seriously about mammaries, and to ask what it can possibly mean when we read in Deuteronomy 22:5 that, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." At a minimum, I gather from this that Target does not employ so many theologians as they do biologists. But perhaps that is for the best. We would not want to study uncritically any books on either theology or biology which this upper middle-class box store could be expected to carry. Really, though, what else could God have meant about what "pertaineth unto a woman" or man where clothing is concerned except that they belong in separate departments due to anticipated dimensional differences in certain general regions of the bodies of those who will wear them? Makeup is a lie, as often to accentuate certain feminine qualities which are considered attractive as to mask other undesirable features like zits. But now we have moved on to wardrobe also. So both the crotches of men and the chests of women need a little help where our ambitions tend toward blurring the lines. On this latter point, can I point out that while Biblical modesty really is more about not attracting undue attention to ourselves and not enticing others to lustful thoughts, not first and foremost about how much skin is covered and precisely where on the body, there must be a line past which such endeavors become unreasonable. God was not so terribly and sternly specific as the most conservative among us typically are. Cultural context and setting are important considerations here, as must be personal conscience and individual discretion. But I surely do hope the baggy-denim-skirts-down-to-their-ankles crowd is free of internal conflict as to what to make of these chest binders for our females. But now that we've accepted draconian requirements for face-coverings in public for two years, the addition of Target's new options for LBTQ+ fashion almost make me wonder. Do we have some newfangled variety of Muslim cleric doing the social engineering in this country now? And what's next, rainbow burqas and hijabs for anyone who wants to go out in public? Perhaps the feminine men will want padding on their hips to make them seem a little wider. Or maybe the masculine women will want padding on their waists to make their hips seem narrower. Call me old-fashioned, but I think I'll stick to Proverbs 5:18-19, thank you very much. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/support
We're more than two years into this COVID-19 pandemic, and minority communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, have been disproportionately affected. For some gay men, the fear and response to this pandemic have been reminiscent of the early days of the AIDS crisis.And let's not forget that decades of HIV research conducted by the LGBTQ community and its allies paved the way for the COVID vaccine.Additional Resources:A Timeline of HIV and AIDSGlobal HIV & AIDS Statistics — Fact SheetGeorge H. W. Bush's Presidency Erased People with AIDS. So Did the Tributes to HimHow HIV Research Paved the Way for the Covid mRNA VaccinesLGBTQ People Face Higher Unemployment Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Survey FindsThe Lives and Livelihoods of Many in the LGBTQ Community are at Risk Amidst COVID-19 Crisis
Welcome back! Today we are joined by Dr. Kate Balestrieri, Psychologist and Sex Therapist and founder & CEO of Modern Intimacy, a Mental Health Practice offering sex therapy and other therapy techniques for individuals and couples with specialization in relationships, trauma, PTSD, sex addiction, alternative lifestyles, mood disorders, LBTQ+ affirmative therapy, infidelity, and more. Dr. Kate is a Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, and Licensed Psychologist, with a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology. She is also trained in the NeuroAffective Touch Model and is completing Levell III training as a PACT Couples' Therapist. What we talk about: the mind-body connection as it relates to sex the sex narrative we all grew up with Kate's experience in a sex-negative household where fantasies come from couples with varying sex drives exploring your sexual identity why your sexuality doesn't define you sexual trauma slut-shaming how our sex lives and our feelings about sex influence the other areas of our lives talking to a new (or long term) partner about sex sex addiction Kate's favorite ways to feel embodied & more! You can find Dr. Kate on Instagram and TikTok at @drkatebalestrieri and @modernintimacy and head to modernintimacy.com for more information on how to work with Dr. Kate and her team. She also houses a ton of great free resources on her blog. The books she recommended: Open Deeply by Kate Loree Down Girl by Kate Manne What we tried this week: Mia: Acupuncture & Cupping at Ora Carleigh: Athletic Greens As always, find us on Instagram @mostlybalancedpodcast and on our website. Thanks for joining us and please leave a rating or review if you enjoyed the episode! + Shop our Favs: Sakara Life - use code XOBALANCED for 20% off meal programs and clean boutique items Nuzest Protein Powder - Code MOSTLYBALANCED
We are back after a short Mid Winter Break to share with you what is going on at Emerson. We are going to start with fifth grader Jackson and his interview with sixth graders Quinn and Drew as they discuss one Aquaphonics project “Salmon in the Classroom.” Kierra from fourth grade shares the "Joke of the Week". Fifth grader Lucas tells us how we can help the LBTQ+ community through a donation drive. Finally fourth grader Vincent has another public service announcement about how pollution does not just affect humans but so many others.
In this podcast episode Chella Man shares with us about his transition journey and process into becoming the person he Identified into. Chella then discusses with us about his advocacy work for the LBTQ and disability communities and its impact on his life. Chella also shares with us about the behind the scenes story of the superhero story, Titans and what it's like to be an actor in that show.
We are thrilled to be partnering with ELLA Global Community to bring support and resources to queer women and non-binary individuals. Today we speak with Danielle Siqueira and Laila Van Rijswijk from their amazing team about the unique breakup and dating challenges facing their community, hear about their own breakup stories, AND answer questions from their audience. ** ELLA Global Community works ALL OVER THE WORLD to provide a platform through which queer women and nonbinary people can feel inspired to strengthen their community and raise awareness about their identity and challenges faced as a result of discrimination and inequality. Their app, ELLA, instantly connects queer women and nonbinary people with support, friends, resources, and a TON of events. Find them at the Apple store here. ** If you identify with their mission and would like the support of a global network of queer women and non-binary people, we encourage you to connect with them: Learn about their projects here Connect with them on IG here Download the app here ***
Naomi Bennett joins 'Tales of the LGBTQ+' to discuss everything connected to Lesflicks.com! Naomi is taking her existing knowledge of the community and combining this with her experiences and passion around film. Naomi is the one with the grand ideas! Nothing is impossible… she is dedicated to film, women, and getting film to women! Naomi has spent the better part of her adult life trying to make sure queer women are getting the representation we rightfully deserve, both through Lesflicks and previously through Planet London/Planet Nation. Naomi talks about Lesflicks, the Gilbert Baker Film Festival, Sapphic Investment Film Fund, the Xmas Film Festival plus so much more!Platform - www.lesflicks.comVideo on Demand - www.lesflicksvod.comConversation with likeminded LBTQ - womenwww.audience.lesflicks.comGilbert Baker Film Festival - www.lesflicksvod.com/pages/gbff2021Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TalesLGBTQ+)
Annemarie Shrouder is passionate about creating healthy workplace communities where people feel seen, heard and valued - and can thrive. To advocate for change, Annemarie facilitates engaging, dynamic and interactive presentations with the goal to help audiences think differently about diversity, to understand the importance of inclusion, and inspire the creation of healthy workplace communities. Her signature methodology is called the ‘ABCs of Inclusion' and works on two premises - that inclusion is an outcome and that leadership has to "get it" and build their capacity first, in order for change to be effective. She believes strategy drives change and helps solidify commitment to diversity and inclusion and one of her strategic writings includes her best-selling book, Being Brown in a Black and White World. So dive in, get your ‘Aha moment' for the day, and let's learn about embracing all parts of you: BOTH what you see AND who you are! [00:01 - 7:59] Opening Segment I introduce Annemarie Shrouder Bio Annemarie shares a bit about her background and revelations How she started her career as an elementary school teacher Active member of the LBTQ+ community A glaring need for people to see themselves in other things Working with organizations to help them realize how they view the world ‘Aha moment' - when people understand we are in the same situation We all have different experiences What needs to be changed in our perspective It's ok to see color, gender and identity Look at the way kids can see glaring differences We seem to learn to ascribe value to people [08:00 - 25:37] Embracing All Parts of You: What You See vs Who You Are Annemarie reveals how every part of who you are is important A poem from Annemarie's book “... as if these can't coexist: being and loving.” “How can you love ME, if you don't see my brown skin?” You don't need to fear devaluing someone based on noticing race Race isn't real, but the impact of racism is Annemarie talks about her lived experience search for belonging Race was constructed based on someone's decision The impact of that teaching is that we now separate ourselves It's just DNA “... Connects me with everyone in a DNA dance.” I am not more or less based on race, “I am just me” Annemarie talks about her poetry and writing process A path to greater self-acceptance and understanding Words are the quickest way to someone's heart Bring out the best in humanity and amplify our future on the The Goodness Exchange More information on how you can join in below [25:38 - 41:42] Living in the ‘Both, And' Space Annemarie shares how we don't have to divide into them and us Feeling like you have to choose between races When we polarize we begin to create barriers “I am BOTH black, I am white, AND I am me” There is room and space for us to learn, listen and share with each other How do we get to the point of living in ‘both, and'? Is it true? - challenging your assumptions How do I know it's true? What if it's not true? - accept that there are thing you don't know Pause, get out of the autopilot, and ask these questions I give my own practical tips of pausing before responding How this revelation can impact inclusion and belonging in the workplace Our stories affect who we include in the workplace It takes pausing and asking questions to our assumptions Are you seeing the person in front of you? This can apply to age and sexual orientation just as much of race A look at the viewpoint of Neurodiversity We miss out when we don't accept something because they don't come out a certain way [41:43 - 50:30] Perception's Struggle with Self-Identification Annemarie answers a few interesting questions related to diversity and racism Why is Barack Obama identified as the ‘first black president?' Perception vs. self-identification The One Drop rule - how history affects us today How does the One Drop rule play into US law and how does that affect us? When things are physically written down, they can't be ignored It's an opportunity to research and see the effects for yourself Do you see any possibility of us realizing race as a construct? Look for the ‘oneness' - what connects us? We all need the same things [50:31 - 58:22] Closing Segment Working at the pace of guidance If you go to fast then you may miss beautiful things Going to slow won't change anything Make room for guidance and, “be willing to take the pause” Listen or consider, and maybe course correct The only thing you can change is yourself “What is in this for me?” What we do next Practice awareness - practice the pause Be curious about the stories of others Research the implications of history Come to interactions with openness and humility How to connect with Annemarie Links below Final announcements Tweetable Quotes: “For me it's all about building community, building connection, building awareness so we can create greater sense of belonging and stronger communities.” - Annemarie Shrouder “Yes there are differences AND when we can live in that space, when we can be in that space of ‘BOTH, AND'… that's when I think we're going to be able to heal the divisions because we'll move forward in a different way together.” - Annemarie Shrouder “If you go too fast you miss stuff, and if you go too slow nothing changes. We need to work at the pace of guidance.” - Annemarie Shrouder Resources Mentioned: Links: The Power of the Pause MEA Online - Chip Conley Podcast: When Experience Meets Wisdom Seeing Without Eyes and Repurpose the Brain Good Thing, Bad Thing, Who Knows? Books: Being Brown in a Black and White World - Annemarie Shrouder One Drop Connect with Annemarie on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. To affect change in diversity and inclusion from the inside out visit https://annemarieshrouder.com/ and join in on the conversation. *On December 1st, your home for hope and personal path to more joy and less fear, will open with the launch of The Goodness Exchange! No one with good intentions and good ideas needs to feel alone ever again. The Goodness Exchange will be bringing out our BEST impulses as individuals and amplifying our collective genius! Conspiracy of Goodness Links: The Goodness Exchange https://www.amazingworld.media/goodness-exchange Conspiracy of Goodness Network https://conspiracyofgoodnessnetwork.com/ Conspiracy of Goodness on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/goodnessnetwork/ Dr. Lynda's Book: https://www.dr-lynda.com/book/happiness Ever Widening Circles https://everwideningcircles.com/ EWC APP: https://everwideningcircles.com/good-news-app-ever-widening-circles-app/ Affiliate Partners http://everwideningcircles.com/partners Donate! https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=I-nvmUrlbDfU67bRoWWdOhFxiAM_W81jtIFBGCYzfCL6fG8oSUOg9ONIL9WR8LDjLEeYj0&country.x=US&locale.x=US EWC Ed: https://ed.everwideningcircles.com/
Tushar Tyagi, This man reminds us of Ranbir Kapoor from the movie Tamasha. Since childhood, he was fond of listening to bedtime stories from his Naani and his imagination is quick and beautiful which helps him in making great movies. Tushar Tyagi made a movie 'Saving Chintu' a short film on LGBTQ and adoption, which also qualifies to run for Oscar 2021. This episode talks about the portrayal of the LGBTQ community in Indian Cinemas and why Bollywood lacks awareness when it comes to the presentation of the community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
De fleste som sitter i fengsel har nok kjent på en eller annen form for utenforskap. Hvordan er det å sitte inne, men føle seg utenfor? LBTQ+ folk er ekstra utsatte for utenforskap og diskriminering - Røverradion arrangerer derfor verdens første Røver Pride! Hør episoden i appen NRK Radio
It's a special bonus episode to talk about the Legends of Tomorrow 2021 ComicCon Panel and the mid-season trailer! Dany and Devon break down the trailer for the last 5 episodes, discuss all the season 7 news, and speculate what is to come, along with listener feedback and thoughts. Email: gaygalswatch@gmail.com Twitter: Gay Gals Watch- @GayGalsWatch Dany- @XanDany Devon- @KDevNic
This week John and Joy talk about us fighting the last episode. We talk about auditions, carnival rides, farting, bad decisions and more. #farting #embarassing #baddecisions
Hour OneJust as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west the Democrat Party shows their true colors on July 4th and attacks the United States. Maxine Waters expresses her hatred of America, despite being a wealthy elitist African American woman who has made millions of dollars through her "service" to America. The Constitution was never pro-slavery. The abolitionist slave Frederick Douglas defended the Constitution in 1860 but the Democrat Party makes the same tired arguments they made back then against America. Joe Biden lies through his teeth in his July 4th speech.Jen Psaki says they're going to go door to door to ask Americans if they've been vaccinated. And yet the new lamda strain of the COVID virus appears to be impervious to the vaccine. Kristi Noem and South Dakotans don't get to celebrate July 4th at Mount Rushmore while Joe Biden holds a celebration in Washington D.C.Kenny Xu has a new book out called "An Inconvenient Minority." It's brilliant and sheds light on the systemic discrimination against Asian Americans and the attack against the American meritocracy itself. It's the answer to Critical Race Theory. The issue today is not how far America is from fulfilling its creed of freedom and equality for all, but how quickly and far we've regressed from achieving that original American charter.Hour TwoDespite Americans objections to the teaching of racist critical race theory in schools, 5,000 teacher sign a petition swearing to teach it whether we want it or not. LBTQ+ culture is being forced into tv and film through a coordinated effort by Democrats. I discuss illegal immigration in personal terms through my own experience as a legal resident of Italy, when I worked in Milan.Andrew Cuomo, who massacred the elderly in New York, is still Governor and has now declared a public health crisis with regard to gun violence. This is a test run to see how effective this approach is to rescind our 2nd amendment Right. Nothing the Democrat Party does is an accident. It is all strategic. The Biden administration is open to another shutdown for COVID, if necessary.Violence in Democrat run cities is at an all time high. This is the result of Democrat policies and is intended to give them justification to come for Americans' guns. Members of the Women's soccer team unsurprisingly disrespect America once again. But I have a unique take on it.A former Trump critic now begs for his endorsement for Senate. Finally, signs of another Great Recession are all around us. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drewallen.substack.com
Graphic Thoughts #11: Manga Manga with Kingdom, of Z, Spy Family, and Syrup On this week's edition of Graphic Thoughts it is all about manga, This week's books include Kingdom of Z Vol 1, Spy Family Vol 2 & 3, and Syryp Vol 1.Time Stamps:00:00 - Opening 00:40 - Kingdom of Z04:57 - Spy Family 10:10 - Syrup
Innovative Educators is dedicated to supporting our LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty. To honor Pride Month, we were fortunate to host Quincy Jenkins, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Chattanooga State Community College (CSCC) on a recent episode of Friday 5 Live. Quincy shares his insights, as a higher education professional and gay man, on how we can be allies for our LGBTQ+ colleagues and students. Quincy provides takeaways for tangible practices our institutions can implement to provide support.
