Podcast appearances and mentions of Lisa Fain

In this episode of the Goal Crazy Podcast, Jason talks with Lisa Fain, CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence. They dig into what real mentorship looks like, how it's different from coaching or managing, and why it's valuable for both the mentor and the mentee. Lisa shares practical ways mentorship can help people grow in their careers, build stronger workplace cultures, and create better learning environments.Lisa discusses how to find a mentor, the value of peer mentoring, and how to make those relationships work—whether in a formal program or more casually. She also reflects on her journey from attorney to entrepreneur and what it was like to take over her mother's mentoring business. If you're a business owner, leader, or just someone trying to grow, there's a lot here to take away.Enjoy the show!Find Lisa on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfainWebsite: https://www.centerformentoring.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lzfain/

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and a globally recognized expert on mentoring and diversity. As the co-author of Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and of The Mentor's Guide, 3rd Edition, Lisa combines her passion for mentoring with actionable strategies to help individuals and organizations thrive!   Lisa talks about her from a law career to mentorship, creating a culture of mentorship in your organization, her certification program, and much more!

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, a 30-plus-year-old company that motivates, inspires, and develops leaders to create more inclusive workplaces through mentoring. She coaches mentors, mentees, and program administrators on creating an ideal environment to achieve career and personal goals. As the Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc., Lisa spearheads the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative. Before her current roles, she practiced law in the Chicago office of a major multinational law firm, where she counseled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. In this role, Lisa served as a Master Trainer directing thousands of employees on enhancing workplace practices. In this episode… The Harvard Business Review reveals that corporations have a more inclusive culture when women and other minority groups occupy C-suite and board positions. How can mentoring and leadership coaching lead organizations to adopt these practices? As a leader in DEI, Lisa Fain maintains that mentorship is inclusion in action. Mentoring up-and-coming leaders invites transparent conversations about diversity through relationships and connections. The relationship between mentors and mentees is reciprocal, with both parties learning from each other. Companies can create a mentoring culture by providing ongoing support and training that enables consistent communication. Tune in to the latest episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show as Andrea Heuston welcomes Lisa Fain, the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, to talk about the role of mentoring in leadership and organizational inclusion. Lisa shares the most common mentoring myth, why she transitioned from a legal career to an entrepreneur, and how to build trust between a mentor and mentee.

How does someone go from being a lawyer to a top mentoring expert?Meet Lisa Fain, CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, who shares her unique journey and how she teamed up with her mom, Dr. Lois Zachary, a trailblazer in mentoring. Together, they're changing what it means to be a mentor by focusing on cultural awareness and the power of mentoring to transform workplaces. Ever wondered how mentoring is different from coaching or teaching? Lisa breaks it down — real mentoring is about learning together, mutual support, and building strong connections. She clears up some myths and shows how both mentors and mentees learn and grow from the experience. We also dive into different mentoring programs and why having a clear purpose is key to making them work. Plus, Lisa gets personal, sharing how becoming an empty nester opened up new hobbies and adventures for her. Join us to discover:The impact of artificial intelligence on mentoring and the adaptability of organizations to a hybrid workforce.The importance of mentoring in combating loneliness in a remote work environment.How intentionality and focus in both your marriage and business is underscored, with Lisa advising listeners to "keep the main thing as the main thing.The differences between mentors and coaches, noting how paid mentorship can veer into coaching territory.Lisa's books, "Bridging Difference for Better Mentoring" and "The Mentor's Guide," and their focus on inclusive conversations and practical tools for mentors and mentees.Connect with Lisa and the Center for Mentoring ExcellenceWebsite: https://www.centerformentoring.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-mentoring-excellence/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CenterForMentoringExcellence/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lzfain/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYwzO0SPx7Si4dH91hTrGKQ/featuredIn appreciation for being here, I have some gifts for you:A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:An opportunity to test drive the Follow Up system I recommend by taking the3 Card Sampler – you won't regret it.AND … Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and be eligible for mycomplimentary LinkedIn profile audit – I do one each month for a luckylistener!Connect with me:http://JanicePorter.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1

Mentorship comes up again and again any time we run into challenges, but it's really a critical ingredient for success at all times. Whether it's veterans transitioning to corporate, someone taking a new position, or planning for future contribution, mentorship plays a key role. The senior leaders I interviewed while researching for The Grit Factor all attribute mentorship in one or usually many kinds to their success. That's why I'm so excited to talk with Lisa Fain today. I met Lisa through a women's business organization several years ago, where we discovered we were both speaking at an event in California, and we've stayed connected ever since. Lisa is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her personal and professional goals were met when she realized she wanted to help people mutually learn and grow from one another. In this episode, we discuss the importance of establishing the proper mentoring relationship and the rules that come along with it. (Minute 16:45) As well as some pro tips for goal setting, career advancement, and setting up the perfect workplace. BOOKS & RESOURCES Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring www.centerformentoring.com

Episode 342: 5 Levels of Conversation and a Mother and Daughter's Business Transition Did you know that 80% of businesses worldwide are family-owned? And second-generation companies have only a 30% survival rate, according to the Family Business Institute. Tune in to hear how Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain managed a successful business transition of ownership from mother to daughter. Plus, we discuss five levels of conversation that you can use to deepen your connections during the holiday season. Dr. Zachary has been cited as “one of the top 100 minds in leadership today.” She and Lisa Fain, her daughter, were deliberate about their purpose and values, identifying a process and developing a plan. The ownership transition of the Center for Mentoring Excellence began four years before the official handoff in 2018. A coach worked with both of them and didn't shy away from asking Dr. Zachary tough questions to help her psychologically and emotionally let go. Writing an operational manual gave Dr. Zachary a path to transfer knowledge and decades' worth of documents, research, client information, etc. This operating manual also helped prepare Lisa to take over. Dr. Zacharay said Lisa brought freshness, curiosity, and inclusiveness into their mentoring work, especially essential now. Their formula worked, and I am grateful to re-air our conversation from November of 2021 and what worked for them. Dr. Zachary also breaks down five levels of conversation: monologue, transaction, interaction, collaborative engagement, and dialogue. In healthy relating, each person's needs are considered equally—the same with conversation. Monologues are few and far between. The approach with each other respectfully moves to collaborative engagement and meaningful dialogue with a focus on understanding and strengthening the connection. These conversations are heartfelt, with genuine feelings and an understanding that you both are doing the best you can. You feel your authentic self when you finish the conversation. There are common misconceptions about mentoring and the cycle of mentoring that we clarify to finish our conversation with what they are looking forward to. Below is a beautiful acknowledgment Lois and Lisa included at the end of the book they co-authored, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. “We acknowledge each other with love, admiration, and deep gratitude. It is rare indeed that a mother and daughter get to collaborate professionally. What a privilege it has been for us to co-author this book. We encouraged each other to bring our special magic to Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and were able to weave our subject matter expertise and varied experiences together to create a book that reflects and elevates our strengths and passions.” I don't think a mother and daughter relationship can get much better than that. They agreed. DOWNLOAD         NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.    Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources Leadership Lessons from Great Family Businesses Leadership Lessons from Great Family Businesses (hbr.org) Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities: Take this risk or do this adventurous task: If you haven't, purchase Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring by Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain. Then, choose a relationship you want to move from transactional interactions to collaborative conversations. Get curious and excited to learn something new about this person. Once you have decided which person to try this out with, schedule a phone conversation or in-person meeting.

Episode 341: What Lisa Fain Learned Growing Up in an Entrepreneurial Home Lisa Fain, C.E.O. of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, says that growing up in a 1980s entrepreneurial home gave her a sense of purpose, place, and accountability. It reinforced an understanding that Lisa could contribute to the world, shape her work, and be independent. This independent thinking started in her formative years when Lisa and her brother were encouraged to make plans and prepare their meals. When Dr. Lois Zachary founded Leadership Development Services, L.L.C., and its Center for Mentoring Excellence, her daughter, Lisa Fain, was in high school. Women entrepreneurship was on the rise, “according to the 1988 State of Small Business Report, the number of sole proprietorships owned by women increased 62 percent between 1980 and 1986. I found this impressive since women weren't encouraged to start businesses until 1972, with a few exceptions like Mary Kay Ash, who founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963.  In 1972, the floodgates opened for women when Title IX (a federal civil rights act) was passed prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from our federal government. Women's organized sports began their rise alongside business ownership because federal monies started flowing into them. Now, “women account for 41% of the global workforce and control more than $20 trillion in annual spending. Predictions are that this number will go up to $28 trillion in the next few years.”  As Dr. Zachary built her educational consultancy and her husband, Ed Zachary expanded his legal firm in Syracuse, New York; they still managed to be present and engaged parents. Role modeling the benefits of fulfilling work fueled Lisa's entrepreneurial spirit that sprouted in her 30s and 40s. Hear how Lisa took her diverse interests in political science, sociology, and economics with a social justice bend to acquire an interdisciplinary degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. Two required courses taught by a cherished mentor helped Lisa understand ways to repair the world. Eventually, she became a lawyer, mediator, coach, and C.E.O. at the Center for Mentoring Excellence. Other Conversation Highlights Although not a fair way to measure oneself, comparing Lisa's start to someone else's finish was a benefit in determining Lisa's major. The next generation. They are raising Talia and Emily with David in their entrepreneurial home. Lisa's lifework of inclusion, diversity, and equity. Creating a mentoring culture for retention and attraction. Insights into Millennials and Gen Zs. Alternatives to the Peanut Butter approach. My conversation with Lisa sparked my curiosity to research the newest female entrepreneurship statistics. I am excited to report that we're progressing globally on inclusion, diversity, and equity. Check out the statistics below. Key Female Entrepreneurship 2022 Statistics  22.4% of small business owners in the U.S. are women. 17% of black women are in the process of starting or running a new business. The female entrepreneurial activity rate in the U.S. is 13.6%. 14% of women-owned businesses employ between 11 and 50+ workers. Women represent 50% of entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Women made up 36.8% of Canadian business owners in 2021. South Asia has less than 20% of female entrepreneurs. Women-owned and controlled enterprises create direct employment for about 27 million people in India. Women entrepreneurship thrived during the 2020/2021 crisis, according to the world's foremost study of worldwide entrepreneurship, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (G.E.M.). Amanda Elam, a G.E.M. researcher, Research Fellow at Babson College's Diana International Research Institute, and the lead author of the G.E.M. 2020/2021 Women's Entrepreneurship Report, said there is a “slow shift in the narrative on women's entrepreneurship from encouraging a high number of startups ...

