Here Comes Everyone by The Conference Bard

Six years ago Mike Cameron's girlfriend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who then took his own life.

In this raw conversation we discuss this event and its aftermath and how Mike found the strength of purpose to carry on.  He shares his memories of Carissa and the day when everything changed.

Mike's journey is testament to the power of gratitude and grace in the face of grief and his continuing work to end violence against women and teach men to turn from anger to empathy in the face of life's challenges stands as an ongoing memory to Carissa.

Both Sarah and I were so grateful to Mike for sharing his story with us and we hope you find his vulnerability and strength as inspiring as we do.

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

The last two eighteen months have seen an explosion of interest in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in employers across North America.  This has often been characterized by bold statements by corporations committing to creating greater equity both for employees and for the communities they operate in.

But you can't do diversity by declaration - it requires concrete action by leaders and colleagues on a daily basis.  Given the workload most of us struggle with, it can seem daunting to many to have to now account for diversity in our everyday actions.

Small wonder then that so many employees are choosing to become part of "The Great Resignation" driven in large part by a feeling that they no longer belong with their existing employer.

It is this challenge that Maureen Berkner Boyt addresses through her company The Moxie Exchange,  that empowers everyone to become more inclusive and create a culture of belonging.

In this conversation Maureen and I discuss the six fundamental skills leaders need to make inclusion a reality and drill a bit deeper into three of them - Listen Deeply, Stay Curious and Consciously Include. You'll hear how you can have the information you need to be inclusive at your fingertips when you need it rather than rely on your memory of a training course you may have taken a few months ago.

You can find out more about Maureen and her company at https://themoxieexchange.com

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

Grief is not just about when you lose a loved one.  We experience grief whenever we face loss, something many have experienced during the pandemic - whether this be loss of job, status, financial security, routine, human connection, or loss of health.

In this episode we explore grief as an aspect of living with a serious health diagnosis with Jennifer Hollington as our guide.  Many people came to know Jennifer as I did through her daily blog that she began immediately after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  In it she records the day to day experience of living with cancer,  her treatments, her thoughts about her changing world.  

Jennifer's ability to face the reality of her situation head on and communicate her emotional, professional and health journey has been an inspiration to many and it was a privilege to have her join Sarah and I as she shared her thoughts on issues such as:

The initial shock of diagnosis and her response
The role of community in providing support
How gratitude helped her overcome adversity
Needing to focus on the here and now - as a friend said to her early on "don't die while you are yet alive"
Anticipatory grief
Grief at the loss of work and health
How sometimes it comes down to Grit - finding an inner strength to move forward when things get really tough

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

One of the great privileges of working in the field of DEI is the sheer variety of people I get to meet and know - Case in point the opening panel of my most recent DEI event featured an Irishman who grew up during the Troubles, a Zimbabwean poet and a DEI leader from Mexico who now leads that function at a leading US tech company.

That event was also where I first met Ashley - Advocate, Author, VP of Diversity in Financial Services.  One of the many things that makes her special is she recognizes the diversity we all have within us and urges and coaches people to take their uniqueness and use it to power their success.

Based on her own life experiences, that include homelessness, harassment and overcoming discrimination, Ashley shares her inspirational message of not trying to fit in but rather connect with who you are and share that gift with the world.  Ashley shows you how you can take to heart the now common adage of "bringing one's whole self to work" and how you can use that energy to drive success in your career and life

This is an essential message for both DEI leaders and individual employees.

Ashley details 10 empowering actions you can take in her book Empowering Differences. While we touch on most in this conversation we concentrate on four of them:

Know Yourself
Inspire
Develop Your Strategy
Take Action

You can find out more about Ashley and her work at www.empoweringdifferences.com or get a copy of her book Empowering Differences

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

For this first episode of our bi-weekly series Grief, Gratitude, Grace, my co-host Sarah Hines and I are joined by Chandra Ramamurthy from Mumbai.

Chandra was familiar with grief through her work as a psychologist working with AIDS patients before she suffered the most profound loss of her only child Naman to suicide.

Sarah and I had the privilege of sitting down with Chandra for this wide ranging discussion on grief.  Chandra's spirit shines through as she shares Naman's story and speaks about her professional experience and about grief as India saw shocking pandemic death tolls during the summer of 2021.

As she shares her story, Chandra explores the importance of speaking openly about grief, how it brings us together as humans while also isolating us, the importance of gathering and supporting one another, the healing power of gratitude and the need for grace.   