The pod discusses Outlawed by Anna North, 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg wines, what the journey to LBTQ+ allyship looks like and features a bonus interview with the director of “Genderf*ck Drag”, Christina Huff! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
April 8th, 2020, we brought the world of Str8Up from television to the podcast world. One year later, downloads in over 30 countries, our podcast has made a major impact. In this very special jam packed episode, we go over our Top 10 most downloaded episodes, special shout outs from former guests & listeners AND a surprise celebrity guest! Thank you for the phenomenal year of support!
Tune in this week with Tina & Jo to listen to how Taylor Smith advocates for mental health and the mindset needed to come back from her ACL tear as a pro athlete. 3:53- Decision to commit to UCLA 8:30- Drafting experience coming out of college 16:20- Coming back from ACL tear 35:00- Taylor Smith using her platform to advocate for the LBTQ+ community and POC
What does God think about LBTQ issues, and how should Christians act accordingly? Pastors Sean and Josh give some introductory thoughts on this topic, primarily from an apologetics standpoint. Plus, Sean says 'intimate' 500% more than usual...Articles we referenced: What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality? (Human Rights Campaign)Is it Really OK to be LGBTQ and Christian? (Queer Theology)What the Bible Really Says about LGBTQ People (All Saints Episcopal Church, Sacramento)Our sponsor (and an EXCELLENT resource for Bible study):Logos FundamentalsMusic from https://filmmusic.io"Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Representation Matters. This week the Ani-Mates are joined by their Queer Qorrespondent to discuss the representation of the the LBTQ+ community in cartoons. Join the team in the time machine to talk about the positives, negatives, tropes, and hopes for this area of cartoon media. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
This week, we’re here, we’re queer (well, one of us is), and ready to cheer (for the fall of capitalism). We talk queer theory, a brief history of LBTQ+ movements in leftist spaces, and what we can do now to better support the community. Check us out on social media!Instagram: @teachmecommunismTwitter: @teachcommunismGmail: teachmecommunism@gmail.comPatreon: Patreon.com/teachmecommunism And like and subscribe to us at Teach Me Communism on YouTube! Solidarity forever!
Schwul sein, bi sein, trans sein … es ist noch nicht normal, das sollte es aber sein! Um das zu schaffen, gibt es Queerbeauftragte wie Ruby. Wie genau ihr Job aussieht, hört ihr in der neuesten Folge SPUTNIK Pride.
Damit lassen sich Asexuelle nicht locken. Trotzdem gibt es Sex, das asexuelle Spektrum ist vielfältig. Clara spricht über ihre Asexualität und erklärt Begriffe wie demisexuell, grey ace, fraysexuell oder sex repulsed.
Gay and Lesbian Rights in Ageing Inc (GRAI) members June Lowe and Pam Mulholland chat to Leigh Andrew Hill about Lesbians Who Lunch & Meet N Muse, two social groups for older LBTQ+ women in WA.
Dr. Retzloff teaches LGBTQ studies and U.S. history at Michigan State University. The Tim Retzloff oral history interviews (1993-2012) consist of over eighty oral histories conducted by Retzloff with members of Detroit's LGBTQ community. In 2018 we sat down with LGBTQ historian Tim Retzloff to talk about his research on Michigan’s LGBTQ+ History. H returns to update us on his work as we celebate LGBTQ History month His work chronicling the lives of the LGBTQ+ community continues with the addition of his website Michigan LGBTQ Remembers. The site was launched in March of 2017. It is dedicated to documenting the diverse lives of LGBTQ Michiganders and their allies who are no longer with us.The individuals on the website were leaders, activists, and volunteers. Some were bar owners or employees, customers, or entertainers. Some were elders, and some were still in their youth. All were ordinary people who were members of the LGBTQ community who went about their everyday lives. The website posts their obituaries and has even written obituaries for some members of the community who had no one to celebrate their life with a remembrance upon their passing. In his blog “Queer Remembering” Dr. Retzloff offers advice for members of the community looking for an archival home for their records and other thoughts on comings and goings in the LBTQ community
My friend Jeff Derricott joins us to share his story. Jeff, who came out to his parents before his mission, shares trying everything to fall in love and marry a woman. In late 2018, Jeff’s world came crashing down as he realized that path was not within his control. Facing feelings of lost hope and some thoughts of suicide, Jeff shares his story to find hope and a path forward. For Jeff, that path of hope and healing includes a deep relationship with his Heavenly Parents, relying on the Atonement, a network of family and friends, and working towards a monogamous same-sex marriage. I encourage everyone to listen to Jeff’s story to develop better empathy for our LGBTQ members. He is a great man doing his best to walk a complicated road. Jeff reports his family, friends and Church leaders are excellent. Jeff (and our LBTQ members) deserve our love and support.
Les, Kurt, and Jason start this week's episode with the realization that the planet Neptune has some GOOD podcasts, and their Blac Chyna Report leads the guys to the realization that she should deliver for Postmates. Then the guys Check Inn to Christmas, Hallmark's 2019 Candace Cameron Bure holiday movie that makes poor Sassy the Cat go an entire movie without taking a dump (even on the Polar Express), giving new meaning to "squatting in the attic." We'd think that Karl Marx wrote this movie if not for the potential of holiday c**kblocking, and senior LBTQ+ couples, and a foster child who seems to be the only one that knows what's going on. Facebook : alifetimeofhallmark Instagram : lifetimeofhallmarkpodcast Theme song generously donated by purple-planet.com
Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (they/them) talks about blending Japanese taiko drumming with opera and spoken word addressing their own polarizing identities. Teiya is a queer, gender non-binary multi-disciplinary performer and creator and first generation Nikkei-Canadian settler proud to make Tkaronto their home. Teiya comes from a background of over a decade of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles across North America and Europe, most recently praised as “a force of nature” by the Toronto Star and “an artist with extraordinary things to say” by the Globe and Mail. They combine opera, theatre, and Taiko in their artistic practice and also co-lead Amplified Opera, a new initiative which is bringing Tkoronto an “injection of creativity and politics of inclusivity” to the opera community with their recent concert series Amplify highlighting stories of equity-seeking artists. Cover Photo by Janet Timber Cover Art Design by Tania Willems
For our season closer we sat down with J.Scott - www.JScottOfficial.com a singer, songwriter based out of NYC originally from Jacksonville, FL my home town. Scott, introduces his new single and we groove to some of his classics from his original EP: Call Me When You Get This. We talk about life, culture, who we are, the LBTQ+ community, and all of our talents. We are so happy to share this conversation with you all. Until Season 2 - ToooTaLoooooo. Don't forget to share and stream. I'll catch you all very soon. @THEVOICEOFJP. | www.THEVOICEOFJP.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thevoiceofjp/support
Join Matt Evers (Dancing on Ice) as he welcomes a plethora of guests to discuss all things LBTQ+. Most importantly of all, he'll be insisting that they tell The Truth, The Gay Truth & Nothing But The Truth! You can follow Matt: T: @TheMattEvers I: @ themattevers
episode kali ini kita bahas semua tempat yang friendly buat LBTQ lhoo! ayo dengerin!!?
In this first episode of The Coma Podcast we dive into the life of Marsha P. Johnson. We will look at the legacy that she left behind for the LBTQ community. Most importantly Cody and Matt will discuss the mystery surrounding her death and if any new evidence has surface in this cold case. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-coma-cast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-coma-cast/support
Chick Fil-A creates a backlash as they fall prey to bullying from the LBTQ agenda, She Loves Out Loud a prayer movement we need more than ever, helicopter parents and other breaking news.
Nose Out of “Joint” • Sex Line Snafu • Purple Pee • Wedding Cake Wang • Naked Prison Climber • Drunk Santa • Creepy Phone Skins • Demon Monkey Dong • Bladder Bead Blunder • Big Win for Gay Cop • AM After Pill
Nose Out of “Joint” • Sex Line Snafu • Purple Pee • Wedding Cake Wang • Naked Prison Climber • Drunk Santa • Creepy Phone Skins • Demon Monkey Dong • Bladder Bead Blunder • Big Win for Gay Cop • AM After Pill
In this pigisode, Brian is hungover from partying like a rock star at Industry Bar in Hell's Kitchen. Rick talks about the letters of the letters of the LGBTQ Community - LBTQ parties. Rick also talks about attending StartOut, a queer not-for-profit to help queer entrepreneurs, Demo Day with six companies competing for funding in front of four investors. Brian and Rick share their favorite bars in New York City for dancing and drinking or doing both. Rick talks about parties in other cities and Horse Market SF in Chicago which leads to topic of Fickstutenmarkt, the horse fair style sex party. You have to listen to understand. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast as well as our Late Night Cruisin YouTube channel.
This episode is all about the most recent uproar about the always brand feminine product line package change.
Maddy and Zenon talk to Scott Greenspan, a candidate in the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's PhD program in School Psychology and doctoral intern at Harvard Medical School-Affiliate Judge Baker Children's Center. Scott reveals what it's like to be a doctoral student balancing research, employment, self-care, and his personal life. We also discuss the intersection of physical exercise, LBTQ+ issues, and implementation of research in education. Send us an email at hosts@pre-occupied.com! Follow us on Twitter @PreOccPodcast! Like us on Facebook! Visit us at pre-occupied.com!
How does internalized homophobia in gay men affect other LBTQ individuals?We are taught that we are other, that we don’t belong, that we can’t cross the gender divide. To do so is a form of weakness. Straight-acting gay men are struggling with self-acceptance and personal forgiveness, but they are trapped on the surface level of both physical appearance and mannerisms.I don’t believe that straight-acting gay men don’t have the desire to be authentic, instead, they are ignorant or fearful of that possibility. They haven’t been given the freedom to let themselves fully out, to express what scares the crap out of them and wholly own it without shame or compression of self-expression.Diversity may be initially uncomfortable, and that’s okay.Discomfort means you are challenging the status quo, which is paradoxically never fixed, as much as hegemonic ideologies would prefer it be stuck in time and place.Read the complete post at ThinkQueerly.com.Support The Way of Queer Leadership.
Empathy! Militarism! Hillary Duff! In this episode we dive into the DCOM neoliberal classic Cadet Kelly. What is the utility of creativity and what are the parameters of empathy? What is individuality within an institution that puts service first? Why are witnessing two teenagers pass a spit soaked leather boot back and forth? Find out in this episode!