Episode 340: 4 Key Concepts to Bridging Differences with Dr. Lois Zachary Happy Halloween!  Here is a Reader's Digest joke for you that isn't scary. Q: The maker of this product does not want it, the buyer does not use it, and the user does not see it. What is it?A: A coffin.   October 27th was National Mentoring Day. I retrieved this groundbreaking conversation from the archives to elevate mentoring and acknowledge two luminaries in the field of mentoring excellence. A mother-and-daughter team focused on inclusion. Dr. Lois Zachary discusses her background, defines mentoring and the difference between coaching and mentoring, and four key concepts that can bridge differences in mentoring relationships. I say ‘groundbreaking conversation' because in 1972 when Dr. Lois Zachary started her career, there were over 400,000 women-owned businesses in America. Today, more than 13 million businesses are owned by women thanks to women like Dr. Lois Zachary, who pioneered a path for us. Her daughter, Lois Fain, is the new CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence to role model what they preach, teach, and write about in Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. Their newest and first co-authored book.  Dr. Lois Zachary is an internationally recognized expert on mentoring and has been cited as “one of the top 100 minds in leadership” today. You've likely seen mention of Dr. Zachary's books, or read her quotes, in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Inc. magazine, T&D, Leadership Excellence, The Chronicle of Higher Education, or other business and leadership news outlets. “Mentors and mentees may come from different backgrounds and have a limited understanding of each other's cultures and outlooks, but mentorship remains one of the most powerful tools for inclusion, professional development, and talent retention,” writes Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain. Listen as we focus on how Lois Zachary became the author, Ph.D. graduate, and entrepreneurial leader who founded Leadership Development Services, LLC and its Center for Mentoring Excellence. You will also learn Dr. Zachary's definition of mentoring, the difference between coaching and mentoring, and four key concepts that bridge differences in mentoring relationships. You will also learn that she has a supportive husband, Ed. They married within six months of meeting in 1969 and have two adult children. Mentoring Definition Dr. Zachary and her daughter, Lisa Fain, define mentoring as “a reciprocal learning relationship in which a mentor and mentee agree to a partnership where they work collaboratively toward achievement of mutually defined goals that will develop a mentee's skills, abilities, knowledge, and/or thinking.” They focus on “four key concepts that relate most closely to bridging differences in a mentoring relationship: reciprocal, learning, relationship, and partnering.” Tune in to learn more about these four key concepts. Also, learn how adults make meaning and a big reveal at the end of our conversation. A hint, guess her maiden name. DOWNLOAD     NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.  Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources 20 Compelling Women Entrepreneur Statistics 20 Compelling Women Entrepreneurs Statistics – What To Become Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities: Take this risk or do this adventurous task: The first step in starting a mentoring relationship is preparing. Are you ready to begin a mentoring relationship? Start with a short self-analysis inventory. List some leadership successes you have had.

Lisa Fain grew up in a family of lawyers and while there was no obvious pressure, she ended up going to law school. She had envisioned a career in public interest law, but upon graduation, she had significant student loan debt which she wanted to clear before moving forward. Fortunately, Lisa was able to work in an area that interested her, labor and employment law, while squaring away her loan, working for a large law firm. She enjoyed counseling clients, using her negotiation and mediation skills while focusing on matters pertaining to EEO, diversity, and compliance. Yet, still, Lisa knew this was not the way she wanted to work. The turning point came after she had pulled an all-nighter preparing for a litigation case. She saw a blinking light on her phone indicating she had a voicemail. It was a message from her four-year-old daughter. She said “Mommy come home. We need a mommy, not a lawyer.” Lisa shared, “It was the worst best gift I ever got because I recognized that I wasn't living my values. Although I was doing great work, I wasn't able to be the kind of mother that I wanted to be.” Lisa left the large firm and transitioned to an in-house role at a company where she developed workplace policies, eventually focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She loved the work and demand across the company grew. Lisa was asked to create a mentoring program so she reached out to Lois Zachary of the Center for Mentoring Excellence to provide consultation on how to set it up. Full disclosure: Lois is Lisa's mother!  Fast forward to today: Lisa is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence. She is a global speaker with expertise in cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion fuels her conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. In this week's Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Lisa's journey: Lisa is the co-author with Lois Zachary of Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and the 2022 revision (3rd Edition) of The Mentor's Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. She is an Executive Coach who guides leaders to create better workplaces and is known for her frank, kind, and holistic approach to helping leaders help themselves. Learn more and connect with Lisa here: https://twitter.com/lzfain https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ https://www.centerformentoring.com/about-us/lisa-fain

6ers, one of the most important qualities you can possess in order to achieve personal success is the ability to persevere and thrive in the face of adversity. Without grit, even the most gifted and intelligent people can only go so far in today's world. In the face of adversity, staying focused on a goal is what helps anyone go the extra mile where only a few dare to go. This week, Tony Nash is joined by Billy O'Neil. He is currently an Intern Operating Partner at http://www.windjammercapital.com/ (Windjammer Capital Investor,) Veteran Integration Program (VIP) Intern at Goldman Sachs, Chief of Staff at  https://www.51vets.org/ (51 Vets), a marketing agency for the lower middle market, and Chief Analyst at the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Grit is essential in a competitive environment, and we don't want you to have to learn this the hard way. At some point in any transition period, it's inevitable that you'll have to reevaluate your definition of success, lace up your boots and persist. As a result, you will gain a new perspective on how grit will help you understand that it's a mindset you can cultivate by stepping out of your comfort zone and taking on challenges. You will test your determination and resilience to thrive by achieving your massive goals by creating a seat in the boardroom. ----- 00:57 - Being called out on your own bullshit as you transition 02:39 - The PIE Chart (Performance, Image, and Exposure) from Lisa Fain's book, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring  03:53 - What is 51 Vets and what they do 04:02 - Implementing ‘grit' from military to civilian life 04:47 - Ego is the enemy, and choosing a career in finance 06:14 - Translating skills is difficult but necessary 07:51 - Getting organizational leadership skills 09:03 - Pushing the envelope with confidence 10:01 - Transition is like death. It's going to happen to all of us 12:46 - Tracking your goals 13:45 - Having no solid plan as his biggest failure 15:36 - Celebrate the little things ----- Resources mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Bridging-Differences-Better-Mentoring-Leverage/dp/1523085894 (Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring) by Lisa Fain ----- Here is how to connect with Billy O'Neil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamoneil89/ (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/company/51-vets/ (51vets.org Website) ----- Connect with Got Your Six podcast: https://www.thetonynash.com/podcast (Website) https://www.instagram.com/gotyour6pod/ (Instagram) https://discord.gg/KPPzmevp (Discord) https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotyour6pod/ (LinkedIn) https://twitter.com/gotyour6pod (Twitter) https://www.tiktok.com/@gotyour6pod? (TikTok) ----- Connect with Tony Nash: https://www.thetonynash.com/ (Website) https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-tony-nash/ (LinkedIn) https://www.instagram.com/thetonynash/ (Instagram) https://twitter.com/theTonyNash (Twitter)

6ers, one of the most important qualities you can possess in order to achieve personal success is the ability to persevere and thrive in the face of adversity. Without grit, even the most gifted and intelligent people can only go so far in today's world. In the face of adversity, staying focused on a goal is what helps anyone go the extra mile where only a few dare to go. This week, Tony Nash is joined by Billy O'Neil. He is currently an Intern Operating Partner at http://www.windjammercapital.com/ (Windjammer Capital Investor,) Veteran Integration Program (VIP) Intern at Goldman Sachs, Chief of Staff at  https://www.51vets.org/ (51 Vets), a marketing agency for the lower middle market, and Chief Analyst at the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Grit is essential in a competitive environment, and we don't want you to have to learn this the hard way. At some point in any transition period, it's inevitable that you'll have to reevaluate your definition of success, lace up your boots and persist. As a result, you will gain a new perspective on how grit will help you understand that it's a mindset you can cultivate by stepping out of your comfort zone and taking on challenges. You will test your determination and resilience to thrive by achieving your massive goals by creating a seat in the boardroom. ----- 00:57 - Being called out on your own bullshit as you transition 02:39 - The PIE Chart (Performance, Image, and Exposure) from Lisa Fain's book, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring  03:53 - What is 51 Vets and what they do 04:02 - Implementing ‘grit' from military to civilian life 04:47 - Ego is the enemy, and choosing a career in finance 06:14 - Translating skills is difficult but necessary 07:51 - Getting organizational leadership skills 09:03 - Pushing the envelope with confidence 10:01 - Transition is like death. It's going to happen to all of us 12:46 - Tracking your goals 13:45 - Having no solid plan as his biggest failure 15:36 - Celebrate the little things ----- Resources mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Bridging-Differences-Better-Mentoring-Leverage/dp/1523085894 (Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring) by Lisa Fain ----- Here is how to connect with Billy O'Neil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamoneil89/ (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/company/51-vets/ (51vets.org Website) ----- Connect with Got Your Six podcast: https://www.thetonynash.com/podcast (Website) https://www.instagram.com/gotyour6pod/ (Instagram) https://discord.gg/KPPzmevp (Discord) https://www.linkedin.com/company/gotyour6pod/ (LinkedIn) https://twitter.com/gotyour6pod (Twitter) https://www.tiktok.com/@gotyour6pod? (TikTok) ----- Connect with Tony Nash: https://www.thetonynash.com/ (Website) https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-tony-nash/ (LinkedIn) https://www.instagram.com/thetonynash/ (Instagram) https://twitter.com/theTonyNash (Twitter)

