Diversity Goes to Work

We’ve spent a lot of time in recent weeks on this podcast thinking about what comes next.  And indeed, as the political winds of the United States shift, we suspect there will be ongoing shifts in the DEI space. What does that mean for DEI practitioners? How do you keep a sense and sensibility about you when the world - and the professional world around you - seems bewildering. Today’s guest is going to help us make sense of all of this complexity by centering the role of consciousness. Aang Lakey is the founder and CEO of Increasing Consciousness, a company created to increase the global consciousness to better facilitate equity all across the world.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Kelly Crace is William & Mary’s Associate Vice President for Health and Wellness. He’s also the director of the Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence. He’s a licensed psychologist and he’s the co-author of “Authentic Excellence: Flourishing and Resilience in a Relentless World.” Today we’ll be looking at how to find belonging in the midst of a world that seems to incentivize division and polarization. 

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

As we approach one of the most heated and consequential elections in recent history here in the U.S., the question of how we talk to one another - and more importantly how we listen - feels more urgent than ever. That’s why we’re beyond excited to have Maria Arpa with us today. Maria has spent her career helping people resolve conflicts from corporate board rooms to street gangs and beyond. She’s developed an incredible tool called The Dialogue Roadmap to help bridge even the deepest divides. Today we’re going to dig into how her work applies to the tense, polarized climate we’re living in, and how we can find compassion and belonging amidst all the noise.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Welcome to a new season of Diversity Goes to Work. We’re thrilled to kick it off with our guest today because it has been a long time in the making. Cordell Carter is a powerhouse in the world of belonging and inclusion. As the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Socrates Program, Cordell is leading the charge to make sure everyone has a seat at the table, and more importantly that everyone feels as through they truly belong. Today we’re going to unpack what belonging really looks like in organizations and communities, and how we can create environments where everyone can show up as their full authentic selves.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

The sounds and reality of summer have set in, and many academics are running to the hills to take solace in the few months of reprieve to work on research, rethink their teaching, and more. Here at the Diversity Goes to Work podcast, we’re hard at work on the next season of episodes, which will drop later this fall. In the meantime, on this our final episode of the season, we’re going to share an episode of one of our sister podcast channels here at William & Mary. “Ways to Flourish” from William & Mary’s Health and Wellness Initiative recently had our own Phil Wagner as a guest. The show addresses topics such as mental health and wellness, values of flourishing, and challenges that students, staff and faculty may face. Each episode of Ways to Flourish focuses on a wellness strategy, and this featured episode focuses on wellness as a business. Please enjoy, and we can’t wait to be back with you again this fall.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

The adage says “It’s lonely at the top.” And in today’s fast-paced world, a conversation around mental health and wellness seems more crucial than ever before - especially in the workplace. But when we peel back the layers of corporate suits and titles, we uncover a less talked about issue, which is executive loneliness. We talk a lot about climbing the corporate ladder, but not as much about the silent struggle many face at the top, where there’s pressure to perform, and that pressure meets the stark reality of isolation. Our guest today, Nick Jonsson, is here to speak to those realities. He’s the author of the best-selling book “Executive Loneliness” and an advocate for mental health and wellness in the C-suite and beyond. 

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Today we’re excited to welcome Kamini Wood. Kamini is a Certified Life Coach on a mission to empower high achievers. With over 20 years of experience, and as a mother of high-achieving young adults, Kamini understands feeling overwhelmed by expectations. All of those realities we talk about but don’t ever REALLY talk about or explore deeply - bandwidth, burnout, imposter syndrome - Kamini’s work focuses on those very aspects of our lived experiences. She helps high performers become confident in their leadership by overcoming anxiety, boosting their resilience, setting boundaries, and being unapologetically true to themselves. Kamini takes a direct and holistic approach to help transform those clients who are ready to invest time and effort. 

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Today we welcome Dr. Carol Parker Walsh, an award-winning executive coach, keynote speaker, and author. As founder of Carol Parker Walsh Consulting, she helps organizations unlock innovations by providing coaching, training, and foresight strategy. She leverages her extensive experiences as an attorney, professor, and social scientist to help clients amplify excellence. Carol is a published Forbes and HBR contributor, a TEDx speaker, and a three-time Amazon best-selling author.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Today on the show we welcome Toby Mildon. Toby is a diversity and inclusion architect and found of Mildon; a consultancy and advisory business. He works with business to re-engineer entire processes and systems to minimize the impact of bias and build cultures of inclusion. Prior to setting up his businesses, Toby worked as an in-house diversity and inclusion manager at the BBC and at Deloitte.

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.

Our guest today - Ti’Juana Gholson - is a member of the Maximize Life Coaching and Mentoring team and a demonstrational live coach specializing in program development, strategic and financial planning, as well as business structuring. As a serial entrepreneur herself, Ti’Juana provides everyday mentorship - mentorship for the here and now - and coaching to small business owners or contract professionals through her company, Tag Consulting. Her mission is to provide support and demonstrate “the how to start and how to maintain a business.” 

If you’d like to follow William & Mary’s School of Business or learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion podcast and our programs, please visit us at www.mason.wm.edu.