Zach speaks with Jennifer Brown, founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, and they take a deep dive into exploring what diversity and inclusion means. They also talk about what it really means to be inclusive as a leader, and Jennifer shares a bit about her latest two books. Check out Jennifer's books! They're titled "Inclusion" and "How to Be an Inclusive Leader."Connect with Jennifer on the following platforms: Twitter, IG, Facebook, LinkedInPut your name on the mailing list at JenniferBrownSpeaks.com!TRANSCRIPTZach: What's up, y'all? It's Zach with the Living Corporate podcast. Now, look, y'all know what we do, man. [laughs] Y'all know. Listen, man, we try to drop--come on, Sound Man. Give me them air horns right here. [air horns sfx]. More fire for your head top, and look, today is no different. I ain't even gonna get into a huge, long kind of, like, intro before I get into the interview, 'cause our interview was kind of long, but I really want y'all to hear all of it. I interviewed someone who is a strong--seriously, like, one of the leaders within the D&I space when you talk about, like, presenting content around intersectionality, diversity, inclusion. Her name is Jennifer Brown. She's a facilitator. She's a public speaker. She's a consultant. She's an educator. She has a background in change management, so there's a lot of symbiosis between the both of us, and we had a really dope discussion just about what it really means to be inclusive as a leader, and then we had a conversation--like, kind of a meta discussion about the D&I space as an industry. If y'all remember--this was, like, way back in Season 1--we had Amy C. Waninger, and then we had Drew, A.K.A. Very White Guy, on the show, and Drew talked a little bit about the--, like, D&I as a business, right, and kind of, like, the capitalistic or corporate nature of D&I and, like, what that looks like, and we had a conversation about that too. It was really interesting. So anyway, what you're gonna hear next is the discussion between Jennifer Brown and myself. She's great people, definitely can't wait to have her back on the show. Make sure y'all check out the show notes. You can look and see all of her information, including her latest two books, okay? So make sure y'all check it out, and we'll catch y'all next time. Peace.[pause]Zach: Jennifer, welcome to the show. How are you doing?Jennifer: Oh, thanks. I'm doing great. Trying to stay cool in this July.Zach: Man, it is hot out here.Jennifer: Yeah. Global warming. [laughs]Zach: [laughs] For real. Look, I gave a brief intro, but for those who don't know you, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?Jennifer: Of course, yeah. I--let's see. I'm an author. I'm a keynoter. I'm a CEO and an owner of a consulting business, all of which is focused on building more inclusive workplaces for all kinds of talent to thrive, and it's a passionate, personal mission that I have because I've been out since I was 22, and I'm in my 40s now, but the workplace was a place where I couldn't really bring my full self to work. And I want to say it wasn't just being LGBTQ. I mean, the workplace has all sorts of inclusiveness problems when it comes to people like, you know, us, and, you know, most people actually. Anyone that's not a certain mold, and so as somebody who has--I have a master's degree in opera, believe it or not. I came to New York to be an opera singer, and that did not work out.Zach: Wow.Jennifer: Yeah, I know. [laughs] It's crazy. Luckily I reinvented as a corporate trainer, because it's all this--it's like being on the stage, you know, and connecting with audiences. It's just the topic is different. So I reinvented into that field, which remains really my field to this day. So we're really--we're a strategy and training company, and we're working across the Fortune 1,000, I would say, on a daily basis. My team is all over the country. They're amazing. They're so talented at what they do. They have a lot more patience for client work than I do. [laughs] And yeah, we can talk about that if you want, but I've been a consultant in the trenches for a long time, and I'm actually really thrilled now to kind of be more living the keynote and author life. I just--I like it a lot. I love performing. I love big audiences. I like the challenge of thinking on my feet. I like having to write books on this topic and figure out, like, "What does the world need me to write next, and how do I take what I hear and learn and put it in a way that's digestible for people?" Because it's really--it's kind of, like, a life-or-death situation from an inclusion perspective, and I deeply feel that, for myself and many, many others.Zach: Wow. Well, thank you for that. Awesome. I'm already--like, my shoulders are kind of bouncing up and down. This is gonna be a dope conversation.Jennifer: Woo! Yeah. [both laugh]Zach: So today we're talking about inclusive leadership, and before we get too deep into it, can we get some definitions on these terms? Like, from your point of view. Diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality. 'Cause in a lot--in your content and in your IP, both written and your presentations, like, you use these terms a lot, and frankly your content is centered around these terms. For our audience, I'd love it if we could just, like, level-set what these things actually mean.Jennifer: Yes, and you need to consider the history of the conversation. So in the corporate and workplace context, diversity is really--has been traditionally the "who," right? The demographics, the representation in your workforce. Typically it's [counted with?] gender, right? Which is where it started, and race and ethnicity. It wants to count LGBTQ and people with disabilities, but, you know, a lot of those folks can hide who they are, right? We are very good at hiding who we are and not checking boxes. So diversity has really been that representation, the mix, the complexion of the workplace [with a small C?]. And then inclusion really is the "how." So "How do I make that mix work?" You know? "If diversity is the "who" in the mix, how do I make the mix work?" To quote my friend Tyrone Studemeyer, who is, like, a great chief diversity officer. He always uses that example. In fact, he brings a glass of milk on stage and pours in chocolate sauce, and then he stirs it, and he has this bit that he does. So it's making the mix work, and honestly's that's really where behaviors come into play. And so it's how--once you have that talent around the table, how do you make them want to stay? How do you include them, and how do you make them feel that they're valued? And so inclusion is the how and the behaviors. And then intersectionality, something totally different. It is the mix, I guess, of diverse identities that make some of us who we are and kind of present unique challenges. Traditionally defined by Kimberle Crenshaw, of course, it's the mix of multiple stigmatized identities that one person may carry. So why that's important is that I think, you know, anyone who looks at gender issues, for example, as a white women's topic, is not taking into consideration how women of color are impacted differently, how being an LGBTQ woman may mean that you're not only dealing with your gender and all the headwinds that come along with that, but you're dealing with the headwinds relating to sexual orientation. Or say you have, you know, a non-binary gender expression, or you are a woman of color and some of those things at the same time, or a woman with a disability. So it just goes on and on, and that's a very helpful thing for the rest of the world, I think, to help people understand the levels of--and I would use privilege with a small P. I know that word sets some people off, you know, but I think we have to be realistic about some of us walking through the world feeling a lot safer and a lot more protected, a lot more supported. You know, right? Like, a lot more--that others are more comfortable with us because they're relatively more familiar with us, and the sort of further you get away from I guess the straight white male norm that is, like it or not, the whole of the top leadership in the business world. The further you get from that, I think the more difficulty you have in kind of seeing yourself in workplaces, in being supported, grown, invested in, welcomed, proactively fostered. You know, all of the things that really, like, pull you up in an organization. So, you know, when you're different in multiple ways, it's kind of difficult to ever feel that you're in that--in the place you should be in the machine that is the workplace. So, you know, this is where people fall out. They quit. They can't stand it anymore. [laughs] You know, they go and become entrepreneurs, which is great, you know, but sad for corporations and large employers because, of course, you know, you're bleeding out all of your diverse talent because your culture is sort of something that people can't stand. That's a problem. [laughs]Zach: [laughs] No, you're absolutely right, and it's interesting, right, because I was just having a conversation with a couple of close friends this morning, and I was talking about the fact that a lot of times, you know, when we talk about D&I in the most common contexts, it almost feels like some--like, really a competition between white men and [white women] for number one, and then kind of everybody else falls to the wayside. Right? Like, we don't necessarily have, like--I don't know if I'm necessarily always hearing, like, truly intersectional discussions around identity. I don't know, and I don't know if black women are often centered in those discussions. Of course in the past couple years we've seen, like, more and more content come out about it, so don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be a debbie downer, but at the same time--Jennifer: [laughs] But you're right.Zach: [laughs] I mean, here's a great example, right? So I think it was--yep, Indeed. So Indeed just dropped a commercial, and there was a--the setting was, like, a board room, right, and in the board room, a white man was in the front and he was getting a promotion, right? And, like, the boss was shaking his hand, and everybody was clapping, and then there was a white woman, and she was just kind of standing there, and it was clearly--like, by the framing, right, of the commercial, that she was passed over for this promotion and that the white man got the promotion over her, right? And I was like, "Okay." And so then she looks down at her phone, and she kind of smirks because she gets a notification she's getting an interview, you know, somewhere else, right?Jennifer: [laughs] Oh, my gosh.Zach: Right? So she's like, "I'm leaving," and then it said, "Indeed." You know? I was like, "Okay, cool." So great commercial, but what's interesting about that commercial was behind the white woman--and I don't believe they did this intentionally, but maybe they did--and if they did, yo, they are super cold--but there was a black woman and a black man out of focus right behind them. And so it was, like, super interesting.Jennifer: [sighs] Oh, goodness. Wow. Oh, somebody needs to give that feedback. I'm sure they've heard about it already. [both laugh]Zach: But, like, the idea that a lot of times we talk about D&I, right, it's often centered around gender. We're not having really authentic discussions outside of that. And so a question for you - you know, in your book "Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change," you discussed the nuances of privilege. And you just talked about lower-case privilege, lower-case P privilege. And to make an effort not to vilify white men who have, quote, "seemingly won the privilege lottery." Is it possible to manage the egos of leaders who are in the majority while also having frank and accountable discussions about empowering black and brown professionals or just non-white professionals in the workplace? You know, in your work, what does that process look like? To establish trust for those discussions.Jennifer: Yeah. I mean, that is really the work, and it's--I think it's, like, the third rail, honestly. It's funny - being in the LGBTQ community, there's a level of--strangely, a level of comfort and acceptance of talking about being "I'm a proud ally," you know, or putting that rainbow sticker on your desk or in your email signature. And it's fascinating to me because--by the way, the LGBTQ conversation is also not properly intersectional, right? So there's privileged dynamics playing out in my--this community. I was going to say "my" community. One of my communities, you know, that women's voices aren't well-heard. People of color and the LGBTQ community, trans people, are not well-heard and are not represented in leadership positions in the workplace when it comes to affinity groups and things. So each community has its kind of diversity within its diversity challenges. [laughs] So I just wanted to make that point, because--I often say, "Just because you carry a marginalized identity, or even two, does not make you an inclusive leader."Zach: That's so true.Jennifer: Like, I wish it were true, but it's not, and it's been proven to me over and over again that, you know, I've made that assumption, and I've kind of been wrong. Like, I've been shocked by what people say. So, like, these--like, a lack of that intersectional lens and that inclusive lens can live in all of us, by the way. Elitism and, you know, that blindness and bias. Unchecked. Anyway, that's one point I wanted to make. So how do we center more black and brown voices when the leadership of so many companies--and when you say they are the majority, we always have to clarify. I say majority in leadership positions, because if you look at the aggregate in most companies, of course, women are the majority. Zach: That's absolutely correct, yeah.Jennifer: Right, and then a lot of ethnic diversity lives in different functional areas of the business and, you know, whatever, right? But it just totally thins out, like, when you go up the org chart, right? So the problem is all the power lies with a sort of very homogeneous group, and so the onus is on that group to acknowledge that the world is more and more black and brown, right? That they have to build that confidence and cross those bridges of understanding, and they have to know how to build trust with their workforce. Both current and future, by the way, which is most likely not going to look like them. And then they've got to do it in such a way that they--that then their employee and their leadership base looks like the world that they serve, which is increasingly female, right? Think about the buying decisions. Think about the exploding buying power of the black community. The LGBTQ community is now a trillion-dollar buying power. I mean, it's massive. So any brand that's worth anything, and any leader that's worth anything, must look at this, should look at this, and say, you know, "My demographic group--maybe it was okay for me not to understand what keeps people in the organization I'm a part of or keeps people on my team or how to be a good colleague and sort of step out of my shoes and think about what the other person's experience is like, but I better search and pay attention to this." So my argument is always I throw the business case to people, the demographic argument to people. Sometimes it's a moral argument. Sometimes somebody, you know, has kids of a different race than they are. Sometimes they have lots of daughters. Like, sometimes, you know, they have a unique view on all of this, and so when you, you know, [see?] somebody that looks like a white, straight guy, you know, you just never know what their diversity story might be, and I've been just shocked and reminded that, you know, I can--I can walk in a room and people assume I know nothing about this topic, you know? And that's happened to me. I've been on the receiving end of that. And there are things I don't know, for sure, but I desperately want people to listen to me and somehow kind of wedge my way in and make them listen and convince them and all of those things. So being LGBTQ helps with that. So I'm this interesting hybrid of, you know, being of an identity that people are more comfortable with, like, based on maybe what they see, but then coming out and challenging them to the point where, like, you can hear a pin drop when I do that, and that's kind of--let me tell you, it's pretty uncomfortable when you're standing there in front of, like, 1,000 mostly men in, like, light blue shirts and khakis. You're like, "How is this gonna go?" [laughs] So it takes--for all of us, you know, I think it takes bravery to show ourselves. For some of us with invisible aspects of diversity, it takes kind of a unique kind of bravery to be like, "No." Like, "Make no mistake, this is actually who I am." And particularly if it's a vulnerable aspect of who you are. It can feel really risky. That could include, like, divulging about a disability or, you know, mental health and addiction issues, or age, you know? There's just this, like, widespread hesitation to bring our full selves to work on so many counts, but when you are black and brown of course the issue can be "I can't opt not to show who I am." Like, "Who I am is often visible," and it will trigger the biases if those are there, right? And so it's a conversation we always have about--it's not the pain Olympics, and that's so important to remember. Like, that it's not--it's not a race to the--through the oppression hierarchy to say--Zach: Right.Jennifer: Right? Because that's a useless conversation. I think we have to think about, like, what are the--what's the damage that happens when, you know, we feel shame, or we feel compelled to downplay who we are, even if it's very visible to others? And how can we support each other's voices and create that safety for each other? And that's what I think about every day. Like, if I have been given some kind of privilege with a small P [in] several ways that has been totally unearned by me--my obsession is, like, what responsibility and opportunity does that come with? Which is interesting, because I'm in the LGBTQ community, which is so used to needing that allyship, right? We think about--we struggle to bring our full selves and be comfortable, and we hide, you know? And so allies really bring us out, you know? They stand alongside us and say, "Hey, I'll tell your story. I'll be next to you. I'll have your back." It feels amazing to have that, and I know what that feeling feels like, and so I am turning around and, like, trying to do that for others with my people, which often is my lovely, often good-hearted, you know, white, straight male executive clients, you know, to say, "How can we help you bridge to the future?" Because opting out is not--that's not an option, you know? I think--and the more clued-in ones know this, and I think people are mostly feeling just, like, really--like, wanting to do more, very awkward, very afraid. I know in the light of MeToo, just purely a gender conversation, the--you know, that lean-in research that came out a couple months ago that says that, like, male leaders are, like, even more afraid now to be in these one-on-one scenarios with female mentees or colleagues, and it's really discouraging, and it's definitely going in the wrong direction, but I think that fear is probably bigger than just cross-gender. I think that it's just kind of any moves you might make to say, "Hey, I want to be an inclusive leader. I'm gonna mess up. I'm gonna say the right thing. I really, really want to be better, but how am I gonna learn this thing that I'm gonna get wrong, and where am I gonna learn it? And how am I gonna know that I'm getting it wrong? And then how am I going to be given a chance to develop better skills?" And that's a very legitimate question. So I think we've got to all kind of give each other a lot of berth and also proactive support these days to learn, and we've got to do that in partnership with each other, because otherwise we're learning in a vacuum, and that's hard to do.Zach: It's so complex though, right? Because it's like--like, there has to be space for grace, and then there also has to--like, on both sides, because there's grace for you to learn--there's grace for me to give you space to learn, but then there's also--there has to be humility for you to receive that learning, right? And then there needs to be empathy on the person who is learning for their teacher in that there is a level of emotional labor, right, that goes into me even talking to you about this at all, right? I had a conversation with some colleagues, like, about a month or so ago, and I was like, "Look." Like, something happened, and, you know, it was an educational discussion, and in part of my conversation I said, "Hey, you know, I don't talk about this because it's exhausting." I said, "But being in these majority-white spaces--just me being here is exhausting," and I explained that to them, and I said, "It's not just me. It's exhausting in some way or form or shape for someone in a minority to engage in majority spaces." Like, it is, and so, like, for the people that are doing the work to educate and train and teach or even partner--like, that's--like, there needs to be some empathy on that part, you know what I mean?Jennifer: Yeah. Well, we talk a lot about compassion fatigue, and I think that--and then us being asked to step forward and represent an entire community and their experience, which you and I know is never gonna be accurate. You're just one person talking about your experience. Zach: Right. Not [?], right.Jennifer: Right, but what