Mentorship. You know the term. You're familiar with the concept. But what does it mean to truly foster a meaningful mentorship in the workplace? In this Brave Conversation, Culture Moments podcast, host Larry Baker is joined by Larry is joined by guests Lisa Fain, CEO of The Center for Mentoring Excellence, Kamillah Knight, Senior Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Danaher Corporation, and LCW's own Tamara Thorpe, Senior Consultant and the founder of Real Mentors Network. Together, they explore what it means to form an authentic mentorship, why mentorship matters, the different forms mentorship can take, and what it looks like to put this conversation into action and pursue a mentorship in your own workplace. Find the full show notes and transcript here: https://languageandculture.com/culture-moments-podcast-what-mentorship-means/ Guest and Host Info: Lisa Fain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ Kamillah Knight: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamillahknight/ Tamara Thorpe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamarathorpe1/ Larry Baker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-baker-8b262b75/ Follow LCW on social media: LCW LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/language-&-culture-worldwide LCW Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LanguageAndCultureWorldwide/ LCW Twitter: https://twitter.com/LCWllc

Lisa Fain is the CEO at the Center for Mentoring Excellence. She speaks with Carol all about mentoring and the role mentoring and being mentored can have in a relaunch, and once back to work. They discuss the “growth mindset” and the idea of “becoming” vs the “fixed mindset," why you don't have to “have all the answers” to be an effective mentor, and how the best mentoring relationships are enabling instead of dependent. Fun fact: Lisa Fain's mother, Lois Zachary, the founder of the Center for Mentoring Excellence is a relauncher! When Lisa was in middle school, her mother went back to school for a PhD and founded the Center subsequently. Today is a rebroadcast of an earlier podcast in honor of January designated as National Mentoring Month.

Mike and this week's guest, Lisa Fain, discuss the two most important ingredients for a successful mentorship program: trust and inclusion.

  Episode 301: Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency in the Trades with Karin McCabe, Part I After reading Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and talking with Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain, my interest was sparked. How are those in the trades addressing inclusion, diversity, and cultural competency in the workplace? I invited two industry veterans, Karin McCabe at McGough Construction and multi-venture entrepreneur, Wendy Sullivan into a three-part series to answer that question. To start, Karin McCabe at McGough Construction is a 22-year industry veteran. McGough is known as a world-class construction business based in Minnesota. Karin is the director of one of their eight resource Centers for Excellence; equal opportunity and outreach. This role focuses on internal and external efforts that create more inclusion and diversity. “Diversity,” Karin says, “is the multi-varied experiences and world views we all bring to the table, the lens in which we view everything. We address diversity at McGough as a benefit to the company, a tool for innovation, and a challenge to achieve. An opportunity and challenge to achieve a more inclusive work culture. Our culture is dominant. What we recognize and see is built into the Caucasian mindset. It doesn't create a place where people feel they belong. We want to change that.” I begin by giving a brief overview of Dr. Milton J. Bennett's Intercultural Development Continuum (see Episode Resources for links) to shape our conversation and provide insight into the stages we go through to create cultural change. In learning about any culture, we all start with a monocultural mindset or an ethnocentric view based on a self-perspective. It makes sense that we start with our worldview, a familial view.  To shift from a monocultural mindset, learn these three essential stages and reach acceptance and adaptation, or an intercultural mindset. The stage where we adapt and implement cultural change.   Initially, we miss differences and nuances because we are in denial. We only see our perspective or our own culture. We are absorbed in it and don't know anything different. We know movement out of denial occurs when we start judging differences as good or bad, right or wrong, this way or the highway kind of language that creates polarization.  Polarization can last forever unless we open up to the next stage of developing an intercultural mindset, minimization. We start de-emphasizing our differences by minimizing facts and calling out ‘fake news,' for example. If we don't want to stay stuck in the ethnocentric stage, we need to begin to accept differences by deeply comprehending the facts and experiences of others.  A way to move through this stage is to gather information and assert self-leadership. Start conversations that go below the surface. Like conversations moving the focus from self-focus to interest and desire to know the other. How is the other experiencing a hiring process, or is an advancement path even an option? We talk about that.  My family made a change in lifestyle that I use to explain how you can apply the stages to make changes in a family culture. Naively (denial), I didn't think Matthew, Olivia, and I changing our diets to become more plant-based or vegan would cause a stir. Learning this intercultural development continuum helped me understand why changing something like a family culture can cause disruption, like changing the culture in a workplace or making changes in our democracy. Disruptions and meaningful conversations are essential components of an intercultural mindset.  This journey to become vegan started about ten years ago. So, of course, it would take others time to accept our decision and make adjustments (or not) to our extended family traditions. I can now better understand others' stages and empathize as they work their way through the stages. One can't force people through the stages, and we know some people never muster up enough ...

Episode 296: A Rare Look Inside a Mother and Daugther's Transition of Ownership How many family businesses have painful transitions of ownership from one generation to the next? Most, and many don't want to talk about it afterward. Of these family businesses, how many consist of mothers transferring ownership of their business to their daughters? Today you will get a rare glimpse inside a mother and daughter's transition of ownership. An indication that women founders are building valuable company legacies to pass on. A new trend worth multiplying. Guest Mentors Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain describe what worked for them in passing the baton from mother to daughter. Lisa became CEO at the Center for Mentoring Excellence in 2018. The transition began four years before the official ownership handoff. They are mentors who practice what they preach. Three things they were deliberate about were their purpose, identifying a process, and developing a plan. A coach worked with both of them and didn't shy away from asking Dr. Zachary tough questions to help her psychologically and emotionally let go. Writing an operational manual provided Dr. Zachary a path to transfer knowledge and decades' worth of documents, research, client information, etc., preparing Lisa to take over. Dr. Zacharay said Lisa has brought freshness, curiosity, and inclusiveness into their mentoring work, especially essential now. Their formula worked, and I am grateful they want to share it with us. Dr. Zachary breaks down five levels of conversation: monologue, transaction, interaction to collaborative engagement, and dialogue. We also talk about common misconceptions about mentoring and the cycle of mentoring. We finish our conversation with what they are looking forward to. Below is a beautiful acknowledgment they wrote at the back of Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. “We acknowledge each other with love, admiration, and deep gratitude. It is rare indeed that a mother and daughter get to collaborate professionally. What a privilege it has been for us to co-author this book. We encouraged each other to bring our own special magic to Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and were able to weave our individual subject matter expertise and varied experiences together to create a book that reflects and elevates our individual strengths and passions.” I don't think a Mother/Daughter relationship can get much better than that. They agreed. DOWNLOAD Please do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below. AND, if you haven't, SUBSCRIBE to get our weekly episodes and free stuff. Or, DONATE to this podcast. Resilient relationships flourish with meaningful conversations! We would like to bring you more of them.  Podcast Sponsor Strategies to Grow Your Business Monthly Bookkeeping Payroll Services Back Office Strategies and Support Contact Us Now Episode Resources Articles About Mentoring Finding A MentorMainstream Mentoring Interviews with Lisa Fain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGoWO-OplnEhttps://whatsthedifferencepodcast.com/podcasts/lisa-fain/Articles:https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2019/02/the-big-ask-finding-a-mentor.html?page=allhttps://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2019/02/mainstream-mentoring-how-companies-spark.html?page=allKeynotes:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg3AYK3NY0Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkMU72a9nS8 Lisa Fain's Keynotes    Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring After listening, do the following three C.A.L.M. Activities: Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Purchase Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring by Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain. Then, focus on a relationship you would like to move from transactional interactions to a collaborative conversation. Get curious and excited to learn something new about this person. Once you have decided which person to try this o...

