Diversity: Beyond the Checkbox

A career is never a straight line, and Denice Torres' is no exception. After years of working as a janitor, she knew that she wanted to start her big career adventure. She studied psychology, attended law school and worked for United Way before she realized a job might not be the key to her pursuit of making a difference. Hear about the rest of her journey and what she's learned from it in this episode.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  

For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

When Chelsea C. Williams first stepped foot on Spelman College's campus, she started to understand diversity. As an HBCU, Spelman is (mostly) racially homogenous, so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Except that Chelsea could see other types of diversity, such as regional differences and differences of upbringing.  Her curiosity for how we can better understand differences in people led her down the HR and DEI paths, where she eventually formed College Code, a fast-growing consultancy and training firm, providing the critical link between the development and retention of early-stage professionals and helping organizations build equitable and inclusive workplaces.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

Shailvi Wakhlu was in technology from the beginning. At two, her mom brought home a computer that she would play with. At eight, she started coding and found her passion. But as she got older, she started to realize that most of the coders didn't look like her, and she was working in a very homogenous field. Now she's on a mission to change that.

Shailvi Wakhlu is the Senior Director of Data at Strava.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

Growing up in rural North Carolina, people would always ask Jess Jolley, "What are you?" or "What are you mixed with?"  In the South, you were either white, Black, or other, and as a light-skinned Black person, that wasn't always easy. And as Jess would discover by looking into historical records, race is not a binary construct.

Jess Jolley is the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Pendo.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

When Elaine Montilla came to the United States from the Dominican Republic to attend college, she barely understood English and struggled to fit in. Today, she's the CIO of The Graduate Center at City University of New York, Founder of 5xminority, and member of the Forbes Technology Council. Tune in to hear how she forged her path to technology leader and what advice she has for other underrepresented people who want to get into tech.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

Season 5 of Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is coming soon, but until then, take a listen to another podcast that Jackie Ferguson hosts, Executive Women's Day from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
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According to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Segment CFO of Government Markets Dr. Endya Perry, "You can close that window and you can close every door in this place, but it's not going to stop me because my dreams are too big to be contained in one building. You didn't create me. So you can't confine me. You didn't design me. So you can't deny me."

Powerful message from Dr. Perry, who today is joined by fellow Blue Cross NC executive Reagan Greene Pruitt, Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement. Together, they discuss the culture at Blue Cross NC that empowers women to thrive in leadership.

The Executive Women’s Day event, where leaders of today and tomorrow gathered to engage in meaningful dialogue, was held on October 12, 2021. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is proud to share insights from the keynote speakers and panelists on business perspectives, best practices, and the inclusion and empowerment of women in the workplace.

The Executive Women's Day Podcast is hosted by The Diversity Movement co-founder Jackie Ferguson, and is produced by Earfluence.

Season 5 is almost here, but we wanted to give you some highlights from season 4 of Diversity: Beyond the Checkbox! In this episode, you'll hear clips from:

Fishbowl Live: Recruiting Diverse Talent, with Bree Sarlati and Lauren McDonald
Intentional Allyship and Diversity in Design with Dwell with Dignity’s Ashley Sharp
Are you Diversity Resistant, Inclusive AF, or Somewhere in the Middle? with Jen O’Ryan from Double Tall Consulting
Controversy and Racism at the Olympics, with Dr. Bob Batchelor
Transgender Activist Precious Brady-Davis: “I Have Always Been Me”
Inclusion and Representation in Law Enforcement, with Major Derri Stormer
Discovering Your Purpose with Charlene Wheeless
Ally Up: Di Ciruolo’s Guide to Building More Inclusive, Innovative, and Productive Teams
Vickie Gibbs on Promoting Diversity in Entrepreneurship
Personality tests and leading teams, with Tilt 365’s Pam Boney
Diversity and Inclusion in Sports, with PGA of America’s Sandy Cross

With 28,000 PGA professionals and over 2 million jobs in golf, PGA of America Chief People Officer Sandy Cross has a lot in her plate, and as she puts it, a "workforce diversification challenge," with a workforce that's "a little bit homogenous, from a demographic perspective." Sandy recognizes that "we have to evolve the composition of that workforce if they're going to attract Americans diverse consumer to play the game."  How will the PGA of America accomplish this?  Tune in to today's Diversity Beyond the Checkbox Podcast.

"Who We Are" original song and music video by The Diversity Movement.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

With different backgrounds, experiences, and personalities, how can we lead teams effectively?

In her first career, Pam Boney worked her way up in the hospitality industry and eventually became Senior Vice President of a large chain of hotels. Through the various personalities on her teams and in leadership, she started to notice that many in leadership didn’t have the tools to utilize their strengths and weaknesses to maximize the growth of their teams.  So for her second career, Pam developed Tilt 365, a “wicked fast self-assessment with modern, relevant language to discover your most natural character strengths and not only what you do but why you do it.”

"Who We Are" original song and music video by The Diversity Movement.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.  For sponsorship options, email [email protected].

Vickie Gibbs is passionate about changing the way we look at entrepreneurship and venture capital.  As a veteran of both, Vickie knows that "being an entrepreneur is not a solo sport" and creative cultures of inclusion from the ground up is imperative to the long-term success of startups.

"Who We Are" original song and music video by The Diversity Movement.

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson, and is a production of Earfluence.