you're talking about is something--what I say in my next book, right, "How to Be an Inclusive Leader," is that you need to do 80% of the emotional labor yourself before you ask someone to help you on your journey. Zach: Oh, I love that.Jennifer: It's so important, yes. And so for me, what that looks like is I intentionally consume certain media, for example. I listen to certain podcasts. I watch certain films. I acquaint myself with cultural norms across communities that are not mine, right? And in some cases it's a struggle through some of that media, because that media is not built for you. It's not a conversation for you, right? [both laugh] And I've had white friends, and I talk about, like, a podcast we may love. Like, one I love called "Still Processing." I don't know if you know it.Zach: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. "Still Processing" is fire. Shout-out to y'all, yes.Jennifer: Oh, it's so good. So good. And they're queer too. Like, I just love them. I mean, talk about intersectional. They're brilliant. And anyway, I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with it, but also getting all of the cultural references--and sometimes even I will feel, "Gosh, I'm such an outsider, and this is so uncomfortable for me, to try to hang in with the conversation." And then I say to myself--and this is what I say to leaders--"Notice the discomfort, because this is what other people feel every single day in majority-white spaces." Every day of their lives, right? Zach: Right. [laughs]Jennifer: Like, you're uncomfortable for one second, right? Like, get used to it. Like, you should be putting yourself in this discomfort all of the time, because this is the competency. Like, this is the skill that you need to learn so that you get some iota of empathy for what it feels like every single day for other people. The other thing I wanted to say is we just had an LGBTQ--we called it LBTQ. It was just for women actually, so we dropped the G. [laughs] Which was--you know, people can have issues with it, but we dropped the G. It was just meant for Q-identified women. And we had this big conference, and we asked--we had a TON of diversity on the stage, which was my commitment, and we had a couple activists that were trans women of color, and they said, "I will come, but I want you to know, like, Pride is exhausting for me." It was in June. "It's exhausting for me. It's exhausting for me to walk into corporate spaces, to educate, to be that voice on stage, and I'm sort of doing this, but I want you to know it's, like, a lot of labor for me," and I want I guess for all of us that put panels together, for all of us that are speakers and on panels--it was such a learning for me to understand that when you ask someone, you're trying to be inclusive, but it is so seen through this lens of "Oh, I can take the day and go speak at this conference 'cause I work for myself," or, you know, "I'm an activist or an advocate." Like, an activist doesn't always look the same or have the same level of privilege or income. What is the lost income from taking a day out to go into a space you're not comfortable in and educate people about your experience? Like, it was really humbling. And what we ended up doing, by the way--and this may be helpful advice--is for all the speakers, that day we had 30 speakers, we really want to intend that we take up--we have a stipend and honorarium for people who take the time out to come into that space. There's a question of real money, you know, to offset that time and that labor. And again, this was another kind of learning for a lot of privileged people of the privilege that allows them to come in and speak all of the time on things that have a full-time job, you know, that have benefits, you know, that aren't witnessing, you know, the really, really painful reality of certain parts of our community every day. I just thought it was a really interesting demonstration within a marginalized community of sort of the gulf in our experiences, right, even within LBTQ women. So I think being mindful of intersectionality all of the time, it's incumbent--it's incumbent on anybody who has that platform, that voice, that comfort to whatever degree, to ensure spaces are diverse, to ensure voices are elevated, to center stories that aren't our own, and to make sure that those stories are given the proper platform and that people aren't overly requested to give up their time and education. But that means that each white person, each man, you know, when they support gender equality, I would ask, like, "What are you reading? What research do you have under your belt?" Like, "How are you exercising your muscle to show up in allyship, and what are you doing?" And then, and only then, can you ask for tweaks and feedback from people in affected communities. You know, "Did what I say resonate?" "Did the story--did I do this justice?" "Did I use my voice in the right way?" "What more could I have done?" Like, "What feedback would you have for me?" That can be asked, but so much has to be done and earned before that. And then--you know, and then bring somebody in to give you that feedback and make you better, because, you know, without that feedback I can promise you people aren't gonna get better, and they're just gonna keep stumbling, and stumbling is not good for anyone. [laughs] It's humiliating.Zach: No, you're absolutely right. [laughs] The thing about it is there's nothing--so I think the only thing worse than being loud and wrong is being really polished and wrong, right?Jennifer: Ooh, that's interesting.Zach: Right? It's like, you know, you're talking, you got the presentation, and, you know, you got your little clicker, and you got your three points and your--[both laugh] And your pantsuit looks great, but you are wrong.Jennifer: Oh, my gosh. It's in the corporate speak.Zach: Right, it's in the corporate speak, but--Jennifer: People can see through it.Zach: But you're absolutely wrong. And your earlier point about Pride, yeah, and, like, this past year was so big because it was the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, and it's interesting 'cause you talked about--you were talking just a bit about, like, the dissonance there and, like, the emotional labor for everyone who is a minority, but then specifically we're talking about trans activists, and it was so interesting because--I believe it was on the 30th. Like, right at the end of Pride there was a situation at Stonewall Inn where, you know, there was a desire from a trans women to speak up. She wanted to talk a little bit about the day and just reflect, and she was shouted down.Jennifer: No.Zach: Yeah, by gay men who were there in names of, "Hey, we just want to party. We don't want to hear all of that," and then eventually she was able to speak, and she spoke for about 12 minutes, but it was just really interesting. She read the names of the black trans women who died and facts and the disproportionate abuse and oppression that black trans women have and continue to face, and so you're absolutely right. Like, and I think it's incredible. I have yet to have the privilege to directly interview a black trans activist. Like, that's actually a serious [goal] of mine.Jennifer: I can hook you up.Zach: Well, let's do it. Let's talk about that after the interview. For sure.Jennifer: [laughs] Yeah, for sure. So yeah, it's been such a learning for me. And this is why I feel so--the ally energy in me these days, even in the LGBTQ community technically that I'm in, I feel so activated as an--and I don't even want to say, like, "I am an ally," because we're only allies when others give us that--give us that name and that honor, right? But I'll tell you, whether it's me as a cis woman--you know, I spend my time on the keynote stage asking people in the audience, "How many of you know what I mean by sharing our pronouns and why it's important? And how many of you know what cisgender means?" And sharing my identity and coming out as cisgender so that--and sharing my pronouns so that I'm not acting like heterosexuality and cisgenderness is normal, you know? We have to make it visible in order to even point out to people that this--we shouldn't be assuming this is normal, and you shouldn't be walking around every day assuming everybody shares your identity. Like, and we've that. I mean, so many of us have been so comfortable and--you know, I'll share it. You know this statistic probably, but it's so startling that 1 out of every 5 people under 34 is non-cis and non-straight. So 1 out of 5. So as you walk around your life, as you hire people, as you work with teams, as you meet customers, 1 out of 5, and yet the chances are that they're hiding that from you and they're not comfortable for you. So what can you do to say, "Hey, this is a safe place. I am someone that you can bring your whole self to me, around me, and I will see you, and I will be not only just open to it, but I will be embracing of it, and I won't assume that you're like me." You know, "I will give you the chance to self-identify," and I will self-identify. I will be brave in doing that, because, like, I'm not gonna put all the burden on you to talk about your experience, but I'm not gonna remain silent and not talk about mine." It's funny, because I get a lot of questions afterwards. People come up to me and say, "How do I start that conversation with someone?" To say, "Hey, I'm doing my work. I'm trying to learn. I want you to feel comfortable. What would you like me to know?" And we sort of walk through, like, "How do I even start that conversation?" Because people are really--they just don't know how to begin, and they don't know whether it will come across as authentic, and they're worried they're gonna be out of their depth really fast. [laughs] Which, by the way, they will be. [laughs]Zach: [laughs] You're absolutely right, but I think it's the internal getting yourself comfortable with being uncomfortable and being comfortable with being ignorant, and ignorant truly meaning just not knowing, and seeking to learn, right? Like, MLK Jr. talked about this. Like, he was quoted saying something like, "White people, as part of their superiority, think that they have so very little to learn when it comes to--" Like, just race, matters of race, and I think that can be extended and expanded, right? That if you're a part of a majority, a part of a privileged class, it's easy for you to think that you just--you don't need to learn, but being curious, right, and seeking to understand is, like, one of the greatest signs of humility, and really it's endearing. Like, the right people, in my experience--when I come to people and I say, "Hey, I really just want to understand. I want to learn from you. I genuinely want to learn." Those discussions go well, because they--Jennifer: They do.Zach: Right? They go well, because you're humbling yourself to listen and to receive. You talked about the statistics, about 1 in 5 today, [and] I think that really leads me well into the next question. So a good deal of your book discusses the future of work and the role inclusion will play. What are your predictions on how organizations will need to adapt to attract future diverse talent in the next 10 years?Jennifer: Oh, my gosh. Well, they're all, like, woefully behind already and have been. [laughs] It's like the ostrich with its head in the sand. I think, you know, when business is good and the economy is good, it covers--it's like high tide, you know? It covers up a lot of things that low tide reveals. And I think a lot of people are too comfortable. You know, I just think that business leaders in particular--and to your point that you just made, right? If life is working out for me, like economically I'm comfortable, I'm not afraid of, you know, being pulled over, you know, as I'm driving. I'm not afraid for my child in the world. You know, all of those things that are blind spots for some people. You can kind of sail on through life and through your work in being a leader, believe it or not, and not really be held accountable for a lot of these things. People deny that it's an urgent situation, but I see it as a really urgent situation, that the fact that, you know, the number of women and people of color at certain levels in companies--which I'm kind of obsessed with the mid-level, because the mid-level is where people--they're really tired of hanging on, like, white-knuckling it up the pipeline, trying to, you know, get supported, get promoted, get--you know, have somebody take an interest in them, have somebody run interference for them. You know, when you're undermentored and undersupported, and then you're underrepresented as well, and you look around, and you look up, and you don't see anyone that--you know, we say "you've got to see it to be it." You know, you get tired, and it's no wonder to me that the numbers and the representation of anyone who's not a straight white male have been kind of really flatlined, you know? And even the best and most progressive companies are really struggling to hold onto people, to raise them up to the level where I want to see them, right? Which is the executive level, because then they can make all--a whole world of difference, you know? An executive leader can, with one signature, you know, create a policy or address the pay gap, you know? They have so much power. Or hold a customer accountable, or take a stance on a political issue in social media. And so if people can't make up there, and we decide to bail out because it just proves too arduous and we're just, like, physically tired, and we're emotionally tired, and the compassion and fatigue and the emotional labor and all of it, being the spokesperson for an entire community. It becomes too much, and, you know, then we leave and we create our own businesses, which is a great solution, which was, you know, the thing I did. [both laugh] You know, 'cause I was like, "This is not gonna work for me." But that's a loss, because not everybody is set up to be an entrepreneur. You know, you need a lot of capital. You need--we talked about privilege. You know, you need certain things in place in order to make that work, and it's just not tenable for most people. So workplaces have to work for people, for all of us. So the future of work, you know, I get asked a lot about quotas and targets. I personally--I hesitate to say this, like, super publicly because companies are really twitchy about requirements and quotas, and you get a lot of pushback, but I'm honestly--I'm at a point where I feel like if people are left to their own devices change doesn't happen, and if change does happen it's slow and it's not widespread, and it's too slow to make a meaningful difference in the short amount of time we have to really see change.Zach: Absolutely.Jennifer: I mean, I think the house is on fire. [laughs] You know, I think economically people are falling behind. They're not getting promoted. They're therefore missing out on economic growth and opportunity and wealth, and, you know, I'm just not seeing it, when the world is changing so fast and companies are not keeping up with it. And so is the bottom line impacted? Is ROI measured? You know, we really--we have to have, like, an honest conversation about losing customers and clients and people leaving the organization, and companies have to wake up and say, you know, "If we don't do something really serious about this, we're gonna be sitting in the same exact place in 10 years." So, you know, I'm all for the more radical solutions. You know, I think--honestly, I think slates, interview slates, need to have a required number of women on them and a required number of people with diverse ethnicities. LGBTQ is tough because we don't disclose. So the companies I work with struggle with something called self-identification. We don't trust our companies--and this just speaks volumes--we don't trust our companies enough to check a box about who we really are, so we can't be counted. [laughs] So we--so, you know, there has to be, like, faith that we exist in organizations upwards of maybe 10% of the population, because we're only--on paper, we're only recorded at, like, 1%.Zach: Yeah, and that's just not accurate, right?Jennifer: No, it's not accurate, but we're doing that because we're terrified, you know? We're terrified of losing our job. We're just--even in the best companies. And that's true for people with disabilities too, but I think [some] companies have to [?], and I think they're gonna get pushed back. If they roll things out like this, they're gonna get a lot of pushback. People are gonna say, "I don't want to be forced to--" You know, "I believe in a meritocracy, and I want to hire the best person for the job, and you can't force me to hire a candidate that's less than," and my answer to that is if you did a good job of having enough of a pipeline of all kinds of talent, it wouldn't just be one candidate you're looking at and you're feeling like somebody, you know, is forcing you, holding your feet to the fire to hire them. You would have lots of choices. And so we've got to do a better job of filling that pipeline, keeping people in the pipeline, not letting them leave, and investing in them so that they feel they can thrive at a company long-term instead of wanting to bail out because they can't stand it out anymore, you know? That's just a sad commentary on workplace culture, but unfortunately I think it's the experience of tons of people that I talk to.Zach: The thing about it is the challenge with it is like--your earlier point around change, like, not--you know, that if left to its own devices will happen so incrementally, so small, that it won't be--it won't have--Jennifer: So slowly. It won't be meaningful. It won't even be big enough, yeah.Zach: And I think when you look at American history and you look at the history of civil rights in this country, it's really--I don't know if we have, like, a tangible example of truly radical sustained change from a culture perspective in this country. I think when you look across--especially when you look at, like, this current presidency, it's actually forced a lot of people to really, like, look at the history of race relations in America, especially if you want to examine, like, the past 55, 60 years, and you look at--and if you look at, like, the economic positioning of blacks today versus blacks in 1967, you know, you don't see the needle moving much at all. In fact, in a lot of areas you see the needle moving down. So it's interesting, so I 100% agree with you that there needs to be some genuinely radical--I'm gonna use the word again, radical--change in thought in terms of just what it's gonna look like, because--and we talked about this in another interview too. We talked about the future of work and we talked about the future of learning and education. You know, as the economy shifts and changes and more and more folks are not going to school, because school is going to continue to get more expensive and--like, all of that, it's gonna create a completely new environment that I don't know if we're really taking the time to really examine and consider. Jennifer: I know. We're still having the conversation with managers to say, "Hey, don't hire from the school you went to. That's bias." Zach: Right. [laughs]Jennifer: You know, literally that's where we are. But you're talking about, like, the 3.0, which is literally that people are not gonna have these traditional college degrees or any degree. They'll go to trade school or whatever it is. Like, they're gonna have completely non-traditional backgrounds. They will have been, you know, previously incarcerated. They will be, you know, of different statuses, and we have to figure out--like, workplaces need all the talent they can get, and yet they're completely behind in terms of how they seek that talent, where they look. People, like, throw their hands up so too easily, you know? They just say, "Oh, we just couldn't find anyone." [laughs] You know, it's just, like, endless, the stories I hear. And I don't know. It's laziness. It's--I don't even know. I mean, it depends on the day, like, how cynical I am about it all, but I don't know. [laughs] I just am like, "Really?" Like, if you really wanted to find people, they're there, and I--believe me, 'cause I'm on Twitter, and, like, Black Twitter is on fire. Like, you know, the number of angel investment groups, the number of VCs, the number of start-ups, the number of black girls who code. Like, there's such a great community to recruit from, and I just--I wonder, like, what is it--what is it that people aren't doing or won't do? Like, what is the hold up?Zach: Oh, no, 100%. You know what, Jennifer? I'ma say this. Hold on. You know what? You're a real one. I appreciate you. That's a really good call-out, 'cause you're absolutely right. Like, Black Twitter is poppin,', and, like, there's so much--there are so many pools, right, of talent for you to engage in. There's Black Code Collective, like, in D.C. Like, there's all types of stuff. Like, there are people--and, like, to your point around, like, how people are learning today, there are people who went to culinary school and then, like, are now learning how to code, and, like, they're good at it, right? There are communities now that will welcome you in for free. You will--you can learn, and you can genuinely understand and learn how to code. And so there's plenty of opportunity to deepen your pipeline, so yeah, that's a really good point. There are things that people either aren't doing or are choosing not to do, but the talent is definitely out there. You know, you talked about cynicism. I think that really