In These Uncertain Times

Cj Giovingo (they/them), systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joins for a beautiful conversation about the intertwining nature of systems and creativity, their experience with the ultimate remote work—landing a spacecraft on another planet while working from home—and the invaluable power of telling your story.

Cj Giovingo is a Systems Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California where they’ve worked since 2014. They are currently a member of the Mars 2020 Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Systems team which just landed the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet on February 18th of this year. Prior to their current work in space technology, Cj had a career in environmental and union organizing, skills that transferred surprisingly well to being a systems engineer.

Outside of work, Cj and their wife live as Faculty in Residence on the University of Southern California campus where they serve as mentors, advisers, and advocates for the first-year students in their residential community. In July 2019, Cj joined the National Board of Directors for Out for Undergrad, a non-profit aimed at helping high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates reach their full potential.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Bassam Shawl (he/him) joins for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey with stand-up comedy, our media diets and the attention black hole named Twitter, and have lots of reminiscing about growing up in Upstate New York, including performing together in high-school musical productions.

Bassam Shawl is a comedian, writer, and actor based in New York. Originally from Syracuse, NY, he started performing comedy in Washington, DC before moving to Brooklyn.

He’s been featured in Buzzfeed and Prior Magazine, has written for Emmy-Award-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish and has performed at several venues & festivals across the country, including Comedy on State, The Stand Comedy Club, Oak City Comedy Festival, and Laughing Devil Comedy Festival.

Follow Bassam on Twitter: @bassamshawl
Follow Bassam on Instagram: @bassamshawl
Follow Bassam on TikTok: @bassamshawl
Check Out his Podcast, Wokemanistan

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Sarah Williams (she/her), Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Beardwood&Co., joins to chat about how we brought our design and strategy agency’s operations and relationships online at the start of the pandemic, how consumers are forming new rituals and brands are adapting to them, and the importance of young people in keeping our creative process fresh and relevant.

“Make it happen with what you’ve got”— are words that were spoken frequently at Sarah’s house growing up, and she still lives by them today. Take on the challenge, be smart about finding the best solution, and inspire those around you by doing great work together. Sarah has a passion for brands with ambition and a focus on meaningful leadership with clients—understanding their business challenges, and delivering impactful creative to unlock their full potential. Sarah joined Beardwood&Co. in the agency's infancy and is proud of the all-star team they’ve assembled. She began her career at Landor launching Song Airlines, getting foodie with Burger King and PepsiCo, and later telling the story of CBGB’s.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Michael Counter (he/him) joins for a great conversation about Queer art and honoring our elders while they’re still with us, he shares how his firm, counterCULTURE, is bringing Queer, Trans and POC narratives to life in the COVID-era through projects like Legends of Drag, and together, we pine for the days of collective gatherings and shared experiences.

Michael Counter is a Black Queer United States Air Force veteran, entrepreneur, creative strategist, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant. As the founder of the creative boutique counterCULTURE, Michael amplifies narratives of often marginalized lived experiences to educate, entertain, and edify communities and businesses through signature collaborations, brand partnerships, and talent relations.  Following an Honorable Discharge (Active Duty), Michael began his graduate studies at Southern Methodist University in Creative Writing (Masters), then Arts & Cultural Traditions (PhD), while also gaining years of experience in the public relations and advertising fields with brands like Nieman Marcus, Chipotle, Dallas Museum of Art, Southwestern Medical Foundation, and Michael’s Craft Stores. He currently lives in NYC with his partner and frequently collaborates with leading agencies, brands, and networks securing coverage and partnerships for Queer and multicultural projects as seen in VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, and Rolling Stone Magazine.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Leah Garlock (she/her), Experience Designer and Fulbright ETA Grant Recipient, is here to discuss her various personal projects, the ways in which she’s been virtually engaging with her communities, the exploration of her identity as a Korean American adoptee, and the challenges of coping with trauma in the midst of pandemic isolation.

Leah (She/Her) believes design problem-solving is as much about actively listening, as it is about aesthetics. As an experience designer and illustrator, she takes a multimedia lens to explore social issues, cultural identity, and narratives on personal growth. She earned her BFA in Communications Design and Photography from Syracuse University where she received a grant to explore the cultural identity of Korean American adoptees. Her portfolio includes collaborations with nonprofits like the Center of Urban Pedagogy and Hollaback!, and Adoptee run organizations Also-Known-As, IKAA, Adopteen, and Adoptee Bridge.

Outside of work and personal projects, Leah volunteers as the Communications Manager for Asian Womxn in the Arts (AWA), an organization that creates celebratory and healing spaces centering the work of womxn and LGBTQIA+ cultural workers in the Asian diaspora.

In January 2021, she embarked to South Korea through a Fulbright ETA grant.