Episode 295: Celebrating Mentoring Excellence with Lisa Fain Celebrate mentoring excellence with us this week. Join mother/daughter mentoring luminaries Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain for a virtual discussion about Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring, October 27; Sign-up HERE! Ways you can elevate MENTORING this week: Today, listen to Guest Mentor Lisa Fain. Lisa became CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence in 2018. Dr. Lois Zachary, the founder, is her mother. Find out how her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion makes our world a better place. If you haven't, SUBSCRIBE to get our weekly episodes and free stuff. Or, DONATE to this podcast. Resilient relationships flourish with meaningful conversations! We would like to bring you more of them.  Order two books for yourself or gift them to colleagues: Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and Creating a Mentoring Culture  National Mentoring Day, October 27th. Connect with your most influential mentors and let them know how they made an impact in your life. Join Lisa and Dr. Zachary to understand how you can bridge differences through better mentoring. International Mentoring Day, October 29th. Check out two websites: Mentors International, and International Society of Mentoring for resources.  THIS WEEK ONLY, get a free strategic mentoring session with me. Click HERE!  Lisa Fain's Entrepreneurial Upbringing When Dr. Lois Zachary founded Leadership Development Services, LLC and its Center for Mentoring Excellence, her daughter, Lisa Fain, was in high school. Women entrepreneurship was on the rise, “according to the 1988 State of Small Business Report, the number of sole proprietorships owned by women increased 62 percent between 1980 and 1986.  Now, “women entrepreneurs make up 47% of the new entrepreneurs in the United States.  Lisa says that growing up in a 1980s entrepreneurial home gave her a sense of purpose, place, and accountability. It reinforced an understanding that Lisa could contribute to the world, shape her work, and be independent. This independent thinking started in her formative years when Lisa and her brother were encouraged to make plans and prepare their own meals. As Dr. Zachary built her educational consultancy and Ed expanded his legal firm in Syracuse, New York, they still managed to be present and engaged parents. Role modeling the benefits of doing fulfilling work fueled Lisa's entrepreneurial spirit that sprouted in her 30s and 40s. You will hear how she took her diverse interests of political science, sociology, and economics with a social justice bend into acquiring an interdisciplinary degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. Two important courses taught by a cherished mentor helped Lisa understand ways to repair the world. Eventually, she became a lawyer, mediator, coach, and CEO at the Center for Mentoring Excellence. Other Conversation Highlights Although not a fair way to measure oneself, comparing Lisa's start to someone else's finish turned out to be a benefit in determining Lisa's major. Raising Talia and Emily with David in their entrepreneurial home. Lisa's lifework of inclusion, diversity, and equity. Creating a mentoring culture for retention and attraction. Insights into Millennials and Gen Z's and their need to accelerate the pace of inclusivity and purposeful workplaces can be achieved through better mentoring. Alternatives to the Peanut Butter approach. Our conversation sparked my curiosity about diversity, equity, and inclusion for women entrepreneurs. We're making progress as a society. Check out these statistics from an article published on February 2, 2021, by Jenifer Kuadli :  47% of women started a business in 2020, compared to 44% of men. Women own 36% of small businesses worldwide and own 12.3 million U.S. businesses. Women launch more than 1,200 new U.S. businesses every day and generate around $1.9T in revenue. Hispanic women-owned businesses grew by 172% over the last 10 ...

This week's episode features Lisa Fain, JD, CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and founder of Vista Coaching, the coaching division of the Center. We discuss a range of issues associated with mentorship, including: Lisa's professional journey, with its theme of creating inclusive, productive workplaces The common pitfalls or missed opportunities she often sees mentees experience What mentees should look for in a mentor Key success factors for strong, productive mentoring relationships and how mentee attitudes and behavior contribute to positive mentoring relationships How scientists outside academia where mentorship may be less formalized should go about seeking mentors  Similarities and differences between mentors and career coaches Lisa's thoughts on the statement: With COVID shaking up the way people work, it seems having a mentor would be even more important, as workers navigate new norms How to professionally and efficiently end a mentoring relationship

Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. Lisa brings her energy, enthusiasm and engagement to any group, facilitating lively workshops and training and delivering interactive speeches with practical steps that can be implemented right away. With Center for Mentoring Excellence founder Dr. Lois Zachary, Lisa is the co-author of the recently released Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring, a book that brings to life the stories, tips and tools for communicating effectively across differences in mentoring. As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc., Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment and implementation of its diversity initiative. For almost a decade, Lisa practiced law in the Chicago office of a major multinational, where she counselled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. While in that role she served a Master Trainer, training thousands of employees at a variety of companies, large and small, on how to create a better workplace. Lisa also founded Vista Coaching, a division of Center for Mentoring Excellence, which provides group coaching for professional women looking to design and live their best lives. She is a certified mediator. She graduated with a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and 2 teenage daughters. Find Lisa here: Website: www.centerformentoring.com Twitter: @lzfain LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ You Tube: http://bit.ly/2mYei9q -------------------------------------- About Erin Female-identifying and want to be a guest? Book here! https://WearHappyConsult.as.me/conversationsaboutclosets Erin Keam is a stylist like no other, thanks to her unique The Happy Wardrobe Method. This Method, which provides instant insights and lasting results explores beloved possessions in your home to find personal themes and create a one-of-a-kind Style Statement, transforming your wardrobe and positively impacting your closet, business, career and life. Oh, and she teaches you to look great, get dressed easily and with confidence. Discover your style brand and get to your ideal closet (& life) faster! https://www.thehappywardrobe.com/ Click to book a FREE Wear Happy Consult (she's on PST time) https://WearHappyConsult.as.me/FREE Or to talk about how you look on camera https://WearHappyConsult.as.me/ZoomReady Or to sign up for her FREE Zoom-Ready workshops https://www.thehappywardrobe.com/zoom-ready --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/erin-keam/support

In the month of March, we are focusing on the topic of social media. In this episode, we are joined by Lisa Fain, CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence and co-author of Bridging Difference for Better Mentoring. During this episode, Lisa shares: What her journey has been with using social media If she saw results from her long-term investment or a strategic approach The most effective way to invest your time, energy, and money with social media  The most challenging part of using social media How she stepped outside her comfort zone and the opportunities that came from it Results and benefits she's seen from using social media https://bit.ly/2POJ6bi (Click here) for our show notes.  Please feel free to send a message to Becky to share your thoughts!

Libby is joined by Lisa Fain to discuss all things mentorship. Lisa began her career as an attorney before entering the world of diversity, inclusion and mentoring. She has conducted mentoring training programs for corporate, government and educational institutions.  Lisa coaches mentors, mentees, and program administrators on how to achieve mentoring excellence and create the right environment for achievement of career and personal goals.  She is highly regarded for her special combination of expertise, humor and no-nonsense approach. Lisa discusses the following with Libby: Four phases of effective mentoring Three functions of a mentoring relationship Questions to ask yourself when looking for a mentor Setting expectations and checking assumptions when you find a mentor Formal versus informal mentorship Structuring the mentor/mentee relationship The benefits of mentoring for the mentor Common misconceptions about mentorship Lisa holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and a JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She is a life coach and has completed her certification from the International Coach Academy. A native of Syracuse, NY, Lisa spent 17 years in Chicago and moved to Seattle, WA in 2014 with her husband and two daughters. She now spends as much time as she can hiking and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.   Connect with Lisa: http://centerformentoring.com/ Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring by Lisa Z. Fain & Dr. Lois J. Zachary

Combining the "Best Piece of Advice" from 11 episodes of "3, 2, 1, iRelaunch," you'll hear from guests including Liz O’Donnell on relaunching after an eldercare career break, Ginny Brzezinski on her relaunch journey and “Comeback Careers,” Cynthia Stewart on relaunching as a systems engineer, Kara Goldin on building Hint into a $100 million business, Dorothy DeWitt on relaunching in financial regulatory compliance, Kendell Brown on relaunching and career transitioning, Lisa Fain on mentoring and relaunching, Selena Rezvani on being a fierce self-advocate, Kim Winsey Stevenson on relaunching in non-clinical medicine, Letitia Shen on relaunching as a hazardous substances engineer, and Salli Cobb on industry switching after a career break. Be sure to listen to the full podcast content from each of these special guests in previous episodes.

Lisa Fain is a mentoring expert, speaker & coach based in Seattle, Washington.A practicing lawyer in a major multinational firm for almost ten years, Lisa counselled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. And recognizing that the best kind of inclusion comes from understanding others’ needs & interests, she became certified as a mediator through Chicago’s Centre for Conflict Resolution. She’s since used her counselling skills to help clients understand and proactively prevent conflict.A practice that got much more difficult in our increasingly digital world. How do you bridge the gap using a technological medium? What makes an effective mentoring relationship? What are the differences between virtual & physical mentoring?These are a few of the questions we tackled in our discussion.We closed our discussion by looking into the future. How can we capitalize on the disruption of 2020 & make mentorship more-inclusive? Its an important question & one Lisa is uniquely qualified to answer.Lisa FainLisa Fain is the CEO of the Centre for Mentoring Excellence and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results.As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc., Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative. Prior to assuming that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, coaching leaders and partnering with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue, and renown.LinkedInWebsite Thinking Inside the BoxConstraints drive innovation. Each week we tackle the most complex issues related to work & culture.LinkedInInstagramTwitterWebsiteApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotifyStitcherPocket CastMatt BurnsMatt Burns is an award-winning executive, social entrepreneur and speaker. He believes in the power of community, simplicity & technology.LinkedInTwitter

How do mentoring and DEI intersect? We're glad you asked! Our guest today, Lisa Fain, CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, has the answer. If you or your organization provides or wants to provide mentoring, you need to listen to Lisa (and read her book)! HUGE takeaways: Mentors doesn’t have to have the answers! What they do need is good questions - the goal is to move away from the sage on stage model to being a guide on side A recent study shows that mentors have improved leadership skills in self efficacy, cultural competency & more If your organization is talking about a career ladder, it's time to shift that to a career lattice  How to start? Have conversations in relationships to determine what is working and what can be done better - take baby steps to create psychological safety FIRST 3 important inclusive behaviors for mentors & mentees: my normal may not be your normal, name the dynamic, constantly stay in relationship with one another  Check out Lisa's book Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring 

It's the Food + Friendship episode! Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman are long-distance best friends who host the popular podcast Call your Girlfriend and co-wrote the new, best selling book Big Friendship. Just like New York City was the fifth character in Sex and the City, snacks might be the third wheel in Ann and Aminatou's friendship. After years of lounging on each other's couches, chatting and watching Gossip Girl in their comfiest clothes, the pair have perfected their snack game. Learn the bizarre, over-the-top history of the cheese ball (Ann's snack specialty) with its political ties to President Thomas Jefferson, and the not-so-wacky history of Texas queso (Aminatou's snack strength) with Lisa Fain, author of the cookbook Queso and The Homesick Texan blog. Is there a food that defines one of your friendships? A meal that has become a friendship tradition? In the 90s, when their friends were cooking sophisticated and foreign dishes, Seattle's Joelle Nole and Michelle Dideon forged a friendship over their secret love of beef stroganoff. But 28 years later they're still arguing over who won the Beef Stroganoff Off. Follow Your Last Meal on Instagram! "What would your last meal be?" On this James Beard Award finalist for best podcast, National Edward R. Murrow award-winning reporter Rachel Belle asks guests like Greta Gerwig, John Waters, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Jenny Slate this question; but that’s just the beginning! Each dish’s origins, preparation, and cultural influence are among the many stones upturned as Rachel consults chefs and culinary anthropologists, fishmongers and fry cooks on her quest to explore every facet of Your Last Meal. Original music by Prom Queen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and a global speaker on the intersection of mentoring and inclusion.  Lisa is also an executive coach and a former management-side employment attorney.  Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. She is the author of the book Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. Thank you to Weaving Influence for sponsoring this episode of Purpose & Principles podcast.