leads to my next question. Like, can we take a step back and just talk about, like, D&I, or I&D, as an industry, right? Jennifer: Oh. [laughs]Zach: [laughs]Jennifer: Speaking of cynicism, I think I know where you're going with this. I'm ready to go there with you too, so I think I know. [both laugh]Zach: So there's a growing sentiment, right, that the largest voices who are advocating for diversity and inclusion in highly-visible or corporate/corporatized spaces are themselves members of the majority and, by relation, have some inherent blind spots within the subject matter that they espouse expertise in. Do you find any merit to that concern? And, like, what have you done to challenge your own blind spots? You spoke to this a little bit earlier, but I'd love for you to expound on that and if you have any other advice you would give to others.Jennifer: Hm, that is such an interesting observation. It's funny, because I could make the counter-argument that I think we're in a time--like, you ask any white diversity leader right now, and their credibility is questioned on a daily basis to be in the role they're in. Like, that is the truth. In fact, they get, like, threats.Zach: Really?Jennifer: Yeah. I've seen some people get some serious heat just for having the audacity of even having the position or accepting the position.Zach: Oh, wow.Jennifer: Yeah. So there's many stories, right, on all sides of this issue, and like I said, I think--I don't know if I said it earlier, but when you're a marginalized community, it also doesn't mean that you're a great leader on inclusion necessarily. Zach: That's true, yeah.Jennifer: Because I've seen plenty of--you know, like, we were talking about white gay men at Stonewall who were--you know, can be, like, very misogynistic, very racist, very--and so, you know, that can carry forward into a diversity leader role, but that doesn't mean that all of them are totally, you know, not effective practitioners, and it also doesn't mean because you're a person of color that you're an effective practitioner, right?Zach: That's right.Jennifer: So to me--and you respect this--it's a skill set, you know? It is a skill set, but it is also your identity, right? And it's how you deal with your identity in the world, and it's how you integrate those two things that makes you an effective voice. But also you've got to be an incredibly savvy change agent to have these roles. I mean, they're very difficult roles. They're some of the most complex roles that exist, I think, in business, because it's part influencing, it's part executive, you know, believability, credibility. It's passion. It's change agility. It is storytelling, right, and being, like--but incredibly data-oriented and, you know, convincing, and knowing the business so that you can make the business case, right? So you need to know the business you're in in order to make the argument for D&I, and you've got to be able to do all of those things. And by the way, you're probably part of a marginalized community, and you're dealing with all of the biases personally, like, that you're getting, at the same time as you're leading an entire institution, like, through this morass, you know? Through these really difficult, tense, and, you know, complex times. So it's really, like, one of the toughest roles, and I have so much respect--I worry about our practicioner community, both on the consulting side but really our internal--my internal clients, 'cause they're just--they're holding up, you know, this planet, you know, these giant organizations. Anyway, but to answer your question [of] "Who's allowed and who has permission to do this work?" It's a very good question. I mean, I've even questioned--you know, 'cause somebody hasn't dug into who I am and has judged me just based on what I look like, and that's okay. I mean, I would say, you know, it hurts me, but whatever. Like, that doesn't matter. It's most important, I think, for us not to judge each other, I think for us to look at the skill set objectively, but I do think the optics of people in these roles are important. You have to be, like, a really amazing, humble leader. Like, you have to be--you have to be really deep in the work, I think, to take on that role as a majority identity. If you're a--say you're a white guy. I don't know a lot of white straight guys in these roles. I do know white gay guys, and they--every day their privilege is pointed out to them. Every day. Nobody lets them forget, you know, that they are--that they have an enormous responsibility in that role and that, like, they have a lot of work to do. And if you talk to any of them--and I know some of my clients are of that identity, and it's a tough lift for them. I know some straight white women, and again, they are pretty enlightened people, and they're very humble, and they're very, like--they've been studying this for a long time. Some of them have sort of really personal relationships. I know a lot of gay white women actually in these roles, and they--and sometimes I know gay women of color in these roles, and they're amazing. I mean, amazing amazing. Like, and the intersectionality they can bring to it is deep, and I find--not to say, you know, certain combinations of identities are, like, more important, but to be able to speak to so many different identities in your workforce in a direct way, you know, there's kind of--that's a wonderful shortcut, to be able to do that and on top of that be, like, somebody who's, like, been in HR for 20 years, you know, and is super savvy about playing the politics and all of the other things you need for the role, but I would like to think that we can all--we all have a role to play, and some companies are more embracing of--I will tell you some inside baseball. Sometimes I get asked to send, you know, a white man to a consulting engagement, and--that is true, you know, and talk to anyone in the work that I do, and they'll tell you that's [?]. And we will push back. We will say, you know, "We're not sure that's the right answer," and "Let's talk about it," and, you know, sometimes strangely it is the right answer for certain groups who have been really, really recalcitrant and resistant, and the messenger matters sometimes more than the message. Like, certain people can be heard in certain ways, and we know this is true. So we--that's why we have such tremendous diversity on our consulting team, because we just--we have to get creative sometimes and make sure that we build a pairing, for example, that's gonna be in front of a room that maybe the client is really, really struggling to be heard in front of this business unit or this team or this, you know, office in a certain region in the country, and we'll need to switch it out. You know, we'll need to put a different voice in front of people to see, you know, and sadly the messenger is something that needs to be considered. And I wouldn't let it rest, and I wouldn't not challenge it, but I do think we--we've got to use every change tool in our arsenal, particularly with those who are really resistant and really stuck and I think experiencing a lot of bias per the messenger that they're hearing the message from. And it's funny. You know, I have to be really careful. I can't be the angry--I have to be careful to not be the angry woman and the angry gay person, and I can't imagine what it would be like delivering that truthful message that I do and also being a person of color, right? I'm very aware that I have a lot more latitude for my quote-unquote passion to come through, right, and to be--and not to have it seen as being threatening, you know? Zach: Absolutely. And, you know, your point around, like, changing up the messenger and mixing it up, it's really interesting because in the work that I have done, I have a similar strategy--and it's interesting, because I do that without even being asked. Like, I'll just be like, "Look, I know that for this I just need to have a really approachable white face to deliver this message," and they're partners for me in that. And honestly, Jennifer, I do that even just at work. Like, if I have a big meeting--Jennifer: Of course. [laughs]Zach: [laughs] If I have a big meeting or, like, you know, there's just something going on and it's like, "Okay, I really want to share this thing, but I know that if I say it, then it's gonna get an eye roll or it's not gonna be heard, so let me go ahead and mobilize this white woman or this white guy."Jennifer: Your allies.Zach: Yes, and then I'll have them say it, or I will let them know that I'm about to say it. Jennifer: I wish that weren't true.Zach: Say that again?Jennifer: I just wish it weren't true, like, that you have to do that, and to me that's, like, the extra tax that we pay. You know, that's extra labor. You have to literally not only have the brilliant idea, but you have to, like, strategize about who is, like, sitting next to you or, you know, backing you up when you have a brilliant idea, or who's gonna echo your--you know, women deal with this, and we all know this is, like, a fact of life. But I appreciate what you're bringing up, that it's a universal experience for so many of us, and it's just--if we look at it on the bright side--let's, like, look at it as a glass half-full, which I always do. [laughs] You know, I think this all makes us really savvy, like, very emotionally intelligent, right? Because as limited as our audience might be in terms of seeing us, doesn't this make us--it sort of sharpens our saw. I mean, I think when you have to think about "How am I gonna get this group over the finish line?" Like, how am I going to get them to listen to me, to believe in what I say and to give me the credibility when I'm walking in the room and I know what they're thinking about me?" You know, "How am I gonna do that?" And to me it's, like, a--you know, it's a brain twister, but it makes you be very creative. And by the way, I hope in enlisting those allies that they know why they're being enlisted and that it really raises their awareness [of] the permutations that so many of us go through in the workplace to be heard. You know, that's--I hope that they're noticing that. Like, that's a really important learning, to be approached by someone--to say, "Hey, would you have my [back?] in this meeting? I'm gonna bring this up," and, you know, to me that is, like, such a sad commentary, and at the same time it's such a demonstration of how far we have to go for people to be heard and the space that we have to learn to hold for each other. Like, we've got to do that--you know what? We need to do that without being asked. That's where I really want to get, right? So that if I'm in this meeting and I hear you bring up this brilliant idea, you don't even need to ask me to have your back. Like, I am gonna instinctively know if you're talked over or if somebody steals your idea or somebody poo-poos it that I'm gonna intervene, and I'm gonna know what's going on, and that to me, that would be sort of nirvana in the workplace, that those pre-conversations, that pre-planning that you just described doesn't even need to happen because everyone knows it's an issue and everyone's on guard for it. Like, can you imagine? Like, if we were all like, "Oh, no, no." You know, "She is not gonna be talked over," or "His idea is not going to be dismissed," you know? "And I'm gonna quote it, and I'm gonna bring the attention back to him and, you know, his idea." It's like the women in the Obama cabinet. I love that story, where they literally decided, like, that this was not gonna happen anymore, and they all banded together and made the plan.Zach: Yes, I loved that.Jennifer: And then they went into--I know. And then they went into the meeting, and they all, like, echoed each other's ideas and mentioned each other by name and made eye contact with other women in the room. So they sort of redirected everybody's attention. I'm still--believe it or not, if I go into a meeting with my male colleague, they will talk to him. Like, it still happens to me. Oh, yeah. And I'm a CEO, and he works for me, you know? [both laugh] So yeah, it's still a thing. And he's really good, because he'll, like, redirect back to me. Zach: "Um, actually, Ms. Brown, what do you think?" [laughs]Jennifer: Yes. Well, he'll say, "Well, as Jennifer always says," right? "As somebody who is an acknowledged expert." I love that. [laughs] But yeah, we need to do that [?], and that would be nirvana. So I really talk about that a lot in my book. Like, the emotional labor of having to ask for help, I really, really wish more of us would know that help is needed. Like, we would know the data. We would know the research. You know, for God's sake, like, read the McKenzie report on women that they do every year. Zach: Oh, it's so good.Jennifer: Yeah, it's so good, and you'll realize that women of color have different headwinds than white women. Just that, you know? And if you go into meetings and you see this dynamic and you have any level of privilege, any level of positional power where you're listened to in a different way, you need to activate that so that you change those numbers and those outcomes. Like, you must do that. And it's such a small thing. This takes two seconds. Like, that's the thing when people are like, "Ugh, inclusion takes so much time, and I'm so busy, and I don't know how--it competes with the business priorities, and I have a long list, and, like, I'm already strapped for time." All of that--I don't think this takes a lot of time. It just takes a moment of attention to [bias?] your own others, a quick conversation to check in with somebody, a request for feedback, a "Hey, you know, I wanted to follow up with you after that meeting." Like, "I really thought your idea was great. I want to support you. How can do I do more of that?" That, like, takes two seconds to say, and like you said earlier, it's so welcome. Like, I think that's the--people are like, "I don't know how to start that conversation." [laughs] It's like, "Most of these conversations are, like, a gift to so many people who are never asked these questions to begin with," right? So please approach me. Ask me how can you support me more differently. What could you say in a meeting? What could you say after a meeting to someone when I'm not around? You know, I think that's the other piece, right? Like, give feedback to people that look like you. Like, I always say, you know, "Men listen to other men in a very different way." And so, you know, if you've got the privilege of being listened to. You know, the messenger, not just the message, and you can take the burden off of my shoulders to have a hard conversation with somebody, to say, "Hey, that joke made me uncomfortable." Like, that's a very risky move for me to do, 'cause I--you know, that is drawing attention to my difference. I have no idea how that person is going to react. And so I really--as a woman, I really appreciate men who proactively are like, "What can I do to--" Really it's kind of protect you in a way, and it's not protect in a sort of damsel-in-distress kind of way. It is literally--like, it could be protecting an idea. It could be making sure you don't fall victim to politics in the office. It could be that I represent you when you're not in the room and I talk about how brilliant you are, you know? It's that kind of thing, because otherwise we're sort of hanging out in the wind. And one of the things I always say is diverse talent is undermentored and very undersponsored, which means that we're not--we literally aren't looked after, like, informally. We are not--like, somebody's not like, "Well, let me have that career conversation with her to make sure that she's up for that role, so that she has P&L experience, so that she's then positioned so she can get that promotion," because there's all of these, like, unspoken and unwritten rules that we're not privy to when you're not in the power structure. So I often task people I speak to, like, "Look at the people you mentor. Look at the people you sponsor. Do they look like you?" You know, if they do, and you are a certain demographic, like, you must remedy that. Like, you've got to be mentoring across difference, sponsoring across difference, and--by the way, it should be reverse mentoring as well. It should be mutual so that you're learning--to your point earlier, like, how are you getting your learning about cultural differences? It's in the context of these really, really important one-on-one relationships. So wherever you can power share, wherever you can be influenced or learn somebody's experience, as a senior executive, your biggest risk is that you're isolated from all of this, and therefore you're not an effective leader. You're not positioning yourself for the future. You're harming your company, because you're setting this vision every day, but you--there's so much you don't know. So, you know, I think that's a good wake-up call for people usually. And if that doesn't work, [laughs] I don't know. I give up.Zach: [laughs] I don't know.Jennifer: I'm like, "I've given you now two books to read." You know, 63 podcast episodes. You know? Come on. [laughs]Zach: [laughs] "What more do you want more from me?"Jennifer: What more do you need? It's writing on the wall. Wake up, you know? Get with--get on the train, you know, and be willing to make mistakes as we were talking about earlier, and, you know, even know how to do a good apology, 'cause, you know, I think there is a real art to a real apology. I think you said earlier [that] there's nothing worse than somebody who, like, says all the right things but, like, in this really authentic kind of faux, polished way.Zach: Yes. You know what? We're gonna have to have you back just to talk about the topic of apologizing [?]. Like, for real.Jennifer: Yeah, right? I love that apology. I mean, I love that topic. Sorry.Zach: No, no, you're good.Jennifer: But a good apology can make up for everything, and it's almost like a required skill set, particularly for those in the majority, because things are gonna happen. Like, you're gonna mess it up. You are. And so being comfortable with uncomfortable, comfortable with hard feedback, and, to me, not slinking away into the corner but saying, "Thank you so much for that, and I'm gonna try it again, and I'm gonna do it differently." Like, wouldn't that resilience be really neat to hear and see in our leaders?Zach: It would. It would be great, and I think--you know, believe it or not I'm actually a little bit encouraged coming out of this conversation. This has been really good.Jennifer: [laughs] Really?Zach: Yeah, I am.Jennifer: Oh, that's good, 'cause we talked about some cynical stuff. [laughs]Zach: We did, we did, but it was real though.Jennifer: Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's such a mixed bag, but like you said earlier, like, we're living in really interesting times of awakening, and you're right--like, I think ever since the 2016 election I would say is when so many people and so many companies were like, "Oh, my goodness," you know? MLK Jr., "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." One of my favorite quotes, but guess what? We have to bend the arc. Like, the arc, it ain't gonna bend itself.Zach: Right? It don't just bend by itself. Right. [laughs]Jennifer: Like, that's the thing. So to me we've got to take that and bend it, and I think what we've realized is it's not this destiny, you know? Things aren't gonna happen without--and they aren't gonna happen because of good intentions. They're not gonna happen because we have maybe progressive values. They're not gonna happen because "Oh, I'm a male leader and I have daughters, so therefore, like, I am an expert on gender equality." No. Zach: Right. [laughs]Jennifer: No. Like, you have to do something, and you have to do something publicly, consistently, constantly. I used an example in a book of Marc Benioff, who is the CEO of Salesforce, who discovered he had a huge pay gap and literally wrote a check for $3 million, like, right away and was like, "I'm gonna gross up pay for people, because I'm not gonna let this stand another day, then we're gonna do the harder work," right? Which is rooting out, like, why did this happen in the first place. And then as he's done this--he does it every year now--they've discovered, by the way, pay gap--not just gender but ethnicity pay gaps. Not surprising.Zach: Right.Jennifer: And then they've acquired so many 10s of companies that also had pay gaps as Salesforce acquired them, and they had to do a new audit, you know, and to look at their pay gaps and, you know, gross it up. So, you know, literally there are people that are--that are just being relentless on this, because under their watch they're not gonna let this persist. And so I do see a lot of courage amongst leaders, and that leaves me really hopeful. I wish I saw it more, and I wish I saw it more publicly. I think there's a lot of really interesting conversations going on with privately with lawyers and, you know, the board and, you know, sometimes I'm privy to those, and I'm really, really heartened by the interest I see in the C-Suite. I have to say, people are getting it, and I think their question now is "How do we change it?" And that's a much harder question to answer when you're dealing with a giant organization that does business all over the world and has to contend with laws in various parts of the world, and, you know, it's hard to know where to start, and I think that's where people are at, that they want to start, and that's a relief to me. I mean, it makes my job easier because I'm not fighting the "Why is this important?" battle all of the time.
