DEI After 5 with Sacha

Psychological safety is more than a workplace term. It shows up in the everyday experiences employees have with their leaders, their teams, and the systems around them.

In this episode of High Velocity Radio, host Lee Cantor talks with Sacha Thompson, founder of The Equity Equation, about creating authentic workplaces where people feel valued, heard, and able to contribute. Sacha shares how leaders can move beyond buzzwords and focus on what employees are actually experiencing day to day.

Together, they explore the disconnect between stated culture and lived experience, the role of leadership alignment, the impact of AI on employee roles, and why investing in employee development is essential for building trust and sustaining healthy teams.

Discomfort is part of leadership, especially when the work requires us to question old habits, listen differently, and make room for experiences beyond our own. But too often, fear of saying the wrong thing or not having the perfect answer keeps people stuck.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Nadia Nagamootoo about what it means to lead through discomfort, complexity, and change. Together, they explore why discomfort shows up in organizations, how power is shifting in the workplace, and what leaders can do when fear, rigidity, or avoidance get in the way of growth.

This conversation is about more than workplace inclusion. It is about self-reflection, courage, agility, and building environments where people can learn, adapt, and thrive.

Women of color are often expected to navigate workplaces that were not built with them in mind—while still leading, performing, adapting, and carrying the emotional weight of being “the only” or “one of few.”

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Vanity Jenkins and Rachel Vicente about what it takes to create healthier workplace environments where women of color can lead, learn, and thrive without shrinking themselves.

Together, they discuss leadership development, planning for those often pushed to the margins, internalized racial oppression, mental health, wellness, boundaries, and what it means to build spaces where women of color are supported—not just celebrated.

Caring deeply about people, justice, and change can be meaningful—but it can also be exhausting. When the world feels heavy and the work never seems to end, compassion fatigue and burnout can quietly take hold.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Dr. Rebecca Eldridge, a psychotherapist specializing in compassion and self-compassion, about how to recognize stress, protect your well-being, and make grounded choices when the work starts costing too much.

Together, they explore what compassion fatigue looks like, how the socio-political climate affects our capacity, and why self-compassion is not about checking out—it is about staying connected to yourself while navigating difficult realities.

Change does not happen only through statements, strategies, or training rooms. Often, it begins in relationships—with the stories we hear, the people we love, and the moments that help us see the world differently.

In this replay from Season 1 of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with consultant and anti-racism author Jarrett Carroll about the personal experiences that shaped his commitment to equity and justice. Jarrett reflects on his father’s experience as a gay man during a time when homosexuality was criminalized and stigmatized, and how that history helped him better understand power, exclusion, identity, and responsibility.

Together, they explore shared humanity, privilege, organizational change, and why confronting racism requires both personal reflection and collective action.

We are living in a time when it can feel easier to disconnect, dismiss, or retreat than to stay in conversation. But building bridges across difference requires something deeper: grace, space, reflection, and the willingness to see one another’s humanity.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Yvonne Alston, CEO of Indelible Impressions Consulting, about what it means to create meaningful dialogue in a divided world. Together, they explore how we make room for hard conversations, bridge perspectives, and create conditions where people can learn, reflect, and connect without losing sight of accountability.

Yvonne shares her perspective as a culturist working across sectors to strengthen leadership, deepen understanding, and support more authentic conversations at work and in community.

DEI work does not happen in a vacuum. As political tension, polarization, and anti-DEI efforts continue to shape public conversation, those dynamics show up inside workplaces too.

In this replay episode of DEI After 5, Sacha Thompson talks with Sara Taylor of Deep See Consulting about the future of DEI in a contentious political landscape. With decades of experience in the field, Sara offers a grounded look at how organizations can navigate backlash, shifting language, internal resistance, and the deeper work of culture change.

This conversation explores why DEI is not just a set of programs or statements—it is organizational change work that requires clarity, communication, cultural competence, and the willingness to consider perspectives beyond our own.

Wellness at work isn’t just yoga and apps—it’s community, honesty, and how we treat people when things feel uncertain. In this episode, Sacha Thompson talks with wellness coach and former record executive KutiMac about self-care that actually holds up in real life.

Kuti shares his journey from the music industry to keynote speaking and workplace wellness, and we get into what it means to stay grounded, question norms, and build relationships that keep you (and your people) steady.

When life feels heavy or uncertain, resilience is not just about pushing through alone. It is about finding your village, caring for yourself, and creating the support systems that help you keep moving.

In this episode, Sacha Thompson talks with Shazad Carbaidwala, an experienced coach, leader, speaker, and former SAP professional based in the Chicagoland area. Shazad shares lessons from his career, coaching work, and service in law enforcement to explore what it really takes to stay grounded during adversity.

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Stacey Gordon. In this episode, we zoom out to the bigger issue: the systems people have been naming for decades—and why this moment feels louder, messier, and harder to navigate.

We talk about how increased access to information has raised awareness, but also created an environment where misinformation spreads fast and people struggle to separate truth from narrative. We also connect the dots to workplace realities—pay disparity, the value of institutional knowledge, retention, and why DEI practitioners can’t do this work in silos. Coalitions matter.