Mentoring is well known for helping individuals pursue career and other personal development goals. Unlike coaching, which is often driven by the coach, mentoring is mentee-led and focused on their long-term growth. The benefits of mentoring are many and varied—interpersonal skill development, greater self-awareness, and fine-tuning of life skills. So why not think about mentoring as an organizational strategy, that can be scaled from the individual, to leadership, to the company as a whole? Lisa Fain believes that mentoring is a critical strategy for some of the key outcomes that businesses strive for: attracting and retaining outstanding talent, gaining trust and contribution at all levels, and building healthy and productive workplace cultures. Lisa and I talk about this idea and how to achieve it in the latest episode of People at Work. Embracing mentoring as a leadership competency across the organization creates an environment of individual self-empowerment and accountability. It builds workplaces where people are trusted, enabled, and supported. It’s here that ownership is rewarded, recognized, and celebrated. And where all sorts of other key performance indicators are realized. About our Guest Lisa is CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence and a global speaker on creating inclusive environments through mentoring. She strives to live by the saying on her favorite t-shirt “If it involves campfires, s’mores or coffee, count me in.” You can connect with Lisa on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ and Twitter @lzfain Resources Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring Incubator for launching a virtual mentoring program

For the last several months, we’ve spent more time with ourselves, our families, and our work. We’ve struggled with the elusive work-life balance more than ever. As we approach our new normal and take steps toward “business as usual”, however, it’s important to begin thinking about what we’ve learned about ourselves throughout the crisis and how we can leverage these new learnings going forward. For women, in particular, it will be important to begin thinking about the importance of boundaries, what we need to live a more balanced life, and how we can articulate those needs moving forward. In this episode of the Leadership Strategies for Women podcast, Ellie Nieves interviews Lisa Fain, CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, on How Mentoring Can Help Women With Self-Discovery & Creating Healthy Boundaries.

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. Lisa brings her energy, enthusiasm, and engagement to any group, facilitating lively workshops and training, and delivering interactive speeches with practical steps that can be implemented right away. As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc., Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative. Prior to assuming that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, coaching leaders and partnering with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue, and renown. For almost a decade, Lisa practiced law in the Chicago office of a major multinational firm, where she counseled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. While in that role, she served as Master Trainer, training thousands of employees at a variety of companies, large and small, on how to create a better workplace. Lisa is also an executive coach, specializing in individual and group coaching for professional women looking to design and live their best personal and professional lives. She is a certified mediator. She graduated with a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.  Lisa lives in Seattle, WA. She loves to hike and explore the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters. Check out Lisa’s new book, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring, co-authored with her mom, Lois J. Zachary.

The age-old practice of mentoring is being influenced by new forms of work, technology, and learning. In this episode, Lisa Fain of the Center for Mentoring Excellence joins HubSpot Director of Product Growth Chris Miller to discuss the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, the importance of having a relationship with someone who is different than you, tips for mentoring virtually, and more. 

Support the Breakfast Leadership Network! Contribute on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bfastleadershipOr PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/bfastleadershipBreakfast Leadership Network Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/breakfast-leadership-network------Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and founder of Vista Coaching, the coaching division of the Center. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work is fueled by her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results.She has conducted mentoring training programs for corporate, government and educational institutions.  Lisa coaches mentors, mentees and program administrators on how to achieve mentoring excellence and create the right environment for achievement of career and personal goals.  She is highly regarded for her special combination of knowledge, expertise, humor and a no-nonsense practical approach.As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc. (the parent company to automated retail giants Redbox and Coinstar), Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment and implementation of its diversity initiative, including launching the company’s first mentoring program for its Women’s Business Resource Group. Prior to that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, where she coached leaders and partnered with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue and renown.Lisa practiced law with the Chicago office of a major multinational law firm and counseled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. In addition, she served as a Master Trainer, training thousands of employees at a variety of companies, large and small, on how to create a better workplace.  Certified as a mediator through Chicago’s Center for Conflict Resolution, Lisa applied her counseling skills to help clients understand and proactively prevent conflict.Lisa holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and a JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Lisa is a Life Coach and has completed her certification from the International Coach Academy.A native of Syracuse, NY, Lisa spent 17 years in Chicago and moved to Seattle, WA in 2014, with her husband and two daughters. She now spends as much time as she can hiking and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.Website:  https://www.centerformentoring.com/Book:  https://amzn.to/2ZoWSUB

Lisa Fain is the CEO at the Center for Mentoring Excellence. She speaks with Carol all about mentoring and the role mentoring and being mentored can have in a relaunch, and once back to work. They discuss the “growth mindset” and the idea of “becoming” vs the “fixed mindset," why you don’t have to “have all the answers” to be an effective mentor, and how the best mentoring relationships are enabling instead of dependent. Fun fact: Lisa Fain’s mother, Lois Zachary, the founder of the Center for Mentoring Excellence is a relauncher! When Lisa was in middle school, her mother went back to school for a PhD and founded the Center subsequently. Center for Mentoring Excellence

David and Renee talk to Lisa Fain of Homesick Texan about chicken fried steak, cream gravy, and brisket, reader Beth Kujawski about brownies, and Mama Leite about Portuguese carne assada. David reads his essay, "If I Were a Mother."

Lisa is CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, a Seattle, WA based business that helps organizations create better leaders and more inclusive cultures through mentoring. She is a global keynote speaker and an expert in the intersection of mentoring and inclusion and is passionate about the power of diversity and inclusion to create better workplaces, better teams, and better results.