Join me this week as I go through my mental health journey with you. Are you thinking about suicide or struggling right now? Need some help. Reach out to the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Trans Lifeline Hotline at 1-877-565-8860. If you don't want to reach out to either one of those make sure you reach out to someone you love and loves you back. Or you can message me on social media @transcasterradio or email me at kayden@transcasterradio.com
This week’s guest is Jennifer Brown. Jennifer is a leading diversity and inclusion expert, dynamic keynote speaker, best-selling author, and host of The Will To Change podcast, which uncovers true stories of diversity and inclusion. As the founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, Jennifer’s workplace strategies have been employed by some of the world’s top Fortune 500 companies like Walmart, Microsoft, and Starbucks, and as a successful LGBT entrepreneur, she’s been featured in media including the New York Times, Bloomberg Business week, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and many more. Where to follow Jennifer: Her website can be found https://jenniferbrownspeaks.com/ (here). On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jenniferbrownspeaks/ (@JenniferBrownSpeaks) Her latest book, “How To Be An Inclusive Leader”, can be found https://jenniferbrownspeaks.com/inclusive-leader-book/ (here). In this episode we cover the following topics with Jennifer: ([2:30] minute) Growing up in a frugal financial environment and learning to take the best skills from each parent. ([7:30] minute) Her story of coming out; finding that career sweet spot. ([16:00] minute) The myth of meritocracy and our collective troubles with comfort. ([24:30] minute) How we show up to work. ([26:00] minute) Building community and diversity in the workplace. ([38:00] minute) Helping create a grassroots event for LBTQ leaders to come together and combine resources to learn and grow together.
See all the colours of the Fringe this year
Vi bjuder på diskussioner kring LBTQ och utseende i film och tv och att kön och etnisk tillhörighet inte spelar någon roll överhuvudtaget Saarvi! ---------------------------------------- Avsnittsguide: Avsnitt 75 - Förklara dig Maila in till: hallflabbenpodcast@gmail.com Hemsidan: www.hallflabben.se Håll Flabben Merchandise Spotify-listan Facebook Youtube Nytt avsnitt släpps varje lördag kl. 09.00. ---------------------------------------- Veckans låttips: Wheeler Walker Jr. - Fuck You Bitch Intro: Wheeler Walker Jr. - Fuck You Bitch
Politics, the election, Homosexuality, Transgender, music and so much more are discussed in this podcast
Los Angeles Playwright and producer, Nicholas Pilapil, guest hosts while Not So Ancient takes a look at "A Language of Their Own" by Chay Yew. The trio delves deep into this queer story about the aftermath of a breakup during the 1980s. Meanwhile, Peter realizes he doesn't know enough about queer theatre history and may need to do a spin-off podcast.
Lee hosts another podcast (SHEQUALITY) in which she interviews senior women leaders as they share their personal stories, challenges, achievements, advice and best practices. Based off some incredible conversations, Lee chats with us about why it's so important to have a diverse workforce, and what you can do to promote diversity at your company. We sit down with our CEO for 15 minutes each week to get practical business advice so we can advance in our careers. On this episode, we chat about what to do if you want to be part of a diverse workforce...
Welcome to Think Queerly! I’m your host, Darren Stehle and I coach queer people to “Lead From their Difference To Make A Difference.”Think Queerly is a queer thought leadership podcast and a publication on Medium that dissects socially and ideologically enforced norms through critical analysis, personal narrative, and thoughtful dialogue. On the show I talk about the unique and necessary social and cultural contributions that LGBTQ+ peoples offer humanity.Think Queerly’s mission is to create a more loving, humane world by showing queer individuals how to lead from their difference to elevate human consciousness and liberate those oppressed by the status quo.I launched the podcast in June 2018 and named it the Living OUT Podcast. I changed the name shortly after the 100th episode to match with my publication, Think Queerly on Medium — just so you’re not confused by the different name if you listen to past episodes.If you’re not sure where to start you could simply scroll through the show titles to find something that appeals to you. I have done my best to make my episode titles pretty clear. However, there are a few episodes that I’ll recommend in case you’d like some suggestions:In Episode 104, "The Secret that Lives in the Closet", I ask the question, How does internalized homophobia in gay men affect other LBTQ individuals?If you are struggling in any part of your life, listen to Episode 67 in which I discuss "Being At Ease With Yourself."In Episode 30 I ask, "Is Forgiveness of Homophobia a Gay Male Gift?" This was a major breakthrough in my own life that helped me feel more empathy, and I come back to this episode and topics discussed in many later show.Leading Queerly with DarrenDownload my free book: Think Queerly – Meditations & Critical Reflections On Liberating HumanityIf you’re curious to find out more about working with me as your coach, click here. Download a free copy of my book, Think Queerly: Meditations & Critical Reflections On Liberating Humanity.
Emie // Eva-Marie Elg is a performance/video artist based in Sweden. In this episode of Inglorious Artists she is visiting Peter in the studio to talk about life as a struggling performance artists, performing in different countries and identifying herself as asexual and how that plays into her art and films.
Welcome back to the podcast that will solve world hunger, The Podunk Polymath Podcast! First off, I mention that I will be on an upcoming episode of Habeas Humor with Charone Frankel, and she will return the favor on my next episode. We are going to talk about voter suppression and extra virgin olive oil. For the pre-ramble, I go a bit of a rant about Dave Rubin and how he got all upset about an article that sorta kinda implied he might be affiliated with the alt-right. And in a nice little bit of irony, he becomes a snowflake by threatening to sue! On the palaver this week I speak with Melissa Smith Taylor, co-founder of the P.O.W.E.R. House, which is a nonprofit dedicated to women's rights and LBTQ equality. We talk about her work with the P.O.W.E.R. House, how TRAP laws affect the affiliated abortion clinic, other TRAP laws across the nation, the escorts who help women to the clinic, and of course those protestors who make it a living hell for women wanting to get a legal procedure by shouting at them, getting in their faces, and taking pictures. We also talk briefly about the documentary TRAPped, in which the clinic and it's owner June Ayers is featured in. Melissa and those like her are an inspiration and are really making a difference by being on the front lines of these battles. It's not an easy story to listen to, but an important one. And please give to the P.O.W.E.R. House if you can. They always need help. Music by Dot Dot Dash, cdbaby.com/cd/dotdotdash
#99: Are We Innately Driven to Serve Others With Matt Kidd Jenn T Grace: You are listening to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast, episode 99. Introduction: Welcome to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast; the podcast dedicated to helping LGBTQ professionals and business owners grow their business and careers through the power of leveraging their LGBTQ identities in their personal brand. You'll learn how to market your products and services both broadly, and within the LGBTQ community. You'll hear from incredible guests who are leveraging the power of their identity for good, as well as those who haven't yet started, and everyone in between. And now your host. She teaches straight people how to market to gay people, and gay people how to market themselves. Your professional lesbian, Jenn - with two N's - T Grace. Jenn T Grace: Well hello and welcome to episode 99 of the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast. I am your host, Jenn Grace, and I am almost stunned that we are at episode 99 and the next episode will obviously be 100, that will be the last one of 2016 and it's almost a big monumental time to be hitting this 99th episode before going into the triple digits. So as I have been doing for the last couple of months, I have another interview to share with you and it's with Matt Kidd, and he is the Executive Director of Reaching Out MBA which is an organization that is focused on LGBTQ folks who are pursuing MBAs, and we really just had an amazing conversation that kind of went back and forth between LGBT culture and some of the challenges that we see, and personal brands, and how people can be change makers, and advocates, and really it was just a very fascinating conversation to be had. So per usual I will not dilly dally here with the introduction and we can just dive right into today's interview with Matt, and I will see you in episode 100, but for today please enjoy this interview with Matt Kidd, and if you would like to find information about this episode, see a transcript, any of that, you can do so at www.JennTGrace.com/99 for episode number 99. Thanks so much and enjoy the interview. Okay so I want to start off with just having you give the listeners a little bit of a background about yourself, maybe what you've done in the past, what your current position is, and then we can just kind of dive into other interesting topics from there. So why don't you just kind of take it away. Matt Kidd: Sure so my name is Matt Kidd. I'm currently the Executive Director of an LGBT organization called Reaching Out. A lot of people know us also as ROMBA, and the organization itself is effectively the now global organization for LGBT MBA both students and professionals. And it's something that I've been in this role now for a little over three years, but prior to that was on the board. So I've been involved with Reaching Out now probably for- gosh going on about eight years. But I would say for me being part of kind of the LGBT community is something that has gone on really since I was a teenager in some ways, which I can talk a little bit about later, and I have to say as I came to this role it really was because I was at a time in my life where I started really thinking about what difference can we make in the world? To be honest I'd gone through my own MBA business school experience, I was working at Tech Startup, and about two, three years after I'd been at that company I was number one kind of getting a little bit bored and I was thinking about what do I want to do next? But number two, I actually lost my mother and so at that point I'd lost both my parents. And when you go through something like that I think it forces a lot of self-reflection and kind of thinking about what is your purpose in the world? Why are you doing this? What really matters? And I think that was one of those moments. And so it was kind of probably about a year after that, that the organization was going through this big change where it went from what was effectively an all-volunteer model with a volunteer board, and using students to run basically one event to an organization that really wanted to have a larger scope, wanted to run year round, and [Inaudible 00:04:33]. And I vividly remember we were sitting in a room with some consultants that we were working with and one of them pulled me aside and said, "Hey would you consider raising your hand for this," and my gut reaction was, "No that's ridiculous." And then I think I went home and thought about it, and a couple weeks went by, and I just kept coming back to it. It was this really interesting part of me, 'What can we do with this? Like if I did this, why would it be interesting and why should I do this?' And it all kind of came back to in a weird way- I view my time at Reaching Out really in a weird way is working with some sort of startup or something entrepreneurial because I came in and it had been this established product which was this conference that's been going on now for nineteen years, but it really didn't do much else. And so it kind of gave me a blank slate to come and then say, 'Well what do we want to do? What impact do we want to do?' And as soon as I kind of had some of the conversations that made it clear that we really would be able to move forward quickly rather than kind of in the traditional slow nonprofit way, I threw my hat into the ring and lo and behold three years later we've built up a staff of three, we're doing probably close to twenty events a year, we have a scholarship program that's giving away over a million dollars a year to LGBTQ students in business school. So we've been able to accomplish a lot, but that's kind of how I got to where I am, and kind of a little bit about what's going on in my world. Jenn T Grace: Do you think with your kind of gut reaction of like, 'Oh hell no I don't want to go down this path,' and then somehow that being the path that you end up on, do you think that like if you look back it's just kind of really kind of changed the trajectory of your ability to make- create purpose and change kind of in your life? Matt Kidd: Yeah I do. The reality is I probably won't be in this role forever. Some people do ask me, "What are you going to do next?" And I think in a weird way this role has made me really reflect on what would make me happy in life, and what would not? And I think some of that has to do with the type of organizations that you work for. I think there's something inherently nice about working- for me at least, for a small to mid-sized organization rather than kind of a giant corporation. I think it tells you a little bit about kind of the impact that you can have. I think particularly when you're talking about a nonprofit or a v-corp or something like that, then I think in those cases you're doing more than just having an impact on the business line, you're having an impact on kind of the greater community. I think at this point- and I think it's- I alluded to this before, I think it's been true really since I was much younger, but now I consciously think about what can I be doing to make somebody else's life better at the end of the day? And I think some of that comes from mission driven work, and where you work, but some of that just becomes frankly how you treat people, how you talk, how you position yourself, and I think being in a role like this makes me hyper conscious of that and that's something that regardless of what I'm doing next, I that's had just had a tremendous impact really on my life. And like I said it can be just something as simple as how are you talking to other people? Are you kind of taking into consideration their priorities, their needs, how can you help them, how might they be at a disadvantage to you? Every conversation now in some form, that goes through my thinking. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and I know that you have kind of information from early back as we were talking before we hit record, do you think that for people to come to the realization that like their purpose in life is to really kind of serve others? Because that's really at the crux of what you're talking about, is serving others. Do you think that it requires some kind of pivotal moment to cause that? Or do you think that's innate to some people? Like what are your thoughts on that, and then of course how did you realize that about yourself? Matt Kidd: Yeah I think it's ultimately at the end of the day in everyone. I think there probably are varying degrees of it, but I do think it takes something in somebody's life really to kind of recognize it. And so what we were talking about before we recorded today is October 12th and so it's the eighteenth anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, and I really vividly remember an experience when I was probably a junior or so in high school, and this was in Memphis, Tennessee so fairly deep south in kind of the late nineties, and I remember this experience, and I apologize for my language here but there was a teacher who kind of came in and basically said, "That faggot deserved it. He probably had Aids anyway." And you know, at the time I was not really out at that point, I would say I was exploring my sexual identity in some capacity and I think some people probably suspected, but I just remember that just first of all making me feel so little, but then I think the more I reflected on it, it started to make me angry. And a couple years ago I had the pleasure of sitting down with Judy Shepard, and we were talking, and my comment to her was the murder is obviously horrible, and I think everybody would go back in time and change it if they could, but there is a silver lining that comes of horrible incidents like this, and that's I think it gets a lot of people to reflect on their own purpose and kind of have a reaction. And so I would say if you look at a lot of my peers, particularly in the LGBT social justice faith now, a lot of them would say a moment to them where they realized that this was something that was important to them, something that moved them that made them care, was Matthew Shepard’s death. And so for a lot of us, kind of my generation, so people who are in their mid-thirties, I think that was a moment that sparked this idea of, 'This is wrong and I want to change that.' Now how people went about doing that, I think it takes a lot of different paths. And sometimes you'll see have you multiple encounters, like for me a second spark really was my loss of both my parents, that a moment where for me it was like, 'Well why am I on this earth? Like what am I meant to do?' And so I think you do have those points, and I think it's what you decide to do with them that really matters. Jenn T Grace: So I have a friend of mine who's writing a book, and it's really about what you're talking about of really kind of taking that challenging situation and turning it into that silver lining. And there's a whole concept around it called post-traumatic growth, and it's really that we grow from