Follow Leah on Instagram: @leah.chi.grace
Connect with Leah via email: [email protected].

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Comic and graphic novel writer Julio Anta (he/him) joins to discuss the challenges of working through the pandemic as a parent to a young child, how he collaborates with editors and visual artists, the vast diversity of Latinx people and the lack of political nuance they’re often afforded, and how many of his stories make their journey from the headlines to the page of a comic. 

Julio Anta is a writer based in New York City. Raised in Miami by Cuban and Colombian parents, his writing focuses on the intersection of Latinx identity and American life.  

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Rachel Renock (she/her), Co-founder and CEO of Wethos, joins to discuss how her company pivoted their entire business in the midst of the pandemic, how she and her co-founder are trying to curb employee burnout through smart policy (and some tips on how you can do the same for your business), the opportunities of the current moment for the future of independent work, and the responsibility of white business leaders to leverage their power to create equitable workplaces. 

A former advertising creative working across big brands like Covergirl and Hershey, Rachel quit her agency job at 25 in pursuit of more meaningful work. She teamed up with her now co-founder Claire to build technology that helped them scale their own independent studio to $1.4M in revenue in just 18-months. They’ve since released their platform to empower the next generation of independents to team up and launch their own Virtual Studios, providing the financial infrastructure to simplify complexities from pricing projects to paying teammates. Since its founding in 2016, Renock has raised over $5M in VC funding and has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and the New York Times in pursuit of her mission to put more money into the pockets of independents everywhere.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rachren1

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

Susan X Jane (she/her) joins for a discussion about the timeliness and timelessness of her work as a DEI training facilitator, the role of racialized power dynamics throughout American history and how they show up in white-centric corporate cultures, the recent insurrection at the US Capitol, and we wrap up with a discussion about how the media can dangerously warp one’s worldview and entire sense of reality.

Susan X Jane is the Principle of Navigators Consulting and is a skilled facilitator, trainer, and coach, with experience in organizational development and strategic planning. She has over 25 years of experience working in mission-focused organizations, supporting communities to create change, and training leaders ready to take on the challenge of our times.

Susan began her work pursuing social justice with youth in the juvenile justice system and marginalized communities, engaging in community organizing programs and leadership training for young activists. Her work in the non-profit sector focused on race and gender equity in communities of color, particularly in using media as a tool of empowerment. Her advocacy for racial justice in the media led her to higher ed, and Wheelock College, where Susan was the founding director of the Communications and Media Literacy BA program, teaching Media Studies, Sociology, and Organizational Communications.

Susan started Navigators Consulting to continue her work with organizations in the public and private sector, helping others to better understand the realities of race in American and what is needed to move beyond the buzzwords to build sustainable communities of belonging. Her approach integrates work exploring the very personal nature of identity with the structural realities of organizations and communities. She encourages clients to map out their own unique pathway to creating healthy culture and works with them to expand diversity beyond HR into every aspect of their organization. Always down for a good debate, Susan writes and talks about media, race and culture at smntks.com and for publications including Glamour, WBUR, and The Christian Science Monitor.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

LEGO Design Manager, singer-songwriter & illustrator Marcos Bessa (he/him) joins for a conversation about all things LEGO, his experience living and working through the pandemic in Denmark, and how he finds the motivation for his many other creative pursuits outside of his very creative day job.

Marcos Bessa is a Design Manager at the LEGO Group and the Creative Lead for the LEGO Harry Potter franchise. Marcos was a member of the Adult Fan of LEGO, or AFOL, community before he was hired as a LEGO designer in 2010. Since then, he’s worked on award-winning products for franchises including Marvel and DC Superheroes, Disney, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Jurassic World, and The Simpsons. Outside of LEGO, Marcos is a writer, illustrator, and singer-songwriter and has competed on Denmark's Got Talent and The Voice Portugal, where he reached the Semi and Quarter finals, respectively. He is a native of Paredes, Porto in the north of Portugal and currently lives in Denmark with his partner and French Bulldog.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.

On this special holiday episode, my BFF Lucy Tomkiewicz (she/her) joins to chat about how she is helping small businesses find their voice in the era of COVID, how she started a quarantine venture that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, and we wrap up with a conversation about the importance of giving during the holidays and especially this year. We also have some fun playing a game about bad Christmas movies, which are a favorite vice of ours.

Lucy is an Art Director for OUTFRONT Media’s Colorado branch, where she builds out campaigns & marketing solutions for mostly small businesses and the local community. In quarantine, she began baking, filling, and intricately painting the tops of French macarons - and more recently selling them under "FromLu" on Instagram. Lucy is also a loving mother to Maple, one of the cutest dogs on Earth.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests and do not reflect any official policies or positions of any employer or affiliated organizations.