A Good Meal Is Hard To Find: Storied Recipes from the Deep SouthBy Amy C. Evans & Martha Hall Foose Intro: Welcome to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York City, sitting at her dining room table, talking to cookbook authors.Martha Hall Foose: I'm Martha Hall Foose, and I've got a new book coming out, A Good Meal Is Hard to Find: Storied Recipes From the Deep South, with my good gal pal, Amy C. Evans.Suzy Chase: Okay, let's do a quick quarantine question round. Number one, where are you living?Martha Hall Foose: Right now I'm in Greenwood, Mississippi, which is about halfway between Memphis and Jackson, in the Mississippi Delta, right on the banks of the Yazoo River. We also have a farm that's the next county over, that's a family farm, and then I have a house out there in a place called Pluto, Mississippi. Lately, we haven't been out there too much except to go mow the grass because of a lack of internet connection, but we split our time back and forth between the two places.Suzy Chase: What restaurant are you dreaming of going to after the quarantine?Martha Hall Foose: Without question, The Beauty Shop Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee. Karen Carrier is the chef there and I want to eat her dish called Watermelon and Wings. It's chicken wings with cashew dust and chili sauce and then slices of cold watermelon on the side. That's what I want more than anything.Suzy Chase: I've been revisiting recipes that make me feel like home, things my mom used to make, like a simple bologna sandwich or potato salad. I know you have a reverence for passed-along recipes. I'm wondering what dish is getting you through this.Martha Hall Foose: I know this sounds corny, but chicken pot pie.Suzy Chase: No, not at all.Martha Hall Foose: To me, it's just the ultimate comfort. In A Good Meal Is Hard to Find, we have an easy peasy recipe for one. When my son was little and he'd get mad at somebody, he would say, "You chicken pot pie," and so that always makes me laugh and feel at home, and my mom makes a great chicken pot pie. The other thing that seems to be a big comfort dish is just simple broiled catfish with tons of lemon and butter and Worcestershire sauce on it, just broiled with some rice on the side. For some reason, that's been something that we've been going to at least once a week.Suzy Chase: Okay, now on with the show. As I understand it, this cookbook is a love letter to women and food and the deep South. Can you talk a little bit about that?Martha Hall Foose: First, I love my collaboration with Amy Evans. She's a dear friend and also has been really inspirational to me. So the first love letter would be to my partner in this venture. I think a lot of times when people talk about Southern cooking, there are two extremes. It's either mamaw in the kitchen or it's some dude chef with a pig tattoo, and there doesn't seem to be much in the middle of people that, as Amy and I say and has been said before, of people that are trying to make a way out of no way. I think that's something that probably resonates with people a lot these days.Martha Hall Foose: Also, Amy and I always found this sort of mystery of the names that are at the bottom of recipes that are in community cookbooks. A lot of times the woman isn't even mentioned by her own name. It's Mrs. J.D. Palam or something like that, and not even recognized by their own name. They were just the adjunct of whoever the husband was. That kind of rankled me and Amy, and so we wanted to give a voice to just the neighbors. Through that, we just created this whole community of imaginary friends.Suzy Chase: Women were their husband's wives back then. They weren't an individual.Martha Hall Foose Right. If there's a community cookbook from a church league or a benevolent society of some sort, for example, there's one recipe title that always stuck with me, called Mrs. Munson's Cold Tongue. It was this beef tongue recipe, but it wasn't even Lila Munson or whoever she was. We don't even know who Mrs. Munson's first name is. Things like that were a jumping off point for us.Suzy Chase: Yeah, I remember my mom used Mrs. W.S. Chase up until I'd say the mid '70s and then she dropped it and she became Marilyn.Martha Hall Foose: Yeah, and then sometimes it would be Mrs. George Jones, nee Snavely , so you could have her father's name, but you still didn't know her first name.Suzy Chase: Yes. Oh my gosh. Food is a lens to society. When I think of Southern food, I think of a story that goes along with a dish or ingredients. You touched on this a little bit just now, but talk a little bit more about how community cookbooks or the Junior League cookbooks have influenced you.Martha Hall Foose: Those were the first cookbooks that I really read. When I was a kid, they were always in our kitchen. Growing up in a rural area, like the Delta, everybody was trying to do a fundraiser for either the church building society or the missionary society or the Elks or the Episcopal church ladies. All sorts of fundraisers were always going on. Those were pretty much the first cookbooks that I was exposed to really, that and Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook or Joy of Cooking. They have a fond place in my heart just because they were the first things that I knew of what a cookbook was.Suzy Chase: How did you meet Amy C. Evans?Martha Hall Foose: We were both trying to figure this out. She had come down to work on an oral history project throughout the Delta and we think we met through that, maybe at the farmer's market here, which was just getting started and she was documenting the beginning of the new farmer's market here. That was I don't know how many years ago, over a decade I would guess.Suzy Chase: Can you describe the first time you two sequestered yourselves at your farmhouse in Pluto, Mississippi to put this cookbook together?Martha Hall Foose: I was so thrilled. I had approached Amy about this idea a couple of years before this initial retreat and kind of bugged her about it. Then I was like, "Quit bugging her about it, Martha." Then out of the blue, she called. She had been at a conference and one of the things was about collaboration, and then she finally warmed up to the idea. Then it was like, "Okay, let's get together and do this."Martha Hall Foose: She came out to Pluto, which is 17 miles to a gallon of milk once you get out there. Basically you have to bring your own fun when you come. She was bringing her daughter, Sophia, who was pretty little at the time. I figured I needed something to keep her occupied, so I brought my cotton candy machine, which did a great job of keeping her busy. My cousin, Leanne, who is the inspiration for Lenore's Hot Tamale Balls, which is a recipe on page 82, her name is Lenore Ann, but we all call her Leanne, she came out with this. Leanne cooked for us and gave us inspiration. Amy and I sat at this sort of 1950s Formica table in the kitchen and stared out the window, and honestly drank a bit of bourbon and ate a lot of pie, and just started thinking about the wonderful titles to her paintings.Martha Hall Foose: Some of the titles, let me get to the illustration page and I'll tell you a few of them that are my favorite. There's one called Loretta Put the Coffee on the Stove and Crawled Back in Bed to Find the Details From Her Dreams. She had already set up the first line, or the idea, through just the titles of her paintings. Then we started to talk and imagine these women's back stories. What kind of coffee was Loretta going to put on the stove? What was she getting in back into bed to think about? Or one painting is Marge Took Her Usual Measurements. I think that's the first recipe in the book. Actually, it's the second recipe I think in the book. We decided that that would be two fingers of vodka and some grapefruit juice that she was measuring.Martha Hall Foose: We just got really into these women's back stories and then the more we talked about them, a lot of times the more tickled we got at ourselves, first of all, for just sitting there making up these ridiculous stories, and then second of all, some of them are a little poignant. Some of them are about heartbreak or remembering somebody that had passed. I mean, at some point it got to the point where we really felt like they were just pulling up a chair at the table and telling us about themselves.Martha Hall Foose: One of the things we really wanted to be cognizant of is Amy's paintings usually just include three objects and sometimes they're very baffling, like the one that is the chicken pot pie recipe. The painting is a vintage Swanson's chicken pot pie box, an old rabbit foot keychain like you used to get out of the prize machine at the skating rink, and a dill pickle. Then it has a painting of a floral oilcloth on the side. We wanted to keep the stories that didn't just tell a start-to-finish story, that also gave you room to interpret the stories the way you wanted to and the way that these women, we made them up for the readers and home cooks to finish the story themselves so that they became their own friends as much as they had become our friends.Suzy Chase: I'm curious to hear about Grace's Four-Cornered Nabs on page 85. Can you read this head note?Martha Hall Foose: Sure. This one was inspired by Amy's grandmother. It's one of my favorite of Amy's paintings of all time. It features a old Samsonite-style train case with the outline of a large ham, with a comma and then a nab. For those that don't know, nabs are the little crackers named after Nabisco's little crackers like you find at a convenience store.Suzy Chase: It looks like a Cheez-It.Martha Hall Foose: It looks like a Cheez-It, but for those in the know about nab, there are two different types of nabs. If we were on a road trip and we pulled into a convenience store and I was going in, I would say, "Suzy, do you want some nabs?" and if you said yes, now I would say, "Do you want round or four-corner nabs?" Round nabs are the ones that are regular plain or malt crackers with cheese in the middle or peanut in the middle. If you say I want four-corner nabs, that means you mean the cheese ones with peanut butter filling.Suzy Chase: Oh.Martha Hall Foose: That's a little nab trivia for you there.Suzy Chase: Can you read the head note, please?Martha Hall Foose: Sure.Martha Hall Foose: "Grace couldn't take any chances, so she fit all sorts of contingencies in her train case. This was, after all, the first time she was making the trip to visit her granddaughter all the way over in Texas. For all Grace knew, they ate brisket for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That just wouldn't do. No, ma'am. Grace made sure that they would have some proper Alabama staples within reach during her visit, so she packed some nabs at the last minute just to make the trip bearable."Martha Hall Foose: Then it has a recipe for the cheese crackers and then a peanut butter filling.Suzy Chase: Apparently, they're are proper Alabama staple. That's my favorite line.Martha Hall Foose: Well, that and a good ham.Suzy Chase: Yes. It's so funny, because I can vividly picture Grace in my head.Martha Hall Foose: Good. That's what we were hoping for. See, now she's your friend, too.Suzy Chase: You have a Notions and Notes section with every recipe, and this recipe, you included some ways to serve the crackers, other uses for the filling, and the best is if you don't have a decorative pastry cutter on hand, you can use a rotary fabric cutter with a scallop blade, but wash it before you return it to your sewing box. That made me laugh.Martha Hall Foose: There are a couple of the notes that are pretty silly and then some of them that are actually geared to help the home cook complete these recipes. For the most part, they're really straightforward recipes. Most of them are only a page long. Things like notes on serving, if you want to make something extra fancy, or if you don't feel like making part of the recipe and you want to use a frozen pie dough or refrigerated pack crust, we're not going to shame anybody and be like, "Well, you've got to make your home pie crust or you're doing less." But sometimes a girl's just got to do what a girl's got to do.Suzy Chase: Amen. I, like you gals, am intrigued by consumerism. This line right here in the cookbook jumped out at me, "How the throwaway matchbook can become a keepsake for a lifetime." Now, I remember when my dad remarried this lady who was from West Texas, her name was Wylena Joe. We called her Joe. Well, Joe loved her pastel-colored, modern '80s decor. She'd say, and I'm not even going to try to do a Southern drawl, she would say in her Southern drawl, "Suzy only likes old stuff." Can you talk a little bit about your hunt for stories at estate sales or resale shops? I live for estate sales.Martha Hall Foose: We do too. It's the things in the back of the drawer that we love.Suzy Chase: Me too.Martha Hall Foose: I found this towel hook that's this small hand and it's so weird that it's like, first of all, who would buy this, and then second of all, why would you keep it in the back of the drawer because it's so awesome if you had it. It's questions like these that really sent Amy and I. We also love the sweet little gestures of people using things that they've got. Amy and I talk about she had done a wonderful oral history with Miss Streeter, Pattie Streeter that runs a farm right near here. At the farmer's market, she ties up her bundles of spring onions with little red yarn bows. It's things like that that Amy and I just love. We love everything from old Avon perfume bottles to, oh, don't get us started about a yardstick that advertises a hardware store. Who knows how many of those each we've got. It's those things that you're not ever going to see again. They're not making more of them.Martha Hall Foose: I said this in my first book, that in a way we're sort of homesick for a place we still live. That's not saying we have some imagined idea of what good old days in the South were like, because that's not what we're saying. It's more of the community involvement. I guess during this stay home time for everybody, it's spending the time to do those little things and to appreciate small things, I guess, a little bit more.Suzy Chase: Last night I made Clementine's H-Town Queso. It goes with the Crawfish Puppies, but I can't find any crawfish in New York City right now in the middle of the pandemic. I made this, and this dip was inspired by the old Felix Mexican restaurant in Houston. Can you tell us about this recipe?Martha Hall Foose: One woman that Amy and I both are inspired by and love so much is Lisa Fain and her Homesick Texan blog and also her Homesick Texan cookbooks. Amy grew up in Houston and lives there now. Although Felix's is no longer a going concern, this queso had a cult following and is very regionally specific to the Houston area. As much as the recipe has a lot of characters that are in the Delta, we also wanted to make sure that Texas got a great representation and so Lisa was actually kind enough to share the recipe with us.Martha Hall Foose: For those that are thinking this is the ubiquitous cheese dip that you found in a Tex Mex restaurant, it's got sort of a, how would you describe it, I would say sort of a garnet oil slick across the top of it.Suzy Chase: Well yeah, because you use real cheddar cheese and I think that makes for the slick.Martha Hall Foose: Yeah, yeah. It's got a little chopped onion, and diced tomatoes, and garlic, and chili powder, and hot paprika, and you use shredded cheese in it. I mean, it's just a good snack if you're hanging out on the couch.Suzy Chase: Which we all are.Martha Hall Foose: Yeah.Suzy Chase: What I learned from this recipe is the secret ingredient is the paprika.Martha Hall Foose: Kudos to Lisa, because I'm sure there was a lot of research that went into trying to get this thing just right.Suzy Chase: Yeah, queso's a toughie.Martha Hall Foose: She has a book, she has a book that's called Queso. If you want to broaden your queso world, you can to her book.Suzy Chase: Speaking of cookbooks, now for my segment called My Favorite Cookbook, what is your all-time favorite cookbook and why?Martha Hall Foose: My all time favorite cookbook is one that was published in the Delta and I think initially it was published in the '70s, but it's called Bayou Cuisine. One thing I love about it is because it's sort of brilliant the way it's put together, not just the way that the book is structured, but they used this comb binding that you see on so many community cookbooks. But this one has a time-release self-destruction, where after about five years the comb binding gets so brittle it breaks and the index falls off the back. The recipes aren't divided up by breakfast, appetizers, fish, poultry, in that kind of order, so there's no way for you to find the recipe unless you have the index. Then after the index falls off the back, you've got to buy a new copy of the book.Martha Hall Foose: I think that's going to be my plan for my next book, is to put a self-destructing comb binding on it. But I think you can find copies of it online and I think they've put sort of a condensed version in a bound copy, but Bayou Cuisine, or as people one state over might call it, Bayou Cuisine. But in Mississippi we say bayou.Suzy Chase: So it's spelled B-A-Y-O-U?Martha Hall Foose: Mm-hmm (affirmative).Suzy Chase: Okay.Martha Hall Foose: We're very specific down here.Suzy Chase: I love it. Where can we find you on the web and social media?Martha Hall Foose: There is a website that we're beginning, or Amy is beginning to get together, called AGoodMealisHardtoFind.com. As I get my social networking together, you'll be able to find all the links how to get in touch with us in any possible way. Also, there's a section for people to get in touch with us. As people make recipes, we'd love for them to send us pictures. In the end of the book, we say, "Thank you for visiting with all of us. Please do stay in touch, drop us a line and some snapshots of your favorite dishes when you have a minute. Amy, Martha, and the ladies. P.S. You can find us at AGoodMealisHardtoFind.com."Suzy Chase: This cookbook is the perfect Mother's Day present. Thank you so much, Martha, for coming on Cookery By the Book podcast.Martha Hall Foose: It was my pleasure. Y'all stay safe and tell some stories and cook a lot and be safe.Outro: Subscribe over on cookerybythebook.com. Thanks for listening to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery By the Book.