those really traumatic experiences that we kind of face. Do you think- because I too am in my mid-thirties looking back at Matthew Shepard, and that being in 1998, and I was also a junior in high school. I remember it really vividly as I think most people our age do, and do you think that there- because I think that Judy Shepard really, really made it her life's mission to use that incident and her experience as a grieving mother to really be a catalyst in so many ways across the board for LGBT equality. Do you think that because it was 1998, if we look back Ellen had come out a couple of years before, LGBT was so not on the forefront as it is now. If we look at something like what happened in Orlando in June, do we look at that as possibly one of those pivotal moments for people now? Like because I know for us, like I definitely- of course we all had a reaction to Orlando, but do we think that that is actually one of those defining moments for maybe the youth? Especially as you- with reaching out working with students, I'm curious just kind of your perspective and hearing stories that you might have heard from any of the students that you work with. Matt Kidd: Yeah you know I think at some level it did, I think that there are certainly differences kind of as you alluded to. In the nineties, LGBT- obviously being LGBT, being out, much less acceptable than it is now. And I think in many ways, Orlando in particular exposed people to this concept of we're still vulnerable. I think one of the things that I see in a lot of students, and it's a little bit horrifying for me to see some students who are kids now getting into the nineties, but some of them have never grown up in an age frankly without Internet, which I think for a lot of LGBT people kind of opened a community, opened kind of access to free communication that you might not otherwise have, and I think they've grown up in an environment thanks to people like Kevin Jennings where a lot of them have seen GSAs in their schools and stuff like that. And so they've always grown up in this environment where it's been acceptable, and I think that there's always this danger that people become a little bit complacent, and so I think it moved a lot of people to think, 'Okay there's still a lot of work to do.' Because I hate to say this, but let's be honest, the fact that not all states have workplace protection for example, it's actually not as sexy to at least a lot of my students because most of them are going to go work for corporations or multi-nationals who regardless of whether the state they're in has work protections or not, they're going to be protected by their companies. And so they're not really impacted by something like that so it's not as sexy. But this idea that there are people out there who want to do you harm, and it's like this in other places in the world, and that particularly is something that I think [Inaudible 00:14:00] people start to get with something like Orlando, I think it gets them to move, to act a little bit and it does spark something like that. I mean my true thought, and we saw this last week, we had our annual conference last weekend, and one of the speakers was this guy Darnell Moore, and Darnell Moore is kind of at the intersection of queer and Black Lives Matter as a lot of the Black Lives Matter are themselves. And he really talked about kind of the racial inequality within the LGBT movement and there were a lot of conversations following that, and I think that in a lot of ways Black Lives Matter is kind of the equivalent to some of the LGBT rights issues that we saw in the nineties, including the Matthew Shepard murder, and I think that's actually going to spark a lot of people towards just kind of general social justice movement. So it may not be precisely LGBT focused, but I think that there's a broad- if people are not being treated equally, that's a problem that people are starting to get in tune with, in part because of Black Lives Matter actually. Jenn T Grace: Yeah I feel like it's a collision- there's definitely a colliding of the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ movement all kind of boiling to a point at the same time, which if we look back just from a historical context, obviously I think it goes without saying that the Black Lives Matter should not be where it's at right now, this should not even be a movement currently. And I think there's a lot of power in the two communities trying to kind of raise one another up. I'm sure there's plenty of problematic areas too of we're all trying to fight for the same thing, but I think more often than not there's definitely a synergy, and a harmony if you would even want to call it that, of it's just injustice across the board, equality across the board, and I think that seeing these two different vantage points is actually I think helping one another in some degree from a media standpoint, or at least what's kind of being talked about because I think maybe the first time in history that these two things are so on the forefront every single day in any media outlet that you look at. Matt Kidd: I'd add gender equality to that as well, I mean if you look at what's going on with the whole Trump campaign kind of implosion if you will, a lot of that centers around gender equality. And I think that the fact that people are more attuned to this- you really can't talk about people like that, you really have to treat people equally. If that wasn't going on I feel like unfortunately this wouldn't be as big of an issue as it's turned into over the last week or so. Jenn T Grace: Yeah I feel like there's just so much going on, the political landscape. By the time this airs I think we will be post-election, and who knows what exactly that will look like. Good God let's all hope here, and I'm sure anyone listening to this is on the same page, I can't imagine that I would have any listeners who were not, but who knows. In looking at just kind of maybe how even just the election cycle has kind of gone in terms of opening awareness to all of these mass amounts of issues. Because I really feel like there's a lot to attribute to the Trump campaign of just kind of raising the collective consciousness of, 'Wow there are so many problems.' Whether or not there's any kind of resolution to anything that's been brought up over the last year and a half, who knows? But it will be interesting to kind of see how this all plays out as it relates to any number of disenfranchised communities. Obviously LGBT being kind of the one that we're discussing. Matt Kidd: Yeah the Trump campaign on LGBT has just been frankly very confusing, I mean to me as the whole Trump campaign has been. But I do think that it is kind of forcing people to really look at these issues, and the thing that at least is I guess slightly comforting to me is that this election cycle, LGBT has kind of taken a back seat in some ways. That to me means it's being used as less of a wedge issue, or kind of people view it as less of a wedge issue. I think that's promising. I think that there's also an inherent risk to that, which I alluded to in one of the last questions. I mean if you look at workplace equality, housing equality, transgender rights, look at what's going on in North Carolina; there's a lot that we really need to still accomplish. I think to the extent that people feel like, 'Okay we got marriage so we can move on,' which frankly is what a lot of people from the kind of straight- or to be more politically correct, non-LGBTQ population, that's how a lot of them view it is, 'Okay they got marriage last year so they're all set.' The reality is that's not true, but I also understand- kind of like you said the fact that we're still having some of these race inequality issues, essentially fifty years after we went through a whole racial equality movement, is just absolutely insane to me. And to me when people say, 'Well what do you think the importance of LGBT organizations-' like mine going forward are going to be. I think number one there's still stuff to accomplish, but number two, if we look at women's equality movement, and the black equality movement in particular, those are still ongoing, and to think that we're done and that we're going to politically at least get to a point where we're in the clear, we have nothing to worry about, I think it's naïve. I think the reality is we need to continue to be a pretty cohesive community, and I think that there are a lot of ways to do that, and the way that my organization kind of thinks about that is we want to bring these students together who are ultimately at the end of the day most likely to go onto jobs that are well-positioned within corporations, and pay well, and presumably they'll amass some sort of power, and I think one of the things we're really starting to focus on is how do we plant that seed that gets them to think about how they can number one, support each other, but more importantly, how can they support the rest of the LGBTQ community that may not have that same power, privilege and money? How can they essentially be giving back to their peers who are not as privileged as they are? And I think that's kind of the next wave of LGBT movement, is some of us are doing exceedingly well, particularly if you're a white, cisgender, gay male. Some people are not in as good a position, and how do we lift those people up? Jenn T Grace: Yeah I feel like you've kind of said so much because it's almost like you're helping enable an army that can kind of infiltrate from the inside of the corporate walls. And I think that with marriage equality, or even to some degree kind of the non-discrimination legislation that is still kind of in limbo, but the states that have adopted some kind of policies to protect their LGBT work force, so many of them have done so under the pressure of the corporations within those given states. So this seems like it's definitely the long term game strategy that you're kind of viewing, but it really- I think to some degree only takes one individual LGBT person, or even ally within an organization to really affect the type of change that's needed in order to continue to kind of propel things forward. Matt Kidd: Yup absolutely, and I spent a day last week at the Out and Equal Workplace Summit, and a lot of the conversations that I was either part of or sat in, really kind of talked about how it's at the end of the day, particularly within corporations, getting stuff done, getting influence can come from two directions, it can come from kind of top down or bottom up, and it really takes passionate individuals to make that happen. The challenge that I think a lot of corporations right now face is that yes you're having these C-level folks, somebody like a Marc Benioff really step it up and taking some bold, bold actions. And you have some really passionate kind of lower level employees particularly amongst the millennials. But then you kind of have this layer of middle management, and frankly in my opinion to be middle management in a corporation sucks. You're getting a lot of pressure to perform from both ends, you can't take as many risks as you want, and so that is actually where I think a lot of kind of social justice movements within corporations kind of hit friction. It's not actually because of the C-suite, it's because of middle management, and it's essentially a fear, it's a fear for their own careers. And so I think as we think about who we want to influence and whom we should be talking to, I think those are kind of the key stakeholders. As we think about how we can leverage corporations in particular for this. I think yes, if you can get the attention of the CEO that's great, and it lets you make what I would essentially say are like headline plays. Something that you do that kind of is there for a day or two and then potentially goes away. To make something that's really long-lasting, you really need to build it into the culture, and a lot of that deals with middle management and influencing them. And so I think as we think about whom we should be talking to, and where we can make relationships personal, I think it's with those middle managers that really is key. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and I had an experience this past year. So I have a corporate client that's a Fortune 100, and I've been helping them- I did an LGBT training for their staff, just kind of marketing wise how to get their salespeople communicating in the right ways. And it was kind of a really fun experience, and that was- I don't know, maybe two years ago, and earlier this year they reached out to me to say, 'Hey we recognize that our CEI score is atrocious, and we see that we're not able to attract the right type of talent because it's just so bad and we're really putting people off.' And it's not that they weren't practicing it internally, but the number on the page was- it was a ten. So I worked with them, and their HR department, and their marketing department, and they had top down buy-in. So I was expecting kind of a Herculean effort to be had of like this is going to be a slog, we're working with an all-white male board of directors who isn't really all about diversity, let alone LGBT, and I was beyond shocked with how easy it moved through because the top executives were saying, 'This is something that's important to us, this is what we have to do.' But it's what you were saying, it was the mid-level manager which is usually where things kind of go to die when- any type of initiative. Like somehow it just doesn't either get passed going upward, or doesn't get below going downward, and there's always- obviously I'm making a broad generalization, but in my experience anyway, this is what I've seen happen. And it was because that mid-level management was like, 'You know what? This is important. It's important to us from a how do we position our business as- how do we position ourselves as the employer of choice?' And it's amazing that they managed to get themselves up to a ninety with just working with me for six months to really just kind of get their internal stuff together, because again they were already doing it, they just weren't really getting the credit for it. So I think that there's a lot to be said because it was one marketing person in that organization of like 18,000 employees who was saying, 'Our CEI sucks. We have to do something about it.' And she's an ally to the community no less, not even part of the community and was like, 'We have to fix this.' So I think that that should give hope and inspiration to a lot of the young people that are students and going through Reaching Out because they really do have an impact to change so many people, it's just I think if you time the messaging right, you time the conversation at the right time, you talk to the right people eventually- and I'm sure my particular contact was having these conversations for quite some time before I was able to actually come in and deliver, but it took her to stand up to be like, 'This isn't right. We need to fix this.' And I think that anyone has that true potential, but in a lot of ways I feel like the stars have to kind of align to really kind of see that such quick progress. Because especially in corporate it does take a lot of time to do anything usually. Matt Kidd: Yeah, you know I think that there is increasing pressure on some of these organizations to really look at diversity numbers, metrics. When I throw around the word diversity, generally speaking I'm really talking about recruiting. I think if that pressure continues, and I think the pressure on that will actually fall on middle management, that by default is going to start making this part of the culture because people will think about, 'Well what can we be doing to affect this?' So I think setting some metrics in the hopes of companies essentially to task for you know, 'Gosh you really have no women.' I think it's a really important thing to do and I think over time that will start to change the culture of these organizations inherently as well. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and I think it's great that your focus is on MBA students because like you said, they are well-positioned by the time they hit the corporate workplace, so they automatically have an added layer perhaps credibility kind of bringing to the table, even if they are kind of in a very low position, you know that they're going to inevitably kind of succeed through the ranks based on what they're setting out to do. Matt Kidd: Yeah absolutely. Jenn T Grace: So switching gears just a little bit and thinking about earlier on, you were talking about for you, Reaching Out is likely not going to be something that you're kind of tied to for life. Do you think about how- like right now is your name- I'm just going down a path of personal branding here. In looking at your name, are you finding that it's becoming synonymous with Reaching Out, or Executive Director of Reaching Out? And are you consciously trying to think about how to gradually- not disconnect because of course your name is everything and it certainly plays a huge factor into your role, but just kind of from a general standpoint of thinking of like, 'How would I actually unravel this down the road should I need to?' Matt Kidd: Yeah, no I think that is top of mind for me lately. I think that actually if you look at a lot of LGBT organizations you have people who in a lot of ways, the person is interchangeable with the organization. So you look at like Out & Equal, and you think of Selisse Berry. You look at Out Leadership, you think of Todd Sears. And there are numerous cases like that, and unfortunately I think that there's a danger not only to the individual I think as they think about kind of their next chapter, although for some of these folks there may not be another chapter, they may decide to retire. But I think there's kind of a challenge for somebody like me where this certainly is- hopefully, knock on wood, not going to be the last chapter of my career, and so at one level you want to be associated with this but you don't want it to be your entire brand. I think there's also a danger for the organization because if it becomes so entrenched in kind of my personal brand, then the organization risks- if I'm not there and not present, people could say things like, 'Oh it was not the same as it was when Matt was there,' and I don't think that's good for the organization either. I increasingly as we do events and trying to do things to put a spotlight on our other stuff [Inaudible 00:2926] are students, because I think at the end of the day those are the people who are working equally as hard as I am, and maybe aren't always the face and voice but I think we should position them more to be in those kinds of situations. So there is a risk and I am thinking about how we slowly kind of unwind that a bit, and I think essentially lifting other people up is a huge component of that. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and I partially asked the question because in- everything is always clearer in hindsight, but when I was running the Connecticut LGBT Chamber of Commerce which I did for quite a number of years, and I was the Executive Director I remember that when I left that position the organization essentially imploded, and it took awhile to kind of regain its legs, and it certainly- this was a number of years ago at this point, so everything is on the up and up now, but it definitely was a significant hit because- and it wasn't anything that I intentionally had done from the onset. I wasn't trying to build the organization the Jenn way, it just happened to be a very small organization, not a lot of people. I relied heavily on volunteers and our board, and it was just a matter of we've got to do what we've got to do to get these events going, to get our members happy, and it just happened to be me that was always in front of people. So I think that that's a risk generally for anybody in a position like you're in now. Matt Kidd: I think it's a risk for any kind of small to mid-sized organization really to be honest, and part of why we built out our staff is certainly because if we continued on the trajectory that when it was essentially just me as a staff member with some contractors and volunteers, I was going to burn out which would not benefit anyone, and we wouldn't be able to expand and grow the way that we wanted to. But the second is like it essentially puts the institutional memory of an organization really in that one person, and if you lose that one person, back when we were kind of that staff of one plus some contractors, if I got hit by a bus not that the organization wouldn't continue on, but that would be really problematic. Today knock on wood that's not going to happen, but if it did I have full faith that between kind of the staff embers that we have and how we've kind of been able to lift them up and then have them kind of take over some things, I think that frankly things would go on without missing much of a beat. Jenn T Grace: Yeah which is such a good sustainable place to be in, which is not always what is accessible to every organization because they're not really kind of thinking about secession planning and what lies ahead, or if this key person were to not be here for whatever number of reasons, how do we kind of carry on without skipping a beat. And I would imagine- my gut says, and based on people that I know in Executive Director positions for other nonprofits, I feel like most of them are not necessarily thinking that forward in terms of 'what would we do in the situation?' So rather it's a reactive versus proactive. Matt Kidd: Yeah and you know I'll be honest, in the LGBT space in particular, I think we have a responsibility to start to think about secession planning, and the large reason actually is that if you look at the vast majority- not all, but the majority of LGBT social justice organizations, they're run by white cisgender gay men, and I don't think that that's the face of the movement going forward. And so I think we really need to kind of pause as a movement in general and think about how can we bring in the faces and the voices that maybe aren't heard as well right now, and put them into leadership roles? And I think we're really at an inflection point where it's time for those of us who- kind of going back to what I was saying before, are fairly privileged within the LGBTQ community, to lift up those who are not and make them heard, and I think that's one way that we can do that. And so I hope that as a lot of other LGBT organizations have [Inaudible 00:33:27] retire, or switch to something else, that that's something that they're starting to think about. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and so I'm curious to hear your thoughts, and if you've been paying attention to this at all, but I had someone from BuzzFeed reach out to me last week- and again we're recording this on October 12th, so whenever this does come out, it's obviously all a little bit in the past. But I had somebody reach out for my comment on the After Ellen platform kind of disbanding. So what you're talking about I think really kind of goes into that entirely of the face of the community is really gay, white, cisgender men, and we know that that is by far not the reality of the community. But when we look at something like a website, like After Ellen which was kind of a flagship type of lesbian driven centric platform and content generator for so many years. So for that to kind of no longer exist in the capacity that it did, and the reason being is that there just wasn't enough advertiser interest, it's almost like how do we combat that from recognizing that it's not just what this kind of stereotypical highly sought after demographic is, when we ourselves are kind of continuing to perpetuate that that is all there is when we know that that's not. Matt Kidd: Yeah, no I do know what you mean. The After Ellen thing is frankly a little surprising to me. I think some of what they struggled with is the business model issue, but some of it is- and also from firsthand experience, one of the things that I'm really focused on and the organization is, is really frankly trying to drive more LBTQ into business school and business in general. And so we started an initiative about probably three or four years ago now that we call Out Women in Business, and we hold a conference in New York, and it's a challenging audience to attract. I think each year it gets a little bit better, and there are some people like Leanne Pittsford with Lesbians Who Tech, who have something really special and magical there, but I mean Leanne will even tell you, like for her trying to attract an audience sometimes is a challenge as well. And so that's kind of a community thing, and I think it all starts with kind of visible leadership, and I think slowly but surely with folks like Megan Smith for example, we are carving out a space and leadership examples for the LBTQ community in particular, so I think that that's kind of a key component to it. But there aren't a lot of sources. After Ellen was one, there are what, maybe a couple- three or four others that are significant that are left, and that's pretty shocking. And then you get into other pretty gay-focused media sources; like to me, Towleroad or something like that is frankly pretty gay-focused. So that is a disturbing thing when you consider the fact that particularly bisexual women I think are the majority of the LGBTQ community. And so that's one of these moments where we should pause and say, 'Are we really reflecting what's out there, and is that part of why something like After Ellen isn't failing, it's because there's a representation issue.' Jenn T Grace: Yeah I feel like it's interesting because if you look at just kind of general demographic data, it shows that women are more likely to be the primary purchasers of households. So even in just looking at that as women as a more influential audience for buying whatever it happens to be, it seems like it just doesn't add up. And then I think about it, and I wonder if gay men, or any male within the LGBTQ community, is it because there is a bigger sense of community of like actually gathering that makes it easier to see them as a demographic to reach versus women are far more just kind of blending in with the individual cultures in which they live, whether that's geography, or whether it's different areas of interest. It's just really fascinating. When I was talking to the woman at BuzzFeed, I was just saying like, 'This is my lesbian perspective, but you should probably reach out to a cisgender gay male and get their point of view as well because there's got to be some underlying thing that's kind of here, and I do get the question quite often of how do I target lesbians, or how do I find lesbians to market to? And most often my advice is you just have to market to them as women first typically, and then go from there and be inclusive in that approach. But that's not necessarily what's going to be really kind of sexy to an advertiser to say, 'Oh this is a demographic I should invest in.' Matt Kidd: Yeah and you know, I think it goes back beyond just media. So if you look at a given city, and you look at like a nightlife scene for example, generally speaking you'll probably find a handful, probably three or four of what you would consider kind of 'gay bars,' and you might find one bar that caters towards LBTQ women. And I think that's there- I think it goes back to your clusters of people, you see them more visibly, and again I think the more that we can think about how we bring communities together, who's representing them; I think these are all really, really important things for the movement as we go forward, particularly with social justice organizations. Jenn T Grace: Yeah, absolutely. And do you see any kind of influence or impact on like the Reaching Out students? Because they are MBA focused, that obviously puts them in a different kind of track, but do you see that that's being another avenue for just kind of shedding light and awareness on all of this? Matt Kidd: I think interestingly enough we're at the point where we even have cisgender men kind of saying, 'What can we do to be getting more women here?' So like it's becoming front of mind for people. I would say for us probably even as recently as five or six years ago, we were the white gay male conference. And you know, I looked at the metrics this year, it's getting better. It's still not there, I think we were slightly under 50% Caucasian, so that's in my mind kind of a good change, although I think a lot of that frankly is being driven by international students who are at business schools. But the number of women in these programs is picking up a little bit each year, but we're not talking- we're talking like a percent each year. So the difference between like 26% and 27% and we really need to be focusing on it. And for me, I mean this is one of my big passions, is how can we drive this and we're fortunate to have a board chair who is a lesbian identifying woman herself, and both of us feel very passionately about it so we've convinced everyone to really put some money behind our mouths on this. And I think we're slowly making progress, it's just not as fast as I think any of us would like, and to be honest we just haven't figured out the silver bullet. So I'll say if any of your listeners know, please feel free to reach out because this is something that- it's not that we don't want them in business school, we actually desperately want them and so frankly do the business schools. I think the challenge that we run into, number one is a little bit of marketing to them, which like you said I think it starts with just marketing to women in general, and I think it gets a little bit more specific. But the other thing is, as I talk to a lot of LBTQ women and say, 'Hey have you ever considered business school?' the responses are pretty much, 'No that's not something that's really top of mind,' and ultimately when you kind of keep pushing it comes down to they're not seeing a community like themselves so they feel like it's not a place for them to be. And so it's a little bit of chicken or egg, but we've got to tell them that, 'This is a place where you're wanted,' and frankly if we start talking about the trans community it gets even harder. I had a conversation with the Executive Director of Campus Pride probably about a month ago now, and he was saying when he talks to his trans students- so these are all undergrad students, he says, 'What do you want to do in the future?' He said it's maybe one in a hundred that's saying some form of business, and the rest of it is something that might be more in the social justice space, or arts space, or even legal, and the fact that this really isn't on their radar and they don't see it as a place for them is a big problem. Jenn T Grace: Yeah and I think it's more of a systemic issue that is much broader than LGBTQ. It really kind of stems from what children are exposed to, and what classes they are exposed to in their elementary schools for example, and just kind of going through and in Connecticut we have a lot of stem type of schools that are popping up. So if either of my children who are in third and fourth grade, if they were interested or showed any inclination toward that stuff, then we could absolutely kind of push them in that direction. But I feel like school is so watered down now that there's just- it's focused on like the bare necessities and not really exposing children, and middle or high school to all of the things that they could be. And I feel like- and Lord knows that is going to be a fight that is not going to be won anytime soon. But I feel like it really- there's just such a systemic issue at play, and the LGBTQ community is really just a microcosm of a bigger- of the community of everyone. So I think we just see the issues because we are such a concentrated microcosm of the larger kind of landscape that we're all operating in. Matt Kidd: I agree. Totally agree. Jenn T Grace: Well it's already- we've already been chatting for 45 minutes which seems crazy at this point. But I would love to kind of ask you a final question and then just give you kind of free reign to tell everyone how to go about finding you. Matt Kidd: Sure. Jenn T Grace: But my question would be if we're thinking about people who are listening to this, who may be business owners, maybe they're in a professional sphere, they're LGBTQ, they're trying to kind of make a first step, or a first foray into identifying and really kind of honing in on what's meaningful to them, and how that might translate into their own personal brand, or the positioning of what they're doing. Do you have anything that maybe you've learned through your career that might be helpful that could kind of shortcut that process for them? Matt Kidd: Yeah I think what I have found kind of throughout my career is that- and I know this sounds kind of cliché, particularly for kind of any LGBTQ folks, but authenticity sells. By talking about stories that I've really gone through, and that's why I'll use something like my experience around the day when Matthew Shepard died makes it more relatable and it makes people kind of understand you and what you're doing a little bit better. And so I'll say from kind of a personal brand point of view, I'm one of these people that for the most part I'm a pretty open book and keep it that way. I think even about like social media. If a student wants to add me on Facebook, go for it because frankly at this point I live pretty authentically and intentionally so because it makes me more human and it makes me more real and it makes people more willing to collaborate and to connect with you. And so I think don't be afraid of that, don't try to hide that because I think the reality is it probably opens more doors than it closes at this point. So never forget that, and always just kind of go back to your roots and kind of what you care about. At the end of the day, that is what it's all about, and if you don't care about something you probably shouldn't be doing it. Jenn T Grace: I feel like that's such good wisdom. Really being mindful of what you stand for and just being transparent from the onset. It certainly will save you a lot of headache later. Matt Kidd: Absolutely. Jenn T Grace: So for anyone who was inspired by this conversation and interested in connecting with you, how would you go about directing them to do that? Matt Kidd: Yeah please. So Reaching Out is online at www.ReachingOutMBA.org. Please visit our website. If you're an MBA yourself, we do have an online community that you can join. It's on that website and it's called Reaching Out Connect, so it's our individual member platform, so we certainly encourage you to do that. If you're part of the LBTQ community, we certainly would welcome and love to have you with us at the Out Women in Business Conference in New York which will be March 31st of 2017. So certainly join us because like I said, we do want to bring that community together, and that is open to non-MBAs so you don't need an MBA to be there, and I would say less than half of the folks who are there have an MBA, so you're certainly welcome for that. And then people can always find me online, LinkedIn, Twitter and if you search very carefully you can find me on Facebook. I'm usually pretty open to adding people on any of the platforms so you can hear what I have to say about things, because like I said I am my authentic self out there. Jenn T Grace: That's awesome. Well thank you so much for spending some time today, and I feel like there's a lot that can be gained for the listeners from our conversation, so thank you for that. Matt Kidd: Absolutely, thank you Jenn. Jenn T Grace: Thank you for listening to today's podcast. If there are any links from today's show that you are interested in finding, save yourself a step and head on over to www.JennTGrace.com/thepodcast. And there you will find a backlog of all of the past podcast episodes including transcripts, links to articles, reviews, books, you name it. It is all there on the website for your convenience. Additionally if you would like to get in touch with me for any reason, you can head on over to the website and click the contact form, send me a message, you can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all at JennTGrace. And as always I really appreciate you as a listener, and I highly encourage you to reach out to me whenever you can. Have a great one, and I will talk to you in the next episode.
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