Sarah and I are so grateful to Chandra for her willingness to tell her and Naman's story with  us and with you our audience.  I am sure anyone grieving or comforting those who grieve will agree that this is an essential conversation that will help many find a way forward after loss.

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

Peter Trevor was a guest on the podcast shortly after the killing of George Floyd and he is joining me again to talk about his the recent Chauvin verdict.

We discuss his reaction to the verdict. He shares why though there is a lot of work to be done before we can achieve genuine inclusion, equity and justice in society he has faith that real progress is being made.  He points to the wide recognition that systemic change is needed, the engagement of so many people outside the Black community in the process, and the energy and commitment of young people,  as key sources of hope.

We also talk about how multiculturalism has to mean more than celebration - it has to mean standing up for one another.  

And we revisit Peter’s advocacy for looking to  African models of justice and those of Indigenous peoples here in Canada citing the example of  Mandela and others - Ubuntu.  This leads me to first to challenge Peter asking if we should forgive Chauvin (that’s not our job) and then to a discussion of the role of scapegoating.

While we cover a lot of ground - from Rodney King, to Barak Obama, Trump, from mental health to concepts of justice, to hope for the future, we plan another conversation soon where we will dig a bit deeper into how employers can grasp this moment to create greater equity within organizations.

You can contact Peter Trevor at his website at https://www.humanequityadvantage.com

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

Ten years ago Suzanne's then daughter Aviva announced that she was transitioning to become male and would henceforth be known as Skyler.  A decade later Suzanne is sharing that moment and the journey that began that day as a mother.  In doing so she has told an authentic tale of how this change impacted her and provided an essential guide for anyone close to a transgender person - whether parent, sibling, colleague, friend or boss.

In this episode we discuss some of the issues from the book - her initial reaction, her fear for her son's future, the confusion, some grief and what she has learned from the experience and of course the question of bathrooms.  Throughout our conversation I was reminded of Skyler's words from the book, that we all need to show "curiosity, compassion and love" towards others.

The book includes a chapters by Skyler and Gender Specialist Dr Helma Seidl as well as a chapter on Gender transitioning in the workplace and a very useful glossary of some of the terms often used when discussing gender transition.

You can purchase the book at Suzanne's website at https://whengenderisinquestion.com

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

Lots of great advice in this episode from Addie Greco-Sanchez as I interview her about her book The Five Minute Recharge.

If like me you are currently suffering from a bad case of pandemic fatigue this is for you.  In the book Addie shares 31 proven strategies to help boost your energy, increase your focus and get back on track - for this discussion we focus on five.

With the end of Covid19 in sight we will all need to harness our internal resources to rebuild - and hopefully this conversation will provide some ideas on how you can rebuild yourself first.

(And my apologies to Addie as this was recored in early December so there are some references to "the holiday season" - events intervened preventing me from publishing till now.  I hope you will all agree it was worth the wait)

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

As 2020 draws to close,  many of us turn our thoughts to 2021 and reflect on our goals and aims for the coming year.  Which makes it the perfect time to revisit that resume you may not have updated for quite some while.

Because the fact is that despite all the changes in the workplace in recent years and increasing digitization of recruitment, your resume remains the foundation of your search for new opportunities.

In this episode I discuss how to upgrade your resume with Darcy Roberts who draws on her extensive experience as a recruiter, executive coach and expert in leadership.  We run through some of the main lessons of her Resume In An Box (available on her website at https://spiralbydesign.ca/resume-in-a-box/ ):

We talk about how you can:

1. Quickly create a resume that lets you stand out from the crowd and helps you land more interviews so you can start applying for Work you love tomorrow.
2. Discover how to identify your unique career highlights so you capture the attention of potential employers.
3. Learn the secrets to tweaking your resume so it makes it past HR’s AI screening software and into the inbox of the hiring manager.
4. Power up your LinkedIn profile so you get contacted by employers.

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/

Few industries have been hit as hard by Covid19 as the event business.  And few organizations have been able to pivot to virtual events more successfully than Proof Experiences.

As someone who has designed and hosted business conferences for over 20 years I was keen to hear what Kelly Power, SVP at Proof Experiences had learned along the way.  I'd seen the posts on LinkedIn about the successful events she'd run for clients but I wanted the down low on what works and what doesn't in the virtual space.

Kelly doesn't disappoint, providing the inside scoop on how to deliver memorable event experiences to clients.  If you have any role organizing events of almost any kind you won't want to miss this conversation.

For more info on my work as a conference emcee, spoken word artist, panel moderator and event designer check out my site at https://conferencebard.ca/