The 32nd Annual Forum on Workplace Inclusion Conference was held from March 10-12, 2020 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Conference brings together attendees from across many industries and from many different backgrounds who all share a passion for and focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In this special episode of What’s The Difference, host Sara Taylor attends the Forum on Workplace Inclusion 2020 Conference and speaks with special guests Scott Fearing (Manager of Diversity Education at the University of Rochester), Lisa Fain (CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence), Patricia Jesperson (Chief Curiosity Officer at EmployeeEXP), Richard Webb (founder and principal Diversity and Inclusion consultant at Second Layer Consulting), Kurt Wiger (Coordinator of Volunteers and Interns at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute), Rosemond Owens (Director of Health Equity Integration at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota), Jackie Thomas-Hall (Director of Culture, Diversity & Inclusion at Allina Health), Deborah Dagit (President of Deb Dagit Diversity, LLC), and Chris Matuseski (Organizational Development & Effectiveness Consultant at HealthPartners). What you’ll learn about in this episode: Scott Fearing, the University of Rochester’s Manager of Diversity Education, discusses why today’s divisive and polarized political climate is a particularly challenging obstacle for the furthering of diversity and inclusion, and he explains why being invited to a seat at the table isn’t the same as being included. He discusses why the increasing prevalence of digital conversations has made no impact on the commonality of marginalization, and he discusses why focusing on commonalities is the solution to polarization. Lisa Fain, the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, explains why she believes that social distancing, remote work and virtual offices can make building a thriving workplace culture more challenging due to the increased difficulty of building trust and relationships. She explains why intentionality and creating deliberate touch points is the key to overcoming this challenge. Patricia Jesperson, Chief Curiosity Officer with EmployeeEXP, shares why she believes that a fully integrated diversity and inclusion curriculum rather than a chapter-by-chapter approach is the secret to adapting to the needs of today’s organizations. Richard Webb, the founder and principal consultant at Second Layer Consulting, shares why diversity and inclusion frameworks used today often date back to the 1960s and 1970s, and he shares why there is an urgent need for more modern frameworks. He explains why there is often a disconnect between older and newer educational models, and he suggests that moving from viewing diversity and inclusion as a job to viewing it as a way to live is the key to modernizing our understanding. He shares why it is important to devote time to developing your understanding of the field. Additional resources: Scott Fearing’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/scottfearing/ Lisa Fain’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ Trish Jesperson’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/patriciajesperson/ Richard Webb’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/richardwebb2/

Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and founder of Vista Coaching, the coaching division of the Center. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work is fueled by her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. She has conducted mentoring training programs for corporate, government and educational institutions. Lisa coaches mentors, mentees and program administrators on how to achieve mentoring excellence and create the right environment for achievement of career and personal goals. She is highly regarded for her special combination of knowledge, expertise, humor and a no-nonsense practical approach. As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc. (the parent company to automated retail giants Redbox and Coinstar), Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative, including launching the company’s first mentoring program for its Women’s Business Resource Group. Prior to that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, where she coached leaders and partnered with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue and renown. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Lisa shares how she found her passion for diversity and inclusion work when she brought her mother Lois to her workplace to help set up a women’s mentoring program Why mentoring programs can help build meaningful business relationships across differences and help empower people to thrive in their careers Why Lisa feels that diversity and inclusion training by itself doesn’t work, and why it needs other programs to support it Why successful diversity and inclusion initiatives create a fundamental cultural change throughout all levels of an organization Why a mentorship needs to be a two-way relationship between the mentor and the mentee, and why the mentorship needs ground rules and clear communication Why it is important to measure the success and progress of a mentorship through mutually established and agreed-upon goals Why leadership skills don’t necessarily imply mentoring skills, and why developing your mentoring ability is an important ongoing process Why listening is a cornerstone skill that an effective mentor needs to have, and why leaders may struggle to listen effectively Lisa shares an experience she had with a well-meaning senior partner while working at a law firm after returning from maternity leave Lisa shares an important takeaway from her book, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring How to contact Lisa Fain: Website: www.centerformentoring.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CenterForMentoringExcellence Twitter: @C4Mentoring @lzfain  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazfain/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-mentoring-excellence/

Lisa Fain About This Week's Guest Lisa Fain Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. Lisa brings her energy, enthusiasm and engagement to any group, facilitating lively workshops and training and delivering interactive speeches with practical steps that can be implemented right away. With Center for Mentoring Excellence founder Dr. Lois Zachary, Lisa is the co-author of the recently released Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring, a book that brings to life the stories, tips and tools for communicating effectively across differences in mentoring. "Trust is made by building relationships and really understanding the other person." Her tips on becoming more culturally competent are: Become the owner of your own responsability. You are 100% responsable and so is the other. Become aware of the other culture, but also of the other person as being a person. Check your assumption; ask, ask, ask. Links mentioned in this episode are: Website: https://centerformentoring.com Email: Lisa Fain: lfain@centerformentoring.com Culture Matters You Can Also Listen to the Culture Podcast and Management Podcast Build your Cultural Competence, listen to interesting stories, learn about the cultural pitfalls and how to avoid them, get the Global perspective here at the Culture Matters podcast on International Business. We help you understand Cultural Diversity better by interviewing real people with real experiences. Every episode there is an interview with a prominent guest, who will tell his or her story and share international experiences. Helping you develop your cultural competence. Welcome to this culture podcast and management podcast. To Subscribe to this Management Podcast, Click here. The Culture Matters Culture Podcast. Available on iTunes and Stitcher Radio Click here to get the podcast on Spotify Talk to your Amazon Alexa and listen to the Podcast If you have a minute, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking here. It will help the visibility and the ranking of this culture podcast on iTunes immensely! A BIG THANK YOU! Enjoy this FREE culture podcast! Music: Song title - Bensound.com More Ways of Listening: Get a Taste of How Chris Presents, Watch his TEDx Talk   Name Email Address Phone Number Message 12 + 2 = Send Call Direct: +32476524957   Whatsapp: +32476524957 Book Chris Smit as a Speaker If you're looking for an Engaging, Exciting and Interactive speaker on the subject of Intercultural Management & Awareness you came to the right place. Chris has spoken at hundreds of events to thousands of people on the subject of Cultural Diversity & Cultural Competence. What Others Say About Chris: “Very Interactive and Engaging” “In little time he knew how to get the audience inspired and connected to his story” “His ability to make large groups of participants quickly and adequately aware of the huge impact of cultural differences is excellent” “Chris is a dedicated and inspirational professional” His presentation can cover specific topics, or generally on Cultural differences. Duration of any presentation can vary from 20 minutes to 2 hours and anything in between and are given World Wide. Book Chris now by simply sending an email.

  Be ready to take notes as you listen to this powerful interview with Lisa Fain, co-author of Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. You’ll get practical ways to be a fantastic mentor, a great mentee, and more inclusive leader including: * The three whys leaders need to know and communicate. * How leaders create more inclusive teams. * Why being a mentor will make you a better leader. * How to be an awesome mentor. * Why noticing differences is a vital leadership skill. * The biggest predictor of a mentee’s success. * The difference between mentoring and coaching. * How to find the right mentor for you. * How to be an excellent mentee. * Pro tips to end a mentoring relationship gracefully. Learn more about Lisa and her work at CenterforMentoring.com Get Lisa’s book:    

Lisa is a Mentoring Expert, Speaker, and Coach. More Inclusive Organizations through Mentoring. Better Leaders through Coaching. She is president of the Center for Mentoring Excellence®, a 25-year old company that is the destination for organizations and leaders seeking to achieve better business results through mentoring excellence. The Center, a division of Leadership Development Services LLC, provides comprehensive solutions to promote mentoring through learning, growth, and inclusion. Lisa is a positive and energetic leader with tools for mentoring success that can apply to everyone. Her new book is loaded with brilliance for bridging our differences, a subject of great need. Her book, BRIDGING DIFFERENCES FOR BETTER MENTORING, Lean Forward, Lear, Leverage co-authored with Dr. Lois J. Zachary can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Bridging-Differences-Better-Mentoring-Leverage/dp/1523085894

Book NotesCarrie recommends: Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith Melissa recommends: Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-SmithMichael recommends: Savage Season by Joe R. Lansdale The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale Bite Notes Alton Brown's Pickled Okra from Good Eats is a great recipe for preserving the harvest. Roasting okra and tomatoes reduces the slime factor of stewed okra and tomatoes. Find the recipe in Mississippi Vegan: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Boy's Heart.  Enjoy the Texas staple Cowboy Beans from The Homesick Texan's Family Table: Lone Star Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours by Lisa Fain. Wash it down with an ice cold Dr. Pepper. 

Lisa Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence, and founder of Vista Coaching, the coaching division of the Center. Her passion for diversity and inclusion work is fueled by her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results. She has conducted mentoring training programs for corporate, government and educational institutions. Lisa coaches mentors, mentees and program administrators on how to achieve mentoring excellence and create the right environment for the achievement of career and personal goals. She is highly regarded for her special combination of knowledge, expertise, humor and a no-nonsense practical approach. As Senior Director of the Diversity and Inclusion function at Outerwall, Inc. (the parent company to automated retail giants Redbox and Coinstar), Lisa spearheaded the development, establishment, and implementation of its diversity initiative, including launching the company’s first mentoring program for its Women’s Business Resource Group. Prior to that position, she worked as Outerwall’s in-house counsel, where she coached leaders and partnered with Human Resources to establish fair and effective policies and practices that would sustain the organization as it grew in size, revenue and renown. Lisa practiced law with the Chicago office of a major multinational law firm and counseled employers on creating inclusive policies and practices. In addition, she served as a Master Trainer, training thousands of employees at a variety of companies, large and small, on how to create a better workplace. Certified as a mediator through Chicago’s Center for Conflict Resolution, Lisa applied her counseling skills to help clients understand and proactively prevent conflict. Lisa holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University and a JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Lisa is a Life Coach and has completed her certification from the International Coach Academy. A native of Syracuse, NY, Lisa spent 17 years in Chicago and moved to Seattle, WA in 2014, with her husband and two daughters. She now spends as much time as she can hiking and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Lisa found her way into the field of diversity and inclusion and mentoring, and why she left her career in a legal firm Why Lisa decided to bring diversity and inclusion work into her position at Coinstar/Redbox Why Lisa believes mentoring is a powerful tool in diversity and inclusion work, and in what areas it is best suited for furthering that work How Lisa works to train and certify future mentors in diversity, inclusion and cultural competency Why mentoring should be a two-way relationship, and what lessons the mentor can learn from the mentee Why Lisa doesn’t like the term “reverse mentoring”, and why all effective mentoring relationships are co-mentoring Why building trust between participants is the key to developing successful mentoring relationships What Lisa believes the future holds for the integration of cultural competency and mentorship training Why non-dyadic mentoring (triads, circles and peer mentoring) are growing areas within the business world What advice Lisa has for people new to diversity and inclusion and mentoring efforts How Lisa and her mother are writing a book on cultural competency that will be released in 2020 How to contact Lisa Fain: Website: www.centerformentoring.com Twitter: @C4Mentoring Facebook: www.facebook.com/CenterForMentoringExcellence Email: lfain@centerformentoring.com

We've been podcasting for one year so we decided to make one thousand dips and talk about them in front of a live audience to celebrate! Ok, we didn't actually make 1000 dips, we're being hyperbolic, give us a break already. It did feel like a thousand and, dare I say, taste like a thousand? Let us regale you with our tales of dipification, gallons of milk punch, romance novels and Mark Ruffalo? It's all here for you! The Drinks! I Dip, You Dip, Milk Dip Milk Punch We used this recipe but substituted light rum for the batavia arrack: https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/black-tea-port-milk-punch Big Dipper Sangria Combine two bottles of rose with sliced strawberries, thinly sliced oranges, raspberries, and about a half cup of rhubarb simple syrup (or any other simple syrup of your choice). Let it sit overnight in the fridge before drinking for maximum flavor. The Dips! Liz Dips   Houston's Spinach Artichoke Dip Damn Good Queso, Tomatillo Salsa and Habanero Salsa from the book Queso! by Lisa Fain   Pasta Salad Dip Cut into a small dice and combine 1 small cucumber, one green bell pepper, one seeded tomato, 1/2 lb salami, 1/4 lb feta cheese, 4 scallions, one can black olives, drained. Add a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Chex Mix Dip Combine 16 Oz sour cream, 2 tsp Lawrys seasoned salt, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried onion, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Chill and serve with pretzel sticks. Horseradish Buttermilk Dip  Thanksgiving Dip No exact measurements here, just use your Thanksgiving leftovers! Finely chop turkey and mix with gravy. Mix chopped scallions, flat leaf parsley and some softened butter into mashed potatoes. Spread a layer of stuffing into the bottom of a shallow baking dish. On top of the stuffing spread the turkey and gravy mixture. Dot bits of cranberry sauce all over the turkey layer. Spread the mashed potato mixture on top of the cranberry sauce. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar on top of the mashed potatoes and bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes. Jalepeno Artichoke Dip Crack Buffalo Chicken In the Instant Pot, combine 1.5 - 2 lb chicken thighs, 1 packet Ranch dressing powder, 1 8 oz brick of cream cheese, ½ cup water. Cook on manual for 15 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally. Shred chicken in pot or remove and shred in a mixer then return to pot. Add 3 chopped scallions and ½ cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (more or less to taste). Mix thoroughly. Spread mixture in a pie plate or baking dish and top with bleu cheese crumbles. Serve warm with carrots and celery sticks. Ina's Herb Dip Cuban Sandwich Dip Rueben Sandwich Dip Combine 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons relish, 16 oz drained rinsed squeezed kraut, 1 lb corned beef diced small, 16 oz shredded swiss. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Santino Fontina   Deviled Egg Dip Pico de Gallo       Alissa Dips   What’s Greek for 7 Layer? On a platter, layer hummus, tzatziki, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, sliced kalamata olives, feta cheese crumbles and pine nuts. Serve with pita chips.   Loaded Baked Potato Dip Combine 1 generous cup of sour cream, half a cup of chopped fresh chives, a tablespoon or so of minced shallot and ¼ cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese in a bowl. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to let the flavors meld. When you are ready to serve, top with more grated sharp cheddar, a handful of chopped chives and four or five slices of crispy bacon that you’ve crumbled into bits. Serve with sturdy potato chips for dipping.       7 Layer Dip On On a platter, layer refried beans, sour cream seasoned with taco seasoning, guacamole, salsa, sliced black olives, chopped scallions and shredded cheddar cheese.   Jalapeno Ranch - I made the Pioneer Woman’s ranch dressing recipe with minimal buttermilk for a thicker texture. Then I blended it in the food processor with about 3 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos. White Bean Dip  Black Bean Dip Dill Dip in a Bread Bowl  Curry Pea Dip  Pimento Cheese  Olive tapenade  Hummus   Tzatziki Mexican Street Corn - Heat up a bag of Trader Joe’s frozen charred corn in the microwave. When it is hot, drain any water. Stir in a half cup of mayo, a tablespoon of chili powder, a pinch of cayenne, a large bunch of cilantro that you’ve finely chopped, and about ¾ cup of crumbled cotija cheese. Salt and pepper (and cayenne pepper!) to taste. When you serve, add additional cotija crumbles on top. Serve with tortilla chips. Muhammara  Chimichurri Dip - Make a recipe like this for chimichurri and combine with 3 Tbs of cream cheese and 3 tbs of sour cream       Theme song: The Show Must Be Go Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

How do you keep the important things front and center when there's so much to do? Lisa shares her tips and advice she received that's worked well for her.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take a trip to Texas on a southern themed episode of Eat Your Words. Guest host Talia Ralph is joined by Lisa Fain, author of the popular blog Homesick Texan and the book it inspired, The Homesick Texan Cookbook .In 2006, Fain started the blog Homesick Texan to share Texan food with fellow expatriates, and the site immediately connected with readers worldwide, Texan and non-Texan alike. Now, in her long-awaited first cookbook, Fain brings the comfort of Texan home cooking to you. Hear about some of her favorite regional dishes, some misconceptions about Texas cooking and a preview at what recipes readers can find in The Homesick Texan Cookbook. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “Tex-Mex sometimes has a bad rap, but when it’s well done it can be just as delicious as any other cuisine.” [07:00] “If you want to parlay a blog into anything you have to post on a regular basis.” [23:00] “Beans are great on their own and chili is great on its own. It’s almost disrespectful when you combine them.” [30:00] –Lisa Fain on Eat Your Words

Just in time for Hanukkah, Lisa Fain of Homesick Texan shares her delicious Coffee Rubbed Brisket recipe. Serve latkes as your side dish and you've got yourself one amazing holiday meal... with a jolt!

Lisa Fain of HomesickTexan.com, Matt Armendariz of mattbites.com, and Catherine McCord of weelicious.com, share their favorite beef recipes. Flavorful beef brisket, skirt steak fajitas and more, make up this protein-packed pod.